Ender’s Game (book review)

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I’ve never been a sci-fi reader. Sure, I’ve read some here and there, but most of my sci-fi exposure has been with movies and TV, not books. A quick look at my humble library confirmed it… I had no sci-fi books (I do remember having the Admiral Thrawn trilogy at my old home).

I decided to rectify the situation in the 3rd quarter of 2007 by attempting to get into the genre. I read top lists, checked reviews, and asked around (though I knew relatively few sci-fi readers personally). The book Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card constantly sprang-up, and knowing that any book I chose at that point would be as good as any other, I decided to get that.

Ender’s Game is about a super-genius boy named Ender Wiggins (yes, the name sounds pansy) who at a young age was forced into a special training school to prepare him in his role as “protector of humanity”. The book starts off with the “I am a genius and thus I am bullied” theme, followed by the “government/military handpicks you as ‘The One’ that may ultimately save all humanity” theme, and then Ender is whisked to the “top secret training school where all elites are trained for the ultimate conflict”. This part is where most of the book’s pages are dedicated to.

In this “school for the elite”, Ender faces more of the same as well as the task of proving his salt, gaining acceptance and respect, and the slow revealation of what “The Man” expects out of him in the end. With each positive thing that happens to Ender, something else goes wrong or a new plot twist is introduced (which kinda reminds me of the “Princess Sarah” anime).

I’ll stop here and let the rest of the story take it’s natural course, but I would like to state a major point in this review… those last two paragraphs pretty much describe the bulk of the book. The events are individually interesting (at least some are), but overall, things just seem to be your run of the mill coming of age story. It’s not that it’s entirely predictable (some parts are, some aren’t), it’s just that when all is said and done the whole thing feels thin.

The journey, however, can be quite engrossing. I can immediately see how nerds in their childhood can relate to Ender, but the empathy goes just a tad further than that. As you grow older, you tend to lose the connection with the youth, forgetting what it meant to be young. If you think about it, Ender’s serious and thoughtful demanor is not simply due to his way-above average intellect (athough it partly is), it’s more of how the younger ones see the world and what they hold dear. Adults may find it unlikely or silly that a boy would think of the things Ender did, but they do. Kids see things differently, and most of us saw things the same way at one point or another in our young lives (on the assumption that you’re one of the so-called relatively ‘old farts’ like me).

Which leads to my other major point… it is this aspect that makes the book special in spite of the weaknesses I mentioned earlier. What the book lacks in sophistication of plot, it makes up for in empathy. It’s not extremely well done, but it was enough to keep me reading, urging me to get to the next page and see what will happen next, being by Ender’s side in his endeavors.

This type of storytelling, however, is not for everyone by definition. Not all people will be able to relate to Ender, and thus the book may ultimately fail on them. To those who do empathize, the plot/story will matter less than the ongoing experience, and thus the book may be successful. If all you’re after is plot and story… well… there’s not much of that in this book.

If you read the preface/introduction, Orson Scott Card acknowledges that Ender’s Game was originally a short-story converted to a novel, and it shows. Some plot aspects are cliche, some parts feel like fillers or were forced. The core story that is Ender’s “coming of age”, however, will draw some of you into a trip down memory lane where you will reminice in your own similar plights, celebrate with him in each triumph, and root for him to succeed with each challenge. This will not happen to all of you, but it will to some.

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March 14, 2008 | Filed Under books, review | 2 Comments 

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