Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card is wildly imaginative and engaging science fiction for teenagers. Strangely enough, it stars a bunch of little kids led by a hero nicknamed Ender. Ender, the third kid in his family, was allowed to be born only because of his incredible gene material. He and his fellow soldiers are smarter and faster than the average immature human, but still little enough to be manipulated by the adults in this future world fighting a very real intergalactic battle for survival. Or so the adults think. Is it a battle for survival against an onslaught of buggers (a very unfortunate choice of word by Card) or a voyage of mercy gone awry?
Mercy is not even contemplated by the adults in Ender’s world. With intergalactic war threatening and global war pacing close behind, mercy and empathy have no place. The goodness that is in young Ender must be redirected and controlled to turn him into a perfect army machine, capable of killing and risking everything for one thing, victory on the battlefield. Mormon imagery is presented as the “sword” descending from heaven to smote down evil, and only then can goodness be allowed. (Card is a Mormon).
Two aspects of the book that I found troubling, and which is why I recommend this book for teens who are more capable of critical reading than for pre-teens who might accept the underling assumptions of the book as truth, are the assumptions that empathy and kindness are feminine and weak characteristics, necessary for adhering group loyalty but valuable only during times of peace; and that aggression and anger are masculine, powerful characteristics, necessary for winning war and wiping out enemies. There are few females in this novel dominated by aggressive, focused, macho boys. There is only one female warrior in Ender’s entire battalion and she “more balls than anyone else in the room.“ Ender’s sister Valentine gains power during war time by losing her empathy (through manipulation by oldest brother Peter). When all the wars are over, Valentine and Ender will learn the real power they have, and it sweeps the universe but there is the implication that for goodness to flourish, a battle must first be fought, and won, on any terms, including mental and physical abuse of youth.
The abuses are vividly presented by Card and the horrifying dream sequences and computer games that Ender experiences are equally Technicolor. The book should be provided to impressionable and sensitive readers with caution. I also recommend that an adult be on hand to discuss the mature themes of the book, including the use of children as soldiers and abuse of youth; the free expression of ideas and the manipulation of expression to form public opinion; the public’s right to know about national, international, and global security; and the overarching question of: War? What is it good for?
