Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card


Ender’s military training begins before most of us are ready to give up playing with dolls or building forts in the back yard with our friends. In Ender’s world such childish things are not made for children. Children are made to defend Earth from a pending attack. Military training is comprised of games that the tiny soldiers play to hone their strategic thinking and reasoning. Ender soon realizes that the teachers at his military school have more than basic training in mind.

This book strikes a chord with the reader, not because the reader has been in a similar situation, but because Ender’s struggle is one that is universal. How do we judge between right and wrong when those around us live in the gray? Are we still culpable for our actions when we are not aware of the outcomes they produce? How can we rectify the wrongs that we have committed and still continue to live productive lives? We may ask these questions as adults, but Ender must come to terms with these same questions as a young boy.

The plot, at times repetitive and predictable, is not the redeeming piece of this novel. What makes this story so compelling is its ability to stimulate deeper thinking in regards to the responsibility we hold for our own decisions and their ultimate consequence regardless of our intentions.


There are more books related to the Ender story and I will definitely be adding them to my ‘To Read’ list.