Ender Wiggin has just defeated the insectoid alien race known as the Formics (or the buggers as they are slangily called). During the time that the young Ender was in Battle School training to be the ultimate commander of Earth's forces, Ender's older brother Peter was setting himself up to be the leader of the united nations of Earth, the ultimate position of power, called the hegemon. Peter has a dark, antagonistic history with Ender, and does not want the new military hero of the Earth to steal his thunder, so he makes it so that Ender will not be allowed to return to Earth. Instead Ender will become the new governor of an Earth colony on the planet Shakespeare. Ender's sister Valentine, will not stick around to be subject to the whims of Peter, and makes arrangements to go with Ender on the transport ship. Ender is only 15 years old, and we see at each step of the way how clever and subtle his actions are. Like a chess player, he is always thinking several moves ahead. Card has a way of writing such that you cannot fully appreciate how cunning Ender is until he plays his hand. Then his past actions can be seen in their true light.
Ender serves well as governor on Shakespeare for two years before his wanderlust takes over and he knows that he must move on. However, his powerful urge to move on is not due to boredom, but due to an absolutely unbelievable discovery that he makes on Shakespeare concerning the buggers. It is this discovery that helps puts his past xenocide into perspective and gives him ideas that will shape his future. I thought this book was as good as any in the series that I have read so far. I will next continue on into the Shadow Saga, a series of parallel novels to Ender's Game, starting with Ender's Shadow.
