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Ender's Game (Ender Quartet) | 
 enlarge | Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Tor Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $0.87
You Save: $14.08 (94%)
New (35) Used (46) Collectible (2) from $0.87
Rating:  2533 reviews
Sales Rank: 67178
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0312853238
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780312853235
ASIN: 0312853238
Publication Date: August 15, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Good shape, medium wear.
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Amazon.com Review
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.p Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. Back on Earth, Peter and Valentine forge an intellectual alliance and attempt to change the course of history.p This futuristic tale involves aliens, political discourse on the Internet, sophisticated computer games, and an orbiting battle station. Yet the reason it rings true for so many is that it is first and foremost a tale of humanity; a tale of a boy struggling to grow up into someone he can respect while living in an environment stripped of choices. IEnder's Game/I is a must-read book for science fiction lovers, and a key conversion read for their friends who "don't read science fiction."p IEnder's Game/I won both the Hugo and the Nebula the year it came out. Writer Orson Scott Card followed up this honor with the first-time feat of winning both awards again the next year for the sequel, iSpeaker for the Dead/i. I--Bonnie Bouman/I
Product Description
DIVBWinner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards/BBRBRIn order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut#8212;young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.BRBREnder's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. BRBRIs Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers 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 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.BR/DIV
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2528 more reviews...
 A child is humanity's last best hope November 23, 2008
Diane Gallant (Pennsylvania)
An alien species has twice attacked earth and nearly destroyed humanity, and now a third war is fast approaching. The hero of this story is a young boy with extraordinary military gifts. Ender Wiggin has a natural ability to plan and carry out strategy in three-dimensional space, but along with this, Ender has another, rarer quality: the right balance of empathy and self-sacrifice that enable him to act in the service of humanity (rather than himself), combined with a ruthlessness to do whatever is necessary to win not only the present war, but all future wars as well. (This is in contrast to his siblings, both of whom share Ender's remarkable strategic abilities; but while Ender's brother is cruel and sociopathic, his sister is soft-hearted, and neither would make a suitable soldier.) br / br /Ender is removed from his family at the age of six and sent to the multi-national Battle School, where along with mundane subjects like math and history, students plan and act out mock battles in gravity-free chambers. Ender rises through the ranks more quickly than the other boys, making friends and enemies along the way, and graduates to Command School not a day too soon (and possibly, he is told, a few years too late). At Command School, the battle games reach a new level, and the eleven-year-old Ender learns that he is humanity's last best hope. (Meanwhile, back on earth, nations are threatening one another with war, and Ender's remarkable adolescent siblings are hatching a plot to rule the world.) br / br /From this point the story moves fast, taking some interesting turns and revealing some suprises, as Ender learns the about the true nature of the war he is about to enter, and the alien species he must fight. The ending is all at once tragic and hopeful, horrific and ironic.
great book for you and the kids November 19, 2008
Machiavelli (USA)
This is a fantastic book that inspired me to go our and read all of the Orson Scott Card books out there. He is a really talented writer. I heard they are making it into a movie but imdb does not have much on it. I had the pleasure to meet Orson Scott Card one time and why I don't agree with his political views, he was a great guy and remains one of my favorite writers.
The reason I read November 17, 2008
J. Kennedy
Seriously. This book is the reason I ever began to read for pleasure. After a random grab from my English class' book shelf I was hooked. I couldn't begin to describe the many levels this book is amazingly amazing and won't try. But I will say again that this book started it all for me.
Get Into The Game November 17, 2008
Walker Brewer (Baton Rouge)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ender's Game is a great book for all ages and genders. This book is the story of a young boy, Ender, who is blessed with super human intelligence. He is taken to an area in space called Battle School where the government has bred super human commanders. As the boy grows, you go with him on his journey where the adults isolate him and destroys every last mental gate so that the government can use him as the ultimate weapon. This book is a great book for someone who doesn't like books that take their time. This book jumps right into the action and engrosses the reader through the whole story. From when Ender is a six year old boy trying to fight his way through simulation battles, to when he is twelve years old sending his army into a battle that would save the world. I this book think could be a considered a classic. br / Even though Orson Scott Card, a great Sci-Fi writer, has a great choice of words, sometimes his plots can become convoluted. Because he is trying to come up with a new world, parts of the book feel a little bit dense or overworked. In the parts where he is trying write about how Ender learns to fight and how he teaches others are almost too detailed. This wouldn't be a problem with the book since the rest of the book is fast paced. I enjoyed a book with a lot of plot, but, I think that he has created a world that is ingenious. You never feel that he is just rambling. We feel for Ender, even though he has been pushed beyond the brink, and feel he is still loveable and has a great voice. br / In the end, Orson Scott Card has found a way to revolutionize Sci-Fi books. He can explain his world in a way that is meticulous and perfectly crafted. This is a great book and can be enjoyed by everyone. br /
 Great Book November 16, 2008
Alex O (Mt. Prospect, IL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a freshman in high school and I thought that Ender's Game was a fantastic book. Ender is a six year old boy that gets taken into space to be trained for war. While it is hard to believe that a six year old is getting trained for war, it is amazing to read about everything these young children can do. The adults and the world leaders actually believe that the children have potential to help the world, instead of just being worthless children. Orson Scott Card describes the different places and events so well that you really get drawn into the book. It makes you feel as if you are there with the characters watching the story unravel itself. Card also brings in many different challenges and he shows how Ender copes with all the difficulties. An example is that Ender had many people that hated him and even wanted to kill him. When these people attacked Ender, he had no choice but to fight back. Even though his enemies were all bigger, stronger, and older than him he was still able to beat them by using his amazing strategist skills. All of the different plot twists makes the book very interesting and you never get bored while you read it. The book also shows how a very hostile alien race, the buggers, was planning to kill all of the humans, and take over Earth had some kind-hearted members that wanted to live in peace with the humans. Ender found a queen from the bugger race that survived and wanted to rebuild the bugger race to live in peace with the humans. This relates to our world today because it shows us that we should not stereotype against a group of people because even though some people are hostile it does not mean that every person with the same ethnicity is hostile.
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