Ender's Game

Special 20th Anniversary Edition

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, Gabrielle de Cuir

Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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.

Browse more titles in the Ender Wiggin series.

©1977, 1985, 1991 Orson Scott Card (P)2002 Fantastic Audio, an imprint of Audio Literature

Critic reviews

• Nebula Award Winner, Best Novel, 1985

• Hugo Award Winner, Best Novel, 1986

"'Intense' is the word for Ender's Game." (The New York Times)

Entertaining

It was entertaining enough. Worth a listen if you liked the movie. Probably won't continue the series though.

This child is more adult than I am at 25...

This child is more adult than I am at 25, and I'm sure glad to have met him.

Pretty Good Book

It was enjoyable, although the ending lacked punch.

A decent read

I enjoyed the book and liked comparing and contrasting to the movie. Seeing the differences and nuances. Ending was not very good in my opinion, its biggest downfall and I feel if could have been far better if it wasn't a series. Good book.

Good story, good read, stumbles a bit at the end..

Would you listen to Ender's Game again? Why?

I wouldn't listen to it again, but I did like it the first time. The story was solid and had some interesting themes.

What other book might you compare Ender's Game to and why?

Not sure I would compare this with any other book directly, but it falls into my category with all the other classic Sci-fi authors. They create an extreme reality that shines a light on strong theme, discuss that argument through the narrative and then hopefully supply their resolution. This was almost done in this book...the end, however, seemed to stumble just a bit. But now I see that it's more of a setup for sequels.

What about Stefan Rudnicki and Harlan Ellison ’s performance did you like?

The multi-voice production was very good...although the wistful female voice for Ender's sister started to grate on my nerves after a bit.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No...this was for my long commute. However, I did end up listening to it more than just my commute since it is a riveting story.

enthralling!

you get sucked into the life of this boy who's manipulated for his whole life.

Taught me empathy

Would you listen to Ender's Game again? Why?

I plan on it. This is probably my 3rd time listening to it and I have read it 3 or 4 times as well.

What other book might you compare Ender's Game to and why?

I would Compare Enders game to Dune

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Bean is always my favorit

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Some times. I like to road trip to this book.

Any additional comments?

This book and both story lines that follow are exceptional.

Great Fun

Fabulous. This was my first step into Sci-Fi on Audiobook and it blew me away. The characters were wonderfully complex and endearing, the suspense was almost unbearable at some points, the narrators were for the most part wonderful - I couldn't put my iPod down.

Complex and compelling character

At first, I was a bit put off by the extreme maturity and complexity of the children in "Ender's Game." However, as the story progressed, and as it became more and more clear that these were not ordinary children -- rather the result of extreme selection -- the characters drew me in completely. I found the apparent paradoxes of Ender's character particularly compelling. He had been selected to be trained for some of the most rigorous and brutal militaty campaigns, yet he abhors hurting people, and loves his sister Valentine with exceptional tenderness. Outstanding juxtaposition of attributes, and of the struggles they bring to Ender.

The quality of the recording is also excellent, and I enjoyed the fact that the book was read by a large cast instead of by a single reader.

The recording also includes an interesting interview with Orson Scott Card after the end of the book itself. For me, this interview added important insight into how "Ender's Game" evolved into its novel form.

Making me love Scifi

I was between this book and Armada after reading Ready Player One I decided to go with Ender's Game and I regret nothing enough said. The characters felt real and relatable the performances were grest and i can see why its a Scifi class. I will be delving more into the Enders verse after this one.