What I Am Reading - Ender's Game

Ender's Game

Orson Scott Card

Read it in overly large authors edition paperback at 226 pages.

April's OLT pick by none other than the writer here.  This is something I have been aiming to read for years and with the announcement of a major motion picture and starved for another pick in our book club, this was a natural choice for me being the exact type of book most of the group seems energized about reading.  This is the second book I have ever read by OSC (Orson Scott Card), the first being Hart's Hope in 2011, but Ender's Game is widely the most popular of any of his other endeavors.

 Ender Wiggin is a third in a world that only breads thirds with a purpose.  Future Earth was almost overrun by an extraterrestrial race known to us only as the Buggers.  In an 'all in' situation for the human race, one commander makes a last ditch effort to preserve humanity in the face of unfathomable opposition, and his gamble paid off.  Now all of humanity has been fuming and fearing the return of the Buggers.  Will they raze our civilization to the ground as they had first intended, how can we possibly win, what will we do as future earth is poised to rip itself apart?  This is the universe that Mr. Wiggin lives in, even as a gifted, his road is hard and only made worse when he is accepted into the battle school.  The school is designed to teach kids how to fight the Buggers, how to work as a team, and to find all of the strength within yourself.  But will it be enough to save humanity?

-Spoilers Ahead-

 So how did it fair as OLT's April selection, well if the scores are any indication, rather well.  I know the scores are going to be high for a book when we get into headed conversations about simple things.  Interpretations with no definitive answers.  Ender, without a doubt was everyone's favorite character.  It should be noted though that there were some callouts for Graff, Enders mentor and guide to celestial military supremacy. 

A lot of people really like when shit got real and Ender graduated to Command School and gets to the simulation, but this was often countered by others in our group saying that some of the most important, and could have been the most action packed, sequences of the book were distilled down to 'we did this and Ender was exhausted'.  The book could have been wonderfully crafted to really show those sequences, they could have been grand.  Instead we just fast forwarded to the end.

But the 'End' was the most controversial bit between us all.  Some enjoyed it, others thought it was a terrible way to end the book and that OSC was just searching for a way to expand this into a series.  Personally I leaned towards the later as well. 

Fucking crunch it Ender!

Scored from 1 being toilet paper and 10 the word of power:

Th3ee: 6

Dust: 7

Jhylen: 9

G$$: 8

BoozyCoug: 7

SS: 7

Tech-Dave: 8

Tranquil-T: 7

Eleach: 7

Shely da' don: 8

7.4 which is pretty high for our little group of haters.