Book Cover
PAGES
Pages: 324
Audio: 11 hours
POINTS TO REMEMBER
BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
Card, O. S. (1985). Ender's game. New York, NY/USA. Tor Books.
PAGES
Pages: 324
Audio: 11 hours
PURCHASING OPTIONS
Hardcover $13.49
Paperback $7.69
Paperback $7.69
NOOK $7.99
Audiobook $33.56
Audiobook $33.56
Kindle $7.99
Hardcover $8.48
Hardcover $8.48
Paperback $7.98
Mass Market Paperback from $7.19
Audio CD $15.74
Audio CD $15.74
ANNOTATION
Ender is a six year old who is asked to do the impossible-save humanity.
SUMMARY
At the age of six Ender is taken to a space military based where he will tested to his limits and taught the ways of combat. Why? Because he is a genius, and because the world is preparing for the third invasion of the buggers. Humans were able to repel the last two time, but they are afraid that they won't be able to do it again. That is why they need Ender. He is their last hope. If he can't do it, then no one will be able to, and the human race is doomed to extinction.
Thus, Ender is put through the most grueling tasks, isolated, bullied, and manipulated. He is hated by most of his fellow comrades and his brother. His leaders are all but neutral to his personally well-being other than his ability to become the leader they need. The only love Ender has to hold onto is that of his sister's, Valentine. All of this is to see where his limits are and if he is up to the challenge of leading earths fleets into the the war that will decide humankind's fate. Ender's life is not his own. Only if he is successful will he ever get the chance to claim his life for his own.
MY REVIEW
Ender's Game is a science fiction is a suspenseful, psychologically thrilling tale. My heart broke for Ender as I watched him be stretched to the limit without regard to his personal well-being all for the greater good. This book displays the damaging effects of war with no filter. The idea of using children to destroy an entire alien planet is a symbolic way of posing the question of what we are willing to do and the limits we are willing to cross in war and to save humankind. Is it right to ruin legions of children's lives to save humankind?
Ender's Game is an out-of-this-world experience where the reader is lost in space and to time. At times I felt like I was right by Ender in the battles and simulations, my heart racing as if I was the one cornered and threatened. As a parent, my heart broke to see a young child of six years be asked to do what adult couldn't do. Orson Scott Card has written a science fiction story that will last for many more years to come.
I experience this book via audiobook, which created a very life-like experience that was magnified by the many different voice actors used for the audio recording. The recording was very well done and in a way that did not confuse me as the reader.
RATING
Quality: Gold
Popularity: Emerald
Ender is a six year old who is asked to do the impossible-save humanity.
SUMMARY
At the age of six Ender is taken to a space military based where he will tested to his limits and taught the ways of combat. Why? Because he is a genius, and because the world is preparing for the third invasion of the buggers. Humans were able to repel the last two time, but they are afraid that they won't be able to do it again. That is why they need Ender. He is their last hope. If he can't do it, then no one will be able to, and the human race is doomed to extinction.
Thus, Ender is put through the most grueling tasks, isolated, bullied, and manipulated. He is hated by most of his fellow comrades and his brother. His leaders are all but neutral to his personally well-being other than his ability to become the leader they need. The only love Ender has to hold onto is that of his sister's, Valentine. All of this is to see where his limits are and if he is up to the challenge of leading earths fleets into the the war that will decide humankind's fate. Ender's life is not his own. Only if he is successful will he ever get the chance to claim his life for his own.
MY REVIEW
Ender's Game is a science fiction is a suspenseful, psychologically thrilling tale. My heart broke for Ender as I watched him be stretched to the limit without regard to his personal well-being all for the greater good. This book displays the damaging effects of war with no filter. The idea of using children to destroy an entire alien planet is a symbolic way of posing the question of what we are willing to do and the limits we are willing to cross in war and to save humankind. Is it right to ruin legions of children's lives to save humankind?
Ender's Game is an out-of-this-world experience where the reader is lost in space and to time. At times I felt like I was right by Ender in the battles and simulations, my heart racing as if I was the one cornered and threatened. As a parent, my heart broke to see a young child of six years be asked to do what adult couldn't do. Orson Scott Card has written a science fiction story that will last for many more years to come.
I experience this book via audiobook, which created a very life-like experience that was magnified by the many different voice actors used for the audio recording. The recording was very well done and in a way that did not confuse me as the reader.
RATING
Quality: Gold
Popularity: Emerald
GENRE & SUB GENRES
Science Fiction
Fiction
Young Adult
Fantasy
Fiction
Young Adult
Fantasy
APPEAL FACTORS
Card
BOOKTALKING
The manipulation used to isolate and test Ender.
The moral implications of training children in military combat and using them to fight a war.
The likenesses and differences between Peter, Valentine, and Ender.
Ender's abiliy to empathize with his enemies is both a gift and a curse for Ender.
Humanity's instinct for survival vs. humanity's ability to show empathy
The irony of the humans' fear of the buggers and obsession to destroy them before they buggers came to destroy them.
DISCUSSION POINTS
Discuss the complicated relationship between Peter, Valentine, and Ender.
Is it okay to cross moral boundaries to save humankind? Why or why not?
Do you think it was right to destroy the buggars? Do you think it was okay that they did not let Ender know that he wasn't "playing" but actually fighting a war?
Ender is in many ways a victim in the story, and he is frequently aware of this but continues to go along with it. Why do you think he does this?
Do you believe Ender holds responsibility in destroying the bugger planet, and if so, to what level and why?
If you were in Ender's shoes how would you have reacted when you found out that the "game" was really an actual war and that you had just destroyed an entire alien race?
What was the significance of the deceptive work Peter and Valentine did while Ender was fighting the war?
In what ways are Peter and Ender alike. How they are different?
WHY THIS BOOK?
I have many friends who have said that this was their favorite book of all time. I also saw the movie that came out years ago, and I wanted to read the book but never got around to it. This was the ideal time to have an excuse to read the book.
THE AUTHOR
Orson Scott Card
Card
BOOKTALKING
The manipulation used to isolate and test Ender.
The moral implications of training children in military combat and using them to fight a war.
The likenesses and differences between Peter, Valentine, and Ender.
Ender's abiliy to empathize with his enemies is both a gift and a curse for Ender.
Humanity's instinct for survival vs. humanity's ability to show empathy
The irony of the humans' fear of the buggers and obsession to destroy them before they buggers came to destroy them.
DISCUSSION POINTS
Discuss the complicated relationship between Peter, Valentine, and Ender.
Is it okay to cross moral boundaries to save humankind? Why or why not?
Do you think it was right to destroy the buggars? Do you think it was okay that they did not let Ender know that he wasn't "playing" but actually fighting a war?
Ender is in many ways a victim in the story, and he is frequently aware of this but continues to go along with it. Why do you think he does this?
Do you believe Ender holds responsibility in destroying the bugger planet, and if so, to what level and why?
If you were in Ender's shoes how would you have reacted when you found out that the "game" was really an actual war and that you had just destroyed an entire alien race?
What was the significance of the deceptive work Peter and Valentine did while Ender was fighting the war?
In what ways are Peter and Ender alike. How they are different?
WHY THIS BOOK?
I have many friends who have said that this was their favorite book of all time. I also saw the movie that came out years ago, and I wanted to read the book but never got around to it. This was the ideal time to have an excuse to read the book.
THE AUTHOR
Orson Scott Card
REVIEWS
SIMILAR TITLES/AUTHORS
Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
Gateway by Frederik Pohl
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
AWARDS
Hugo Award for Best Novel 1986
Nebula Award for Best Novel 1985
New York Times Bestseller
Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
Gateway by Frederik Pohl
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
AWARDS
Hugo Award for Best Novel 1986
Nebula Award for Best Novel 1985
New York Times Bestseller
- Children Soldiers
- Space Wars
- Sacrifice for the greater good of humankind
Comments
Post a Comment