I didn't think that I would like this book as I'm not normally a fan of sci-fi, but I found that I couldn't put this one down. Ender is relatable and you find yourself on the edge of your seat rooting for him, crying for him, living his life alongside him. With strong emotion woven in this wonderful action story, who could resist?

I am not much of a fiction reader. I discovered this book only recently. It was a quote on a license plate frame, a middle-aged woman driving, and I don't remember the quote exactly but I remembered "Ender's game" and my curiosity drove me to Google it, which led me to buy this book. I guess it's quite popular to be quoted on a license plate frame 30+ years after it was originally published, eh? I thought the military leadership lessons that Ender learned were enjoyable to follow and I was very impressed by the quality of writing, the characterization, the LOGIC of Ender. I have a limited science fiction depth of reading experience and "Death Star" was my previous novel to this one. I've read a bit of Frank Herbert and Carl Sagan but mostly I stick to Star Wars for sci fi books. The day I finished reading Ender's Game, I bought Speaker for the Dead (loved it) and the day I finished Speaker for the Dead I bought Xenocide which I'm in the middle of right now (loving it). Orson Scott Card has converted me into a science fiction chain-reader and not a day goes by that I don't read. Thank you Mr. Card!

Orson Scott Card scored both of Science Fiction's major awards for this book and its immediate sequel, Speaker for the Dead, and he deserved it. This book is about some big Ideas - keep in mind that plot and characterization are secondary to that - or rather that they are done in order to fulfill the Ideas that he is trying to convey.

In the future, far enough away but also a little too close to us, Ender Wiggin is taken to a military school in the asteroid belt as a young child in order to be trained to be a military leader to fight back a race of aliens that have attacked Earth before and probably will again. But the leaders of this academy, of the world, have some specific specifications for the military commander they are trying to create and the ways they seek to attain this are not gentle on Ender's mind, body, or soul. What will Ender become as a result of this training?

If you get the paradox that this book presents, the irony should be physically painful. It searches deep into the collective soul of humanity and comes up with darkness but also with hope. And it hints at the question to be asked later in the series: Is humanity the race that no one can live with because of its hatred and violence?

Ender's Game has been marketed as a young adult book, but the issues this book deals with are complex and just as compelling for an adult as for a teen or preteen reader. If you have not read this book and ever thought you should give it a shot - do so, because you probably won't regret it.

Also: Free-fall fights in 3-D. Oh. My. God. If you can respect nothing else about Card, respect his ability to imagine fights in weightless conditions and imagine them well.

"Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society."

- Orson Scott Card

I LOVE THIS BOOK. It is such a great read. Fun, interesting, thought-provoking, tense, blah, blah, blah.

The plot is original and fluid. The characters are real - there is both good and bad in all of them (and us). Very well written.

I find myself re-reading this every year or so and each time I think "wow, what a great book", but each time I'm drawn to a different part or understand it in a way I hadn't previously.

Oh, how I wish they'd make this into a movie. But they'd butcher it so maybe I don't want them to.

I think I might go read this again.

December 2008 -I read it again. Does that make me a nerd?

*taken from my review at goodreads

On a recommendation from a friend, I found this book in my neighborhood paperback exchange. By all evidence of the physical object, I went into the read cautiously, as it seemed to resemble any of the dozens of pulp sci-fi novels surrounding it.

The writing was, in fact, nothing particularly special. It was, as expected, a fast-moving, simple and rather un-nuanced writing style. There were no big surprises, and read like a pulp novel.

That's the extent of the criticism, though. Although as literature Ender's Game was lacking, the story and the characters were all brilliantly captured and relayed.

Card did a spectacular job capturing the psychology and the complexity of the interplay of individuals with one another, with their society, and with the institutions forming their realities.

Though it did not exceed a simplistic telling of a tale, the subjects and characters were so wonderfully captured that Ender's Game was a complete joy to read, and bore an intellectual payload far overshadowing the writing itself.

Easy? EASY? How could hays say it is easy? No book is easy, no book is hard. It depends on how far you reach into it. You don't breeze through it on a cold winter day that doesn't even fit with the complexity of Ender's Game.

Great book! A must read for any science fiction fan. Great mix of action with ohh i dont know everyting!

I loved it! It was a very easy book to breese throught on a cold winter day infront of the fire place

I'm a Trekkie, and I don't usually read stuff other than Star Trek or Star Wars books. I ended up reading this a couple of years ago when my English teacher said I would like it, and, needless to say, it was AWESOME!! This is the only book I have bought that is not Star Trek or Star Wars. By the way, STAR TREK: NEW FRONTIER IS BETTER THAN ALL THE TELEVISION SHOWS COMBINED (I got my name from it). PETER DAVID IS THE BEST STAR TREK WRITER EVER. And why does SYWA9480RG call the Ender's Game books a trilogy if there are 5 books...?

What a bad written book

Excellent Book.

This is a waste of time.

One of my favorite books of all time. This book is so well-crafted and clever and interesting, that you can't read just one chapter in a sitting, you have to read at least three or four.

Simply the best ever. My favorite novel of all time. An excellent story with intense characters. Everyone should read this book. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get into the sequel books as much, but I still think it's cool that Orson Scott Card lives in the city next to me (I live in the Winston-Salem/Kernersville area of NC; he lives in Greensboro, NC).

I read this book several years ago, and I was completely absorbed in it. I thought it was wonderfully written. I loved ender's plight through his military training, outsmarting the bullies and all. Now that I think about it, it almost has a realistic situation that you could relate to, being a new kid in school or something. Anyway, it's hard to imagine all these children are under the age of 10 (and ender is only six!) but I suppose anything's possible. As a girl at 15 when I read this (7 yrs ago), I had trouble with his sister's character, though she had a good heart she was the weakest of the three children. I wished Card could've had her outsmart the evil brother, or escape him somehow, at least.

I loved the story I have read it over and over again and each time I come to a part that I love I get all excited and when it is over I just sit there and think how awesome the books is.

This is an excellent book that deserves a rating better than good but not quite outstanding. The story of Ender and his training to battle the aliens is very captivating, with the war room scenes being very creative. I enjoyed the tale of a young outsider being trained to be a leader and the way the story progresses to an interesting ending is very good. Contains good charecterization and Card is an excellent storyteller, just didn't have the magic for me that makes me want to go back and reread it, which is my basis for a book or series being outstanding.

Card's finest and first. I suggest it for anyone. They should teach it in schools in sixth grade.

I have read Ender's Game at least half-a-dozen times. It is a great book, from many aspects: morality, society, challenges of leadership, friendship, and so on. It also has great imagery! (Just wait until you get to the battle rooms, you'll know what I mean!). The second book in the trilogy ("Speaker for the Dead"; there are now 5 books in the trilogy, with the 6th coming out soon) is equally excellent. If you like Ender's Game, you'll also love "Ender's Shadow." And, you'll also love going to www.philoticweb.net.

Read this book! Then read the sequal! Both are wonderful. thought-provoking books.

one of the very best books ever written.

This was the best book I'd ever read when I read it; now that I've read Speaker and the rest, it's the second best, but it's the most compelling story I've read, and unequaled by any except in the series.

Wow did this book grab me! I purchased it after reading all of the glowing reviews on RateItAll and was not disappointed. The whole idea of whether leaders are born or created has always been fascinating to me, and Orson Scott Card does a very believable job of demonstrating how it might very well be a combination of both. The mind games which the military played with Ender as a child in order to prepare him for his role in history were captivating. The idea of isolating someone from every peer group which he has, teaching him again and again that nobody will ever be there to rescue him when the going gets rough, and knowing exactly the moments when he has had too much (and all before the subject turns 12!)... this is a riveting book. Ender's Shadow is next for me...

Overall a great novel. I was entralled form begining to end, and could not put the book down until I finished.

This book is excellent. I consider it among the best I have ever read and highly recommend it. The following books to the serious are also interesting.

great book, but more of a teenager book than adult, although I enjoyed it.

This is one of my favorite books ever!!! It has many wonderful comments of human interactions, beliefs, and much much more. The rest of the series is great as well. I couldn't stop reading it when I picked it up. Don't start it when you have work to get done!!!

One of the best science fiction books, though the ending is weak. I read the shorter version in Analog and knew Orson was destined to be a great writer. Read the rest of the series and his other books.

The beginning of a series of mind-expanding books, that will hold your attention even after you stop reading! Awesome Orson Scott Card!

I'm looking forward to reading Ender's Shadow although Speaker for the Dead wasn't quite as good as Ender's Game.

One of the best books I've ever read. You'll like it.

Great book... It marked a new era in my life. The most engaging book I've ever read (I read it in a night).

Great

excellent portrayal of military mentality and childishness of the game of war.

I am an avid reader. I generally read everything from non-fiction to classic literature. Ender's Game is absolutely my favorite book! It opens up a new world to me...Card has a wonderful gift for storytelling....AND WHAT A FANTASTIC TWIST at the end of the book!!!!!!!!

I loved this book so Much I went out and bought all his other books!

The Best Science Fiction Book ever

I enjoyed this whole trilogy. Recently found out that Mr. Card is a devout Mormon, which makes me think his books might be full of propaganda. Luckily I don't know enough about religion to notice, and he was subtle enough to weave it into the story without it feeling preachy.