Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

[keilexandra]

Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
324 pages (paperback)
Genre: Fiction/SF

Meet Ender Wiggins, child general-slash-genius. He's going to save the world, as long as his siblings Valentine (kind Val) and Peter (sociopathic schemer) don't destroy it first.

I liked this a lot. I definitely didn't love it. Why? Well, it's very male. Other than that, I can't quite say. I do like "school stories" a lot, and Ender's training takes up a good portion of the novel. I wished for more politics, especially more of Val/Demosthenes. The Val/Peter dynamic was fascinating. By the way: don't be fooled by the child protagonist. This really is not YA.

Recommended to SF readers of both genders, because this is a worthwhile classic. I would avoid researching the author, though, as his political views tend toward the akljfksjdfhdsf side.

Comments

[yhlee]

Guiltily, this is still one of my favorite sf stories, although I actually prefer the short story version. But yes, very male.

[keilexandra]

Oh, I didn't know there was a short-story version! What parts did he cut/add?

[yhlee]

I'm pretty sure Valentine and Peter didn't exist at all in the short story version--it was very, very tightly focused on the Battle School and what came after, IIRC. But it's been a while so I may be misremembering details.

[keilexandra]

Aww, I loved Val. And the whole Internet-pseudonym subplot in general.

[mrissa]

Why do you say it's not YA? (I'm not saying it is. I'm just curious.)

[keilexandra]

It's interesting because I actually had written down YA in my notes, but when I went to post this, I paused and said to myself, "No. That's not right."

I can see how one might make a cogent argument for classifying it as YA. But to me, the feel and the themes are mature (not in the sexual way, just... well, I don't know exactly). Part of my reaction may stem from the fact that if I had read this book as a kid, I don't think I would have liked it nearly as much as I did nowadays. But then, I still "count" as YA mainstream audience, don't I? Sigh. Age faster, self.