"This must be it." He said.

"The old bat was right!" She removed her cap, dragged her hands through her dirty hair and flopped to the ground.

He grabbed one of the artefacts out of the box and analysed it. After a few rotations he realised he didn't know what he was looking for. He returned it to the box and checked the others. "They all look the same."

"Let me see." She pushed him out of the way, tore into the box and burrowed around. "What is this junk?" She tipped the box upside down.

"What the hell are you doing?" He tried grabbing the box from her, but she pushed him back. Showing no signs of her smaller frame.

The artefacts fell to the floor, nothing broke. She turned to him with an 'i told you so' smile. Turning back to the pieces, she sieved through them, "This can't be what the witch was talking about? They're just lumps of rubbish." She tossed one of the artefacts over her shoulder in disgust.

The boy rushed behind her to make sure the piece wasn't damaged. He picked it up and examined it. "You idiot! We don't even know what these... Oh my god!" She turned to face him.

The artefact glowed a fluorescent purple. "I think you broke it." He pulled it to his face and stared at it. From purple it flashed green and then tripled in temperature. "Ah!" The tips of his fingers seared and he dropped it.

"What are you doing?" She said. The artefact hit the floor. It quickly returned to purple. The boy waved his hands about, but his fingers still stung. In need of stronger measures he clustered his fingers together and blew on them.

As he emptied his lungs, his body froze. From heel to head he couldn't move. The artefact turned red and pulsed from dark to light.

Not realising the boy had frozen, the girl crept toward the pulsing object. Half a metre away she crouched down. She looked at it closely, "Hey stop messing around and look at this," she moved to within touching distance of the artefact when she froze too.

The artefact rose from the ground and hovered in the air. The girl let out a stifled moan, her fear was clear. The artefact swayed towards her face and stopped. If she had control of her eyelids she would have shut them tightly.

Marks and lines appeared across the artefact. They stayed for a second and then changed direction and twisted into something else. The red cooled to a pink glow and then the marks and lines stopped moving.

A voice oozed from the artefact. "Are you sure?"

Shock silenced the girls moans and groans.

"This is it. This is your story. It all begins here." Said the voice.

A blue light beamed from the artefact and shone first on the girl and then the boy. The moment the light touched them they vanished.

If you ever see one of my 'most listened to' playlists, you'll be sure to find The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. They've enthralled me for years.

"Start talking!" My neck burned from shouting. His face twisted, I wasn't sure if it was from my demand or that he was dangling from a cliff and desperate.

"Please! Help me! Please!" Fear ran through his voice.

I reached down and grabbed his arm. Scar and Mufasa's final face off played on my mind. I could have let him drop, he deserved to drop, but not today. I pulled him clear.

He rolled onto the cliff edge and breathed deep. "Thank you, thank you!"

I shoved my gun in his face. "Start talking!" I couldn't afford to waste time.

He rolled onto his back and raised his hands, as you do when a gun is pointed at your head. The scene looked normal, then a smile brushed his lips.

It was an ugly smile but it shouldn't have been here,  not at this moment. "I swear I'll shoot!" Fear found a new host in me.

"Rule number one kid, never trust a survivor until you find out what they did to stay alive." His smile graduated into a cackle.

I took the safety off my gun to re-affirm my position, partly to him, mainly for me.

"I killed them all! Everyone of them! Do you trust me now?" The cackles would have made The Joker envious.

All of them? My face asked the question but the words never made it to my mouth.

"Do you want to know whose neck I cut first?"

The word 'neck' brought back memories that I'd tried to bury. I emptied the gun. It wasn't the first time I'd shot one, but it was the first time I'd hit a human target. The bullets piercing his flesh sounded like stones dropping into water. He convulsed and writhed as he dropped.

I'd never killed anyone before, the event washed over me and I felt cold.

Laboured laughed frothed from his mouth. "You're not a bad shot kid." He sat upright, "Death isn't on my schedule today." He stood and brushed himself off. The bullet's dislodged themselves and fell to the ground. "Yeah, your friends gave me that look too. It's kind of a cross between 'what the hell?' and 'lord forgive me for my sins."

When you love sci-fi and fantasy, there are authors and books that are staples of genre. Gaiman, Pratchett, and Tolkien are juggernauts appearing on every must read list you'll find. Over the years Orson Scott Card has positioned himself amongst the behemoths. It all began with his breakthrough novel 'Ender's Game.'

Coming out in 1985, after Luke defeated the Galactic Empire (with minor help from the rebels). The book received positive reviews and spawned numerous sequels.

The name of protagonist Ender Wiggin has become legendary across the sci-fi world. Regardless of Scott Card's personal beliefs he is respected with a pen in his hand.

Below are my thoughts.

WHAT I LIKED:

Ender Wiggin is a prepubescent genius. His mind is scarily wonderful and his ability to overcome and win is fun to read. When backed into a corner you see the best of Ender. I clapped when battle school made his team fight two other teams at once and he obliterated them. His mind reminded me of all the great sci-fi leaders Kirk, Picard, Yoda, Mcfly (Yes). His reluctance to be a killer was an endearing character quality. In a peacetime climate he could have been a warm and caring child. 

The world that Scott Card creates is tense and intriguing. The two child rule painted the desperate, dog eat dog world that Ender was born into. I got a sense that any story that was set in this world would be fascinating.

The politics was easy to swallow and not shoved down your throat. Reader's understood the importance of the political climate and this peaked Ender's situation. Through Earth's political endeavours, the reader had insight into the lives of Ender's brother and sister. The chapters on Earth, without Ender, felt purposeful and enjoyable.

The relationships of the character's felt genuine. As a reader, I liked Ender's friendships and enjoyed his envious enemies that wanted to see him fall. The dislike toward him was cruel but necessary. As a reader you always felt that Ender could not only endure but had to endure. 

Scott Card's writing style was concise and fun. He did't digress and go off on tangents unless it was beneficial to the narrative. Reading Ender's Game you got the sense that telling the story was the main aim. There weren't any character's designed for self-indulgent purposes.

The unexpected ending was intriguing. It was a slow burner, that initially left a bad taste in my mouth. After a few days, I felt satisfied with events and questions started to knock about in my mind. I didn't yearn a sequel as I did after Ready Player One or Neverwhere, but any story involving Ender Wiggin is worth a gander. 

WHAT I DISLIKED:

At times Ender bordered on the realms of a Mary Sue (perfect character that can overcome anything). However, Scott Card leaves his possible near perfection as an open topic. He toys with the idea and has readers wondering why Ender is so good. Still, at times, I felt the outcome of Ender's trials was a forgone conclusion.  

WOULD I RECOMMEND?: yes yes yes yes

This is a sci-fi must read. I can't say much more.