Welcome to the Enderverse. When Orson Scott Card first published "Ender's Game" as a novella in 1977, few would have predicted that it would become one of the most successful ventures in publishing history. Expanded into a novel in 1985, Ender's Game won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novel. Never out of print and translated into dozens of languages, it is the rare work of fiction that can truly be said to have transcended a genre. Ender's Game and its sequels have won dozens of prestigious awards and are as popular today among teens and young readers as adults. First Meetings is an audiobook collection of three novellas-plus the original "Ender's Game"-that journey into the origins and the destiny of one Ender Wiggin. "The Polish Boy" begins in the wake between the first two Bugger Wars when the Hegemony is desperate to recruit brilliant military commanders to repel the alien invasion. In John Paul Wiggin-the future father of Ender -they believe they may have found their man. Or boy. In "Teacher's Pest"-a novella written especially for this collection-a brilliant but insufferably arrogant John Paul Wiggin, now an American university student, matches wits with an equally brilliant graduate student named Theresa Brown. It is many years since the end of the Bugger Wars in "The Investment Counselor." Ender's reputation as a hero and savior has suffered a horrible reversal. Banished from Earth and slandered as a mass murderer, twenty-year-old Andrew Wiggin wanders incognito from planet to planet as a fugitive. Until a blackmailing tax inspector compromises his identity and threatens to expose Ender the Xenocide. THE ENDER UNIVERSE Ender series Ender’s Game / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind / Ender in Exile / Children of the Fleet Ender’s Shadow series Ender’s Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens The Second Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) The Swarm / The Hive Ender novellas A War of Gifts / First Meetings
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"It was really interesting to read the short story that provided the foundation for the sprawling sci-fi universe I've been wallowing in for the past six months. Better yet was the story of how Ender's parents met, in a Rumplestiltskin story that refers to several other well-known characters."
— Fiona (4 out of 5 stars)
His powerful voice and startlingly clear vision will draw many new readers into a lifelong love of science fiction. This accessible collection will impress even non-sci-fi buffs, besides being a must-have for Ender saga devotees.
— Publishers Weekly" the four classic novellas including the original enders game. easy to understand if you read the whole thing in order "
— Kenric, 2/17/2014" This was a quick little read, and an enjoyable one. I like it when authors go back and write something that adds to and deepens a story universe. Plus I had never read the original Ender's Game short story. "
— Paige, 2/4/2014" Read this collection of short stories when I was in a huge OSC kick in 2006. Gave me the chance to read the original "Ender's Game" story. Didn't know about Jane yet, so that story was somewhat confusing to me, but I liked the story about Ender's parents meeting. "
— Libby, 2/3/2014" Classic for everyone who enjoys sci-fi! "
— Shelley, 2/3/2014" I am not a fan of short stories in general, but this book was pretty good as far as actual meeting stories went. The first two stories detail Ender's father's childhood and how he met Ender's mother. That story was really good, as we got to see more of their personality shine through. It becomes quite clear why Ender and his siblings were a cut above their peers. And Ender's dad is pretty funny, I have to admit. I would've fallen for him myself. The third story in the book is about Ender's time at battle school. If you're thinking about reading this book, skip this story. Trust me, it's completely useless. I know it was written before the Ender's Game novel, but it is pretty much exactly the same except that some of the names of the people in Ender's jeesh were changed. The last story details how Ender met Jane, and as Jane is always an entertaining character, this story was quite good. We also get to see how having "speakings" after a death rise to popularity. You could completely skip this book without missing any points that are crucial to the plot of the series as a whole, but if you're a gung ho Ender series fan, this is a fun detour in the series. "
— Erin, 2/1/2014" Very enjoyable read, the story of Ender's parents was very illuminating, the meeting of Ender & Jane was really funny. I was a little annoyed at the short story recapping his battle school, there was no new information, I would have just skipped it if I had known. "
— Deborah, 1/30/2014" Goes through times in Ender Wiggin's life (see Ender's Game) when his character was shaped by the people/situation he met. "
— Kate, 1/16/2014" Some extra short stories from the Ender universe that wouldn't make much sense if you don't read the 1st 3 or 4 books starting with Ender's Game. I enjoyed it!! "
— Greg, 12/26/2013" It was not nearly as well written as Ender's Game. Interesting, though. "
— Dianne, 12/13/2013" Good background info, but like a some of Card's books (Empire, Shadow Puppets) it felt forced and a bit contrived. Overall though it was worth reading. "
— James, 12/8/2013" nice addition to the series. Gives some interesting back story on some people. "
— Molly, 12/8/2013" This was on the bookshelf beside Ender's Game. Needing something to read I thought it time I read the original short story. 4 novellas all set in the Enderverse. "
— Elizabeth, 8/30/2013" Three short stories including the original version of Ender's Game "
— Melanye, 6/16/2013" The strength of some short stories countered by the weakness of others in this collection. The most disappointing being the story of how Ender met Jane. "
— Geoff, 5/6/2013" "Four short stories about Ender. Nice way to relive the tremendous story of Ender. And it includes the first short version of Ender "
— Jim, 1/25/2013" Some great short stories and novellas to round out the back-story of the Enderverse. "
— Sarah, 9/17/2012" Love, love, love. Especially "Teacher's Pest." It was completely adorable. "
— Becca, 4/10/2012" Neither my favorite nor least favorite card book "
— Kirstin, 3/18/2012" It was really good, but I wish I'd read Ender's Game first. I consulted a few sites on what order in which to read the series, but I think I really should have read the first one first. Spoiler alert for this one! "
— Tanya, 2/19/2012" Some insight into other people in Ender's life. Interesting to see the beginnings of Ender's Game and how Orson Scott Card transformed the short story into a Novel. "
— Mike, 9/6/2011" Interesting and enjoyable but didn't appreciate it till I read the full books so i understood the story and characters better. "
— Vivian, 8/25/2011" I just don't like short stories! "
— Michelle, 8/4/2011" Falls into the category of "I read it to know all the author will tell about his universe." Not something I would read as an introduction to Card or Ender. For fans only, pretty much. "
— Hallie, 6/16/2011" A very nice look in the ender universe "
— Jordan, 3/6/2011" I really enjoyed the short stories which lead up to the introduction of Ender. I love the relationships in the short stories, John Paul and Teresa. Ender and Jane, etc... Its a good read to get a quick fix for more Ender stories. "
— Michael, 2/11/2011" really great! fiilled in all the blanks, even the ones that i didn't notice! a great companion to the ender series. "
— Claudia, 1/8/2011" Definitely not up to par with the best of the series, but Card makes anything to do with Ender's world fascinating. It was nice to see how certain characters met: John Paul & Graff, John Paul & Theresa, Ender & Jane. Jane's entrance was especially funny. "
— Melanie, 1/5/2011" Although the writing was a little rudimentary, since it was aimed at young adult instead of adult readers, I enjoyed the stories and the further explanations of Ender's world. I prefer the novel Ender's Game to the novella, but the extra pieces shed light on what was concealed before. "
— Beverly, 1/5/2011" Brief and fun short story additions to the series. "
— Nick, 12/13/2010" Interesting little back stories about some background characters of the Ender saga. "
— Monica, 12/10/2010" "The Polish Boy" - 4 stars <br/> <br/>"Teacher's Pest" - 3 stars <br/> <br/>"The Investment Counselor" - 2 stars <br/> <br/> <br/>(4+3+2)/3=3 stars. I didn't listen to the Ender's Game novella. There are too many other Enderverse books I need to listen to:-) "
— Flannery, 12/9/2010" Read this a long time ago, but I enjoyed getting to know more about the characters. "
— Garrett, 11/26/2010" I liked it. It was entertaining to hear how Ender's parents met, and the choices they made that set the whole series in motion.<br/><br/>Too short, but I knew it was going to be going in, so I wasn't disappointed. "
— Jana739, 11/23/2010" Sadly I don't remember much about this book and I think that's enough to give it only three stars. It does a good job of filling in some before, after, and during details of Ender's Game but half of the book is just a rehash of the first book. "
— Leila, 11/20/2010Orson Scott Card, the author of the New York Times bestseller Ender’s Game, has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his works of speculative fiction. His Ender novels are widely read by adults and younger readers and are increasingly used in schools. Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy, American-frontier fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, and scripts.
Gabrielle de Cuir, award-winning narrator, has narrated over three hundred titles and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. She was a cowinner of the Audie Award for best narration in 2011 and a three-time finalist for the Audie and has garnered six AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her “velvet touch” as an actor’s director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost producer for bestselling authors and celebrities.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.