Enders Game

I recently finished Enders Game, a book I had read and was Sony with in high school. Similar to the first book, I am finding nostalgia in these books that i read as a kid. I enjoy seeing how my mind relates to them as an adult compared to when I was younger.

In Enders Game, the story is about humanity on the brink of extinction. There is a super natural lifeform that via the First and Second Invasion, tried to take over Earth. It is not humanity's responsibility to ensure that during the Third invasion, humanity is able to succeed. This is a Sci Fi book that does well to work on various emotions of the reader.

The only way human has figured out to win is to train a master commander, and they do this from birth. They start to monitor and train children from as young as 3 years old, trying to bring the brightest minds together. It is, for loss of a better work, very inhumane. But they make the argument that if they don't do this, then all of humanity will be destroyed. They accept that what they're doing to training such young kids for battle is unfair, but they justify it with the argument that it is for the future of humanity.

This makes me wonder, is it really fair? One can compare it to our own Draft policy during times of war (similar to the Vietnam War). However, those are all adults, though they've still been drafted against their will. Thus, is it different if someone is raised as a child to be a solder, a fighter, a commander?

I do not believe we should use childbed in war, so I must disagree with the arguments made in the book. However, I have to admit the author does a great job arguing in favor of it. I recall when i read this book as teen, i had a similar view, so in this sense I have no changed much.

It was quite interesting reading the way Ender, the main protagonist, reasoned his way through his various trials, battles, and obstacles. He truly is a brilliant strategist.

This is the first book in a series of books, and back in high school, i never had the time to read the rest, but now, I will take the time to read the rest of the series. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series, and seeing what I missed out on when I was younger.