Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card I just finished Ender's Game and though I liked it, I thought the writing was kind of stilted. The paragraphs just didn't flow from one to the other. It seems hodge-podge to me as if someone edited out whole paragraphs so those left behind didn't quite fit together.

I did like Ender and really felt bad for him in all situations. His brother hated him so he wasn't comfortable at home. His fellow students picked on him so he wasn't comfortable at school. So it was no surprise to me that when given the Battle School option, he jumped at the chance to escape his situation.

I was surprised to find out that the flight school was "live" action. That was an interesting twist and I agree with the "teachers" that Ender would not have been able to succeed had he known he was "playing" with real lives. He was a sensitive child and even after his harrowing experiences (heartache and betrayal) at both schools, he stayed a sensitive person.

I did have issues with the training methods though I guess there needs to be some manipulation in order to get the trainees to think for themselves. I admit to being somewhat bored by the nonstop battles, which I couldn't visualize and the video game feel to the entire book. I'm not a gamer so it was a little too abstract for my tastes.

I had the most trouble with what Valentine and Peter were doing on the internet. The poorly explained government situation was frustrating. What were they trying to change and why? Valentine is the "good" one and Peter the "bad" so why was Peter's internet rant the good and Valentine's the bad? I found this sub-plot to be poorly explained and rather distracting. I guess this will be further explained in future installments which I will be reading eventually.

I would be interested in reading further to see how Ender, Valentine and his peeps survive the Bugger colony, to see when/where Ender "plants" the Queen and to see what Peter does next.