Ender's Game

INTRO

I think you should have to read a book more than once if its good. A book shouldn’t reveal all its secrets to you at first glance.  —Malcolm Gladwell

That was a quote from writer Malcolm Gladwell on reading. Reading is one of the best things we can do in our day so in each episode of the We Should All Be Bookworms Podcast, we build our reading habit by taking a quick look at a page-turning, magnetic, universally appealing book that once you start reading, you won’t want to put down. I’m your host, Mykella, a budding novelist and a bonafide bookworm. And today, we’re talking about Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

From New York Times bestselling author Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is the classic Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction novel of a young boy's recruitment into the midst of an interstellar war. 

 So join me today as we preview this story. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just finished reading your 33rd book so far this year, or you can’t even remember the last time you read a book — this podcast is for you. In fact, if we can change the world one book at a time, then we should all be bookworms.

WHY THIS BOOK

My favorite genre of books to read is Science Fiction and Fantasy and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card is one of my all-time favorite Sci-Fi novels. It’s probably in the top…3 on my list.

It’s fast-moving. It’s short. It’s easy to read. And it’s packed with so much…. Feeling. That’s the only way I can describe it. You just empathize so much with little Ender Wiggins, the child that is the story’s main character. You want to be just like him - brilliant and insightful and strategic in all your actions. But you also just want to hug him – because he’s so lonely. That genius that we’re jealous of is part of what isolates him.

What I love most about what Orson Scott Card did with this character is how complicated he is. He’s not all good and he’s not all bad. He’s completely capable of being a monster. And whether or not he becomes one is entirely a matter of environmental conditioning and his own choices.

I also chose this book because of the overall message about human conflict and warfare. It examines the inevitability of chaos and war in human civilization. It’s a discussion on what being a war-faring species costs us all as individuals. But this story also offers a unique perspective on what the possibilities are for humanity if we can overcome our self-destructive tendencies. Orson Scott Card created this little boy Ender as a character that embodies the tug of war between our animal instinct to survive at all costs and our human potential to transcend our instincts and thrive.

QUICK SUMMARY

Many, many years ago the Earth was attacked by an alien species the humans call “Buggers” due to their insect-like appearance and their hive-like nature. The humans are able to fight the Buggers off by the skin of their teeth. But they know they got lucky and they feel sure the Buggers will be back one day with a much larger force. So humanity unites against this threat and government agencies around the world work together to breed a generation of child geniuses and train them as soldiers. They’re searching among these kids for the perfect general to lead them to victory. 

Andrew “Ender” Wiggins is one of these children, as are his older brother and sister. His siblings were both rejected from soldier training school – his brother for being too sadistic and his sister for being too empathetic. Ender is accepted to soldier training school because he’s like the goldilocks child. He as the same off-the-charts IQ as his siblings but his nature is almost perfect – he’s not too mean and he’s not too nice.

But the brutal physical and psycological conditioning of soldier training school is tough on Ender. He’s still a little boy – only six years old when he’s taken away from home to train as a soldier. All he really wants is a friend – and just when he makes one, the teachers watching closely over him, take that friend away – again and again. Can Ender stand up to this brutal conditioning? Can he be molded into the savior general that humanity is depending on? Can he learn how to win the respect and adoration of his troops and defeat the Buggers? Can he do all of this without crashing under the loneliness and weight of this isolating training?

Of course, you’ll have to read the book to find out. 

I asked my husband to read this book for me because I just knew he’d love it. Usually it takes him a month or so to get through a book, but he surprised me and inhaled this book in about a week and then raved about it. So even if you don’t think you’re a sci-fi person – I think you should make an exception for Ender’s Game. It’s just an outstanding story.

There is a 2013 movie version of the book featuring mega stars Harrison Ford and Viola Davis. But the movie didn’t really hit the mark for me. There’s so much action packed into this little book that the movie couldn’t keep up – It just moved entirely too fast and made it hard for viewers to feel anything. And like I said before, this book makes you feel some stuff. 

But an Ender’s Game TV series could be amazing. There are actually 5 books in this series so there’s tons of material to work with. Although I’ve only read this first one, all of the books get great reviews from fans. So, HBO – if you’re listening – Ender’s Game could be your next Game of Thrones…

With that said, if you absolutely can’t find time to sit down with this book, skip the movie and try listening to the audio version. Listening to audiobooks is a great way to get some reading in while walking your dog or driving to work or doing the dishes. That’s what I did for this second read through and it was an excellent experience. It felt like you were listening to a movie with different voices reading for different characters. I’ll link to the audio version I listened to in the show notes. 

OUTRO

Ender’s Game will take the average reader about 6 hours to read. That means if you read for at least 30 minutes a day, you should be able to finish this book in about 12 days, which is less than 2 weeks. 

Be sure to subscribe to the We Should all Be Bookworms podcast. And if you like what you heard, leave a review. It’s one of the best ways to support the show.

That’s all for this episode. Thank you for listening. And please remember to make time in your schedule to read. Because of you, we can be one book closer to a better world.