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)

Great Story and Awesome Performances

I did enjoy this book. The story flowed nicely, the voice acting was on point.

The only thing that confused me was why they had different voice actors speaking for characters that already had another actor portraying that character.

My favorite book

I love this book and have read my copy probably birth of fifteen times. That being said, I struggled with the narration on some of the characters on this one.

Valentine's reader seemed to be over-dramatic and makes the character come off wrong in my opinion. I found myself skipping some of her parts just to avoid the narration.

Great book, wish it sounded smoother.

perfect

I absolutely love everything about this book I've listened to it several times and it's always just as great as before by far one of my favorites. the only disappointment is how wildly different the sequels are and I didn't enjoy those nearly as much.

I could not stop listening

I would get house and go straight to reading/listening. I listen for hours it is so good.

I see why this is a classic. Harry Potter in space

I had hit a rut on new good books on audible, so I went for this one as it is a classic according to many. It is clear very quickly why it is. Really had all the same appeal as Harry Potter. Great world building following the trials of a young "chosen one" dealing with school dynamics, mean students, and being a savant and pawn of powerful people. There are 2-3 plot twists or changes that are next level writing and will make you say wow. This is a great book, a classic.

Only gripes may be the story arc and pacing. Some conclusions seem like they are in the middle of the book, yet new reasons and story lines pop up. Weird arc and timeline. The other is the book ends with 1HR 30min still on the audiobook, There is a 1.5 hour book preview included in the total time and 1 hour in the post story wrap up (which is important and brilliant).

This is a classic. If you loved HP books you will love this.

So interesting!!

Loved it! This is the first book I've listened to from Mr Card. I'm looking forward to listening to any and all of his other books!

Very good story!

Enjoyed it from start to finish!

The performance was above average!

The beginning of an interesting series!

Too many low IQ people giving bad reviews

Saw one talking that Card is a pedo because he mentions naked kids once or twice in the book, like a slight mention of nudity is something to be afraid of or hated. Another stating they felt too bad for Ender (which was a huge plot point of the book, DUH!). I guess you get these types of reviews from people who don't actually read these books. This book was great and definitely got you feeling bad for Ender (you are meant to).

You already know

It's an aging series, I reread it every few years and have never loved it less. Ender's struggle is in its own way a unique thing that somehow feels familiar. If you haven't you absolutely should, this will quickly become a favorite.

Most listen for SciFi Fans

I barely remember when I watched the movie… but then I decided to listen to this book and oh my, I wished I had it done a long time ago. It’s just great!