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)

The best book I've ever listened to.

Listened to the whole thing in 2 days. Really well realized world, unique characters, no fluff in any chapter. Truly amazing.

Way better than the movie!○●○;)

I like cheese enough to write a fiffteen word essay so ... almost there ...and done!

Better than the movie

Excellent book, took a while to finish listening to, loved it. I couldn't put it down.

Without a doubt the best audio book

What did you love best about Ender's Game?

The characters! I feel as if I have met Ender and the other characters in the book, especially Ender's sister, Valentine.

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

Speaker for the Dead - same author, characters and narration cast.

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

The audio book dramatisation brought to the story by Stefan Rudnicki and Harlan Ellison and team makes the audio book live, its like listening to a play rather than a simple narration of the book.

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

I loved this book and it left a deep, positive impression on me. based on this I sought out more books by the same author and the same audio team of Stefan Rudnicki et al.

Any additional comments?

Without a doubt the best audio book I have ever listened to and felt part of.

Good story, repugnant author

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

I've already listened to it twice, will probably listen to it again someday.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ender's Game?

Nothing that really sticks in the mind, it was just decent sci-fi. Not sophisticated, fairly imaginative.

Which scene was your favorite?

To quote Dr. River Song: "Spoilers."

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Ender was first taken to the academy, first meeting with Graf (sp?)

Any additional comments?

Decent sci-fi, not Asimov quality but definitely a good listen.I think the book has more impact on younger readers than on us old farts.

The plot is is fairly easy to figure out from about 1/3 of the way through the book, so it plodded a bit knowing what was probably coming. Still fun.

I enjoyed the book but much of my enjoyment was lost once I found out the author is a raging homophobe. It's like reading a decent book and then finding out the author was a Nazi, it doesn't matter how good the writing is, it still leaves one with a funny feeling in the stomach. Had I known in advance, I would have gotten the book from a library rather than support any author who preaches any form of bigotry or racism.

Pretty good :)

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

Child commander fantasy

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

None.

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

Both were good. It takes a minute to be comfortable but I got used to them. I would of preferred just hearing one throughout the entire book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The war in space

Any additional comments?

I'm almost done with the book... chapter 17 and the story has twisted in a very interesting and exciting way.... but I am confused as the story seems to have jumped to a different story with Ender, Carlotta and the giant? I don't get this transition....

Wonderful story narrated by talented voices.

I love everything about this audio book. It was exceptionally well narrated, with distinctive, consistent voices for characters that made it a pleasurable experience to listen to.

One of the best science fiction series available!

I read this book while I was in middle school and it was even better the second time! I can't wait until the movie comes out! Not only was the story great, both of the narrators gave amazing performances! Each character had their own voice or inflection and it made the story that much more engrossing. I highly recommend this book/series to anyone who is even a tiny bit interested in science fiction. You won't be disappointed!

A great book!

I listened to Ender's Game for the first time in my 20's and loved it.

Don't wait for the movie!!

While I'm sure I'll be first in line to see Hollywood's version (due out in November 2013), there is no way a movie can capture the intrigue and vital inner monologue that is so important to this book. I first read it in paperback probably 20 years ago and found it original, thought-provoking and entertaining. On a whim I decided to re-visit it, and I'm so glad I did! With the benefit of an advanced degree in security studies and a subsequent decade studying military leadership theory and security strategy, I can see so much more in Card's writing than I did as a teenager, virtually oblivious to the larger themes in this story. It is by no means a philosophical work; there is no mention of Hobbes, Thucydides, Machiavelli or Clausewitz, nor even discussion of any major academic ideas. Ender's Game can be enjoyed simply for its entertainment value, however it is addresses questions of politics, philosophy, ethics, anthropology, international relations, leadership, security strategy and military tactics in ways that are interesting to both young people and not-so-young-anymore adults.

It's worth pointing out that Card published this book in 1985, before lay-people had ever even heard of the internet as a theory, never mind a ubiquitous element of daily life. Not only did he predict the emergence and relevance of "nets" and interactive "desks" (which came to fruition in the form of the internet, laptops, tablets and smartphones), but he understood the how these media would become salient parts of our political and cultural spaces and moreover how their inherent anonymity would make them (and us) vulnerable to exploitation by those who wish to hide their identities or their true agendas.

My assessment of the performance is mixed. There are multiple narrators, particular to the characters, and I'm not sure who did what. Whoever voiced Ender, Col Graff and Mazer Rackham did an amazing job. Major Anderson and some of the other adults and students were not nearly as believable. The woman who portrays Valentine Wiggin (I hope it wasn't Card's daughter!) had a very pleasant voice, but was relentlessly singsongy, pleading, and strangely breathless. It was just too much emotion--and always whiny emotion--all the time.