Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
First Meetings  By  cover art

First Meetings

By: Orson Scott Card
Narrated by: Gabrielle De Cuir, Amanda Karr, Stefan Rudnicki
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.99

Buy for $14.99

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

First Meetings is a collection of three novellas (plus the original "Ender's Game") that journey into the origins and the destiny of one Ender Wiggin.

"The Polish Boy", a novella written especially for this collection, begins in the years between the first two Bugger Wars when the Hegemony is desperate to recruit brilliant military commanders to repel the alien invasion. In John Paul Wiggin, the future father of Ender, they believe they may have found their man. Or boy.

In "Teacher's Pest", also written especially for this collection, a brilliant but insufferably arrogant John Paul Wiggin, now an American university student, matches wits with an equally brilliant graduate student named Theresa Brown.

It is many years since the end of the Bugger Wars in "The Investment Counselor". Ender's reputation as a hero and savior has suffered a horrible reversal. Banished from Earth and slandered as a mass murderer, 20-year-old Ender Wiggin wanders incognito form planet to planet as a fugitive, until a blackmailing tax inspector compromises his identity and threatens to expose Ender the Xenocide.

Also here is the original landmark "Ender's Game", which first appeared in 1977.

First Meetings is Orson Scott Card at the height of his considerable powers, featuring his most compelling character.

©2003 Orson Scott Card (P)2003, 2004 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"Character, setting, plot: Card does them all right, and makes it look effortless....For newcomers to Ender's universe and long-time fans, this book will hit the spot and whet the appetite for more." (School Library Journal)
"Even those who are intimately familiar with the concepts of the Game from later Ender books will be struck anew by Card's virtuosity. His powerful voice and startlingly clear vision will draw many new readers into a lifelong love of science fiction. This accessible collection will impress even non-sci-fi buffs, besides being a must-have for Ender saga devotees." (Publishers Weekly) "These stories demonstrate the assured scene setting, apparently effortlessly sustained suspense, and moral preoccupation with the responsibilities of kinship and friendship that distinguishes Ender's entire saga." (Booklist)

Featured Article: Take an Unforgettable Journey with These Exciting Action and Adventure Listens


Who doesn't love a story with a little adventure—or maybe a lot? No matter your age, there’s something truly engrossing about a tale that’s a nonstop adrenaline rush. If you’re anything like us, you just can’t press pause on those daring storylines and intrepid characters that compel you to keep listening until the thrilling conclusions. Here are action and adventure audiobooks for both adults and kids that will keep you hooked and have your heart racing.

What listeners say about First Meetings

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,238
  • 4 Stars
    653
  • 3 Stars
    227
  • 2 Stars
    57
  • 1 Stars
    23
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,105
  • 4 Stars
    325
  • 3 Stars
    107
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    21
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    983
  • 4 Stars
    367
  • 3 Stars
    171
  • 2 Stars
    34
  • 1 Stars
    29

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Meh

Beginning was decent, then some stuff didn't particularly match with the original stories but was still acceptable, just stretched a bit. Also, the last story was pretty much a repeat w/ some minor details and the Jane story could've been so much more. I've never disliked the music at the end/beginning of a chapter in the other books, it would sometimes give it a majestic feel if it was just the right music and scene but in this book the music was overbearing and in poor choice. You could barely hear the characters talking while it played, it played for too long, and it was so loud I'd have to lower the audio and in turn hear even less of the dialogue. Overall it's still part of the enderverse and I'd still listen to it knowing it's shortfalls.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enders game with a prologue

This is a good book, but it's basically just Ender's game with a short story as the introduction

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I don't think I would have put it as volume 4.5

I wouldn't put this as book 4.5 in the enderverse, probably best as a last book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Story and Characters a Plus

The story and character-building are typical of Orson Scott Card and very enjoyable. However that intro and exit music is a big enough bother to remove a star from the rating. You can't figure out what's happening in the story until the first parts are already over and you can listen to secondary details.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, loud music

This is just another great book in the series. The only issue is that the music is too loud its hard to hear the speaker while it's playing. I like the music it's just too loud.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mix the music better

The songs that play over a few of the chapters are extremely loud and distracting. I would remove them all together.

The stories themselves are very interesting reads for any serious Ender’s Game fans.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Spoiler; Don't Listen to this Before Ender's Game

This anthology contains the well written short story that served as the basis for Ender's Game. So, Orson Scott Card, NO, this is not suitable to listen to ahead of the novel. Narration is excellent and even so, I want to read things in plot order - not in order of publication. Or at least, provide a warning in the introduction. Thank you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

doesn't follow enders game very well.

the first stories were great but the one about ender did not follow the original book very well

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Volume control

I cant recommend this one enough, how ever the audio master needs to get ahold on the background music asap .. not only it is a massive distraction but makes the entire last chapter unaudible .. people buy audio books to listen to the spoken words not overly loud overutilized intros and outros .. very disappointed that this ever made it past any reviewer with out being addressed .. final marks 4/5 story 1/5 editing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

so confused

There were parts of the shadow series that were different from the enders series but minor enough to ignore, but first meetings changed cannon to such an extent that the disappointment equals the feeling I get when a TV show butchers my favorite story line...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!