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)

Enders Game

The ending was perfect not very perdictable.

Slow start, but engaging genius boy general fable

The early part of the book gets bogged down (lethargic narration by the woman who plays Ender's sister accentuates this) but the story picks up once Ender gets to the military training school.

I think one of the reasons I enjoyed this book is because it highlights the duality of human nature – the smart sensitive kid who is mainly victorious over those who try to bully him, and who excels at the battle tactics and military strategy in the training games.

Ender isn't quite as successful at outsmarting the adults who manipulate him into becoming their tool, but therein lies the tale.

Great Starter Novel

My son did not like to read. This is the novel that got him started and 15 years later, he still talks about it.

Required Sci-Fi Reading

Ender's Game is required reading for any sci-fi fan for a reason. Great science fiction takes a fun and futuristic approach when tackling complex relevant issues and this book is the epitome of great science fiction. Ender's Game does an excellent job of developing relatable characters, even though they are child geniuses, and Ender's inner dialogue is fascinating. In Card's post script, he says that he modeled the children's speech on his 5-year-old son so keep that in mind if the name calling seems childish at times. The narration did a great job of mirroring the character's attributes and the speech patterns sounded like that of a child, when appropriate. And even though the book is about children, the subject matter is enjoyable for everyone. I thought Ender's Game was a lot of fun and can't wait to listen to the rest of the series.

Simply Excellent!

Performances breathe life into this already amazing story which is exactly what the author intended. I'm so glad to have this book in my catalogue so I can listen to it over and over!

Never read it, but I'm glad I heard it.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is a science fiction book through and through. I've been told that this is a great book to read. My problem is that I have a hard time getting into universes that I am unfamiliar with. Which is why it is so hard for me to read fiction of any kind. I downloaded the audiobook thinking it was a way to get into the story with having the time commitment of reading. I'm very happy I did. Immediately, the story takes off and your finding out about a world that is very different from the one we live in. Ender, a young child who had been genetically altered and hand-picked to be the world's greatest general and to defeat the bugger threat. Ender is sent off into battle school and is quickly proving himself. The ending to this story was truly my favorite part, but I won't spoil that for you. It becomes filled with thought provoking insight as to how their world works.

Excellent book, but didn't like bonus chapter

This book was great and the people who read it did a wonderful job. My husband and I listened to it together whenever and wherever we could because it had hooked us! I did not, however, like the choice to include a chapter from Shadows in Flight as that is the 10th book in the series. Obviously, if I'm listening to the first book, in all likelihood, I have not read books 2-9. I was hoping to hear the first chapter of the second book instead.

Nice

I really liked this book. I know it has been out for a while, but I just found it. A very interesting story and plot. If you like Sci-fi and drama, you will like this book.

great book but...

story is sort of predictable, the author says he's not very descriptive since he focuses on feelings but I think a little more description of earth, ships and other planets was due. the story is great and somehow posible in reap life but the character development was lacking. I know we were inside Enders head but since he is an introvert there was not much to see... I do recommend for you to get it and read it/hear it because you need this one under your belt to continue with the others from this series which I hear are awesome

Great Book

Loved this book. Listened to multiple times. Ender's Game Alive is also worth the listen.