Ender's Game

This is my first Orson Scott Card and I have read this book at warp speed. In its introduction OSC states his inspiration from Asimov’s Foundation, but I could not help comparing the beginnings of this read with either the story behind Heinlein’s Starship Troopers or what Starfleet cadets must go through until they reach the Kobayashi Maru final test. It is a bit of both actually but with lifelike multidimensional characters within an intense, compelling and disturbing story.

Ender is a nickname for a 6-year-old boy bred and recruited to become a military leader to wage a war against some bugs. To this end, Ender goes to a school to be submitted to war and mind games people play in this situation.

How would you feel if at 6 years old you were sent to some distant school, away from your parents, brother and beloved sister to become part of a system to confront yourself against yourself when the only interest you ever had was to learn how it feels to have a friend? Upon experiencing this story, you will feel the friendship Ender provides. You will also feel the camaraderie and the jealousies surrounding him, the respect he projects and commands, the loneliness of his manipulated isolation and his ascent to greatness and descent into hell. In fact, you will feel for Ender through each page of the book. Finally, you will feel intense satisfaction to have read one of the cornerstones of solid sci-fi storytelling.