Ender's Game

Special 20th Anniversary Edition

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, Gabrielle de Cuir

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)

Outstanding rendition

One of my favorite all time books! They did a great job with the narration.

Beautiful story about a child prodigy

What did you love best about Ender's Game?

The reader will empathize with a young boy manipulated into becoming what adults believe he should be. I don't usually read science fiction, but I found this book entirely engaging because of the main character and his two unique siblings. This book is definitely a science fiction classic.

it was ok

I do not understand the hype. At best it was ok

Ender's review

A powerful and addictive story. I sat and listened to this story with my satelite big screen tv turned off.
It sucks you in and in some part is a credit to the narrator who's voice is part of the addiction.
I started listening to this story on XM radio and missed some segments so I took a look at the advertisement that I could download the story for free by signing up with Audible. Good deal.

Must Read

Elementary, high school, college, and work place should require this reading at least 4 times. Incredible.

Slow developing classic

This book is written in an Orwell/Bradbury style where you don’t feel the world you are in is real and wonder why emphasis is being placed on certain things. You don’t realize why anything is what it is until towards the end, when the plot unfolds, everything has meaning, and the point is made. It’s what every author aims for. Well done.

Love this story

I was extremely reluctant to listen to this book. My dad tried so hard to make me listen to it and I gave in after 2 months. Now i love it. The story is compelling and i was not expecting the ending or various events in the story. I would recommend this book whole heartedly.

Brilliant Story and Excellent Narration!

What did you love best about Ender's Game?

The book is simple. Based in a world of war and alien invasion, the author takes you through the mind of a child genius, who is constantly struggling with reaching his potential, while retaining his integrity, sanity and his sense of self. Brilliantly crafted story with action, adventure, deception, morality and innocence. Rather loss of. A child's journey through an adults world.

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

Emotions and voices with which the story was narrated, truly transports you to this futuristic world and one gets lost in the story. Excellent narration!

Any additional comments?

I loved the book when I first read it 10 years ago, and love it even more as I read it now! A must read for everyone!

Impressive!!!!

Although I've listened to numerous Audible selections, I've never felt more compelled to write a positive review. All I can say is...well done...well done. A credit well spent!

All Time Classic!

Ender's Game is one of the all time great Science Fiction stories ever written. It's one of those stories you need to experience, no one can really tell you about it. The story continues as a series of books as is mentioned in other reviews. It's right up there with pure Science Fiction classics like Issac Asimov's Foundation Series and Frank Hurbert's Dune Series and also Science Fiction/Fantasy classics like J.R. Tolkein's Lord of The Rings and Robert Jordan?s Wheel of Time Series. There are 8 stories in Mr. Card's series, they are as follows. Enders Game, Speaker For The Dead, Xenocide, Children of The Mind, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of The Hegemon, Shadow Puppets and Shadow of The Giant.