I first watched back in fall of 2013 in theater, without doing a movie review (whoops), and re-watched on July 17, 2019 after reading the book by Orson Scott Card [which I will do the movie review in a little].
I had read a good amount of the books back when I was in High School and was so excited to see it coming out in theaters but had not thought about if it was actually going to be accurate to the book. So in 2019, I bought a copy of the book for cheap at a local thrift store and read it.
"Ender's Game"
Author: Orson Scott Card
Language Read: English
Published: 1985
Genre: Science Fiction
Plot
Humans (Earthlings) are not the only advanced creatures in the universe. There is a race, named the Formics [or nicknamed the "buggers"], that have gotten into a major scuffle with humans. There was a war years ago, lead by the fearless Mazer Rackham, in space between the two species. The war was stopped but humans still lived in fear afterwards because the Formics might come bring the war to Earth and could they survive an at-home fight?
The humans have set down a rule that each family can only have a maximum of 2 children per family, for population control. A family by the name of Wiggin was of interest to the intelligence agency that searched for children that they could mold into a war general. The first born son was named Peter and he didn't match up because of his extreme violent tendency. The second born child was a daughter named Valentine that didn't match up because of her compassionate nature. The government, seeing the way the two children were, hoped that if they authorized a third child, that they would get a good candidate for the military school. So Andrew "Ender" Wiggin was born, third of the Wiggin family. Thirds were not well accepted, however, and he was picked on for years by his brother and by the kids at school. Just when the family thought that he would not be chosen for military school, the military shows up at the house and asks him if he wants to come to join the Battle School (a military training school that is in the Earth's atmosphere). Ender agrees and starts his career in the Battle School.
Most of the story is Ender's life at the Battle School. Could he be the next war general like Mazer Rackham? Why do the other kids still pick on him (is it because they don't like him or are the teachers isolating him for a reason)? Can he survive Battle School? What will his future hold? Will they ever find a chance to beat the buggers and finish the wars completely?
Review
4/5 - This is still one of my most favorite science fiction books I have ever read. True, everything revolves around the military world but that was intentional. I have been raised by an Army father and know that there are things that keep the soldiers on their feet when they are active duty [he would come home exhausted from training on the weekend]. Though I personally was not in the military, the story still made sense to me and the military scenarios did not bother me (unlike what I hear from people that have been in the military). I would give Orson Scott Card a break on it because he himself had not been in the military but had done his research into it.
According to the preface, Orson Scott Card had been written the "Ender's Game" story as a short story, which I have found a hard copy but have not sat down to read. The story was mainly about the battle room and the rest of the story was built to have that included. I have heard people say that the book makes no sense, that the rest of the story is jumbled up and has very little meaning to it, which could be because it was written years after the original section of the story had been published. I don't think it is that bad because in my opinion, the battle room was essential for Ender to show that he could strategize. Actually, it was for any student to show that they could strategize, hold command and get others to follow, etc. If you could show that you were capable of winning battles in the battle room, then you most likely would be able to graduate to Command School. If not, you would take a lower position in the school system or be phased out of Battle School to be sent down to Earth. So for Ender to be pushed to gain command of 40 students, a lot older than him and some younger, that were thrown together into an army that hadn't worked together as a group, that was awesome. To top that off, they pushed him to fight daily or twice daily battles, which had been unheard of. The higher commanding people in the school (especially Graff) were trying to test him and have him on an advanced {and highly sped up} course towards becoming the next Mazer Rackham [the guy who temporarily defeated the Formics like 50 years ago; he had been sent out into space and brought back, where the time traveled was shorter than the time that passed on Earth].
The problem with the 2013 movie [that the book showed with all of the words] was the fact that the advanced course really messed with Ender's emotional, physical and mental state. He never got time to rest and he had a feeling he knew somewhat what they were doing (grooming him for "greatness" and with urgency). The military exploited the fact that he loved his sister, and had blackmail over her because they knew about Valentine/Peter egging on the social media to get a voice heard in public, to get Ender to stay with the program. If they didn't have that blackmail or if he didn't love his sister so much, he might have never continued with the program. But he did and then continued on to Command School on that advanced course, still only about 10 years of age.
The reason that Ender was so good at his job of defeating the Formics was that he was a perfect balance between his violent-tendency brother and his compassion-tendency sister. Ender studied the Formics with all the video that he could get his hands on because knowing your enemy makes it easier to know how to defeat them. He understood them, which made it much easier for him to make that final move, though he didn't know what he was doing. He had been pushed by Mazer for so long, losing the ability to sleep or eat because of the stress that Mazer was pressing on him. It took a lot of effort for him to even make it to "graduation day" which turned out to be the day of the Formic's xenocide. Afterwards, he passed out and cried for days on end because it did affect him so much (but the 2013 movie didn't show).
Orson Scott Card did a very good job at getting into the brain of this child character, showing how much pain he was having though not physically, and makes the reader care for Ender. The relationship development between Ender and the others (Petra, Bean, and Alai especially) even while the teachers were trying to keep Ender isolated made the connections that much more meaningful.
In the end, the relationship with his sister (though slightly strained because he had been isolated from her too) helped him move away from Earth. Some humans wanted him to come back, the hero of humanity. Others saw him as a monster and never wanted him back. The hegemon, his brother Peter taking that position, wanted to welcome him back and to potentially use him as a political power against other countries. Valentine, however, saw through Peter's plan and took the broken-spirited Ender away from Earth to a human colony. With her help, he was able to start forgiving himself and took on the role of the "speaker for the dead", which let him atone for his sin of committing xenocide of the Formic race and gave service to others out there. In fact, the role of speaker for the dead became a huge thing. Ender started it by writing the truth about the Formics and it took hold amongst the humans. Speaker for the dead became a respected role.
Per enderverse.fandom.com 's page on Speaker for the Dead:
It has been many years since I have read the "Speaker for the Dead" but I remember enjoying it thoroughly. It shows that even someone that has done something bad can repent and make a new life for themself, and try to make it better for others. That's what I want to leave this book review at - try not to cause harm to others but always look for self improvement (especially if it can help others later).
That's my book review. I highly recommend this book and am very glad that I have a paper copy of it in my library.
Thank you for reading! I will have at least two more book reviews to post in 2020 (Stieg Larsson's "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Girl That Played With Fire") so keep an eye out for them!
P.S. I also recommend "Ender's Shadow" which is about Ender's friend Bean that was in the Battle School with him and followed him through his military career, even with the graduation day's game. It is a very good remake of "Ender's Game" but still has its own unique viewpoint to not make it merely a remake. I remember thoroughly enjoying it back in High School, though I had already read "Ender's Game".
Also, if you enjoy "Ender's Game", the series continues with "Speaker for the Dead", "Xenocide", and "Children of the Mind", which were all good books as far as I recall. I just heard about "Ender in Exile" that came out in 2008 and have never read it.
There is the political side of the story with "Shadow of the Hegemon", "Shadow Puppets", "Shadow of the Giant", "Shadows in Flight". I never read the Shadow series but might be interested in the future.
I also just found out that there are stories written about the first Formic wars, which sounds more interesting than the Shadow sub-series: "Earth Unaware", "Earth Afire", and "Earth Awakens".
I know, lots of info so here's the Wikipedia on the Ender's Game series books.
I personally recommend at least "Ender's Shadow" or "Ender's Game". You decide from there. :-D
1533.
Plot
Humans (Earthlings) are not the only advanced creatures in the universe. There is a race, named the Formics [or nicknamed the "buggers"], that have gotten into a major scuffle with humans. There was a war years ago, lead by the fearless Mazer Rackham, in space between the two species. The war was stopped but humans still lived in fear afterwards because the Formics might come bring the war to Earth and could they survive an at-home fight?
The humans have set down a rule that each family can only have a maximum of 2 children per family, for population control. A family by the name of Wiggin was of interest to the intelligence agency that searched for children that they could mold into a war general. The first born son was named Peter and he didn't match up because of his extreme violent tendency. The second born child was a daughter named Valentine that didn't match up because of her compassionate nature. The government, seeing the way the two children were, hoped that if they authorized a third child, that they would get a good candidate for the military school. So Andrew "Ender" Wiggin was born, third of the Wiggin family. Thirds were not well accepted, however, and he was picked on for years by his brother and by the kids at school. Just when the family thought that he would not be chosen for military school, the military shows up at the house and asks him if he wants to come to join the Battle School (a military training school that is in the Earth's atmosphere). Ender agrees and starts his career in the Battle School.
Most of the story is Ender's life at the Battle School. Could he be the next war general like Mazer Rackham? Why do the other kids still pick on him (is it because they don't like him or are the teachers isolating him for a reason)? Can he survive Battle School? What will his future hold? Will they ever find a chance to beat the buggers and finish the wars completely?
Review
4/5 - This is still one of my most favorite science fiction books I have ever read. True, everything revolves around the military world but that was intentional. I have been raised by an Army father and know that there are things that keep the soldiers on their feet when they are active duty [he would come home exhausted from training on the weekend]. Though I personally was not in the military, the story still made sense to me and the military scenarios did not bother me (unlike what I hear from people that have been in the military). I would give Orson Scott Card a break on it because he himself had not been in the military but had done his research into it.
According to the preface, Orson Scott Card had been written the "Ender's Game" story as a short story, which I have found a hard copy but have not sat down to read. The story was mainly about the battle room and the rest of the story was built to have that included. I have heard people say that the book makes no sense, that the rest of the story is jumbled up and has very little meaning to it, which could be because it was written years after the original section of the story had been published. I don't think it is that bad because in my opinion, the battle room was essential for Ender to show that he could strategize. Actually, it was for any student to show that they could strategize, hold command and get others to follow, etc. If you could show that you were capable of winning battles in the battle room, then you most likely would be able to graduate to Command School. If not, you would take a lower position in the school system or be phased out of Battle School to be sent down to Earth. So for Ender to be pushed to gain command of 40 students, a lot older than him and some younger, that were thrown together into an army that hadn't worked together as a group, that was awesome. To top that off, they pushed him to fight daily or twice daily battles, which had been unheard of. The higher commanding people in the school (especially Graff) were trying to test him and have him on an advanced {and highly sped up} course towards becoming the next Mazer Rackham [the guy who temporarily defeated the Formics like 50 years ago; he had been sent out into space and brought back, where the time traveled was shorter than the time that passed on Earth].
The problem with the 2013 movie [that the book showed with all of the words] was the fact that the advanced course really messed with Ender's emotional, physical and mental state. He never got time to rest and he had a feeling he knew somewhat what they were doing (grooming him for "greatness" and with urgency). The military exploited the fact that he loved his sister, and had blackmail over her because they knew about Valentine/Peter egging on the social media to get a voice heard in public, to get Ender to stay with the program. If they didn't have that blackmail or if he didn't love his sister so much, he might have never continued with the program. But he did and then continued on to Command School on that advanced course, still only about 10 years of age.
The reason that Ender was so good at his job of defeating the Formics was that he was a perfect balance between his violent-tendency brother and his compassion-tendency sister. Ender studied the Formics with all the video that he could get his hands on because knowing your enemy makes it easier to know how to defeat them. He understood them, which made it much easier for him to make that final move, though he didn't know what he was doing. He had been pushed by Mazer for so long, losing the ability to sleep or eat because of the stress that Mazer was pressing on him. It took a lot of effort for him to even make it to "graduation day" which turned out to be the day of the Formic's xenocide. Afterwards, he passed out and cried for days on end because it did affect him so much (but the 2013 movie didn't show).
Orson Scott Card did a very good job at getting into the brain of this child character, showing how much pain he was having though not physically, and makes the reader care for Ender. The relationship development between Ender and the others (Petra, Bean, and Alai especially) even while the teachers were trying to keep Ender isolated made the connections that much more meaningful.
In the end, the relationship with his sister (though slightly strained because he had been isolated from her too) helped him move away from Earth. Some humans wanted him to come back, the hero of humanity. Others saw him as a monster and never wanted him back. The hegemon, his brother Peter taking that position, wanted to welcome him back and to potentially use him as a political power against other countries. Valentine, however, saw through Peter's plan and took the broken-spirited Ender away from Earth to a human colony. With her help, he was able to start forgiving himself and took on the role of the "speaker for the dead", which let him atone for his sin of committing xenocide of the Formic race and gave service to others out there. In fact, the role of speaker for the dead became a huge thing. Ender started it by writing the truth about the Formics and it took hold amongst the humans. Speaker for the dead became a respected role.
Per enderverse.fandom.com 's page on Speaker for the Dead:
"Speakers for the Dead were wandering representatives of a Humanist movement. Though they were not associated with any religion, they were treated with the respect accorded a priest or cleric. Speakers researched a deceased person's life and gave a speech that attempted to speak for them, describing the person's life as he or she lived it.
Speakers for the Dead arose as a movement in response to the novels The Hive Queen and The Hegemon, written by the pen name of Andrew Wiggin, the Speaker for the Dead. These books gave the explanation of the Hive Queen's and Peter Wiggin's lives from their own perspectives, slowly subverting humanity's perception of the Formics and changed it from hatred and fear into sorrow over a Xenocide, the complete extinction of an alien race. The movement began soon after The Hegemon was published, as it was more relatable to the human race than The Hive Queen.
Any citizen of a planet would have the legal right to summon a Speaker (or a priest of any faith, which Speakers are legally considered) to mark the death of a family member"
It has been many years since I have read the "Speaker for the Dead" but I remember enjoying it thoroughly. It shows that even someone that has done something bad can repent and make a new life for themself, and try to make it better for others. That's what I want to leave this book review at - try not to cause harm to others but always look for self improvement (especially if it can help others later).
That's my book review. I highly recommend this book and am very glad that I have a paper copy of it in my library.
Thank you for reading! I will have at least two more book reviews to post in 2020 (Stieg Larsson's "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Girl That Played With Fire") so keep an eye out for them!
~ Gracie Mae DeLunac
P.S. I also recommend "Ender's Shadow" which is about Ender's friend Bean that was in the Battle School with him and followed him through his military career, even with the graduation day's game. It is a very good remake of "Ender's Game" but still has its own unique viewpoint to not make it merely a remake. I remember thoroughly enjoying it back in High School, though I had already read "Ender's Game".
Also, if you enjoy "Ender's Game", the series continues with "Speaker for the Dead", "Xenocide", and "Children of the Mind", which were all good books as far as I recall. I just heard about "Ender in Exile" that came out in 2008 and have never read it.
There is the political side of the story with "Shadow of the Hegemon", "Shadow Puppets", "Shadow of the Giant", "Shadows in Flight". I never read the Shadow series but might be interested in the future.
I also just found out that there are stories written about the first Formic wars, which sounds more interesting than the Shadow sub-series: "Earth Unaware", "Earth Afire", and "Earth Awakens".
I know, lots of info so here's the Wikipedia on the Ender's Game series books.
I personally recommend at least "Ender's Shadow" or "Ender's Game". You decide from there. :-D
Contact me?
Twitter @gracie_delunac
Skype gracelyn2019@yahoo.com
1533.
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