I picked up this book as part of the Take A Chance Challenge, under Challenge#3: Birth Year Book: "Find a book that was published or copyrighted in the year of your birth. Read the book and write about it."
For better or for worst, I was born in 1985, and as I haven't read much fantasy this year, I opted for this gem of a book, and I must say it was a great choice. I loved the book, and it makes me wonder why I don't read more fantasy.
Ender, the protagonist, is six years old when the book starts, and, deemed a genius. A 'third', i.e. the third offspring in a day and age where only two children are allowed, Ender is 'special' - the government requested his parents to have a third child, due to their exceptional genes. The first two children were both 'monitored', but due to minor inadequacies, they were deemed not good enough.
What does the government want little geniuses for? To train in battle, lest the "buggers" (an alien civilization that resembles insects) invade again, and this time, everyone's running scared despite humanity prevailing stronger in both the previous invasions. Humans need a strong leader, a capable one, and Ender is chosen, after being closely monitored by the government, by literally having a monitor "installed" on him.
The characters are extremely well-drawn, be it six year old Ender, his old brother Peter, and their sister, Val - or - Ender's friends from battle school. Dink and Petra remain two favorites, whereas Bean was almost a repeat of Ender's character.
While the book is far-fetched, there is a strong feeling of reality as Ender's character grows and matures, and swings between different emotional states, as people continuously toy with him. He's not perfect, but, he does what he's meant to better than anyone else.
And this is Ender's journey, training in battle, playing 'games' with fellow genius children, battling it out, and aiming for just one thing: winning. But as the government and the teachers keep changing the rules, to test Ender further and further, one wonders: is Ender going to make it, or will he succumb to his darkest nightmares?
Rating: 4