A War of Gifts was not particularly well received by
genre critics. The chief complaint with the story is that although it raises the issues of faith, religious freedom and religious suppression, it does so in a very superficial manner. Some critics have also commented on the character of Ender Wiggin who is described as being too
Christ-like to be believable. A
Publishers Weekly review described it as "an amusing and sincere tale".
Kirkus Reviews described the story as a "Little League stocking stuffer that nevertheless makes several cogent points". ==Connection to other parts of the Ender series==