Overview

‘Ender’s Game’ by Orson Scott Card was originally published as a short story in the August 1977 issue of ‘Analog Science Fiction and Fact’. The novel version came about later in 1985. Since then, the ‘Ender’s Game’ series has grown to include 16 novels, 14 short stories, 47 comic books, a film, an audioplay and other reference materials.

The ‘Ender’s Game’ series is often referred to as the Enderverse or Ender Saga.

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Novels

Currently there are 16 published novels in the Enderverse and at least four more planned novels: The novels to be published are: the second and third novels in The Second Formic War Trilogy ( 1. The Hive, 2. The Queen), a novel which will tie together Ender and Bean’s stories ( 3. Shadows Alive), and and unknown number of sequels in The Fleet School Series (4. Children of the Fleet sequel #1, 5. sequel #2, etc.).

All of the novels are written exclusively by Card, except for the four prequels and two planned prequels, which are co-written with Aaron Johnston. In the event that Card dies, Card has said that Aaron Johnston will complete any books remaining under contract to relieve Card’s wife of any debt from unwritten books.

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Other Media

In addition to the 16 novels, there are also 14 short stories, 47 comic book issues, a film, an audioplay, and other reference materials. There are two planned short stories. A short story called Governor Wiggin was previewed to the subscribers of Uncle Orson on the Fly and an untitled short story will be published by Centipede Press in a planned Enderverse short story anthology. However, the untitled short story might be Governor Wiggin. There are no planned comic books, film sequels, or anything similar.

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Reading Order

The Enderverse is complicated. Many of the novels overlap and contradict each other, which makes deciding a reading order difficult. According to Card, it does not matter what order the books are read except that Xenocide should be read just before Children of the Mind.

Most fans prefer to read the novels in either publication or chronological order. We at Ender’s Ansible recommend reading reading the novels in publication order in order to avoid spoiling many of the novels.

For younger readers who enjoyed the action and surprise elements of ‘Ender’s Game’, we suggest following the original novel with Bean’s story followed by ‘Ender’s in Exile’.

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 Failed, Rumored, or Unofficial Adaptations

Film (Warner Bros.) [Failed]
In 2003, Card submitted a screenplay to Warner Bros. based on both ‘Ender’s Game’ and ‘Ender’s Shadow’. Wolfgang Peterson was attached to the project as the director. Ultimately, efforts by Warner Bros. to adapt Ender’s Game failed.

Film Sequel(s) (Lionsgate) [Rumored]
Lionsgate owns the rights to 12 novels/stories in the Enderverse. One week after the US release of the ‘Ender’s Game’ film Jon Feltheimer, Lionsgate CEO, said the company would wait an additional week or two to announce whether any sequels or spin-offs would be made. No announcement by Lionsgate has ever been made, which make any film sequels or spin-offs unlikely.

Young Graff Novel [Rumored]
Aaron W. Johnston has expressed interest in writing a novel based on Hyrum Graff’s younger years. As of March 2017, Johnston has confirmed on Twitter that he is currently not under contract to write a young Graff novel. However, Johnston adds that there’s “no telling what the future holds.”

Second Formic War Spin-off Series [Rumored]
Aaron W. Johnston stated on Twitter that he pitched an idea for a new Enderverse series to Tor, but whether or not it will be published depends largely on the success of the Second Formic War trilogy. The series would follow an unnamed character from the Second Formic War trilogy.

Video Game [Failed]
In 2008, Chair Entertainment announced that it was developing a video game called ‘Ender’s Game: Battle Room’  for all viable downloadable platforms. In late 2010, the game’s creators announced that development of the video game adaptation would stop and the project was put on indefinite hold.

Formic Wars TV series [Rumored]
In April 2013, Card said that he was trying to develop the Formic War trilogies into a TV series. No further information has come to light.

Ender’s Shadow TV Series [Rumored]
In November 2013, Lionsgate expressed interest in developing a TV series based on ‘Ender’s Shadow’ if the ‘Ender’s Game’ film performed well at the box office.  Again, no further information has come to light.

Ender’s Game Fanfiction Anthology [Rumored]
In June 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported that Card would hold a fan fiction contest for fans in Fall 2012. According to the article, winning entries would be published in an anthology and become official Enderverse canon. However, no other source has confirmed the possibility of this anthology.

Ender’s Game Manga [Unofficial]
In December 2013, the Anime News Network announced that Shuho Sato would publish a manga inspired by ‘Ender’s Game’ in loose conjunction with the Japanese release of the ‘Ender’s Game’ film. In January 2014, chapter one of the manga was published for free online. (Note: To view the entire chapter, hover over the left side of the page and click to turn the pages.) At this time, no other chapters have been published.

Ender’s Game Theatrical Production [Unofficial]
In September 2014, a Finland company produced a play based on ‘Ender’s Game’. Although it was an unofficial adaptation, Card chose to feature the play on his website.

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See Also

• Book to film changes
• Cultural references
• Timeline
• Family tree
• Battle School slang
• Canon levels discussion
• Collectible editions