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)

Thank you Orson

Where does Ender's Game rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Right up there - second to Eragon

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ender is awesome and Bean

Any additional comments?

I dont know why you dont like gays - but you sure can write a good novel

I Loved This Book

Any additional comments?

I found this book by browsing. I loved it. It was a nice refreshing story with a good twist at the end. I am thinking of course the movie will do it no justice.

some stories are timeless

What made the experience of listening to Ender's Game the most enjoyable?

I read the original paperback about 20 years ago and enjoyed listening to it since I only have sight in one eye now its harder to read but I love to listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ender. why you ask, because he is the leader that makes you want to follow.

Which character – as performed by Stefan Rudnicki and Harlan Ellison – was your favorite?

the commander of the school

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no just sad that this could be our future.

So much better as an audio book

Orson Scott Card indicated at the end that this book was meant to be a performance and it just really comes alive in this audiobook. I'd recommend this to anyone as a first audible book.

Buy the book, don't watch the movie

What made the experience of listening to Ender's Game the most enjoyable?

I loved the way the story evolved. It was not predictable, but kept me exited for what was to come. Ender`s struggle with himself makes the story interesting too from a psychological point of view.

Great story... great story telling

If you could sum up Ender's Game in three words, what would they be?

An amazing story

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ender, of course. It's hard not to cheer for the under-dog... and he's smart! Of course he was "bred" to be smart... and tough.

What does Stefan Rudnicki and Harlan Ellison bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The readers did an excellent job of interpreting the story. I don't think Rudnicki and Ellison brought anything to the story over my experience of reading this book. But it allowed me to hear the story as I drove and their reading was lively.

Brilliant

Reading Ender's Game was great, but this production is awesome. I was truly captivated.

Get it,

Amazing book with great characters and a fast pace that still has details and depth. The story is orginal and unfolds in just the right ways so it's logical but not predictable. The audio is excellent with multiple actors doing the voices with feeling and emotion that sound authentic and not overplayed or distracting. Perfect or as close as it gets. I've got 2 hours left but I just bought the next in the series.

gripping

I read the book a while ago but was blown away for a second time. This is the first audible book i've listened to and it really impressed me. The voices had believable variation and it was read at a suitable pace. The story itself is unbeatable in depth and imagination. Card even manages to create a sense of understanding and empathy with the young genius destined to save mankind from the insect-like 'buggers'. Nice plot twists, point of view changes and some truely original and thought-provoking material. This book is everything that sci-fi should be.

Great listen

An excellent reading of a science fiction classic. The use of multiple voices and a semi-dramatic reading make this a very good listen and enhance an already good story. The story is compelling, if slightly taxing on our ability to suspend disbelief, but you start to care so much about the main character that you can overlook some of the hard to swallow parts.