In the future, earth is at war with an alien race. Human spaceships are massing for the final battle. But they need a commander. Someone that is smart enough to direct a huge fleet in battle. Someone that can understand the enemy and anticipate their moves. What they need is a genius. Ender Wiggin might be who they need, but he’s only eight years old.
“Remember, the enemy’s gate is down.”
Earth’s governments send their smartest children to battle school, where the instructors train them to become the future commanders of the International Force. At the heart of battle school is the battle room, essentially a zero-gravity laser tag where the children engage in mock battles, to prepare them for the real battles they will fight after their training is complete.
Why is this on our bookshelf?
Ender’s Game won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1985 for best science-fiction novel. It spawned a series of books about what has become known as the Enderverse, and is being turned into a movie starring Harrison Ford, scheduled for release in 2013. And it’s awesome.
Rating (5 stars)
Ender’s Game is action-packed and exciting from the first page to the last. But it’s during the scenes in the battle room that Ender’s genius, and Orson Scott Card’s writing, really shines. Watching Ender learn to re-orient himself in zero-gravity was amazing, and made me wish I was an astronaut (and reminded me of some zero-gravity experiments I did with a friend in flight school).
Read this book:
If you want to be surprised by the ending. There are rumors that the movie trailers may spoil it.
Don't Read this book:
If you’re afraid of large ants. It’s Them!
Once you're done, do this:
Grab some buddies, and go play laser tag. And then get started reading – there’s 13 novels in the Enderverse, with another scheduled for publication in 2013.
