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)

Old favorite I keep coming back to!

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

Epic, Engrossing Storytelling!

What did you like best about this story?

Ender!

Which scene was your favorite?

[Spoiler]When Ender first figured out an innovative way to win by freezing legs on purpose!

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

I definately cried in this book. I felt for Ender and all the other little boys, and Valentine as well.

Any additional comments?

The narrators did a fantastic job with this book. You can tell that they love this story as much as I do by how good a job they did in characterizing the personalities in the book.

A classic!

I'm so happy I finally read this, it has an incredibly relevant sub plot about how to sway public option. Great, complex story.

Enjoyed this thoroughly

Would you consider the audio edition of Ender's Game to be better than the print version?

I never read the print version, but decided to listen to the book after I saw the trailer for the movie. I must say, the book was very good, but the casting for the movie seems all wrong except for Ender.

What did you like best about this story?

This book doesn't focus on combat specifically, but has a deeper story.

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

They do a very good job with the flow of the story. Basically, they don't sound like actors playing a part, but rather part of the individuals they represent.

Any additional comments?

I didn't particularly enjoy how the book ended.

A deeply engrossing title with amazing narration

Ender's Game was a deeply moving saga that managed to focus on both the personal struggles that Ender faced throughout his life as well as the strategy and overall context of the overall war. Stefan Rudnicki brought Ender to life and made him (and all the characters he voiced) feel like real individuals with their own goals and emotions, fully realising the complex characters written by Orson Scott Card. The other narrators were also great at voicing their roles, and made it easy for the reader to feel the emotions that Orson wanted them to feel. Anyone who is even slightly interested in science fiction and who loves reading stories with deep character development and grey morality would be doing themselves a disservice to miss out on this title.

An unexpected suprise

I had seen this book being pushed and expected to be disappointed.

However, it is outstanding. One of the best Science Fiction books I have read in a very long time.

Highly original ideas and concepts here. Excellent performance in the audio performance.

Wholly recommended as is Ender's shadow.

better than the movie

better than the movie the characters were well played enjoyed it thoroughly I would recommend it

So good!

A sci-fi book about human emotions, and how they can be manipulated for "the greater good." Excellent!

Great Sci fi book.

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

I have listened to about 30 audio book and this book would rank about 8-10. If you take away the Star Wars series I have read then it might hit around 4-5.

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

I am a Star Wars book fan. The Old Republic series is great. The Fatal Alliance is amazing.

Have you listened to any of Stefan Rudnicki and Harlan Ellison ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

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

The fate of the universe in the hands of a child

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the novel very much. Ender is a great character and Card really puts you inside his head and you get to know Ender very well. If you like Sci Fi novels this is a must read. The sequel to Ender's Game is also a great book.

From a non-scfi reader...

I am not a huge scfi fan. I bought this book to listen along with my husband who is a HUGE fan. I fully expected to listen with a polite smile, but now I find myself looking for the next book in the series!

I was pleasantly surprised that this book was about the story and not the "science" behind the story. The descriptions of technology and the battles were general and did not overwhelm me with details.

In a nutshell, Earth was attacked by a mysterious enemy, “the buggers.” Now many of Earth’s nations are engaging in selective breeding. Children are evaluated for military suitability and culled from their families at a very young age to begin their military careers. Even though this book was written twenty years ago, it still seems very relevant to the world we live in today. I read on Wikipedia that some parts were updated in 1991 to reflect changes in the geo-political landscape, so perhaps the relevance is a little of a cheat. Regardless, the book begs the question, “do the ends really justify the means?” I cannot wait to listen to the next book and find out!

The performance was top-notch. I am not usually a fan of multiple readers, but I thought it was well done. Since so much of this book is written in the first person, it clarified who's perspective I was hearing the time.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I am definitely going to listen to the next book. I may even see the movie based on the book!

Thoroughly Enjoyed

There's not much I can say about this iconic work that hasn't already been said. I liked it more than I expected, and found myself quickly drawn in. The story moved well, and though the narrator has some peculiarities in delivery that I found odd at first, as the story progressed I found they added to the experience. The characters develop well, and the storylines going back and forth between Ender and Val, with the interspersed dialogues between the military trainers, gave depth and perspective to the story that balanced out the inner narrative in Ender's head.