There are those books that appear on every Science Fiction best-of list. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card is one of them. But is it actually that good?

First of all, it’s a Young Adult novel, and you should be aware of that. One shouldn't expect sophisticated hard science fiction or overly complex themes. At the same time, the book seems so deeply rooted in pop culture that I somehow saw the ending coming – a vague feeling of having seen it before. It’s probably comparable to someone who has never seen Die Hard but feels like they already know the story through countless copycat movies, quotes, and memes.

Then you should also know that the protagonist is a six-year-old boy. This is completely bizarre, as he simply doesn't behave like one. No child in this world behaves normally. Yes, I know, we are dealing with a super-talented mastermind child prodigy here. Perhaps my memory of how a six-year-old thinks and feels is flawed – but I had a hard time believing this. Maybe that's also why the lead actor in the film adaptation of the same name is at least twice as old as in the original source ^[1].

Also interesting: At the beginning, it’s stated that a certain character is far too aggressive for the program, but later in the cadet school, the place seems to be crawling with psychopaths. For an interstellar fleet with a personnel shortage, their selection process seems quite random. I was also annoyed by a situation right in the first chapter, which in hindsight can be seen as a red herring. ^[2]

By the way: As soon as I held the book and looked at the cover, I knew immediately that it was an illustration by John Harris (https://amzn.to/4qFcugg[^partnerlink]). An illustrator I already know from Ann Leckie's "Imperial Radch" books or the "Old Man's War" series by John Scalzi. An instant upgrade!

All in all, though, it’s a solid story, situated somewhere between Full Metal Jacket and Starship Troopers. I'm not sure if I want to support the message the book sends ^[3], but it was fun. And the fact that every chapter begins with a conversation between nameless officers is an interesting trick. However, I believe the book was better and more surprising in its own time than it is in 2026.

When it comes to Young Adult Science Fiction, however, I would rather recommend Red Rising^[4] today; I definitely enjoyed that much more.

Apparently, there are a bunch of sequels, but I probably won't read them. For me, the story is closed enough that I’m not interested in further episodes from this universe.