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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
Ender’s Game is definitely NOT my usual cup of tea. This was another book club pick that I read solely for the fact that it was for book club, otherwise I likely never would have read it. I’d certainly heard of it, but I’m not really a sci-fi fan so it never really interested me. I will say that the story was in fact interesting, but it also dragged A LOT for me.
So. The story takes place sometime in the future where child geniuses are bred to combat the “buggers,” a hostile alien race. Certain children are selected to attend the Battle School, in space, to learn how to fight in the upcoming third invasion, but no child has been deemed worthy enough yet of being the eventual commander… until Ender Wiggins comes along. Ender is only six years old when he leaves his family for Battle School, but is already a genius who seemingly has what Earth and the human race needs to survive. He quickly moves up the ranks, and in his practice battles with fellow classmates, he NEVER loses. His childhood is gone, but he may be the only one who can save Earth.
I have to say, this book was very cool. I was intrigued by the thought of an orbiting Battle School and children who are bred to fight in an alien war in outer space. Have I mentioned before that I love learning about space and the universe? It fascinates me, though I’m not a sci-fi fan. Even though I went into this book not knowing what I would think since I’m not into sci-fi, I remember being pleasantly surprised when I first started it. Even though this book was written in the 1980′s, it was SO futuristic. The technology they had in the school was very advanced and I am very surprised that Card wrote about such things 30 years ago – very cool!
I also really enjoyed a lot of the characters, particularly Ender. He had such conflict and inner turmoil about what he was doing and I got the sense of really getting to know him as a character. The world he lived in was so crazy… children being sent to outer space for an unknown number of years, children who are brilliant and smarter than most adults… wow.
Despite all of these good things, the book really started to drag for me, and it took me almost a month to complete it! I know that’s only because of my own aversion to sci-fi though, and it caused me to lose interest a bit. I definitely am interested in knowing what happens to Ender but I can’t see myself reading the rest of the series as it took me way too long to finish this one and it began to feel like a chore towards the end.
I can definitely understand why this is a classic. It really is brilliant and fascinating, but it just wasn’t really for me. I am looking forward to watching the movie now, though, and seeing Ender’s world come to life on screen since I had a hard time envisioning some of it.
So. The story takes place sometime in the future where child geniuses are bred to combat the “buggers,” a hostile alien race. Certain children are selected to attend the Battle School, in space, to learn how to fight in the upcoming third invasion, but no child has been deemed worthy enough yet of being the eventual commander… until Ender Wiggins comes along. Ender is only six years old when he leaves his family for Battle School, but is already a genius who seemingly has what Earth and the human race needs to survive. He quickly moves up the ranks, and in his practice battles with fellow classmates, he NEVER loses. His childhood is gone, but he may be the only one who can save Earth.
I have to say, this book was very cool. I was intrigued by the thought of an orbiting Battle School and children who are bred to fight in an alien war in outer space. Have I mentioned before that I love learning about space and the universe? It fascinates me, though I’m not a sci-fi fan. Even though I went into this book not knowing what I would think since I’m not into sci-fi, I remember being pleasantly surprised when I first started it. Even though this book was written in the 1980′s, it was SO futuristic. The technology they had in the school was very advanced and I am very surprised that Card wrote about such things 30 years ago – very cool!
I also really enjoyed a lot of the characters, particularly Ender. He had such conflict and inner turmoil about what he was doing and I got the sense of really getting to know him as a character. The world he lived in was so crazy… children being sent to outer space for an unknown number of years, children who are brilliant and smarter than most adults… wow.
Despite all of these good things, the book really started to drag for me, and it took me almost a month to complete it! I know that’s only because of my own aversion to sci-fi though, and it caused me to lose interest a bit. I definitely am interested in knowing what happens to Ender but I can’t see myself reading the rest of the series as it took me way too long to finish this one and it began to feel like a chore towards the end.
I can definitely understand why this is a classic. It really is brilliant and fascinating, but it just wasn’t really for me. I am looking forward to watching the movie now, though, and seeing Ender’s world come to life on screen since I had a hard time envisioning some of it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
A perfect sci-fi mix of fictional political rise to power, philosophical reflection, military action and everything in between. Writing style keeps you reading on and provokes so many interesting topics while creating a fascinating world to explore them within.
Easy to see why this is a classic. I feel about Ender’s Game the way I do about Romeo and Juliet — it seems so obvious what’s going to happen in the story, but how much is that perception clouded by just how influential the work has been? And even if it is predictable, the story is still incredibly well-told.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
while some things are a bit dated and potentially represent a few cultural misgivings the author held at the time, the plot and the characters make this book one of the few that I’ve read over five times over the course of my life. im certain this latest reading wont be the last, even if the ending leaves something to be desired, and some story beats come off a tad contrived. the overall narrative keeps you engaged and wondering, and theres a lot of satirically dark humor to reflect on. overall its a book that presented itself as a coming of age story to myself as a teen that on reflection is a critique on the nature of warfare as it impacts children as i look further into it. depressing at times and halfheartedly uplifting in some areas. also one of the few books to make me audibly react to some of the information revealed as the story twists and turns.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
I wish I had read this a lot sooner. Flows very well and I would have finished it quicker if I hadn't been busy with work. I also wish I hadn't seen the movie before reading the book because there are some surprises in the end that I already knew would happen and I wish I could have felt surprised by the book.
Also, Orson Scott Card is really...strange. I hope that doesn't deter anyone from reading his material because it is really good stuff regardless of how weird and offensive he is. I am including a Tumblr post about him that feels better than a biography.
Also, Orson Scott Card is really...strange. I hope that doesn't deter anyone from reading his material because it is really good stuff regardless of how weird and offensive he is. I am including a Tumblr post about him that feels better than a biography.
I just found this repetetive. I mean, of course you have to train but it's just one training sequence to a video game play sequence to training sequence. I have watched the movie some years back and it was pretty much the same but actually reading about it, was very joyless for me.
Also these kids are 6 to 7 years old? Why are they so young? So it's easier to mold them into soldiers?
I think this just wasn't my thing.
Also these kids are 6 to 7 years old? Why are they so young? So it's easier to mold them into soldiers?
I think this just wasn't my thing.
Bon … Ne nous cachons pas. C’est pas fou. Et pourtant, le synopsis est vraiment intriguant. Rien de nécessairement original ou grandiose, mais intriguant. Au final ? Comme un arrière goût de déception, de « meh », de « tout ça pour ça ». Pourtant, il y a des concepts très cools: les enfants modifiés génétiquement pour être de bons soldats dés la plus tendre enfance, les deux vagues d’invasion alien, le monde qui vit dans la peur d’une troisième, les chapitres qui commencent tous par une discussion entre comploteurs … C’est bien trouvé.
Mais c’est fade. Voilà, je l’ai dit. Je n’ai rien trouvé d’original, de fun, de différent dans ce livre. Un synopsis peut être utilisé 1000 fois de 1000 manières différentes (les aliens-insectes invasifs rappellent Starship Troopers, par exemple). Mais là, il n’y a pas grand chose de neuf, et le peu qu’il y a est mal exploité. On parle très peu, par exemple, des traumas d’une vie pareille sur les enfants. Les enfants, d’ailleurs, parlent tous comme des adultes (OK, ils sont faits pour), mais sans subtilité. Tout le plot avec le frère et la soeur du héros est mal amené, relégué au second plan, puis remis sur le devant de la scène comme un deus ex machina mal ficelé. Les révélations sont trop brutes. On s’attend au retour du grand héros de guerre.
C’est vraiment dommage, parce que ça aurait pu être un très, très bon livre. Mais ces maladresses, et le fait que je n’arrive pas à me décider à qui ce livre s’adresse (est-ce du YA ?), n’a pas aidé ma lecture. Les suites ne seront pas ma priorité …
Well … Let’s not hide ourselves. It’s not great. Still, the synopsis looked intriguing. Nothing really original or grand, but intriguing. To what end ? An aftertaste of disappointment, of « meh », of « all that fuss for nothing ». Yet, there were very cool concepts: children who are genetically modified to be good soldiers from childhood, the two waves of alien invasions, the world waiting for the third one, all the chapters starting with a conversation between plotters … It’s well found.
But it’s bland. Here, I said it. I found nothing original, fun, different, in this book. A synopsis can be used 1000 times in 1000 different ways (the insect-like invading aliens bring back Starship Troopers, for example). But here, there’s nothing really new, and the few there is is badly used. There is very few about the impact and traumas of this life on children, for example. Kids, incidentally, talk like adults (OK, they are made for it), but without any subtlety. All the plot with the brother and sister of the hero is badly put, in the background for most of the story, then back on the foreground for all to see like a deus ex machina. Revelations are too hasty. We literally see the return of the war hero coming.
It’s too bad, because it could have been an awesome book. But these clumsinesses, and the fact that I cannot decide who’s the public (is it YA ?), did not help my reading. The next volumes won’t be my priority …
Mais c’est fade. Voilà, je l’ai dit. Je n’ai rien trouvé d’original, de fun, de différent dans ce livre. Un synopsis peut être utilisé 1000 fois de 1000 manières différentes (les aliens-insectes invasifs rappellent Starship Troopers, par exemple). Mais là, il n’y a pas grand chose de neuf, et le peu qu’il y a est mal exploité. On parle très peu, par exemple, des traumas d’une vie pareille sur les enfants. Les enfants, d’ailleurs, parlent tous comme des adultes (OK, ils sont faits pour), mais sans subtilité. Tout le plot avec le frère et la soeur du héros est mal amené, relégué au second plan, puis remis sur le devant de la scène comme un deus ex machina mal ficelé. Les révélations sont trop brutes. On s’attend au retour du grand héros de guerre.
C’est vraiment dommage, parce que ça aurait pu être un très, très bon livre. Mais ces maladresses, et le fait que je n’arrive pas à me décider à qui ce livre s’adresse (est-ce du YA ?), n’a pas aidé ma lecture. Les suites ne seront pas ma priorité …
Well … Let’s not hide ourselves. It’s not great. Still, the synopsis looked intriguing. Nothing really original or grand, but intriguing. To what end ? An aftertaste of disappointment, of « meh », of « all that fuss for nothing ». Yet, there were very cool concepts: children who are genetically modified to be good soldiers from childhood, the two waves of alien invasions, the world waiting for the third one, all the chapters starting with a conversation between plotters … It’s well found.
But it’s bland. Here, I said it. I found nothing original, fun, different, in this book. A synopsis can be used 1000 times in 1000 different ways (the insect-like invading aliens bring back Starship Troopers, for example). But here, there’s nothing really new, and the few there is is badly used. There is very few about the impact and traumas of this life on children, for example. Kids, incidentally, talk like adults (OK, they are made for it), but without any subtlety. All the plot with the brother and sister of the hero is badly put, in the background for most of the story, then back on the foreground for all to see like a deus ex machina. Revelations are too hasty. We literally see the return of the war hero coming.
It’s too bad, because it could have been an awesome book. But these clumsinesses, and the fact that I cannot decide who’s the public (is it YA ?), did not help my reading. The next volumes won’t be my priority …