Ender's Game (The Ender Saga, 1)

From New York Times bestselling author Orson Scott Card, Ender's Gameadapted to film starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Fordis the classic Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction novel of a young boy's recruitment into the midst of an interstellar war.

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

THE ENDER UNIVERSE

Ender series
Ender’s Game / Ender in Exile / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind

Ender’s Shadow series
Ender’s Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight

Children of the Fleet

The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)
Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens

The Second Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)
The Swarm /The Hive

Ender novellas
A War of Gifts /First Meetings

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Published May 4, 2021

256 pages

Average rating: 8.14

382 RATINGS

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Readers say *Ender's Game* is a timeless, powerful sci-fi classic praised for its deep exploration of war, morality, and complex relationships, especi...

Cindy_Reads_Books
Jan 08, 2026
6/10 stars
This is a great read for teens and pre teens. A story of a boy taken from his family at the age of 6 to go to train to be the world’s most notorious commander in the bugger fighting army! Ended goes through so much… more than any kid should have to go through. It’s the price to pay for being a child genius! Will Ender save the human race? You have to read to find out! 
To anyone who read this book, were you as disappointed with the ending as I was? I know they made this into a movie was the movie any better? I give this book a 6/10
Alicia
Nov 29, 2025
10/10 stars
I'm angry

Well, that made me feel feelings I wasn't anticipating feeling. I am indignant on the behalf of so many different parties.
Cowboy Spice
Nov 20, 2025
8/10 stars
Fast-paced and smart. Loved how it mixes strategy with emotion. Makes you question what leadership really means.
AveryIsMiserable
Mar 19, 2025
10/10 stars
Ender is such a complex character, and I found myself so absorbed into his experiences and beliefs. Wonderful read!
Ruru
Feb 20, 2025
10/10 stars
Holy grail sifi book

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