Ender's Game

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

I confess that I’m not that much of a Science-Fiction fan.  To me, it seems like every Science-Fiction book 1) Takes place In the distant future (unless it’s in a galaxy far, far away) 2) Involves interplanetary travel, and 3) Revolves around a society where the masses aren’t too happy for whatever strange reason. 

Ender’s Game fits into all three of these categories.  It takes place on Earth sometime in the future, and the biggest worry is a repeat of an alien invasion by a group of extra-terrestrials known as The Buggers.  Therefore, it’s society’s main goal to do everything to repel such an invasion if a repeat is to occur.  We must not let The Buggers destroy the planet (and other surrounding planets where humans live – I think).

Specifically, the Earth must have some smart soldiers to command our galactic fleet.  Very smart.  How smart?  Well, it seems that selective breeding is even done between sets of genius parents.  One group of parents breed a couple of kids who are very close to being “able”, but their two children aren’t quite the caliber needed.   They come close, however, so  this set of parents are allowed to breed a third child – practically unheard of in this future world, and little Ender Wiggin is born.

By the time Ender is only six years old, he’s recruited into Space School. He’s been “observed” since his birth, and this kid does, in fact, have what it takes.  He’s not forced to go to this school, but he’s highly encouraged.  The human race, after all, needs someone like Ender.  So he has to leave his parents and older siblings.  This really isn’t that big of a deal – the only family member he really cares about is big sister Valentine.  His older brother resents him so much that he’s constantly beaten and bullied, so there’s no love lost there.  So Ender is now off to learn how to beat The Buggers in Space School.

Space School isn’t really a happy place either.  There’s many other kids there as well.  Ender is young for his advanced abilities, so he’s placed with older kids.  Older kids mostly resent him just as his brother did, so Ender gets picked on a lot.  The Powers That Be realize this, but they’re o.k. with it.  After all, they’re teaching this boy to be a fighter.  Plus, he’s homesick.  A little, anyway.  A lot of time at school is not necessarily spent on study, but rather on “battle” games.  There are a lot of these games within these pages.  I envisioned these things looking like the lazer tag games that kids today play at the pizza parlor – only without gravity.  They’re in space, remember.  So, after each and every game, Ender “learns” something to help him on his way to becoming a leader in the field of space battle.

After he’s at school for about five years, the head honchos (who observe everything these kids do all the time, it seems), decide that Ender is now ready for “Command” School even though, like when he first arrived at Space School, he’s extremely young.  So Ender arrives at some other galactic post, and many of the same types of lessons are taught.

This book was a very quick read.  By the time I only had about fifty or so pages left, I began to worry that this book was going to leave the reader hanging  (I think there are 4 other “Ender” books, and didn’t want to have to read 4 more to figure out the conclusion), yet the author actually brings the story to a very satisfactory ending.  Anytime you’re transported to a Sci-Fi world, you’re never going to know everything there is to know about your new surroundings, but I was happy with Ender’s “ending”.

I also found it kind of neat (and eerie) that although this book was written in 1985, this futuristic world featured devices similar to what people use today.  Things such as portable work stations that people used called “Desks”, that seemed to function exactly the way that laptop computers operate.  Society uses these “desks” to globally communicate with others through something called “Nets”.  Whoa. There’s another scary coincidence.   Maybe author Orson Scott Card knew things 30 years ago that no one else did?

I was also very pleased that this book was only about 300 pages or so.  I can see where another author could take such a story and drag it into the same tale, yet take twice as many pages which would probably have put me to sleep.  As I write this, a long awaited film adaptation has just been released (starring Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley).  Of course, most seem to really like the movie except the purists.  

I wouldn’t mind reading the other four books some day.