Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show

By: Orson Scott Card, David Farland, Tim Pratt, James Maxey, David Lubar, Eric James Stone, Ty Franck, Scott M. Roberts, Peter Orullian, Rachel Ann Dryden

Narrated by: J. Paul Boehmer, Cassandra Campbell, Emily Janice Card, Mark Deakins, Don Leslie, Rosalyn Landor, Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling writer Orson Scott Card founded the online magazine Intergalactic Medicine Show in 2006. It has been a big success, drawing submissions from well-known science-fiction and fantasy writers, as well as fostering some amazing new talents. This collection contains some of the best of those stories.

There is fiction from David Farber, Tim Pratt, and David Lubar among others, also four new Ender's Game universe stories by Card himself. This collection is sure to appeal to Card's fans and be a great ambassador to them for these other talented writers.

©2008 Orson Scott Card (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The first collection of short stories from [the] online magazine...features noteworthy SF and fantasy stories from a bumper crop of talented new authors....[and] the stories from lesser-known writers are the compilation's real driving force....If the quality of these stories is any indication, IGMS has as much promise as the newcomers it showcases." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Card has taken the venerable SF concepts of a superman and an interstellar war against aliens, and superb characterization, pacing, and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power." ( Booklist)

I love short story anthologies

I enjoyed the micro view of some lesser characters in the Enderverse and the tangentially related stories. Some of these stories will stick with me and are profoundly memorable.

it's like a pot of stew...

The portions written by Card are the meat, while the other stories are the other ingredients. Honestly, I bought it for the stories relating to the Ender's Game universe ("Mazer in Prison," "Cheater," "Pretty Boy," and "Ender's Coming"). "A Young Man with Prospects" didn't quite feel like an Ender story, even though Ender was in it.

"Cheater" and "Pretty Boy" were my faviorte pieces of this compilation. Each being about different, soon-to-be, Battle School students (Han Tzu and Bonzo Madrid) and what their life was like before school. Each story is about the same length as Bean's story in Ender's Shadow, before being discovered by the I.F.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get through the other short stories. I listened for a few of them at first, but perhaps I was impatient to get to Ender parts, or I was simply just biased since I've never had the pleasure of reading these other authors before, but I skipped most of them. I suppose that means I just don't have the appreciation for new stories for now, so I'll go back sometime to listen to the rest of them and see what I missed out on.

Very

Different stories, and one that was kinda a sequel /a prequel / or some different short stories related to a bigger series, Enderverse and another part (strange to have a book (or 5) be one serie and half of another one. I seen better solutions on such before (Ryela (spelling) and the kingdom series by example.

Anyway. Some of the stories were good, some not that great. But well worth listening too, specifically if you have premium or whatever that makes this free!

Great Stories & One Complaint

Any additional comments?

My favorite stories in this collection were the very short stories. A few of the stories were less than ten minutes in length, and they ended with a satisfying pop that left me wanting more. My only complaint is that so many of the stories were repeats from previous anthologies or segments snipped out of the Ender Game series.

amazing compilation of sci-fi

well curated, well writen sci-fi for all, novice and enthusiasts alike. stories range in topics and the final author notes are an amazing insight into the writing process

Card is a master storyteller

Cards short stories never disappoint me, they carry me away to another time and place where anything is possible. His characters are sharp and likable.

Great set of stories, many that are precursors for Enders game

This was a great set of stories (30 min to hour long each) that were generally all sci fi. Lots of character backstories for the children geniuses of Enders game, but also stories unrelated to Enders game that were able to tell so much and cause an emotional response in just 30 minutes. Really enjoyed them and recommend, many are family friendly and easy for a family road trip (though some graphic descriptions probably aren't great for little kids)

Good for Ender's Game Fans

This audio book is a mix of various scifi authors. Orson Scott Card wrote several pieces and they help to fill in some of the "blanks" in the Ender's Game series. The short stories by the other authors were not bad but I mainly purchased this book because of OSC's contributions. If you can't get enough of Card's writing or Ender's story, this book is for you! If you are just a casual reader of his books and the series, this might not be worth the read. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I just started another book by Orson Scott Card. He's a great author and I hope he keeps writing for many years to come! Also, his books are some of the best when it comes to the performance of the readers!

Great Stories

Loved all the extra Ender stories especially but the whole book was good, I'll be checking out the website.

Do Angels have nipples and belly buttons?

YOU TRY TO HURT ME, BUT I WILL NOT BE HURT
This has 20 stories, of which I loved seven. Most of the rest I did not like. With the exception of Card and Farland, most of these are writers, just getting started in their writing careers and some of them may not have a future as writers. Each story has an afterword, in which the author explains why he/she wrote the previous story. Most of the time, the answer is that it was an assignment for their writing class. My favorites in no particular order were The Moon Calf (David Farland), Cheaters and A Young Man With Prospects (Card), Hats Off (David Luber), To Know All Things That Are In The Earth (James Maxey), Respite (Rachel Ann Dryden) and Taint of Treason (Eric James Stone).

Dryden's story is reminiscent of McCaffrey's' Pern Novels. I believe it was Lubar who wrote in his afterword that short stories should have plots. This would be good advice for many of the other writers. Many did not have plots and a lot were just conversations. I am on record saying that Ender's Game is the best Science Fiction Novel of all time, but I most admit I am getting tired of Card writing about nothing but Ender Game.

The narrators are all professionals and do a good job.