About the Author

Orson Scott Card is best known for his science fiction novel Ender's Game and it's many sequels that expand the Ender Universe into the far future and the near past. Those books are organized into The Ender Saga, the five books that chronicle the life of Ender Wiggin; the Shadow Series, that follows on the novel Ender's Shadow and are set on Earth; and the Formic Wars series, written with co-author Aaron Johnston, that tells of the terrible first contact between humans and the alien "Buggers".

Card has been a working writer since the 1970s. Beginning with dozens of plays and musical comedies produced in the 1960s and 70s, Card's first published fiction appeared in 1977--the short story "Gert Fram" in the July issue of The Ensign, and the novelette version of "Ender's Game" in the August issue of Analog.
The novel-length version of Ender's Game, published in 1984 and continuously in print since then, became the basis of the 2013 film, starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin.

Card was born in Washington state, and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he runs occasional writers' workshops and directs plays. He frequently teaches writing and literature courses at Southern Virginia University.

He is the author many sf and fantasy novels, including the American frontier fantasy series "The Tales of Alvin Maker" (beginning with Seventh Son), There are also stand-alone science fiction and fantasy novels like Pastwatch and Hart's Hope. He has collaborated with his daughter Emily Card on a manga series, Laddertop. He has also written contemporary thrillers like Empire and historical novels like the monumental Saints and the religious novels Sarah and Rachel and Leah. Card's recent work includes the Mithermages books (Lost Gate, Gate Thief), contemporary magical fantasy for readers both young and old.

Card lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, He and Kristine are the parents of five children and several grandchildren.

Reviews

"Orson Scott Card has apparently swallowed science fiction whole." --The New York Times "One of the greats of contemporary science fiction and fantasy." --The Wall Street Journal "Orson Scott Card is as fine a writer as we have." --The Los Angeles Times "[Orson Scott] Card is a writer of compassion." --The Washington Post

A space-age Lord of the Flies thrill ride (sans the psychological couch trip), this follows six-year-old Ender Wiggin's odyssey from being the smartest, smallest boy in Battle School to savior of humankind. To prepare for an upcoming war with a devastatingly murderous insectoid race (the "formics," aka "buggers"), select earth children are trained on "the Battle Game." Aptest pupil ever Ender quickly rises to the top of Battle School, which has twice the nasty of any boarding school and all the charms of a snake pit (Battle School dude factors are endless). Many Card novels are spun outward from this tale, including the recent Ender in Exile. Dude factor: While these works can be enjoyed individually, they tend to enhance one another. For example, reading Ender's Shadow, which focuses on the fascinating and tragic character of Bean, is heightened by knowing all about Bean's hyperdevotion to (and competition with) Ender. The chronological details of various books remain in neat order, with some entries complementing others during simultaneous time frames and others serving as prequels or sequels. Also fascinating is the shift between the blunt action of Ender's Game and its two immediate sequels, Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide; these are completely different in style, yet similarly captivating on a philosophical plane. In 2008, Tor published Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind in one big gift set, ISBN 978-0-7653-6243-8. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

For the 20th anniversary of Card's Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel, Audio Renaissance brings to life the story of child genius Ender Wiggin, who must save the world from malevolent alien "buggers." In his afterword, Card declares, "The ideal presentation of any book of mine is to have excellent actors perform it in audio-only format," and he gets his wish. Much of the story is internal dialogue, and each narrator reads the sections told from the point of view of a particular character, rather than taking on a part as if it were a play. Card's phenomenal emotional depth comes through in the quiet, carefully paced speech of each performer. No narrator tries overmuch to create separate character voices, though each is clearly discernible, and the understated delivery will draw in listeners. In particular, Rudnicki, with his lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender's inner struggle between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions he is frequently forced to take. This is a wonderful way to experience Card's best-known and most celebrated work, both for longtime fans and for newcomers. Based on the Tor hardcover. (Nov.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

"Card has taken the venerable sf concepts of a superman and interstellar war against aliens, and, with superb characterization, pacing and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power. This is Card at the height of his very considerable powers--a major sf novel by any reasonable standards." --Booklist