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Earth Afire  By  cover art

Earth Afire

By: Orson Scott Card,Aaron Johnston
Narrated by: Stephen Hoye,Arthur Morey,Stefan Rudnicki,Vikas Adam,Gabrielle de Cuir,Roxanne Hernandez,Emily Rankin
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Publisher's summary

One hundred years before Ender's Game, the aliens arrived on Earth with fire and death. Earth Afire by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston is the story of the First Formic War.

Victor Delgado beat the alien ship to Earth, but just barely. Not soon enough to convince skeptical governments that there was a threat. They didn't believe that until space stations and ships and colonies went up in sudden flame.

And when that happened, only Mazer Rackham and the Mobile Operations Police could move fast enough to meet the threat.

©2013 Orson Scott Card (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews


“The gifted Stefan Rudnicki leads a team of talented narrators who do an excellent job of keeping vivid and focused the two-dozen or so characters and multiple locations…Orson Scott Card remains a master storyteller, and each narrator is right there with him as he mixes hard science and psychological insights – right up to the cliff-hanger ending.” —AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner

“With a stellar cast of narrators, this prequel to Card's sci-fi classic Ender's Game is a rollicking, rollercoaster ride of an adventure…From the very beginning of this audio edition, the almost nonstop action is delivered perfectly, keeping listeners on the edge of their seats. At the same time, the narrators manage to bring a large and diverse cast of characters to life with a sharply realized array of distinct voices and accents.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

What listeners say about Earth Afire

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

better than earth unaware, but not epic

it seemed like it was just a "good straightforward book" that you enjoy, but wasn't unpredictable or surprising at all. i enjoyed listening, but it wouldn't make my list of, "hey, you've got to read this!" there's still something missing from this series and i can't put my finger on it.
having said that, i'll definitely listen to the next book in the series when it comes out.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

So So Card

I used to be a die hard Orson Scott Card fan. But, "Earth Afire" is very disappointing. The book is bloated, characterization is half baked, and the narration is a mess. One narrator would have been sufficient. I suspect that Card is trying to emulate Larry Niven by working with a second writer. But Niven works with very good writers; Aaron Johnston doesn't seem to live up to his, or Card's previous, standards. I would very much like to recommend this book out of respect for Card and the many hours of pleasure I've had from his books over the years; but I can't.

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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A Miss

This writer writes either great books, bad books, or kid's books. This is one of the bad kid books I had to give up on a third of the way through. In that five hours, there were about 30 minutes of actual info for a YA novel. The other 4 ½ hours I had made it through was useless filler. There was a list of narrators and some narrators were great and some were bad.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Not bad by any means...

and a great edition to the story, but the cliffhanger makes it feel incomplete. It feels like a half-book. There's no definite ending as found in cards other works. Definitely feels as if this was a back-burner book while he was writing something else.

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An ok addition

The idea of a prequel series to Enders game is intriguing. To me it falls a little flat. You’re following a much larger group of people and hearing the story from several points of view. This is a big departure from Enders game where you may hear from different people but not as many in this series. This book could be a number of novelettes or comics and would fit right in, but in my opinion it’s too fractious in structure to hold up as a novel.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fresh story experience in a constrained storyworld

Even though I know the ultimate outcome of the first bugger war, nothing in the narrative feels certain. Very well written. I'd love to see Hollywood take as fresh and imaginative an approach to storytelling as this does.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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very good story, good pace, niece lectors

I enjoyed the second book the same amount as the first one. Recommend for every Enders Game fan.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting, moving book

Keep me entranced. How does Card keep doing it? Great characters and great alien invasion.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A Novel For Those Who Love Family and Adventure

I was absorbed by the detail, fascinated by the very real people Card created, and enthralled that this story felt as if it could happen in real life. The multiple narrators were superb!!!

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    1 out of 5 stars
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From 4 stars to 1 in the last 10 seconds.

Wonderful narration, great story, loved the entire book UNTIL the last 10 seconds... I was so mad at this ending (or lack of) I had to look at my Ipod to see if I forgot to download something. Cliffhanger doesn't even come close to this non-ending!! No spoiler here but imagine watching star wars and right after Luke shoots the torpedo BUT before it goes down the hole the movie ends!! I will not be getting the next book unless Card prices it at a HUGE discount. I feel cheated...

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