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The ''Ender's Game'' series (often referred to as the ''Ender'' saga and also the Enderverse) is a series of
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
books written by American author
Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...
. The series started with the novelette ''Ender's Game'', which was later expanded into the novel of the same title. It currently consists of sixteen novels, thirteen short stories, 47 comic issues, an audioplay, and a film. The first two novels in the series, ''Ender's Game'' and '' Speaker for the Dead'', each won both the Hugo and
Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
Awards. The series is set in a future where mankind is facing annihilation by an aggressive alien society, an insect-like race known formally as "Formics", but more colloquially as "Buggers". The series
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, is one of the child soldiers trained at Battle School (and eventually Command School) to be the future leaders for the protection of Earth.


Enderverse


Ender series

Starting with ''
Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they ...
'', five novels and one novella have been released that tell the story of Ender. The first four have been described (and released as a box set) as ''The Ender Quartet'' and, together with ''Ender in Exile'', as ''The Ender Quintet''. Card first wrote ''Ender's Game'' as a novelette, but later expanded it into a novel. While the first novel concerned itself with armies and space warfare, '' Speaker for the Dead'', ''
Xenocide ''Xenocide'' (first published in 1991) is the third book in the Ender's Game series, a science fiction series by the American author Orson Scott Card. It was first published during a period of increasing globalization and heightened awareness ...
'', and '' Children of the Mind'' are more philosophical in nature, dealing with the difficult relationship between the humans and the "Piggies" (or "
Pequeninos ''This literature-related list is Wikipedia:WikiProject Lists#Incomplete lists, incomplete; you can help by to include characters from the First Formic War trilogy.'' This is a partial list of characters in the Ender's Game (series), ''Ender's G ...
"), and Andrew's (Ender's) attempts to stop another xenocide from happening. '' A War of Gifts: An Ender Story'', a novella, was released in October 2007. It is a parallel story set during Ender's first year in Battle School.Orson Scott Card at Fantastic Fiction
/ref> '' Ender in Exile,'' which is both a sequel to Ender's Game and a prequel to ''Speaker for the Dead'', was released in November 2008. It involves Ender's journey to the first human colony on a former Formic world. Because of changes Card made to a few details of the story of that first colony ship and Ender's role as governor, it serves as a replacement for the last chapter of ''Ender's Game''. It also deals with his meeting a character from the parallel Shadow saga (effectively wrapping up a remaining plotline in the parallel series).


Shadow saga

Starting with ''
Ender's Shadow ''Ender's Shadow'' (1999) is a parallel science fiction novel by the American author Orson Scott Card, taking place at the same time as the novel ''Ender's Game'' and depicting some of the same events from the point of view of Bean, a supportin ...
'', five novels and one novella have been released that tell the story of the people Ender left behind – this has been dubbed the ''Shadow saga'' (also known as the "Shadow Quintet"). ''Ender's Shadow'' is a
parallel novel A parallel novel is an in-universe (but often non- canonical) pastiche (or sometimes sequel) piece of literature written within, derived from, or taking place during the framework of another work of fiction by the same or another author with res ...
to ''Ender's Game'', telling many of the same events from the perspective of
Bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...
, Ender's second-in-command and a mostly peripheral character in ''Ender's Game'', while the first three sequels, '' Shadow of the Hegemon'', '' Shadow Puppets'' and '' Shadow of the Giant'' tell the story of the struggle for world dominance after the Bugger War. This involves the Battle School children, as well as Ender's brother,
Peter Wiggin ''This literature-related list is Wikipedia:WikiProject Lists#Incomplete lists, incomplete; you can help by to include characters from the First Formic War trilogy.'' This is a partial list of characters in the Ender's Game (series), ''Ender's G ...
, and Petra Arkanian going up against Achilles de Flandres (from Poke's crew). A sequel novella to ''Shadow of the Giant'' named '' Shadows in Flight'' further introduces three of Bean's children who also have Anton's key turned. '' The Last Shadow,'' released in November 2021, takes place after both ''Children of the Mind'' and ''Shadows in Flight'', tying up the two series, and explaining some unanswered questions.


Formic Wars


The First Formic War

Card and Aaron Johnston wrote a trilogy to cover the events of the First Formic War. Chronologically, this series comes before all other books in the ''Ender's Game'' series. '' Earth Unaware'' was released on July 17, 2012. '' Earth Afire'', was released on June 4, 2013, and '' Earth Awakens'' on June 10, 2014.


The Second Formic War

On November 4, 2013, Johnston confirmed work on a second trilogy of novels covering the Second Formic War, with the manuscript for the first book due in 2014. The planned titles of the novels are (in order) ''The Swarm'', ''The Hive'', and ''The Queens.'' '' The Swarm'', continuing the stories of Victor Delgado, Mazer Rackham, and Bingwen, was released on August 2, 2016. '' The Hive'' was released on June 11, 2019.


Fleet School

According to an interview with
Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...
at Southern Virginia University, Fleet School is "a new set of sequels to Ender's Game. It's for a
young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
audience. It's what happens to Battle School after the International Fleet loses its purpose of war. It becomes what is called Fleet School, and it prepares kids to become commanders / explorers in the colonies that are going to be forming. We get to see that as the school administrators repurpose the school, the Battle Room is still there, but it's a whole different kind of education." On November 12, 2015, Orson Scott Card announced the title of the series and its first novel, '' Children of the Fleet'' was released on October 10, 2017.


Publications


Novels in the series

There are 19 publications in the Ender's Game series: five novels and one novella in the Ender series, five novels and one novella in the Shadow Saga, five novels in the Formic Wars series, one novel in the Fleet School series, and one collection of short stories. According to Card, there is no strictly preferred order of reading them, except that ''
Xenocide ''Xenocide'' (first published in 1991) is the third book in the Ender's Game series, a science fiction series by the American author Orson Scott Card. It was first published during a period of increasing globalization and heightened awareness ...
'' should be read right before '' Children of the Mind''. The books can be read in the order in which they were originally written or in chronological order.


Publication date


Chronological order

#'' Earth Unaware'' #'' Earth Afire'' #'' Earth Awakens'' #'' The Swarm'' #'' The Hive'' #'' The Queens'' (TBA) #''
Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they ...
'' #''
Ender's Shadow ''Ender's Shadow'' (1999) is a parallel science fiction novel by the American author Orson Scott Card, taking place at the same time as the novel ''Ender's Game'' and depicting some of the same events from the point of view of Bean, a supportin ...
'' (Note: The events of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow take place in roughly the same time period.) #'' A War of Gifts'' (Note: This takes place during Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow.) #'' Shadow of the Hegemon'' #'' Children of the Fleet'' (Note: opening chapters take place during Shadow of the Hegemon.) #'' Shadow Puppets'' #'' Shadow of the Giant'' #'' Ender in Exile'' (Note: Beginning takes place during Shadow of the Hegemon and through Shadow of the Giant) #'' Shadows in Flight'' #'' First Meetings'' (Note: This is actually a collection of four short stories. The first two take place when Ender's parents are children and in their teens. The next is the original novella "Ender's Game". The last brings Ender and Jane together for the first time. "First Meetings" is listed right before "Speaker for the Dead" because the last story takes place when Ender had just turned 20.) #'' Speaker for the Dead'' #''
Xenocide ''Xenocide'' (first published in 1991) is the third book in the Ender's Game series, a science fiction series by the American author Orson Scott Card. It was first published during a period of increasing globalization and heightened awareness ...
'' #'' Children of the Mind'' #'' The Last Shadow''


Short stories in the series


Comic books in the series

Comic books in the Ender Universe are currently being published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
.


Game

In 2008 it was announced an Ender's Game video game was in the works. It was to be known as ''Ender's Game: Battle Room'' and was a planned digitally distributed
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
for all viable downloadable platforms. It was under development by
Chair Entertainment Chair Entertainment Group, LLC (stylized as ChAIR) is an American video game developer based in Salt Lake City. The company was acquired by Epic Games in 2008. History Chair Entertainment was formed in 2005 by Donald Mustard and Geremy Mustard ...
, which also developed the Xbox Live Arcade games '' Undertow'' and '' Shadow Complex''. Chair had sold the licensing of ''Empire'' to Card, which became a best-selling novel. Little was revealed about the game, save its setting in the Ender universe and that it would have focused on the Battle Room. In December, 2010, it was announced that the video game development had stopped and the project put on indefinite hold.
Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...
and Amaze Entertainment also came to an agreement about a game adaption of the Ender's Game novel but the plans never became a reality.


Manga

In 2014, Satō Shūhō's manga, ''Ender's Game'' (Jp ''Ender no Game'') appeared.


Audioplay


Film

The film ''
Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they ...
'' was released in the UK on October 25, 2013, and in the USA on November 1, 2013. The first script was based on two installments of the ''Ender'' series, ''Ender's Game'' and ''Ender's Shadow'', when optioned by
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
, but was adapted to focus exclusively on ''Ender's Game'' when purchased by
Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...
.2013 Interview
/ref> The cast includes
Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...
,
Abigail Breslin Abigail Breslin (born April 14, 1996) is an American actress. Following a string of film parts as a young child, she rose to prominence at age 10 after playing Olive Hoover in ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006), for which Breslin received a nomin ...
,
Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...
,
Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...
, and Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin. The film was directed by Gavin Hood.Ender's Shadow Audiobook, author's epilogue


Related


''The Authorized Ender Companion''

Written by Jake Black, ''The Authorized Ender Companion'' is "the indispensable guide to the universe of ''Ender's Game''." Sections in this book include: The Ender Encyclopedia, Ender's Timeline, Ender's Family Tree by Andrew Lindsay, Getting Ender Right: A Look at the ''Ender's Game'' Screenplay Development by Aaron Johnston, and The Technology of ''Ender's Game'' by Stephen Sywak. The majority of the book consists of encyclopedia references to the events, characters, locations, and technology found in the ''Ender's Game'' series up to the publication of '' Ender in Exile''. The book is notable for having new and behind the scenes information on certain topics such as Battle School Slang, The Look of the Formics, The History of Hyrum Graff, Ender and Valentine's Travels, and Mazer Rackham's Spaceship.


''Ender's World: Fresh Perspectives on the SF Classic Ender's Game''

''Ender's World'' contains 14 essays from Science Fiction and Young Adult writers, as well as military strategists and others about various aspects of Ender's Game. The book includes an introductionIntroduction: Ender's World
by Orson Scott Card, who edited ''Ender's World'' and answers from many fan-submitted Enderverse questions from the Smart Pop Books Website. These essays are included in the compilation: * "How It Should Have Ended" by Eric James Stone"How It Should Have Ended" by Eric James Stone
* "The Monster's Heart" by John Brown"The Monster's Heart" by John Brown
* "The Cost of Breaking the Rules" by Mary Robinette Kowal"The Cost of Breaking the Rules" by Mary Robinette
* "Winning and Losing in ''Ender’s Game''" by Hilari Bell"Winning and Losing in ''Ender’s Game''" by Hilari Bell
* "Parallax Regained" by David Lubar, Alison S. Myers"Parallax Regained" by David Lubar, Alison S. Myers
* "Mirror, Mirror" by Alethea Kontis"Mirror, Mirror" by Alethea Kontis
* "Size Matters" by
Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...
"Size Matters" by Janis Ian
* "Rethinking the Child Hero" by Aaron Johnston"Rethinking the Child Hero" by Aaron Johnston
* "A Teenless World" by Mette Ivie Harrison"A Teenless World" by Mette Ivie Harrison
* "Ender on Leadership" by Colonel Tom Ruby"Ender on Leadership" by Colonel Tom Ruby
* "Ender Wiggin, USMC" by John F. Schmitt"Ender Wiggin, USMC" by John F. Schmitt
* "The Price of Our Inheritance" by
Neal Shusterman Neal Shusterman (born November 12, 1962) is an American writer of young adult fiction. He won the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for his book Challenger Deep (novel), ''Challenger Deep'' and his novel, ''Scythe (novel), ...
"The Price of Our Inheritance" by Neal Shusterman
* "If the Formics Love Their Children Too" by Ken Scholes"If the Formics Love Their Children Too" by Ken Scholes
* "''Ender's Game'': A Guide to Life" by Matt Nix"''Ender's Game'': A Guide to Life" by Matt Nix


Formics

The Formics, also known as Buggers, are a fictional ant-like alien species from the Ender's Game series of science fiction novels by
Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...
. According to the novel
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
, the Formics attacked Earth 50 years before the novel begins. They attempted to colonise the planet and were barely fought off by a
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
soldier known as
Mazer Rackham ''This literature-related list is incomplete; you can help by to include characters from the First Formic War trilogy.'' This is a partial list of characters in the ''Ender's Game'' series. Wiggin family * Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is the protag ...
. The first book in the series,
Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they ...
, largely stems from the human quest to defend themselves from this species, although the Formics ultimately turn out as victims, with the first attack being an accident due to differing biology. The term "Formic" is derived from ''
formica ''Formica'' is a genus of ants of the subfamily Formicinae, including species commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, thatching ants, and field ants. ''Formica'' is the type genus of the Formicidae, and of the subfamily Formicinae. The type ...
'', the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word for ''
ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...
''; whereas "bugger" is a
pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...
used by humans; yet it was not until 1999's ''
Ender's Shadow ''Ender's Shadow'' (1999) is a parallel science fiction novel by the American author Orson Scott Card, taking place at the same time as the novel ''Ender's Game'' and depicting some of the same events from the point of view of Bean, a supportin ...
'' that the term 'Formic' was first used, interchangeably with 'Bugger'. Later books used 'Formic' almost exclusively, as the more 'scientific' term. This leads to odd scenarios in the continuity of the books, such as Valentine referring to them as "Buggers" in ''Ender's Game'', chronologically next as "Formics" in '' Ender in Exile'', and again as "Buggers" in ''Speaker for the Dead'' and ''Xenocide''. The feature film adaptation of ''Ender's Game'' uses "Formics" exclusively. The Formic species consists of hive-minded colonies directed by
queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
. In Ender's Game, Graff described them as being an insect that "could have evolved on earth, if things had gone a different way a billion years ago," and that their evolutionary ancestors could have looked similar to Earth's ants. While often described as "insectoid", the Formics are
warm-blooded Warm-blooded is a term referring to animal species whose bodies maintain a temperature higher than that of their environment. In particular, homeothermic species (including birds and mammals) maintain a stable body temperature by regulating ...
, developed an internal skeleton and shed most of their
exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...
, evolved a complex system of internal organs, and they respire and perspire. If a queen dies, all the workers under her control lose their ability to function immediately; but in ''
Xenocide ''Xenocide'' (first published in 1991) is the third book in the Ender's Game series, a science fiction series by the American author Orson Scott Card. It was first published during a period of increasing globalization and heightened awareness ...
'', implications exist that 'workers' can escape the influence of a queen. The Formic race is revealed to be trimorphic in '' Shadows in Flight''. Drones are much smaller and depend on a Hive Queen for survival, and their bodies are shaped to spend their lives clinging to her, until upon her death, they take flight to seek out a new queen. Drones are capable of individual thought and action as well as mind-to-mind communication, more limited than that of a queen; whereas queens communicate instantaneously and can even do so with other species. Formics live in vast underground colonies, usually without light, informing the assumption that Formics make use of sensory apparatus outside the range of the
electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of electromagnetic radiation, organized by frequency or wavelength. The spectrum is divided into separate bands, with different names for the electromagnetic waves within each band. From low to high ...
visible to humans. In the first novel they have artificial lighting; whereas in ''Xenocide'', Ender claims they rely on heat signature.


See also

* ''Ender's Game'' (film) * List of characters in the ''Ender's Game'' series * List of works by Orson Scott Card * Zerg - an alien race from the ''Starcraft'' universe, similar to the Formics


Notes

:1. :2. :3.


References


Sources

* ''
Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they ...
'' by Orson Scott Card * ''
Ender's Shadow ''Ender's Shadow'' (1999) is a parallel science fiction novel by the American author Orson Scott Card, taking place at the same time as the novel ''Ender's Game'' and depicting some of the same events from the point of view of Bean, a supportin ...
'' by Orson Scott Card * '' Speaker for the Dead'' by Orson Scott Card * ''
Xenocide ''Xenocide'' (first published in 1991) is the third book in the Ender's Game series, a science fiction series by the American author Orson Scott Card. It was first published during a period of increasing globalization and heightened awareness ...
'' by Orson Scott Card * '' Children of the Mind'' by Orson Scott Card * '' First Meetings'' by Orson Scott Card * '' Ender in Exile'' by Orson Scott Card


External links


The official Orson Scott Card website
* Th
Ender QuartetEnder's Shadow
an
Ender
series pages at
Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

The Ender Saga
* {{Orson Scott Card Book series introduced in 1985 Novels by Orson Scott Card Science fiction novel series Space opera novels