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Book Review: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 2:39PM Ender’s Game (1985) by Orson Scott Card
Sonar X10 brought this book home from the school library last week. I love his school library and its librarian. They have a fantastic collection, targeted so well to 10-12 year olds. Every time I go in there (which is every week when I volunteer) I find some new treasure and love the librarian even more. I’m not sure what compelled me to read this one, other than that it was here, and I’ve heard a lot about it.
This science fiction novel depicts an Earth after repelling a violent invasion by an insectoid alien species, viciously called The Buggers. The technology is more advanced and global politics are settled into treaties of cooperation based on the threat of a return invasion. Enough time has passed since the previous invasion that the political treaties are growing uneasy, and political leaders are making shifts to prepare for what will happen on Earth after the end of the Bugger threat.
In the previous war, a single hero is credited with repelling the overwhelming alien attack. Only through the ruthless ingenuity of Mazer Rackham was the Earth saved. Believing that a similar leader will be necessary in a future war, children are carefully screened on Earth to try to find that hero of the future. Promising child geniuses are then removed from their families to be trained in near-Earth orbit at Battle School. This brutal environment turns bright children into soldiers from age 6 to 10, then sends them off for duty experience before Command School in the mid-teens. For main character Ender Wiggam, six years old at the opening of the story and the most promising current candidate for leadership—and perhaps the Earth’s last hope as the enemy returns—his training is both more brutal and more accelerated than any other student has ever experienced.
The story is violent. Through “games” the children are trained in tactics and shaped into the defenders of the Earth. The manipulation of Ender, in particular, by Graff, the head of the Battle School, is horrible, and nearly destroys Ender, even as it achieves its desired outcome. Does the end justify the means?
My main problem with this story is the credibility of the internal lives of the children. Yes, these are supposed to be the most brilliant children on Earth, and Ender the cream of the crop, but they speak and act more like young adults. Would children behave this way, under these extreme conditions? I can’t say. I’m troubled by the violence as well, but that violence is a product of the circumstances of the story more than anything else, elevating the idea of children’s brutishness to an acute level.
The turn toward hope and reconciliation at the end of the novel does not come about in any way that I expected, and feels somewhat disconnected from the rest of the story. But that hopefulness reiterates that Ender’s suitability for his role exceeds any of his handlers’ imagination of him.
The stark violence of Ender’s Game reminded me of some moments in The Giver, and these would be interesting novels to consider together, with their different visions of a future manipulated for the best outcomes. In particular, comparing the sanitary environment of the Battle School here, to the utopia/dystopia of The Giver could lead to some interesting comparisons. In each case, there is something sinister and ugly that is unseen under a veneer of positive control and order.
Sonar X10 read the first few pages and didn’t care for the tone of the book. He was initially confused by the dual lines of narrative—one from the perspective of Ender, one from the perspective of his handlers, but even a clarification of the structure did not make him want to engage the tone of violence apparent in the story right from the start.
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Reader Comments (2)
I love this book! Maybe a touch heavy for an x10, but let him have another crack at it in a year or two.
Great review!
Yeah, great books but I agree that it is a bit heavy the x10. I'd even go so far as to suggest shelving it till 10th grade. I think he will get a much greater appreciation of it.