REVIEW: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I'd only seen passing references to Ender's Game before I went and saw the film at the cinemas last week. I was so incredibly blown away by the film that I just had to read the book immediately. I will be talking a little about the film in this review too, so please be aware of potential spoilers.

I'm always amazed when fantasy books written decades ago can still seem fresh and relevant when read today, as if they were written this year. Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books are a brilliant example of this, as is Ender's Game, originally published in 1985. Even though some of the technology in the book is no where near as spectacular as it is in the film (and is slightly reminiscent of the original Tron film) Card demonstrates incredible imagination and foresight for his time.

In my opinion the best fantasy and sci-fi novels aren't the ones with the best world building or magic systems, but the ones that use those elements as a platform to explore the human condition and/or psyche. I'm also a massive fan of really getting inside the minds of the characters and seeing a pure honesty as they grapple with conflict.

Ender's Game is a perfect example of this. Much like Katniss in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, we see the young protagonist struggle psychologically under extreme and unwanted pressure. While Katniss is interesting because she has little that is remarkable about her and is thrust into the spotlight circumstantially, Ender follows the child prodigy trope a little more closely. What is brilliant about Ender is how is constantly aware about what is happening and how he is being manipulated, but still struggles with his own inner demons.

I really appreciated how even though Card's characters are all incredibly young children, there is a lot of discussion and justification within the story on why. Through his characters Card also reflects on the exceptional and even unnatural state of the children and the concerns over their well being.

Another element that I enjoyed was the shift in perspective from beginning to end of the nature of the buggers, particularly within Ender. I think this was enhanced and therefore more successful in the film than in the book. Card creates the perfect enemy from the outset, which only sets us up for some beautifully tragic moments later on.

The final chapters were a little flat for me and seemed like Card wanted to get through as much story in the least amount of words possible. The film handled this much better, really playing up the climax for maximum investment and editing the story to a crisp and clean ending.

I have a feeling that the following novels in the series by Card won't be as good as Ender's Game (anyone?), but I am definitely going to give Speaker for the Dead a go. I will definitely be seeing the movie again though!