Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.

The Short of It

Plot: When the Buggers return, we're going to need the greatest military mind Earth can produce to stop them. Which means we need to start training young.

Page Count: 256

Award: 1985 Nebula, 1986 Hugo

Worth a read: Absolutely
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Possible Technical Pass? But Likely Fail.
Technobabble: Moderate.
Review: Look, it's great, okay? Writing is solid, characters are consistent, pacing is deftly executed. Stakes are maintained throughout. Relentless nature of issues brilliantly done - the moment one issue is solved, another appears. It's just a really great book. It's got some flaws, sure. But it's just a joy to read. I'm also extremely biased: this is also the first real science fiction book I can recall reading, when I was nine.

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free!

I read this book under Mr. Hess's desk, during Reading Hour, while in third grade at P.S. 321. I hope he's still doing alright, he was a great teacher.

That's my preface to this review: it's pretty much impossible for me to approach this one objectively, although I am trying.

A lot of this is just storytelling done right. Constant tension and limited narratorial omnipotence keep stakes constantly high. Characters are complex - they have warring motivations, and intentionally show different faces to different people. You know, like a real person would. There is something supremely satisfying about seeing a tough military guy speaking to his friend and saying simply that he's tired of being so gruff, so hard, so mean. That it's not who he is, it's who he needs to be. A character can be stern but have other traits?! Well butter my skittles and call me Ratatoskr, whodda thunk?! 

Of particular importance: Ender's siblings are fully fleshed out and realized here, in ways that I had completely forgotten. Peter and Val are as important as Ender. And plenty of others are too - Graff, among others. Just a lot of good characters! 

Ender exists in a brilliantly realized world. This is not one overburdened with unnecessary details; it's one that is fleshed out such that it makes sense. More details are added when they fit - instead of this being brute force world-building, it's smoothly incorporated. The world is not the main player here, in the way that it is in some of the other books in this series, but its superbly executed.

Plotting and pacing are equally masterfully handled. The whole point is that Ender is god-tier brilliant and adaptable. With such a character, how do you maintain tension? He can solve anything. Thus the problems that he faces increase exponentially in magnitude - he is constantly improving but always behind. 

I love this book. Pleasantly surprised how well it holds up, everyone should read it.

If you'd like to join Ender on his adventure, consider using the link below! I'll get a few cents at no extra cost to you.

Ender's Link

The Long of It

Spoilers Ahead!

Hey! Let's pick some nits! The kids in this book are too young. Yeah, they're supposed to be geniuses. But...

“Peter, you’re twelve years old. I’m ten. They have a word for people our age. They call us children and they treat us like mice.”

“But we don’t think like other children, do we, Val? We don’t talk like other children. And above all, we don’t write like other children.”

Just because characters in-universe comment on this does not mean it's believable. Ender is supposed to be eleven at the time of the final battle. He's been killin' kids since what, six years old? The same for Val and Peter, as they discuss. If everyone was five years older it would still be horrifying - just more believable.

This is also an excellent book as a self-contained story. The epilogue is probably longer than it needs to be - as in, everything that follows the final confrontation. But it does an excellent job of wrapping up the story of Ender. In some ways I prefer the ambiguity of this ending, as opposed to the fleshed out version we get in the subsequent books (no spoilers for those here!) - but it does mean that the resolution and conclusion of this book takes up a hefty chunk of its pages. On the other hand... one of my favorite scenes in the whole story is Ender learning that he killed Stilson and Bonzo. As readers, we knew he had killed both of these other kids, but his reaction is brilliantly written. It's understated but poignant - the hero realizing that he's probably the villain.

The Battle Room scenes, with kids fighting simulated battles in null gravity, have stuck with me for years. It's one of my favorite parts of any SF book. The action itself is engaging - it's fun, dynamic, and intense. And once the battles are less important than their impact on Ender, the descriptions are understated, faster and faster, overwhelming the reader at the same time that Ender is drowning in his duties. 

What a good time! 

Would you like to play a game, Stranger?

And don't forget to read a book!