Synopses & Reviews
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives. Ender's Game is the winner of the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Review
"Card has taken the venerable sf concepts of a superman and interstellar war against aliens, and, with superb characterization, pacing and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power. This is Card at the height of his very considerable powers—a major sf novel by any reasonable standards."—
Booklist
Review
“This Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel is given award-winning treatment as an audiobook....
Ender's Game offers outstanding production and first-rate narration. Dont miss it.” -
Audio File “A pleasure to listen to. Refreshing, highly entertaining and fast-paced. Orson Scott Card is a phenomenal writer.” - USA TODAY
Review
"This audio version was created in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the novel and it's a gem…. Stefan Rudnicki is particularly good as Ender." - School Library Journal, Starred Review "[Rudnickis] deep, dispassionate, and sometimes lacerating voice gives a mesmerizing performance, managing to make Ender believable both as a vulnerable boy and as a brilliant military strategist…. a riveting audio production of Cards classic 1977 novel, which in this ideal format remains as original, disturbing, and ultimately surprising as ever." - Horn Book "Rudnicki, the main narrator and voice of Ender, reads in a cool, almost emotionless manner, which seems just right for this dark life-or-death tale. Rudnicki excels when reading the students Battle School dialogue, a rhythmic slang used by the cadets…. De Cuir portrays Enders beloved sister, who remains on Earth. Her reading is as cool as Rudnickis but with a bit more emotion, a suitable match for the more volatile sibling." - Booklist "I've saved my favorite for last; if you loved Ender's Game, you will go nuts for these fantastic full-cast recordings." - Examiner.com on Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow
Review
"Card has taken the venerable sf concepts of a superman and interstellar war against aliens, and, with superb characterization, pacing and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power. This is Card at the height of his very considerable powers--a major sf novel by any reasonable standards." --
Booklist
Review
"Card has taken the venerable sf concepts of a superman and interstellar war against aliens, and, with superb characterization, pacing and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power. This is Card at the height of his very considerable powers--a major sf novel by any reasonable standards." --
Booklist
Review
Praise for
Ender's Game: "Card has taken the venerable sf concepts of a superman and interstellar war against aliens, and, with superb characterization, pacing and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power. This is Card at the height of his very considerable powers -- a major sf novel by any reasonable standards." --
Booklist "Card has done strong work before, but this could be the book to break him out of the pack."--
New York Newsday "Ender's Game is an affecting novel."--New York Times Book Review
"Card's latest novel is both a gripping tale of adventure in space and a
scathing indictment of the militaristic mind." --Library Journal
"A prize-winning novella has been transformed into an even more powerful book about war, that ranges in topic from reflex-training video games to combat between our inner- and other-directed selves....This book provides a harrowing look at the price we pay for trying to mold our posterity in our own aggresive image of what we believe is right." --The Christian Science Monitor
"Ender's Game is a fast-paced action/adventure but it is also a book with deep and complex moral sensibilities. Card constructed the book so that layers fold with immaculate timing, transforming an almost juvenile adventure into a tragic tale of the destruction of the only other sentient species man had discovered in the universe." -- Houston Post
Review
"Superb characterization, pacing and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power."
Booklist
Review
"Card has done strong work before, but this could be the book to break him out of the pack."
New York Newsday
Review
"Ender's Game is an affecting novel." New York Times Book Review
Review
"Card's latest novel is both a gripping tale of adventure in space and a scathing indictment of the militaristic mind."
Library Journal
Review
" [A] powerful book about war, that ranges in topic from reflex-training video games to combat between our inner-and other-directed selves...." The Christian Science Monitor
Review
"Layers fold with immaculate timing, transforming an almost juvenile adventure into a tragic tale of the destruction...." Houston Post
Review
“Read Orson Scott Cards Enders Game before the big-screen adaptation, starring Harrison Ford and Hugos Asa Butterfield, hits theaters Nov. 1.” —Entertainment Weekly, 13 Ways to Get Ready for '13
“Superb! This is Card at the height of his very considerable powers—a major SF novel by any reasonable standard.”—Booklist
“An affecting novel full of surprises. Card never makes the mistake of patronizing or sentimentalizing his hero.”—The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula AwardsIn order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
Synopsis
From New York Times bestselling author Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is the classic Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction novel of a young boy's recruitment into the midst of an interstellar war.
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew Ender Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
THE ENDER UNIVERSE
Ender series
Ender's Game / Ender in Exile / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind
Ender's Shadow series
Ender's Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight
Children of the Fleet
The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)
Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens
The Second Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)
The Swarm /The Hive
Ender novellas
A War of Gifts /First Meetings
Synopsis
From New York Times bestselling author Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game--adapted to film in 2013 starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford--is the classic Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction novel, of a young boy's recruitment into the midst of an interstellar war.
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew Ender Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
THE ENDER UNIVERSE
Ender series
Ender's Game / Ender in Exile / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind
Ender's Shadow series
Ender's Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight
Children of the Fleet
The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)
Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens
The Second Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)
The Swarm /The Hive
Ender novellas
A War of Gifts /First Meetings
Synopsis
A full-cast production of the science fiction classic featuring original recordings of Orson Scott Card
Synopsis
A full-cast production of the science fiction classic featuring original recordings of Orson Scott Card
Synopsis
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula AwardsIn order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
Synopsis
A full-cast production, now digitally remastered, of the science fiction classic featuring original recordings of Orson Scott Card
Synopsis
The worldwide bestseller, Enders Game by Orson Scott Card comes to the screen at last in a major motion picture event in November 2013. Starring Hugos Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, and Ben Kingsley, the movie is sure to inspire a new audience of fans to read the book that started it all.
Once again, Earth is under attack. An alien species is poised for a final assault. The survival of humanity depends on a military genius who can defeat the aliens. But who?
Ender Wiggin. Brilliant. Ruthless. Cunning. A tactical and strategic master. And a child.
Recruited for military training by the world government, Enders childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. Among the elite recruits Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses. He excels in simulated war games. But is the pressure and loneliness taking its toll on Ender? Simulations are one thing. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions? After all, Battle School is just a game. Isnt it?
Synopsis
The worldwide bestseller, Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, with featured cover art from the major motion picture starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley and Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin.
Once again, the Earth is under attack. An alien species is poised for a final assault. The survival of humanity depends on a military genius who can defeat the aliens. But who?
Ender Wiggin. Brilliant. Ruthless. Cunning. A tactical and strategic master. And a child.
Recruited for military training by the world government, Enders childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. Among the elite recruits Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses. He excels in simulated war games. But is the pressure and loneliness taking its toll on Ender? Simulations are one thing. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions? After all, Battle School is just a game.
Isnt it?
Synopsis
The International Bestseller
THE HUGO AND NEBULA AWARD WINNING NOVEL Orson Scott Cards beloved classic Enders Game is now a major motion picture. Andrew “Ender” Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast. “Orson Scott Card makes a strong case for being the best writer science fiction has to offer.” —The Houston Post This movie tie-in edition features cover art from the Summit Entertainment film starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, and Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin.
Synopsis
The Earth is under attack and the survival of the human species depends on a military genius who can defeat the alien “buggers.” Recruited for military training, Andrew “Ender” Wiggins childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. A readers guide is available for this Starscape edition—perfect for readers ten and up—of the beloved science fiction classic by best-selling author Orson Scott Card.
Ender's Game is the 1986 winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Synopsis
The worldwide bestseller, Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, with featured cover art from the major motion picture starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley and Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin.
Once again, the Earth is under attack. An alien species is poised for a final assault. The survival of humanity depends on a military genius who can defeat the aliens. But who?
Ender Wiggin. Brilliant. Ruthless. Cunning. A tactical and strategic master. And a child.
Recruited for military training by the world government, Enders childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. Among the elite recruits Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses. He excels in simulated war games. But is the pressure and loneliness taking its toll on Ender? Simulations are one thing. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions? After all, Battle School is just a game.
Isnt it?
Synopsis
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula AwardsFor the perfect holiday gift for the reader on your list, pick up this special gift edition of one of the most beloved Science Fiction novels ever written. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games at the Battle School; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. Ender is the most talented result of Earth's desperate quest to create the military genius that the planet needs in its all-out war with an alien enemy. Is Ender the general Earth needs? The only way to find out is to throw the child into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Formics has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives. Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
About the Author
Best known for his science fiction novels
Ender's Game and
Ender's Shadow,
Orson Scott Card has written in many other forms and genres. Beginning with dozens of plays and musical comedies produced in the 1960s and 70s, Card's first published fiction appeared in 1977 -- the short story "Gert Fram" in the July issue of
The Ensign, and the novelette version of "Ender's Game" in the August issue of
Analog. The novel-length version of
Enders Game, published in 1984 and continuously in print since then, became the basis of the 2013 film, starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin.
While Card's early science fiction stories and novels were earning attention (Card won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978), he supported his family primarily by writing scripts for audiotapes produced by Living Scriptures of Ogden, Utah.
Later, in the mid-1980s, while the novel version of Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead were winning the Hugo and Nebula awards, he also wrote the screenplays for animated children's videos from the New Testament and Book of Mormon.
Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He frequently teaches writing and literature courses at Southern Virginia University.
He is the author many novels, from the 18 science fiction books set in the Ender Universe, to the American frontier fantasy series “The Tales of Alvin Maker” (beginning with Seventh Son), to stand-alone science fiction and fantasy novels like Pastwatch and Harts Hope. He has collaborated with his daughter Emily Card on a manga series, Laddertop. He has also written contemporary thrillers like Empire and historical novels like the monumental Saints and the religious novels Sarah and Rachel and Leah. Cards recent work includes the Mithermages books (Lost Gate, Gate Thief), contemporary magical fantasy for readers both young and old.
Card lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, where his primary activities are writing a review column for the local Rhinoceros Times and feeding birds, squirrels, chipmunks, possums, and raccoons on the patio.
Harlan Ellison has written or edited 75 books and more than 1700 stories, essays, articles, and newspaper columns as well as two dozen teleplays and a dozen motion pictures. He won the Hugo award nine times, the Nebula award three times, the Bram Stoker award six times (including The Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996), the Edgar Allan Poe Award of the Mystery Writers of America twice, the Georges Méliès fantasy film award twice, and was awarded the Silver Pen for Journalism by PEN, the international writers union. Harlan has garnered two Audie Awards for the best in audio recordings. Along with Stefan Rudnicki and other narrators, Harlan read the 20th anniversary edition of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, published by Macmillan Audio.
Stefan Rudnicki was born in Poland and now resides in Studio City, California. He has narrated more than 100 audiobooks, and has participated in more than a thousand as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He is a recipient of multiple Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as a Grammy Award as an audiobook producer. Along with casts of other narrators, Stefan has read a number of Orson Scott Card's best-selling science fiction novels, published by Macmillan Audio. In reviewing the 20th anniversary edition audiobook of Cards Ender's Game, Publishers Weekly stated, "Card's phenomenal emotional depth comes through in the quiet, carefully paced speech of each performer...In particular, Rudnicki, with his lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender's inner struggle between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions he is frequently forced to take. This is a wonderful way to experience Card's best-known and most celebrated work, both for longtime fans and for newcomers."