After my recent string of "kids" books that I have enjoyed, from the Ranger's Apprentice Series to The Seems, a friend of mine recommended that I read "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. My neighbor had also recommended this book to me a while ago, so I gave it a shot.
It's difficult to describe "Ender's Game" because it's an unusual story, to say the least. The story is set in the distant future after earth has been attacked, twice, by aliens. In order to not only survive, but win the next war, Earth's military has taken to training a generation of military geniuses. The hero of the story, and the most brilliant of all is Ender Wiggin, who was taken from his family at age 6 to study at Battle School. Ender's brilliance distinguishes him almost immediately, but also causes trouble. "Ender's Game" follows Ender through the next 6 years of his life, through his ups and downs.
Ender is a likable kid, with his own set of demons. In a lot of ways, he's sort of like Harry Potter, maybe a little darker and definitely more complex. The other characters we meet along the way all have an agenda, and they all touch Ender's life in one was or another (both good and bad).
Fair warning on this book. There are some pages that are hard to get through (it took me about 100 pages to decide I liked it), and I would say this book is questionable for anyone under about 14-15 years of age.
"Ender's Game" may not be my favorite book ever, but it's really good. It's one of the better Science Fiction books I've ever read. I look forward to reading more of the "Ender" books and "Shadow" books by Orson Scott Card. I can see that Card could quickly become one of my favorite authors.
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