BOOK REVIEW: Ender's Game

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Hi everyone! Here's my review of the bestselling classic, Ender's Game—just in time for the movie version this weekend.

ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
Humanity has been attacked by aliens, so to prepare for further attacks, we train little genius kids into soldiers and military commanders to lead our armies. Yeah— kids—that sounds like the best plan ever...

IS IT ANY GOOD?
Yes. It's a blistering read! There's a ferocious and brooding intensity that drives the plot along that I haven't come across in many books. The dialogue gets straight to the point, the characters are nicely developed over the course of the novel and the plot never drags. It's a real pageturner and it's easy to see why it's considered a classic.

IS IT A SCI-FI CLASSIC?Sure, it has aliens, spaceships and all that sci-fi stuff, but it's a little misleading to even classify Ender's Game as strictly sci-fi, as some non sci-fi readers may be put off and miss out on what is a truly thought-provoking study on the human condition—as well as some profound revelations on the nature of war.

This is the cover for my edition of the book.

Don't be mistaken, this is a dark, dark book. Judging by the cover, I was expecting some kiddie, nice and clean easygoing read, or some Harry Potter-level stuff, but boy was I wrong! Never judge a book by its cover.

SO WHAT'S GOOD?
The ending. And I'm talking about the very, very last chapter of the book where we learn of the poignant and heartbreaking revelation about an important aspect of the novel. What is it? Obviously I'm not going to spoil it, but I can tell you that it's a statement on the nature of war, tolerance and compassion—and it's truly moving. Even now, I cry just thinking about it.

All the chapters preceding this moment are fairly good  (an easy 4-star book in my mind), but it never truly soars any higher to make it a "classic"—something that would linger in the mind for years to come, until the ending.

The ending makes the book great, because great books aren't just there to entertain you, they should also say something to you.

ONE LAST THING...

Anyone familiar with the book will also know about the controversy surrounding the author's strong anti-gay views. If you're wondering if that will prevent you from enjoying the book (whether you agree with him or not)—well, I already knew about Card's views before reading the book, but that didn't stop me from devouring it and recognizing it as an important work of fiction.

Thanks for reading. If you've read the book, let me know what you thought of it (and if the author's anti-gay views affected your reading of it) in the comments below.

BOOKS I'M CURRENTLY READING 
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Leather to the Corinthians by Tom Lucas
Surrender To You by C.S. Janey

BOOKS I'M PLANNING TO READ
Bitterroot by Destiny Allison
Prodigy of Rainbow Tower by Charles E. Yallowitz 
Night Bells by L.M. Sherwin
Highmage's Plight by D.H. Aire
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

Thanks for reading!
 
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Until next time, something wonderful awaits!

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