Book Review: Ender's Game

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Tor Books, first published in 1985, revised edition 1991)

Rose, 14, Canberra

I’m sure everyone’s heard about Ender’s Game, the posters and trailers are everywhere, promoting a super-cool looking, sci-fi, space movie hitting Australia on the 5th of December. However excited we are for the movie though, the book (published 18 years ago) is definitely worth a read.

The book isn’t just about some awesome space adventure, it’s a wonderfully written, complex book which asks questions on why it is the way that we live, what controls our actions and what part emotions play in the choices we make. It’s also a pretty awesome space adventure too.

The story revolves around the character of Andrew (Ender) Wiggin, who is just 6 years old when the story begins. Ender is pulled into the main conflict of the book, a war between aliens and humans on Earth. As a solution to the battle (which the humans are losing), Ender and other children like him are chosen to train at Battle School. The novel goes though Ender’s journey, how he survives battle school, his relationship with his family and his part in the war, and how they all affect him emotionally and determine his life choices.

This is a wonderful book for all readers 12 years and up. Although it probably sounds pretty complex, Ender’s Game is readable on many levels. The basic level where the strategy and plot takes place, the psychological level where you understand why Ender reacts the way he does and feel his emotions, and the philosophical level, where you understand the choices that the characters in the novel make and challenge yourself by asking whether or not you agree with those morals and if you think the decisions are right.

Don’t get freaked out if you only want to read the book as a cool, space-military story! The plot line is wicked, you’ll be at the edge of your seat (or under the covers with a torch at 11 pm) the entire time.

I think that this book will appeal to a huge audience, not sci-fi lovers specifically. However, if you do like science fiction, you should definitely read Ender's Game!