From Orson Scott Card Wiki

Ender's Game (1985) is the best-known novel by Orson Scott Card, set in a future where mankind is facing annihilation by an alien society, the insectoid "Buggers" (more formally known as "Formics"). Having barely survived two separate Bugger invasions, humanity is obliged to accept the rule of a heavy-handed hegemony and select children are sent into military training at a very young age to supply commanders for their fleets in hopes of surviving a projected third invasion.

The book originated as a science fiction novelette in Analog magazine (1977) and Card later expanded the novel into the Ender's Game series, dealing with the long-term results of the war.

Contents 1 Story Summary 2 Praise 3 Story Details 4 Awards

[edit] Story Summary

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.

But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military's purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine's abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.

While Valentine and Peter are away writing and seducing politicians on the world, Ender is in space undergoing an immense amount of training.

Newsday said of this novel "Card has done strong work before, but this could be the book to break him out of the pack." It was. Ender's Game took the sf world by storm, sweeping the awards. It won both the Hugo and Nebula, and rose to the top of national bestseller lists.

[edit] Praise

"Card understands the human condition and has things of real value to say about it. He tells the truth well -- ultimately the only criterion of greatness. ENDER'S GAME will still be finding new readers when ninety-nine percent of the books published this year are completely forgotten." - Gene Wolfe

"A gripping tale of adventure in space and a scathing indictment of the military mind. Recommended." - Library Journal

"The games are fierce and consistently exciting. The cast...offers memorable characters....And the aliens leave an intriguing heritage to mankind." - Locus

". . . an affecting novel full of surprises that seem inevitable once they are explained. The key, of course, is Ender Wiggin himself. Mr. Card never makes the mistake of patronizing or sentimentalizing his hero. Alternately likable and insufferable, his is a convincing little Napoleon in short pants." - The New York Times Book Review

[edit] Story Details

Warning: Plot or ending details follow

[edit] Awards

Nebula Award - Best Novel, 1985
Hugo Award - Best Novel, 1986
Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award - Best Novel, 1986