Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Sgt. Sacrament, Jan 5, 2013.

  1. Sgt. Sacrament

    Sgt. Sacrament Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Hello,

    I've got a question about reading the Ender's Game book series (or is it more than one series?). I heard that the film is coming out this year, so I figured I'd best finish it. I've read the first book, "Ender's Game", and it's great. I think that "Speaker for the Dead" is the direct sequel. But it seems that there is also a book called "Enders Shadow" that is part of another series? Apparently the film has been drawn from "Ender's Game" and "Ender's Shadow"?

    As you may be able to tell, I'm allergic to spoilers and hate to be spoiled. Can anyone give me a suggestion on what is the best order to read these books?

    And please, no spoilers beyond titles of books. I don't often post, and in the past I would often ask questions while requesting no spoilers, but I've mostly given up... every time I ask for no spoilers, it seems like that request is disregarded.

    Thanks in advance! :techman:
     
  2. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    Wikipedia has a list of the series here, listed both in publication order and chronological order. I'd recommend reading the series in publication order. I've only read the first book, so I don't know how much of a difference it makes, but generally I find publication order is the best way to read a series.
     
  3. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    Ender's Shadow is basically a "retell the same events from a different character's perspective" kind of sequel, revealing parts of the saga we didn't see in the first series -- but I didn't think it was nearly as good as the original book. As for Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind, they're essentially a trilogy taking place decades after the original book and telling a somewhat different story.
     
  4. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    I would recommend publication order. The later (chronologically) books (Speaker onward) aren't going to spoil events in the Bean books.
     
  5. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    There are basically two different series within the Ender saga: There is the Ender Series, and there is the Bean Series.

    Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow tell the same story from the perspective of two different characters (Ender and Bean). The movie is supposedly bridging these two books together.

    Ender's Game is the first novel in the Ender series, though it is almost like The Hobbit in that its story is basically a prequel to a more tightly connected trilogy:

    Speaker for the Dead
    Xenocide
    Children of the Mind


    Ender's Shadow is the first book of the "Bean Series," which follows up with...

    Shadow of the Hegemon
    Shadow Puppets
    Shadow of the Giant


    Now, if you're still reading the series after all of this...

    Ender in Exile is a more recent novel that takes place in between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, but I would still recommend reading it after you've read all the other Ender books.

    Shadows in Flight is like an epilogue to the Bean saga. It is a story very disconnected from the main series of Bean books and takes place several years later, but I found it a very fitting ending to the series.

    And NOW the most recent book in the series is called Earth Unaware, which is a prequel to everything. I haven't started it yet, but it is sitting on my shelf. It is supposedly the story of the first Formic (Bugger) War.
     
  6. Scout101

    Scout101 Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    Earth Unaware wasn't bad, an interesting prequel. It's just Part 1, though, so while it's a nice read, feels kinda unsatisfying without the rest to finish the payoff...
     
  7. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    Yeah, that's kind of why I'm holding off reading it. Plenty of other books to read in the meantime.
     
  8. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    And I'd recommend getting said books from your library or buying 'em used rather than purchasing new/digital versions, because screw Card.

    For my own part, I read Ender's Game a long time ago, and enjoyed it well enough as a small, clever little story. Had no compulsion to follow the characters elsewhere.
     
  9. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    My feeling, which I gather is pretty similar to the view of a lot of people, is that Ender's Game is the best of the bunch, the trilogy that follows is reasonably good but essentially very different, and the whole Bean series... well, I think I gave up on it after the first book, which I found pretty implausible and not engaging enough to be worth it. It was trying to tell a parallel story to Ender's Game, but that just threw its own inadequacies in comparison to EG into sharp relief. It was pretty well-named -- a mere shadow of the original.
     
  10. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    That pretty much sums it up for me.
     
  11. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    Yeah, the books all range in quality, but I still enjoy them all. The whole thing remains my favorite novel series.
     
  12. Takeru

    Takeru Space Police Commodore

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    Don't, Ender's Game is the only truly good book Orson Scott Card has written, he's the one hit wonder of SF literature, you already read everything that's worth reading.

    He's also a homophobic POS, so that may cloud my opinion.
     
  13. JoeZhang

    JoeZhang Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    It seems to be the series he has already written as comic books for marvel? Looking at the plot summary, the comic series is further along than the prequel books in terms of advancing the plot. I also see that he is doing another sequel.
     
  14. Allyn Gibson

    Allyn Gibson Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    Among people I know, opinion is pretty evenly split on whether Ender's Game or Speaker for the Dead is the best book in the series.

    Personally, I prefer Speaker to Ender's Game. (Speaker is also one of two OSC books to bring me to tears at the climax; the other is Lost Boys.) I like Xenocide but I don't love it. Children of the Mind is just there. I think those two books would have been better (and stronger) if published as a single book at half the length.

    I didn't like Ender's Shadow, and I dropped the series until I was asked to review War of the Gifts (a missing story set at Christmas during Ender's Game) which was utterly and irredeemably awful.
     
  15. Stevil2001

    Stevil2001 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    I liked Shadow a lot, but I found that each sequel was worse than the one before, and they got awful super-fast.
     
  16. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    Well, it's been a long time since I read them. Maybe I was going by my overall impression of the trilogy. But now that I think about it, maybe I do remember Speaker being pretty impressive, and stronger than the other two. I keep meaning to re-read them....
     
  17. Star Wolf

    Star Wolf Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    I think it worked better as the short story published in Analog. In comparison the novel seemed bloated as the story was told without the extra bulk.
     
  18. spot_loves_data

    spot_loves_data Captain Captain

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    I thought the same. I liked Ender's Game enough to pick up a couple of his fantasy books, and they weren't worth reading. But then again, I'm not really a fan of fantasy.
     
  19. Stevil2001

    Stevil2001 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    On the other hand, I remember Card's Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus as being amazing.
     
  20. Scout101

    Scout101 Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Question about "Ender's Game" book series(s)(?) (NO SPOILERS PLEAS

    Yeah, Pastwatch was great, IMO. People are just jumping to bash Card's work because of Card himself. Certainly not a pleasant person, based on his viewpoints he rants about, but as a writer, he's put out some good stuff...