Promotional Information

At Battle School, Fighting is Compulsory!

About the Author

Orson Scott Card is the multi-award winning and bestselling author of a number of ground-breaking adult SFF novels. Ender's Game is his first YA cross-over novel in the UK.

Reviews

Another outing for the classic legend of the boy who journeys to the stars to defeat an alien horde and save the human race. Ender Wiggin is Battle School's latest recruit. His teachers reckon he could become a great leader. And they need one. A vast alien force is headed for Earth: its mission, the annihilation of all human life. Ender could be our only hope. But first he must survive the most brutal military training programme in the galaxy... With its explosive storyline, pump-action excitement and hugely engaging central characters, Ender's Game is a sure-fire winner. Orson Scott Card is the multi-award winning and bestselling author of a host of groundbreaking SF novels, and his storytelling acumen is well to the fore here.

A space-age Lord of the Flies thrill ride (sans the psychological couch trip), this follows six-year-old Ender Wiggin's odyssey from being the smartest, smallest boy in Battle School to savior of humankind. To prepare for an upcoming war with a devastatingly murderous insectoid race (the "formics," aka "buggers"), select earth children are trained on "the Battle Game." Aptest pupil ever Ender quickly rises to the top of Battle School, which has twice the nasty of any boarding school and all the charms of a snake pit (Battle School dude factors are endless). Many Card novels are spun outward from this tale, including the recent Ender in Exile. Dude factor: While these works can be enjoyed individually, they tend to enhance one another. For example, reading Ender's Shadow, which focuses on the fascinating and tragic character of Bean, is heightened by knowing all about Bean's hyperdevotion to (and competition with) Ender. The chronological details of various books remain in neat order, with some entries complementing others during simultaneous time frames and others serving as prequels or sequels. Also fascinating is the shift between the blunt action of Ender's Game and its two immediate sequels, Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide; these are completely different in style, yet similarly captivating on a philosophical plane. In 2008, Tor published Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind in one big gift set, ISBN 978-0-7653-6243-8. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Gr 7 Up-This new young adult edition of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning classic sci-fi novel by Orson Scott Card, winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens, includes an original postscript by the author in which he discusses the origins of the novel. is all about leadership. The novel asks: What does it take to successfully lead men into battle? The buggers have invaded Earth twice. The last time mankind survived only because of the brilliance of Mazer Rackham, commander of the International Fleet. Years later, a third invasion is feared and a new commander is sought. Ender Wiggin is only six years old when he is plucked to succeed Rackham and sent to the space station Battle School. He is isolated, ridiculed, bullied, and persecuted-but he survives and thrives. Using his astonishing intelligence, the boy learns to be a top-notch solider and, despite his youth and small stature, is quickly promoted up the ranks. By the age of 12, Ender learns the art of command and earns the respect and fear of his fellow soldiers. This audio version was created in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the novel and it's a gem. The audiobook is narrated by a full cast. Stefan Rudniki is particularly good as Ender. Despite Ender's age, this is not a children's novel. Its profound themes (and mild profanity) call for intelligent teens who appreciate a complex novel.-Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.