The Swarm

The Second Formic War (Volume 1)

By: Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Vikas Adam, Stephen Hoye, Arthur Morey, Paul Boehmer

Length: 18 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston return to their Ender's Game prequel series with this first volume of an all-new trilogy about the Second Formic War in The Swarm.

The first invasion of Earth was beaten back by a coalition of corporate and international military forces and the Chinese army. China has been devastated by the Formic's initial efforts to eradicate Earth life forms and prepare the ground for their own settlement. The Scouring of China struck fear into the other nations of the planet; that fear blossomed into drastic action when scientists determined that the single ship that wreaked such damage was merely a scout ship. There is a mothership out beyond the solar system's Kuiper Belt, and it's heading into the system, unstoppable by any weapons that Earth can muster.

Earth has been reorganized for defense. There is now a Hegemon, a planetary official responsible for keeping all the formerly warring nations in line. There's a Polemarch, responsible for organizing all the military forces of the planet into the new International Fleet. But there is an enemy within, an enemy as old as human warfare: ambition and politics. Greed and self-interest. Will Bingwen, Mazer Rackam, Victor Delgado, and Lem Juke be able to divert those very human enemies in time to create a weapon that can effectively defend humanity in the inexorable Second Formic War?

Full cast of narrators includes Susan Hanfield, Emily Rankin, Orson Scott Card, and Aaron Johnston.

©2016 Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

Very good, just hope we can finish the saga

Once again, the story is addictive. I just hope we can get to the end in less than 3 years.

A great prequel

Loved the filling in some of the story in between 1st and last fornic war. The narration was outstanding. I can't wait for more

A more negative tone than previous books

Would you consider the audio edition of The Swarm to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version, but I would have to imagine yes. I really enjoy all the narrators in this book. They are well suited and they bring the characters to life. I have no desire to ever read the book on its own.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

They give a lot of character to each person; they don't feel flat at all. You can get a real sense of their attitude and the meaning in their words.

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

I always really enjoy the Mazer/Bingwen dynamic. Mazer really cares about Bingwen, tries to watch out for him and protect him like a protective big brother. It was a feel good aspect of the first books that survived into this new trilogy.

Any additional comments?

I have listened to the first prequel trilogy twice now, but I have never read Ender's Game; so I don't have any idea how this story turns out. So, that said, what I loved about the first books was the overall theme of cooperation. The MOPS coordinated and training with militaries around the world, with Mazer Rackham even after he failed their test, Mazer with Bingwen even though he was a child, the corporates with the free miners... there was a lot of cooperation that made winning the first Formic War possible, and it felt good. It was enjoyable to read.

This book starts off immediately letting you know that cooperation is at an end. Everybody is out for themselves, the military and world government have moved into a sort of totalitarian dystopia, and more than likely, because of all of this, the Formics will win the next war. This is all introduced to the reader right at the beginning of the book and persists throughout. I was disappointed. This was not the series I had come to love; it felt a lot like every dystopic evil-government novel ever in the history of time - unoriginal, depressing, and not inspiring.

I still gave this book 4-5 stars though, because of my love for the earlier books, the interesting plot regarding the Formics, and for the narrators, who did a fantastic job. I will still be keeping up with the series, but I am not looking forward to the next book with the same enthusiasm that I was before this one.

more good.

another great story from the ender saga. always a joy to read. slow to start but finishes as always leaving you begging for another.

Woman narrators shine.

I couldn't stand most of the male readers. Except for whoever played bingwen and mazer. They were believe able. And the woman! I wasn't swooning or anything, but I hope they know they did a great job of giving life to the woman in this book.

The story was great. The performance was only left lacking sometimes, but that had more to do with the comparison from narrator to narrator.

Totally worth it. Can't wait for the next one.

i'm touched by the character's personality

i loved the plot, the story, the cliffhangers and the characters, i didn't expect less for any ender's game story book, can't wait for the other ones

exceptional

tells perfectly who mazar rackham is how he became who he is. a must read in the saga

Great story. Minor narrating mistakes

I loved the stories. Predictable given what we know eventually happens. it's a prequel after all.

the only disappointment was towards the end of the book they changed the readers briefly. hearing a woman in a monotone voice try to be Mazor Rackum was terrible. almost made me stop listening. fortunately it was for just 2 chapters. there was also a man who couldn't do Mazor voice briefly as well. When you get used to a characters voice it's jarring and pulls you out of the story when it has been changed. Whoever produced this audible really fell down on the job at the end. I'm surprised Card or his publishers let it go.

Please write more!

We have been thrilled by the Swarm, and beg for more in this story! Of course we have listened to every other part of this story, and this book gives wonderful continuity to a.story that we already love.

Awesome!

What a great book. Immense creative muscles relentlessly working overtime hve created a wonderful addition to the Ender megaverse! I love it!