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)

Powerful story, terrific performances

Orson Scott Card began his writing career as a playwright, and it shows in his fiction which is dramatic, fast-moving, and full of the best sorts of conflict. The themes of xenophobia, child soldiers, government manipulation of information, social control mechanisms, and others are very current. There is absolutely no sentimentalizing of children, either, and the denouement is heart-wrenching.

I loved reading this book when it was first published, and I loved listening to this audio version. There are multiple voices, and bonus material includes Orson Scott Card talking about his start as a writer of SF, and a chapter from another novel dealing with the same story from a different point of view.

I don't always love Stefan Rudnicki's choices as a vocal actor--some of them seem a bit drab--but at least he doesn't do "funny voices" for the sake of variety.

I agree

This was the first time I'd read this author, and can only agree with the other reviews. I thought it was a fantastic book - loved the story, the narration was excellent, and I couldn't wait to get to my next listening opportunity.

ahead of its time, a masterpiece

when Scott-Card wrote it in the 80s,. talking about social networks, how they can be used to influence public opinion and rise to power - I guess people thought it was all some Sci-fi nonsense...
just listened to it for the 2nd time after a few years, still great, in many ways even greater as the use of children in Military had been used since then in other books (Fear saga is a good example) but none took the time to paint the picture from the perspective of the children...

Maybe not for all...

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

I think that Orson Scott Card says it all when he says that his books are meant to be performed. Many of his stories are a little hard to get into if you read them in print, but I have always immediately fallen into his audiobooks.

Would you be willing to try another book from Orson Scott Card? Why or why not?

I have been a fan of Orson Scott Card's fantasy novels for years now, but I never got in to his Sci-Fi (and I disagree with his contention that Sci-Fi and Fantasy are the same, just with different covers) until I read Ender's Game. I am definitely going to read more of this series.

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

The performers did a good job bringing the characters alive - making different voices and intonations for different characters. The different characters are key to Ender's Game, because that is really the only way we have of knowing what is really going on.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

While I really did enjoy Ender's Game, I didn't want to listen to it all at once. It was the sort of story that had boring parts and definitely needed to be put down once in a while.

Any additional comments?

While I liked the book, there were many times that I felt Ender and his siblings and classmates were just TOO adult. I know that is the premise of the book, and it is explained many times, but several times I just felt it was too out there.
I do think that the afterward by Mr. Card was the highlight of the book - it really brought the whole story into context and I was able to forgive the unbelievable parts.

One of my all time favorites!

I just discovered Ender's Game this year and it is now one of my all time favorites. I've recommended it to friends and family.

It's very entertaining and inspiring, especially the portions of the book dealing with leadership and strategy.

I haven't read the printed portion but I thought the performance on the audio book was great and enhanced the story. Some narrators I've listened to in the past have come across as annoying but I didn't find that to be the case with Ender's Game.

This one is definitely a classic and I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Solid Sci-fi. Lord of the Flies meets Star Trek

Any additional comments?

Really Solid book. Written well. Moved along well. Lord of the Flies meets Star Trek. Although it's a childrens focus, it was entertaining, smart and had good details about creating a world - like Michael Crighton.
Entertaining and worth reading.

Aged as Well as the Growth of Ender

Any additional comments?

First and foremost, I want to say that this book has aged phenomenally well. Not once did I notice anything that showed the book was written over two decades ago rather than two months.

The story of Ender and his growth over the course of his childhood and training to be humanity's last chance of a savior is a good one. I liked how he constantly changed the rules of the game that was being played, which really made the middle chunk of the book my favorite. And it shows how flexible of a mind Card has that he was able to constantly change and think of new things.

All the complaints I've seen about the movie and the new audio drama is that this growth of Ender's mind and character aren't shown. I found this kind of odd. Yes there is growth in Ender, but I don't think it is as much shown in what he thinks, but how he acts, constantly changing. And each scene that shows this is great.

What is not great is when the perspective changes to his siblings or someone else. That was just boring, and I felt a bit extaneous. oh well.

And of very special note, this book has my favorite type of ending, period.

Excellent book

I read this book years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. So much that my dogeared copy has gone through many rereads since I originally read it. When I saw it on audible.com, I hesitated about buying it. Mainly because I don't tend to get the audio books for hard copies I already own. I'm glad I did. I loved it and have enjoyed listening to it. I look forward to hearing it again as I travel to and from work. I hope the last two in the original four stories about Ender become available soon.

A very special treat

Ender's Game was such a special treat. Many novels are fun but ultimately forgettable. This belongs to that small category of novels that you will always remember and think about. If you haven't listened to this yet... do it now. It should be the very next novel you listen to.

Truly one of my favorite books. Ever

Upon completing this book, I found myself in an almost meditative state, with a few tears. I came to some deep conclusions about life and morality upon finishing this book.

The writing is concise and flowing, and works beautifully. The book always left me with people and puzzles to ponder and care about. The book feels real. The author is a genius.