Ender's Game

Of course last week I didn't write anything about anything because I was reading Ender's Game and that was filling all my time. I finished Ender's Game Friday night but couldn't write about it. It was too fresh, too powerful. I just wanted to bask in the wonderfulness that is the book. Saturday I got entranced by a new art blog lines and color and of course had to go through the nearly 5 years of archives to find artists I like. I filled four notepad pages with just artists names who's work I want to explore. This meant that I had no time for writing a review. Today I'm back at work and suddenly feel like writing. So without further ado, Ender's Game.

Mention the book Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card to almost anyone who's read it and their eyes will light up. When I mentioned I was reading it, I had a ton of people who told me how much they loved the book. And I can see why. The story follows Andrew "Ender" Wiggins, a young boy who could be the greatest military strategist of all time. At least that's what the government thinks. At six years old he is taken from his family to train on battle strategy games. The commanders set him up as the greatest, alienating him from his classmates, and Ender performs. He rises quickly to the top of his class and graduates well early from the Battle School he attends. At 11 he is moved from Battle School to Command School and is trained on a simulator. He quickly proves himself to be the best at the simulator winning every battle against the alien species called "buggers". But the game is driving him crazy. I won't tell you the ending. Somethings are best discovered individually. But they real question is whether Ender's fragile psyche can hold out long enough for him to lead the troops into battle.

This book was a stunning and somewhat brutal looking into a military society. Ender, young and sensitive, is driven to the point of madness by commanders who are trying to see if they can crack the boy. They need to prove that he is the best general ever but watching them push this fragile young boy is very painful at times. The moment Ender gets comfortable and becomes happy, he is moved from his situation. He is never allowed to keep friends for any length of time and must fight his own battles, often with his own survival at stake. And all the time the military watches him. The description of the battle games, particularly the zero-gravity games, was fascinating. Ender's strategies are constantly evolving and we are given a chance to see his brilliance regularly. But we also see how much pain he is being caused.

I actually picked up this book at Jeff's insistance. He had picked it up last time we were at the bookstore and when he was finished, had left it on the table for me with one simple word. "Amazing". I couldn't agree more. Card's writing is fast paced and this book flew for me. Of course that could be because I couldn't put it down. I was interested in the school strategies and the interactions between the students. I grew to love the character of Ender and hate the military commanders. I cried at the end for reasons I won't disclose. This book touched me and angered me and thrilled me. A wonderful combination of action and emotion. And one of the best SciFi novels I have read in a long time. The next time someone mentions that they are reading Ender's Game, my eyes will light up and I'll start spouting about how much I loved the book.