I’d first read Ender’s Game oh, I don’t know, a long time ago. Years and years. I’d never gone further in the series, but I’d always remembered the first novel fondly. I recently decided to recheck it out and see how my memories compared.
I’d probably slightly idealized the book, but not a lot. The opening hooked me immediately – the mystery was just enough to whet my appetite and get me curious.
As the book continued, I was drawn in by the way Card wrote the interactions between the characters, and what he showed of Ender’s thoughts (and Valentine’s) – I liked the way he showed the gifted children as being qualitative different from the way children are usually presented. I can’t say for sure that it’s entirely accurate, but it had the right flavour, and was well done.
The story kept me hooked, and I was sucking the pages down as fast as I could. The nuts and bolts of the battles interested me less than they had when I first read the book, but I was more taken by Ender’s personal challenge.
One downside to the reread is that there’s a kind of big surprise near the end of the book, and on rereading the book, that punch was lost. On the other hand, knowing it was coming did allow me to appreciate other facets of the story.
In the end, I’d read a well-told adventure story about a very special child – one that brought me into his heart and mind, really tweaking my empathy.
Highly recommended, even if you’re not usually a Science Fiction buff.