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)

AMAZING!

There was some amazing plot twists that I did not expect.

Quite a page turner!

The only odd thing was the chapter divisions. If you set the sleep timer for the end of chapter you'll notice that for some reason, the audible chapters do not coincide with the actual chapters in the book. Rather they randomly cut off midsentence.

The Best SciFi Book and Series Ever

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

What a fabulous story. As a science fiction aficionado, I read this book many years ago and thought I'd listen to it as a prelude to the much anticipated movie. I'd strongly suggest reading or hearing this story first prior to watching the movie, and I anticipate that the movie will be spectacular. The audio book does a very faithful job of bringing the story to life. It loses nothing in the aural interpretation. In some ways the different voices add textures you may not pick up in reading the book.

What other book might you compare Ender's Game to and why?

Ender's Game is the first installment in a series and parallel series. People will obviously compare it to Star Trek and Star Wars. Star Trek started out slowly and built an audience and following. My favorite series was "Voyager." I saw Star Wars when it debuted in 1977 and was blown away. Remember, it was the movie that popularized surround sound. It was the first time that a major movie leveraged the sound as more than 50% of the experience, and the story was engaging. However, the story and characters in Ender's Game are so powerful and engaging that the movie based on it and Ender's Shadow (one of it's sequels) has the potential to establish a new benchmark. I'm looking forward to this movie like no other. I plan to watch at a dedicated iMax theater and to bring friends (keeping the ending a secret of course - a friend wouldn't ruin such a once-in-a-lifetime sic-fil story by spilling the beans).

Any additional comments?

Once you experience this book, continue on in order. However, the parallel series can be listened to or read at the same time. Enjoy!

interesting and fun

No struggle to finish.
Easy to follow.
I enjoyed the story and hope to find more like this.

And now I know...

What made the experience of listening to Ender's Game the most enjoyable?

I read it for the same reason someone reads Necromancer or Behold, A White Horse. It's such a cultural fixture, I wanted to know what, exactly, the book had contributed.

What did you like best about this story?

Victory.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Lake.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, other than sadness in general over the exploitation of children. Child Soldiers does not a happy story make.

Loved

Amazing, so much more then movie. Really loved this. Anyone would love regardless of normal grenre.

Absolutely love the book!

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

Definitely and actually I bought a paper version for my husband.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ender's Game?

The conclusion of the story.

Satisfying

The narrator is very good. There is a bit of weird music at the beginning of chapters, but it is not distracting. There is also an afterword by Orson Scott Card at the end.

Great First Experience with Audible

This is the first time I listened to an audio book. I was expecting a boring read but was delited when I discovered multiple voices to represent the characters. I would have like a few low key sound effects though just to spice it up a little more. All in all I thought it was great.

A great listen

I read this book several years ago. It initiated so much discussion then that I was hooked when I saw it in audio. The audio was even more enjoyable than the book. Sometimes hearing a story can give an entirely different slant and explanation of a book. This one initated more discussion (my definition of a great book) and elicited many opinions! The interview with the author is fascinating and informative!

Classic Book

A friend of mine suggested this book. I was skeptical but it is very good. You will enjoy it.