Ender's Game

Ender's Game

1985 • 256 pages

Ratings1,488

Average rating4.2

15

Ender's Game is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with the Formics, an insectoid alien species they dub the "buggers". In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, children, including the novel's protagonist, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, are trained from a very young age by putting them through increasingly difficult games, including some in zero gravity, where Ender's tactical genius is revealed.

The book originated as a short story of the same name, published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. The novel was published on January 15, 1985. Later, by elaborating on characters and plotlines depicted in the novel, Card was able to write additional books in the Ender's Game series. Card also released an updated version of Ender's Game in 1991, changing some political facts to reflect the times more accurately (e.g., to include the recent collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War). The novel has been translated into 34 languages.

Reception of the book has been mostly positive. It has become suggested reading for many military organizations, including the United States Marine Corps. Ender's Game was recognized as "best novel" by the 1985 Nebula Award[3] and the 1986 Hugo Award[4] in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Its four sequels—Speaker for the Dead (1986), Xenocide (1991), Children of the Mind (1996), and Ender in Exile (2008)—follow Ender's subsequent travels to many different worlds in the galaxy. In addition, the later novella A War of Gifts (2007) and novel Ender's Shadow (1999), plus other novels in the Shadow saga, take place during the same time period as the original.


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Contained in:
[Ender's War](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL49619W)
See also:

- [Ender's Game: 1/2](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19647657W/Ender's_Game._1_2)

[1]: http://www.hatrack.com/osc/books/endersgame/

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Series

Featured Series

6 primary books8 released books

#1 in Ender's Saga

Ender's Saga is a 8-book series with 6 primary works first released in 1985 with contributions by Orson Scott Card.

First Meetings in Ender's Universe
Ender's Game
A War of Gifts: An Ender Battle School Story
Speaker for the Dead
Xenocide
Children of the Mind
Ender in Exile
The Last Shadow

Reviews

Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

Absolutely fantastic book. I loved the buildup and the twist ending. The book ends so suddenly that I had to immediately read the squeal.

February 1, 2016

It's hard to rate this book. I was bored most of the time, and the main twist near the end was predictable. However, the ending was good and it made all the book worth reading. Unfortunately, that's not enough to make me read the next book in this series.

June 30, 2020
September 18, 2022

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