Military space adventure with a heart
I had to approach Ender's Game with an open mind, given the controversy of its film adaptation. At first glance, it's follows the classic formula - boy finds himself in a strange situation and holds the fate of the world in his young hands - but there is so much more to it than that. The story will keep you engaged with plot twists, many of which came as a complete surprise, but if you look back, so much of it is artfully foreshadowed. Even for someone like me, who already knew the ending, there was something unexpected in every chapter. Ender's emotions are at the heart of it all, and it's never just action for the sake of action. The characters, far from being a series of interchangeable allies, are each memorable in their own right. The way it depicts the military is intriguing too, as it manages to be both sympathetic and critical of it at the same time. Hearing all those child characters voiced by a grown man is almost unnerving, since they behave so much like little grown-ups, you almost forget this is a story about kids fighting a war. I could not bring myself to knock off a star for that, as the acting performances were all superb, and they carried across the character's personalities very well. Listen to this instead of watching the movie.