Ender's Game Summary and Complete Study Guide

Ender trains in what he thinks are simulator games, commanding fleets against Formic ships. The final exam seems impossible—he's outnumbered, so he uses a massive weapon to destroy the Formic home world. He wins! Then Mazer reveals: it wasn't a game. Those were real ships. Ender just committed xenocide, destroying the entire Formic species. He's devastated. Later, he communicates with the last Formic queen (an egg) and learns the Formics didn't understand humans were intelligent individuals—they thought we were like their drones. The second war was a tragic misunderstanding. Ender dedicates his life to finding the Formics a new home. Card asks: can you be responsible for something you didn't know you were doing? Adults manipulating children for military purposes is monstrous. Dehumanizing enemies lets us kill them, but what if they're not actually enemies? Ender wanted to be good but the system weaponized him. It's about lost innocence and how we rationalize violence.

Published 1985, won both Hugo and Nebula Awards. Started as a short story in 1977, then expanded. Launched a series of sequels exploring Ender's guilt and redemption. The book influenced military strategy discussions and got taught at military academies for its tactical scenarios. The 2013 film underperformed but the book remains a sci-fi staple. Card's later controversial political views complicated the book's legacy, but Ender's Game itself tackles complex ethics about war, childhood, and genocide. It asks whether good intentions excuse catastrophic outcomes and whether empathy can survive military training.