A War of Gifts

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

The human race is at war with an insect-like alien race. The first battles went badly, and now Earth prepares to defend itself against the imminent threat of total destruction at the hands of an inscrutable alien enemy. All focus is on the development and training of generals who can fight such a war - and win.

The long distances of interstellar space have given hope to the defenders of Earth; they have time to train these future commanders from childhood, forging them into an irresistible force in the high-orbital facility called the Battle School.

At Battle School, there is only one purpose, only one curriculum: the strategy and tactics of war. The children are drawn from all nations, all races, all religions. There is no room for cultural differences, no room for religious observances, and certainly no room for Santa Claus.

But the young warriors disagree. When one of them leaves a Sinterklaas Day gift in his best friend's shoe, that quiet act of rebellion becomes the first shot in a war of wills that the staff of Battle School never bargained for.

©2007 Orson Scott Card (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic Reviews

"A heartwarming novella for the holidays....Exploring themes of tolerance and compassion, this story about stuffing stockings is, fittingly, a perfect stocking stuffer for science-fiction fans of all ages." ( Publishers Weekly)

dialogue is great and hysterical at times

This was the last book for me in the Ender series. It is a brief book, and of all the others stories in the series, this one adds the least. Actually, it kind of stands alone and does not add anything to the series. It's as if Card left out a few chapters in one of the other books or left a lot of chapters out of this one. However, some of the character interaction and dialogue is great and hysterical at times.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

not bad no good either

It is an ok short story, to much of a religious overtone. Doesn't really add anything to the enderverse. First Meetings only adds a bit this ads nothing to the overall story of ender. just a side note more then anything, waste of a credit.

35 of 42 people found this review helpful

A nice little holiday story from the Enderverse

I always enjoy revisiting the Enderverse. If you feel the same way, this is a great little book. It's a sweet, short holiday story that takes place in the old, familiar Battle School and features Ender and the gang. It also introduces a new character, Zeck, and gives a little of his background.

It does get somewhat religious, but not enough for me to find it tiresome or offensive. If you've read the Ender series in depth, you're probably accustomed to the religious aspects of the books.

This story runs parallel with Ender's War and Ender's Shadow. If you haven't read at least one of those books, I highly recommend you do that first. If, however, you've read both of those and still want to hear more from the Battle School days, this is a neat book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Christmas Card

Heart warming story. Gets to the soul of culture. Great Christmas read

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Good but rather short !

Any additional comments?

If you have been reading the Ender books, this is another piece of the rich jig saw puzzle... Loved it like all the other books so far... However I'm incredibly disappointed its so so short and on top of that being charged the "usual" amount.... are well I continue to be an Ender fan !!!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A War of Gifts is an excelent surprise!

Would you listen to A War of Gifts again? Why?

I would definitely listen to this story again. I suggest that you listen to Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow and then A War of Gifts. It is an extra story that adds details to the lives of the battle school brats. I love the different points of view and hearing more about the other children who grew up with Ender and Bean. It is a great adventure!

What was one of the most memorable moments of A War of Gifts?

This is yet again another point of view of Ender's unforgettable personality.

What about Scott Brick and Stefan Rudnicki ???s performance did you like?

The voices are great and always fit what is going on and really express the feelings and emotions that make this such a great story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

irrelevant book

This book while it was performed very well it was a drabble to listen to happy story that was very lacking the story is irrelevant to the Ender series

The book was short and the story was very honey interesting had had some emotional peaks but did nothing for the series at all

The book also left a lot of unanswered questions, what happened to Zack's mother what was in the Stocking , Hyderabad a school continue from Zacks point of view.

I do not regret finishing this book in its entirety I just Regret buying it

Too short

Great fun just too short! I wish they’d tell the story after the war already.

A meaningless aside.

I really did put it past OSC to write a meaningless Christmas special. Not only did it fail to contribute to the Ender’s narrative, it actually conflicted in many ways with what the author previously established about the battle school setting. For example, Zack wasn’t eating? Kids were openly sharing portions of their meals? Wasn’t it established in Ender’s Shadow that portions were carefully calculated and that they were forced to finish their portions? Before publishing, an author should ask themselves, “why did I write this?”. It’s obvious to me that OSC was encouraged by the publisher to crap out this book as a cheap cash grab. It doesn’t do justice to the franchise at all.

Short, but good.

Nice short story. Classic Card/Rudnicki. Can't wait until the next 2nd book in the Formic War series.

Didn't need telling

This offered very little value to the Enderverse. A great production but such a shallow boring story. Barely worth the credit.