Andrew, “Ender”, Wiggin is the third among a family of child geniuses.Bred to save mankind from the possible next attack of an alien race, called the “Buggers,” Ender and his siblings were carefully monitored to determine if any of them would be long hoped for savior.Peter, the eldest, is much too violent, delighting in sadistic means of torturing his younger siblings.Valentine is too empathetic, protecting her younger brother and even giving Andrew the nickname “Ender”.Yet, in Ender Wiggin, the military has a leader of incredible genius and of the proper balance of his siblings’ extremes.At six years old, he is plucked from his family and taken to an outer space military school where he and the other students will do mock battles in zero gravity rooms and on computers that adapt to their minds.All of this in training for a third battle with the alien Buggers.The first two battles left mankind severely shaken, humanity winning by a bit of luck and cunning on the part of its ancient fleet commander. Everyone knows that Earth could not stand another hit.So the military leaders of the world are planning to attack the Buggers where they live...a preemptive strike to save the world.Despite his tender age, Ender proves to be a military genius, rapidly rising in the ranks and gaining the respect, and ire, of his peers.But, Ender’s skill is not without cost.He suffers isolation, doubt and constant pressure from his teachers.He makes several dangerous enemies out of the older students.At times, his life is in jeopardy and it is easy to forget that he is still a small child.By age ten, he has graduated from battle school and is sent to be trained to command a fleet. Things at command school get infinitely more difficult and Ender begins to feel the pressure ever so much more acutely.It is not lost on Ender that the fate of humanity now rests on his slim shoulders.Should he not be the leader that everyone has hoped for, the alien Buggers could overthrow mankind and destroy life as they know it. Alone and with his doubts, Ender must rise to the challenge.But can the will of a child be enough?A surprising twist toward the end of the story may change the way Ender’s world is perceived.Filled with incredible action sequences and battle scenes that turn reality on its head, readers will alternately cheer Ender’s successes and sympathize with his burdens.Not to be missed.
Recommended by Jamequa Summerall, Librarian, Maryland USA
*****
When the buggers came before to annihilate Earth and all of her people, there was Mazer Rackham, hero, who rose up from the masses with his unique skills and tactics to save the world. The buggers will come again and the defenders of Earth are desperately seeking the next Mazer Rackham. They need someone creative, someone with the unimaginable skills formidable and effective enough to outplay the buggers with millions of lives on the line.
Andrew Wiggin, known as Ender, is just having the monitor removed from his brain. No longer will the powers that be hear the voices of everyone around him and be a silent witness to his life. That monitor has been invasive but it has also been protection - protection from the fury, the envy and the rising hatred of his own brother, Peter. Is this the moment when Peter will finally carry out his threat to kill Ender and their younger sister, Valentine? Will there be an "unexplainable accident?"
Colonel Graff of the I.F., International Fleet, has chosen this moment to invite Ender to train at the Battle School in the Belt. This is the training school of "future starship captains and commodores of flotillas and admirals of the fleet." Ender is six years old. He will leave behind everything he knows and the one person he loves, his sister, and he will enter a world of violence, deception and manipulation. What is the real game? Does Ender have what it takes? What game do you play?
