Ender's Game

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is the the first volume in the Ender Saga, and it lives up to its great reviews. Classic science fiction, as in Dune or Rendezvous With Rama, tends to be expansive in ideas, taking in the vastness of space and thought. Whereas Ender's Game is focused and moral. The human ethics are intriguing while the space travel is matter-of-fact.

Ender is the extraneous third child in a population controlled world. His brilliance is too precious to be left alone. The Buggers are an alien race who has attacked before, and those with the ability to fight have an obligation to defend their own. Decisions need to be made, choosing between the individual and the needs of all, between us and them.

This book reads so well that it's over all too soon, but it keeps you thinking after you put it down. This is a thoughtful and thoroughly enjoyable book. I will order the next in the saga.