Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Where Did I Get This Book?: I was recommended Ender’s Game by a fellow roleplayer way back when, a psychology major who went by BlackRainbow. I had heard of the book beforehand, naturally, but it was his blurb about it that convinced me it was worth a read.
Why Did I Choose This Book?: Card’s writing is very powerful. His characterisation of Ender and others in the book is so crisp that, even having had the book for the last ten years, I’ve read it just about once a year, and I always find something new in the reading of it.
The Story’s Strengths: Whether or not Card shares the humanistic skills Ender has, there are real, huge and important insights into humanity to be found in this book. Ender as a character is compelling, as is the story itself – there’s a sense of real threat in the plot, and very real reaction to the situations it presents. The sense of truth in the entirety of the story is tangible, which is something rare in fiction; suspension of disbelief is one thing, but true belief in the people and the reality of the story is entirely another.
The Story’s Weaknesses: Length. I know this may be a subjective thing, and given the book’s age, and current fiction’s trend toward thousand-page epics, sitting just over 300 pages and in large font, the story feels short. Given the number of times I’ve read it, I can get through it in about two days – but I’m quick. It’s a straightforward story, granted, with a number of twists, but when the end hits, it really feels like there ought to be more – and there is. Speaker for the Dead, the second book in the quartet, is where the real story begins. While there’s much human value in Ender’s Game, it’s a prologue. That’s the only let down. But then, there are three more books.
Why I’m Recommending This Book: I’ve never failed to get new value from the reading of this series. There aren’t a lot of series, or even single titles, I can read repeatedly and never lose touch with – this book, and its subsequent sries, are at the top of the yearly read list. Composition, brilliant description, character development – there’s so much good in this book, such a density of truly impressive genius, that I’ve never failed to see the beauty in the world for weeks on end after having read it.
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