Ender's Game (Ender Saga, #1)

by Orson Scott Card

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Ender’s Game is one of those books that I’ve been aware of for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never read it. I’ve been reading science-fiction for just about as long as I’ve been reading anything. I was raised on Star Wars and Star Trek and Logan’s Run and Planet of the Apes. Give me 70s and 80s sci-fi until the day I day and I’ll be happy as a clam (problematic bits aside, see: Logan’s Run). In the last few years, I’ve revisited a lot of the older-style science fiction that I loved when I was younger… and I’ve been disappointed.

So, Ender’s Game worried me.

Then I saw the movie when it came out back in 2013. It’s an adaptation of a much loved science fiction book – of course I saw it! And then… I was disappointed. Based on my faltering faith in old school sci-fi, Ender’s Game went on my “low priority” list.

And that was dumb.

Ender’s Game is fantastic. It was not what I expected. I prepared myself for something violent, possibly with lines of sexism and racism, and I didn’t find it. There are no graphic scenes in this book. There’s women in positions of influence and power, and there’s people from all over the world at Battle School and Command School. Ender’s Game is representative of all sorts of people, and it tells a fantastic story. This is a bildungsroman and a dystopia and a war story and a space opera and a boarding school story… it’s just REALLY good. There’s so much to it, and it’s effortless.

It’s easy to love all the characters. Bean, Elia, Petra? They’re wonderful. Ender and Valentine are perfect enigmas and I was never really show whether they were going to truly be good or evil. The twists I wanted were there with them. And the villains, like Peter, are fantastic. The science is fascinating without being over the top, and because Ender is so young, there’s no romance.

Ender’s Game circles around a little boy who, at his oldest in the heart of the story, is about twelve? But it is so accessible that I can see this being a good book for almost any age. It’s accessible for middle grade readers while still being fascinating and relatable to adults. I never felt that there were overly mature passages or that the author had included offense content. I’m actually amazed by this – so many books written 30+ years ago are riddled with problematic content… and Ender’s Game isn’t. It’s such an example of how to speak to the human spirit. Not cater to a certain age or to the privileged – anyone can read this book and enjoy it.

Well, anyone with a vague interest in science fiction. Though honestly? It’s so accessible, you don’t need to love sci-fi. You just have to be okay with outer space and some advanced tech. Honestly.

I just… I loved Ender’s Game so much, guys. I thought it would be slow, but it swept me up. I thought it would have problematic bits, but it was lovely. I thought it would feel outdated, but it’s very present. I thought it would be boring and it was amazing. Ender’s Game surpassed all my expectation and I can’t recommend it highly enough.