I'll just point out that the thing I didn't like about enders game was that the book felt too monotone. It has a great twist at the end, but everything leading up to it is linear, predictable, and while initially exciting, quickly becomes uninteresting.
I've read through Ender's Game more times than I can count, and have worn through two paperback copies. It is a powerful book with plenty of great object lessons. Quality is, of course, in the eye of the beholder.
I really don't think people should be down-voted for writing a dissenting, non-inflammatory opinion. I really liked Ender's Game (it is on my top 10 list, in fact), but I would absolutely hate living in a world where everybody loved it (even worse would be a world that people felt they couldn't express their dislike for fear of upsetting others).
I think that Ender's Game is one of those books whose appeal is largely independent of its literary merits. The people who love it really love it because they identify with it, it speaks to them, and if you don't identify with it then it's just some random okay sort of sci-fi story about space battles.
I never really identified with it, but maybe if I'd read it at twelve instead of 24 then I would have. (Though I'm kinda glad I didn't.)
I say this not to disparage the book. A fairly well-written book that speaks to a lot of people is much better than a very well-crafted book that speaks to nobody (I'm looking at you, Mr Joyce). And I'm sure there are relatively crappy works of art that I like just because I identify with 'em. But Ender's Game is just one of those love-it-or-go-meh-at-it books.
Which is likely due to the style choice as OSC mentions in his self-book-review.
Personally, having read it at an early age, I found the science part of the sci-fi to be very captivating and philosophy to be interesting.
From a sci-fi historiology perspective, you can see parts of the Bradbury style space-as-wild-west, while also some of the Gibson-esqe interconnected computing. I also found that the philosophy of the ansible to be related to some of Philip K Dick's warped sense of reality books.
That happens with short stories that become novels. If the short story was good enough to be worth converting to a novel, it already has everything it needs to be great. What more can you add?
