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)

A backbone of the sci-fi genre

Any additional comments?

I have been meaning to read Ender’s Game since I was in high school but somehow never got around to it. That may partially be because I’ve tended to lean more towards the Fantasy half of the sci-fi/ fantasy genre until very recently.

Orson Scott Card’s timeless sci-fi classic has definitely earned its classification as one of the pillars of modern sci-fi. The elements that Card contributes and expands upon are pervasive throughout the genre now. First and foremost this is the story of a young kid that is forced from a very young age to become an adult. That process is not laid gently at his feet; rather he is forced rather abruptly into becoming the ultimate soldier of the era.

Ender is a not typical 6-year-old boy when the story begins. He is the victim of prejudice from his peers and heartless bullying by his brother. Those themes follow Ender throughout the story while exposing the effects of war on the psyche of child soldiers. It does not seem like Card’s goal here is to disparage child soldiers in places like Africa, because, let’s face it, those children and their war lords are not the intended audience of the sci-fi genre. Rather, Ender’s Game is very much a classic coming of age tale focusing on the human ability to adapt and endure through hardship.

However, there is very real dialogue from some of the auxiliary characters in this book debating the merits of forcing children into war and putting them through such a hard regimen. Card says that a lot of the influence for this story came from our reality of sending 18-year-old kids to war and placing impossible expectations on them as they bear the brunt of any war effort. You can see that in a few of the scenes as the kids get more and more expectations thrust upon them throughout the story.

Aside from the real world problems and setting, Card does a fantastic job of creating characters that are relatable and genuine and putting them through difficult and impossible situations and showing how hard it is to retain our humanity in those situations. The story is very well paced, despite spending most of the time in a training school, the training itself and the evolution of the characters make this feel like a much shorter story than it actually is and I can’t think of a higher praise than that.

Wonderful book

A interesting premise with some nice suprises. Both me and my 12 year old son enjoyed it.

great story. 3 narrators, 1 is bad

love this story, but the lady who reads a
portion sounds like tony sopranos therapist. baby talk voice, its horrible. if you can stomach that for a few hours, the story and other narrators are amazing

Amazing story and amazing crew of voice actors

If you could sum up Ender's Game in three words, what would they be?

Surprising, Fun, Amazing

What did you like best about this story?

The storytelling from Orson Scott Card is really fun to follow, the pace of the story, the little details that makes a difference in a scene, the characters that are true to themself, and the wonderful twist that you cannot see coming.

Have you listened to any of Stefan Rudnicki and Harlan Ellison ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This vocal performance was great ! I love those vocal artists, they really know how to give life to the characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The universe is a small place for the mind of a kid...

gripping and intense

Would you listen to Ender's Game again? Why?

yes, knowing the end makes the beginning so much more interesting

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

spoiler!!

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

The two readers being a greater contrast to Ender / Valentine and Space / Earth

Both the readers are fantastic

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

spoilers again!!

Narrator is awful (Stefan Rudnicki)

What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?

This narrator is constantly breathing into the mic and sighing. Also be ready for a constant barrage of gum smacking. This guy needs to retire already.

Best Surprise Book Ever

I decided to give EG a try and was amazed how solid the story was. You are rooting for Ender from the get go and I found myself amazed that I had never heard of Ender prior to looking for something new on Audible. It has something for everyone, it's action packed while being introspective.

If there was one audibook that I would recommend to someone, this would be it.

Just fantastic

A perfectly executed story and audiobook. It deserves its place as a science fiction masterpiece.

Fantastic, and classic!

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

Ender's Game is a fantastic story. It has so many of the classic elements of great stories. Monstrous aliens, plots within plots, a little sci-fi wizardry, and the struggle to prosper against all odds!

The story is original, clever, with huge twists that still make perfect sense. Its also engaging on a human level because of Ender. He's a nice kid, and despite being so special... Hes very easy to relate to.

I picked this up shortly before hearing that they made it into a movie. It was ironic, because at the end of the book, the author explains how for 20 years people have been trying to make a movie out of it, and why it hasn't worked out. I guess they finally sorted that out!

Which character – as performed by Stefan Rudnicki and Harlan Ellison – was your favorite?

Despite only Stefan Rudnicki and Harlan Ellison being credited... There are at least 2 other voice actors who do parts. A woman, and another man, possibly Scott Brick? They all do a great job. The different voices help give each character's perspective a truly different feel.

The narrator needs to spit out some saliva

Amazing book.

Thought it was for kids or youths. It certainly wasn't. Deep story, great character building, exciting thoughts.

Buuuuuut.... the main narrator's mouth is making weird noises all the time.. it sounds like his mouth is filled with saliva and every time he speaks his mouth is making this pretty gross sound. it took a lot of joy out of it for me, since I get pretty angry when I hear these sort of noises. It made me turn of the audio book a lot of times because I simply got too annoyed. I can't believe none of the audio engineers noticed this during recording. That's pretty unprofessional.
The other narrators where good and overall I still enjoyed the book a lot!