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.

 

""[Rudnicki’s] deep, dispassionate, and sometimes lacerating voice gives a mesmerizing performance, managing to make Ender believable both as a vulnerable boy and as a brilliant military strategist…. a riveting audio production of Card’s classic 1977 novel, which in this ideal format remains as original, disturbing, and ultimately surprising as ever."" - Horn Book

 

""Rudnicki, the main narrator and voice of Ender, reads in a cool, almost emotionless manner, which seems just right for this dark life-or-death tale. Rudnicki excels when reading the students’ Battle School dialogue, a rhythmic slang used by the cadets…. De Cuir portrays Ender’s beloved sister, who remains on Earth. Her reading is as cool as Rudnicki’s but with a bit more emotion, a suitable match for the more volatile sibling."" - Booklist

 

""I've saved my favorite for last; if you loved Ender's Game, you will go nuts for these fantastic full-cast recordings."" - Examiner.com on Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow