bookworm wednesday – ender’s game

i have plenty of newly-released books on my to-read list, but when i overheard my brother-in-law recommending this book to my husband, i remembered that the sci-fi “classic” has been on my i-should-read list for quite some time. so this week’s bookworm review is of an oldie that is still going strong: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (4 of 5 stars).

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set in earth’s future, the novel presents humankind in conflict with an alien species called “buggers” by the humans. in preparation for an anticipated third invasion of the buggers, an international fleet has a school to train future commanders…among very young children. the world’s most talented children, including andrew “ender” wiggin, are taken as early as age six to a battle school where teachers train them in the arts of war through increasingly difficult games in zero gravity.

card’s takes a potential contrived plot and creates something extraordinary with skillful development of his main character’s genius, brutality, and vulnerability, and clever pacing in revealing the complexity of the tactical games.

some of the major underlying themes at play here are the same as another wildly popular story about a game — violence among children and the government taking children from their families. the moral dilemmas presented in ender’s game are the source of much criticism toward the book.

i truly enjoyed the story, and then i listened to an interview with the author (regarding this novel) that gave me an even deeper appreciation for ender and his game. i want to read more books in ender’s saga and also the ender’s shadow series, and am now really looking forward to the movie due out next year.

how do you feel when reading dystopian books like ender’s game and the hunger games that address political and moral issues so directly? why do you think these types of books become so popular?