The whole book focuses on a young boy named Ender Wiggen. The world was under attack by an alien evasion 70 years before he was born, and the next attack is bound to happen any time soon. They of course won the invasion all because of a legendary commander named Mazer Rackham. The army is only selecting the best of the best soldier-breeding the best of the best soldiers- to fight the invasion. Ender is one of these people. He is monitored in his younger years to see if his personality is good enough to become a soldier. Not know to him however, the battle generals are hoping that he will one day command the entire human army. They finally agree that he is better than his sister (who was too sweet) and his brother (who was too bitter) and send him off the battle school.
Battle school is a training facility in space as too simulate zero gravity conditions. There are two parts the the school - the inner and outer chunks well call them. the inner has no gravity and is were battle simulations are held, the outer spins around the inner using the power of centrifugal force to create a simulated gravity. this is were living quarters and studies are held. Ender being only six is placed in the "Trainees" group, the lowest rank of students at the school. The general is relying on this boy to become commander, so he trys everything to punish the boy... so he shows no mercy later and so he is always cautious of his surroundings. Ender makes a few friends, but is quickly advanced to a training army once his skill is revealed.
He is the youngest member of any army, being about six years below the standard age of an army member. His army commander doesn't get along with Ender. His name is Bonzo. His skills are not that ready for simulated battles with other armies which are generally held weekly, so Bonzo always sits Ender out during them. One of his comrades however starts to teach Ender what he knows, then he teaches his old Trainee friends what he in return learns. This begins to show his commander qualities. Bonzo trades Ender as fast as he can. This continues until one day Ender finds that he has been promoted to lead an army. And only at the young age of 9 years old. Never before has anyone commanded an army at age 9.
To make conditions worse for Ender he is given only Trainees to fight in his army, and no trades. His is forced to fight in a mock battle just weeks after they begin training. After that they must do a mock battle for every single day and sometimes they have double headers too. Unlike any army was forced to do before. Sometimes they must fight two armies at once, sometimes they have to enter the arena a few minutes late while the enemy has already established their bearings. Finally Ender is promoted to commander school with a perfect score and no games lost.
He enters a state of severe depression and needs the help of his sister who he become to hate (he could not visit anyone during the time he was in school) because she had become frined's their brother whom they once hated. It is then that he finds out that he must save the entire universe and control the entire army. the catch is however is that the humans were playing an offensive game opposed to what propaganda has told humans. Most everyone thought the aliens were coming to attack them again when indeed it was the other way around. The aliens would probably have never attacked again, but Ender no longer had a choice.
He began playing simulations controlling fleets of ships and such. One day though a strange man is in his sleeping quarters when he awakens. This is an old man, about fifty and seems to be mentally retarded to Ender. However when Ender turns his back the man quickly takes him down. That was the first real time that Ender had been defeated his whole time in school and he was furious. When he began interrogating the man though he learned that it was a valuable lesson to learn to always be aware of your surroundings. He was Enders new teacher. When ender asked his name the man replied Mazer Rackham. It turns out he flew a light speed for fifty years in order to train the next commander of the aliens. From then on Ender was to hold simulations with real people (who turned out to be his friends in battle school). They win every game.
When informed they are battling their last simulation before the real thing they discover they have an audience. It was a tight battle but they one by committing a suicide, wiping both fleets out with a super weapon. Everyone cheers. They are quit confused at first but Mazer then tells them that the simulations they were fighting were actually the real thing. I seen this coming about 20 pages before it happened, but it think it was good that way. I enjoyed being correct with my predictions. The war ended and was won by an 11 year old and many 7-10 year olds. Finally ender and his sister Valentine move to the planet that he wiped out himself. the book ends with him finding an egg of an alien and trying to find a place to let it grow because he felt bad for what he did.
If you have any questions about the book here is the place to post them.
Here are a few question to get you started:
- Why did Ender only want his brother Peter to love him?
- If the aliens only communicate telepathically it still must mean that they have a language even though the book claims that it doesn't.
- If they can't think alone, then how to separate queens think with each other?
- Why did the humans wipe out the buggers even if they probably weren't going to fight again
- Do you think the buggers would have attacked the humans again.
-Jake E. Stief
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