Ender’s Game is one of the many novels that have remained unread upon a shelf or in a box of books (of which I have far too many) for several years. I’m not sure about you, but I tend to have a stack of books in a ‘to read’ section of my office and all too often the ones in the middle or on the bottom remain there as new books grab my attention. Well, a few weeks back I decided I needed to shift my attention to lighter fare, so I picked up this book, well known to those in the science fiction community. I wish I had done so years ago.
Orson Scott Card’s tale is amazing. Unlike some sci-fi that I have read, he keeps his technology pretty well rooted – eighteen years after its original publishing date, the technology still makes sense. That doesn’t ring true for quite a few other stories. Card’s writing style is easy to follow, providing a very fast read without loss of character development. An ideal balance.
The story is that of Ender Wiggin, a child genius in a world at war with aliens. From an early age he was monitored, much like his elder brother and sister to determine if he was the one destined to become the military leader required to drive back the aliens and secure a future for mankind. Unlike his elder siblings, he was chosen. Taken away to a military academy in orbit around the Earth, Ender joined many other children focused on learning the arts of war through games. We are provided with two views, the first is that of the adult military officers responsible for his training, the other view is made up of the thoughts and experiences of Ender himself: the inner struggles to be good, to fit in and to avoid hurting others, though at times he s forced to do just that out of self-preservation. All the while he plays the games. Training for the unavoidable war with the buggers…