In the spirit of the ‘Ender’s Game’ film release, Orbit Books has decided to release new covers of the ‘Ender’s Game’ prequel trilogy. The covers you see below are ‘Earth Unaware’ and ‘Earth Afire’ co-written by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston. They will available for purchase in the United Kingdom and Australia on June 4, 2013. This is the same release date for ‘Earth Afire,’ the second novel in the first formic war trilogy.
Both of these covers are reminiscent of the new ‘Ender Saga’ UK covers we saw last month.
The ‘Ender’s Game’ film will be released in U.S. theaters in November 1, 2013 and in UK theaters on October 25, 2013.
Attention Ansible readers! We’re giving away 3 official ‘Ender’s Game’ mini posters (14” x 20”.) At the end of the contest we will randomly select 2 winners from the United States and 1 international winner. A special thanks to Summit Entertainment for providing the posters!
Read the rules carefully:
1. The giveaway is open to everyone worldwide. (Minors, please ask your parents for permission before entering this giveaway.)
2. You have the opportunity to enter once a day for 10 days, for a maximum total of 10 entries.
Each day we will post an Ender’s Game trivia question. You must email us the correct answer by 11:59 PM PST each day to submit your entry for that day. You are only allowed to submit one answer each day; do not share your answer with anyone. Make sure you specify your location by including “US” or “international” in your email.
3. This giveaway will end on Sunday April 14, 2013 at 11:59 PM PST.
The three randomly selected winners will be announced on Monday April 15, 2013. The winners will have one week to claim their posters by emailing us their full name and address as it should be mailed. If any winner has not claimed his/her prize in one week then he/she forfeits the prize and a new winner will be selected.
Day 1 Trivia: Name every army, in order, of which Ender was a member.
Day 2 Trivia: What was Ender’s last name in the original ‘Ender’s Game’ short story published in the August 1977 issue of Analog?
Day 3 Trivia: What is the name of the battle school student who committed suicide?
Day 4 Trivia: How many of Bean and Petra’s children have Anton’s Key turned?
Day 5 Trivia: How old is Ender when he is promoted from his launch group to a member in Salamander Army?
Day 6 Trivia: What color are the Launchie uniforms?
Day 7 Trivia: What title/position does Graff assume after the war?
Day 8 Trivia: What award does Valentine receive after writing a letter to Ender while he is in battle school?
Day 9 Trivia: What is Ender’s middle name?
Day 10 Trivia: What city does the Wiggin Family move to after Ender is taken to battle school?
[Note: Sorry for the spoiler trivia on Day 4! None of the trivia from now on will have spoilers!]
U.S. giveaway winners:
#80 DannyDawg US #242 Kayla Halflich, US
International giveaway winner: #53 Sir Framling
We have sent you an email. Please respond with your full name and address ASAP. Congratulations!
With the release of the ‘Ender’s Game’ film the publishers of ‘Ender’s Game’ have decided to capitalize on the growing excitement by releasing a slew of new ‘Ender’s Game’ book editions. Sadly, there is currently no cover art available for any of these editions.
Movie tie-in editions will be available in the US and the UK:
‘Ender’s World’ hit shelves today! For those who are unfamiliar, ‘Ender’s World,’ edited by Orson Scott Card, is a collection of essays about ‘Ender’s Game’ by various people in science fiction and other fields. EnderSpeaker did an amazing indepth review on it, here. Another staff member did a shorter review, here.
In my personal reading of the book, I too found the book enjoyable. The essays themselves are wonderfully written, mainly because they were written by a diverse group of fans. Each essay dives deeper into the creation of ‘Ender’s Game’ and offers insight into the world of writing and Ender’s universe.
I think ‘Ender’s World’ would make a strong addition to any ‘Ender’s Game’ collection. Long time fans of the Enderverse will enjoy “fresh perspectives” on ‘Ender’s Game,’ as well as Card’s answers to some popular questions. ‘Ender’s World’ would also make a great addition for classrooms and book clubs. Each essay would work well to guide a discussion of the original science fiction classic. Although ‘Ender’s Game’ is part of my everyday discussion on this website, I was most surprised at some of the theses.
I only have two complaints about the ‘Ender’s World.’ Firstly, I wish Card has spent more time answering questions. Sometimes he lets his wit speak, rather than give a full answer, which is a tad disappointing. Secondly, while I like the cover, I would have preferred the original battle school design from Steve Sywak and Darian Robbins. All in all, the many unique views on ‘Ender’s Game’ make this piece suitable for all demographics. I would recommend this book to everyone who has read ‘Ender’s Game’ and to those people who will be leading discussions on the novel. Card’s Q&A with fans make this a must buy, because everyone wants to know how he feels about Apple ripping off his desk design!
FTC: This book was sent to me for review by Smart Pop. All opinions are my own.
Finally, I’d like to note the acknowledgements of this book!
It’s pretty amazing that we’ve been mentioned in the back of the book, along with a few of our staff members (@EnderSpeaker and Elizabeth Spencer!)
Science Fiction Book Club 60th Anniversary Edition
Proceeding the release of the ‘Ender’s Game’ movie, the Science Fiction Book Club has decided to publish an omnibus edition of ‘Ender’s Game’ and ‘Speaker for the Dead.’ Both of the award-winning novels will be included under the title ‘Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead’ on May 8th, 2013. The sale of this special edition hardcover will not be open to the public. You must be a member of the Science Fiction Book Club, which may involve purchasing other books. If you’re interested in purchasing this edition for your collection, click here and act fast because the sale will be limited.
This is the not the first time ‘Ender’s Game’ and ‘Speaker for the Dead’ have been published together. ‘Ender’s War,’ which included the original version of the ‘Ender’s Game’ novel and ‘Speaker for the Dead,’ was published for a limited time in 1986 and again in 1997.
We apologize for the size of the cover art image and lack of details. We will share more details as we learn them.
Edit:
Here are some larger images of the cover art by Eric Wilkerson:
And here are some sketches that were not used for the cover, also by Eric Wilkerson:
Eric writes on his website that he wanted the cover to resemble “a pre-production illustration for film rather than a stand alone book cover or theater poster style image.”
He says, “I really wanted to get in and play with a little environment design and costume design for Ender’s flash suit as well. This however meant a ton more work than what would normally go into a sci fi cover illustration.”
He was tapped to do the cover by Matthew Kalamidas at the Science Fiction Book Club, who interviewed him about the cover creation.
Eric says,
“I tried to stay as true to the book as possible when it came to the flash suit. Even though it wasn’t described in any heavy detail I wanted the Ender in my painting to represent Dragon Army. The suit colors and dragon logo had to be correct. This was so much more fun to design than sticking him in army fatigues. I imagined the suit to be a more high tech sports/laser tag outfit with appropriate padding for floating in Zero-G. The Chest would be the sensor hub for responding to gun blasts and would send a signal to compress the fibers of his clothing and restrict the movement of limbs when hit. Sensor nodes were placed on the hands, waist and back. No loose wiring or restrictive elements. He had to look like he could freely move his arms, so the chest padding couldn’t be too bulky or loaded with chunky details. I really look forward to seeing what the film does with the suit.
The second book treats Andrew Wiggin with the same kind of authority and respect that a priest would receive so it made sense to have his costume or the hint of it in the painting have subtle nods to the clothing of a catholic priest. Further developing the look of the whole illustration I made a full body costume design for Ender and the Speaker.”
Read the full interview here. It’s a very interesting read, and there’s an amazing animation of the step-by-step hologram detail. Thanks, Trevor, for the interview tip!
We at Ender’s Ansible would like to take a moment to wish Ender Wiggin actor, Asa Butterfield, a happy 16th birthday!
Thank you for accepting the role of Ender. We know you were very excited! Apparently the entire Internet was excited with you, because the night you announced your acceptance was the first time we went viral. (You crashed our servers three days in a row!)
Thank you for loving Ender as much as we do. We’re looking forward to seeing you on the big screen November 1, 2013.
Finally, thank you for meeting with us last May. Have a very happy birthday, Asa! Ender fans, be sure to wish Asa a happy birthday on Twitter, @asabfb!
“Ender hadn’t cracked the teachers’ security system yet, so he couldn’t pretend to be a teacher. But he was able to set up a file for a nonexistant student, whom he whimsically named God. […]
Then he settled down to the serious business of designing a security system for his own desk, since the safegaurds built into the system were obviously inadequate.”
—’Ender’s Game’ by Orson Scott Card, pages 49 – 52
As cyber attacks grow more common, the need for national cyber defense becomes more evident. This is why the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, needs about 600 hackers. However, recruiting hackers to defend the government from cyber attacks is no easy measure. Many potential recruits are lost either to the public sector or to the U.S. National Security Agency.
In an effort to recruit young hacking geniuses, Allen Paller, a security expert, and others have designed a game to hone students’ hacking skills. The non profit group, called Cyber Aces, is supported by a New York senator and others. They host competitions for high school students with military exercises like NetWars that are very similar to video games. The games force students to find new ways around old problems.
“The students faced the same five-level test that the military uses to test its own security experts.”
This is starting to sound familiar, right? Ender, and the other battle school children, are asked to creative solutions to difficult military games.
“They earned points for cracking passwords, flagging vulnerabilities and breaking into a Web site administrator’s account where, had they changed any settings or defaced a site, they would have been eliminated. Their scores were displayed in real time on a leader board.”
It’s unclear if any student made an account under the name “God,” but the government’s effort to recruit young geniuses with a game does seem borrowed from the pages of ‘Ender’s Game’ by Orson Scott Card. Even the statistics-filled leader board seems reminiscent of the leader board in the commander’s mess hall.
Have you ever thought, “This reminds me of ‘Ender’s Game,’” while reading an article? Our column, ‘Beyond Fiction’ is dedicated to sharing those stories. Each Saturday we’ll publish a piece both reminiscent and beyond the fiction of ‘Ender’s Game’. Of course, if you’d like to nominate a feature, please contact us.
Ender’s Game author, Orson Scott Card, and his First Formic War Trilogy co-author, Aaron Johnston, will be at the Los Angeles Festival of Books on Saturday April 20, 2013.
Aaron Johnston will interview Card at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center at 1:30 PM. It’s conversation #1063 for those Ender fans interested in attending.
Find out how to reserve your tickets here. For more information about the schedule of events click here.
‘Ender’s Game’ by Orson Scott Card is currently #18 on the New York Times Best Sellers List for paperback mass fiction for the the week of April 7, 2013. ‘Ender’s Game’ was also on the list last week, March 31, 2013, at #14.
‘Twilight’ author, Stephanie Meyer, recently spoke with The Vancouver Sun to promote her new film ‘The Host.’ During her interview, Meyer revealed that she’s a big fan of ‘Ender’s Game’ author, Orson Scott Card. The interviewer noted that she seemed more worried about the ‘Ender’s Game’ film than her own movie. She said,
“They’ve been trying to make it into movie for 25 years. It’s coming out this fall. I’m nervous and very excited for him [Orson Scott Card]”
The ‘Ender’s Game’ film will be released in U.S. theaters on November 1, 2013.
