by Orson Scott Card
Outstanding Sci-fi novel about a group of children being
trained as tacticians against an imminent invasion
Reviewed by: Guy Brandon
About Guy Brandon
Ender's Game is, quite simply, a masterpiece of science fiction writing. Set
in the not-too-distant future, the story centres on a young boy. Andrew
Wiggin (Ender) is one of an elite group of children selected for training as
tacticians to coordinate the counter-attack to an imminent alien invasion.
This tiny, brilliant minority are taken at the age of five or six and sent
to Battle School (a space station in orbit around Earth) while they are
still young enough to be truly open-minded and their full potential can be
harnessed. The training is rigorous and extensive, and none more so than
Ender's: as the smartest of the group, he is the best hope of success. Ender
experiences pressure from both sides, as his competitors try to get the
better of him and his teachers push him to breaking point.
What made Ender's Game special for me was the author's focus and style.
Although Orson Scott Card is a science fiction writer, in this book he
concentrates on the psychology and interaction of the characters: it is more
a study of human nature. The setting may be futuristic, but there are few of
the fantastic descriptions or speculation normally found in the genre. For
this reason, Ender's Game is likely to be enjoyed by many who would not
otherwise be interested in sci-fi. Those who are will be very pleasantly
surprised; Card adds a whole new aspect to it.
Ender's Game is an exciting, surprising, incisive and even inspiring book,
and easily one of the best pieces of fiction I've ever seen. Both children
and adults will love it. If you've never read any science fiction, this is
the perfect place to start; if you're an enthusiast, you've got no excuse
and really should have read it long ago anyway.
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Ender's Game
Copyright © by Guy Brandon, 2002
Reviewed by Guy Brandon:
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-- The Eagle's Shadow
- by Mark Hertsgaard
-- Human Instinct - How our primeval impulses shape our modern lives
- by Robert Winston
-- Hannibal
- by Thomas Harris
-- Ender's Game
- by Orson Scott Card
-- A Clockwork Orange
- by Anthony Burgess
-- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- by Arthur C. Clarke
-- Color: Stories from the Paintbox
- by Victoria Finlay
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- by Tom Stoppard
-- Angry White Pyjamas
- by Robert Twigger
-- Lord of the Rings
- by J. R. R. Tolkien
-- The Matrix and Philosophy
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