by Orson Card Scott
Why did you choose this book? This was a book club pic
When did you read this book? July 2012
Who should read this book? fans of young adult dystopian fiction
Source: library
Here is a synopsis of Ender’s Game from Goodreads, where it rates 4.24 stars.
Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games at the Battle School; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. Ender is the most talented result of Earth's desperate quest to create the military genius that the planet needs in its all-out war with an alien enemy.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? The only way to find out is to throw the child into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.
But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Formics has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways.
Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
My Review
I read this book for my book club. I think this may be the first book we’ve read that no one really disliked! The book is dystopian fiction, set in the future. Many years earlier the Earth was attacked and nearly wiped out by an alien species known as ‘Buggers’. When all looked hopeless, a hero arose and defeated the Buggers, at least for now. However, the Buggers are still out there and the Earthlings are preparing. Part of that preparation is finding and training the next hero. Families are almost always limited to two children, but Ender is a Third. Both his sister and brother showed promise as the next hero, but ultimately were eliminated as possibilities. But the promise was enough to permit Ender’s parents to have a third child, with the hope that HE would be ‘the one’!
Fast forward: Ender is now six and things are looking good. He is chosen to leave his family and enter training at a distant battle school. He is not permitted to have contact with the outside world and has practice battles with other children who show promise. He basically is asked to sacrifice his childhood and ‘save the world’. While parts of this story drag a bit, there are other parts that are full of action, and the ending is pretty surprising!
Did I love this story? No, but I also didn’t hate it. I think one of the problems is that this is a ‘classic’ and I had high expectations going in. While it was a good story, it didn’t ‘blow me away’! But it IS a good story, and it made a great book club selection. My book spent a lot of time discussing the book. We are a pretty ‘social’ book club and the book often isn’t the main focus of the morning, so this was quite an accomplishment! If you are looking for a sci-fi book that leads to a good discussion, try Ender’s Game!
And if you like the book you may be interested in this. The movie is in the works. You can find out more about production at the ‘Ender’s Game Blog’ by the producers of the movie.
My Rating: ★★★ 3 Stars
Why did you choose this book? This was a book club pic
When did you read this book? July 2012
Who should read this book? fans of young adult dystopian fiction
Source: library
Here is a synopsis of Ender’s Game from Goodreads, where it rates 4.24 stars.
Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games at the Battle School; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. Ender is the most talented result of Earth's desperate quest to create the military genius that the planet needs in its all-out war with an alien enemy.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? The only way to find out is to throw the child into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.
But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Formics has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways.
Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
My Review
I read this book for my book club. I think this may be the first book we’ve read that no one really disliked! The book is dystopian fiction, set in the future. Many years earlier the Earth was attacked and nearly wiped out by an alien species known as ‘Buggers’. When all looked hopeless, a hero arose and defeated the Buggers, at least for now. However, the Buggers are still out there and the Earthlings are preparing. Part of that preparation is finding and training the next hero. Families are almost always limited to two children, but Ender is a Third. Both his sister and brother showed promise as the next hero, but ultimately were eliminated as possibilities. But the promise was enough to permit Ender’s parents to have a third child, with the hope that HE would be ‘the one’!
Fast forward: Ender is now six and things are looking good. He is chosen to leave his family and enter training at a distant battle school. He is not permitted to have contact with the outside world and has practice battles with other children who show promise. He basically is asked to sacrifice his childhood and ‘save the world’. While parts of this story drag a bit, there are other parts that are full of action, and the ending is pretty surprising!
Did I love this story? No, but I also didn’t hate it. I think one of the problems is that this is a ‘classic’ and I had high expectations going in. While it was a good story, it didn’t ‘blow me away’! But it IS a good story, and it made a great book club selection. My book spent a lot of time discussing the book. We are a pretty ‘social’ book club and the book often isn’t the main focus of the morning, so this was quite an accomplishment! If you are looking for a sci-fi book that leads to a good discussion, try Ender’s Game!
And if you like the book you may be interested in this. The movie is in the works. You can find out more about production at the ‘Ender’s Game Blog’ by the producers of the movie.
My Rating: ★★★ 3 Stars
my hubby loves this one, but I couldn't get into it. THanks for review though.
ReplyDeleteBrandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog