I am new to the OSC books and am in the middle of Enders Game.
What is the best choice for the order of his Ender related books to be read?
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I'm an in-the-order-writarian.
Posted by Endering (Member # 9449) on :
Specifically, I was wondering if it made sense to read Ender's shadow after Ender's Game instead of going on to Speaker for the Dead.
Am I putting way too much thought into it?
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
It would be fine to read Ender's Shadow after Ender's Game.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
You only really have two paths you can follow. Take a left onto the Speaker Trilogy, or a right onto the Shadow Trilogy. The former follows the order they were written in, the latter follows chronologically.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Um, I thought Speaker was to the right. I think I'm lost...
Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
Wait--are we talking three dimensions here, or just two? I always thought Ender's Shadow was down...
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Take a left onto the Speaker Trilogy, or a right onto the Shadow Trilogy.
The Shadow Series is not a trilogy.
Posted by Princess Leah (Member # 6026) on :
Perhaps when it comes to trilogies JT subscribes to the Douglas Adams school of thought.
Posted by Princess Leah (Member # 6026) on :
Or counts Xenocide and Children of the Mind as one book. Posted by OSTY (Member # 1480) on :
quote:Originally posted by CRash: Wait--are we talking three dimensions here, or just two? I always thought Ender's Shadow was down...
No the only thing down is the enemy's gate!
Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote:Take a left onto the Speaker Trilogy, or a right onto the Shadow Trilogy.
The Shadow Series is not a trilogy.
Actually, if you exclude ES, it is. The same way that excluding EG results in the "Speaker Trilogy".
quote:Originally posted by OSTY: No the only thing down is the enemy's gate!
Aha! So Ender's Game is down, and Ender's Shadow is up? That wouldn't make sense unless Ender was standing directly over a source of light, though. Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
Ender's Shadow is neither up nor down. It's straight ahead, running parallel to Ender's Game. Then, the Speaker series is DEFINITELY to the right, and the rest of the Shadow series is to the left.
And the enemy's gate is down.
And if you go backwards, it's the Alvin Maker series.
Hope this clarifies.
PS: I read EG then ES, then the Speaker series, then the rest of the Shadow series. And the Worthing Saga inbetween. I'm pretty sure this is the best way.
Posted by OSTY (Member # 1480) on :
quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: Ender's Shadow is neither up nor down. It's straight ahead, running parallel to Ender's Game. Then, the Speaker series is DEFINITELY to the right, and the rest of the Shadow series is to the left.
And the enemy's gate is down.
And if you go backwards, it's the Alvin Maker series.
Hope this clarifies.
PS: I read EG then ES, then the Speaker series, then the rest of the Shadow series. And the Worthing Saga inbetween. I'm pretty sure this is the best way.
Why EG then Shadow then the speaker series..that is throwing the whole chronological order out the door...EG, ES, Shadow seris then speaker series!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Actually, if you exclude ES, it is. The same way that excluding EG results in the "Speaker Trilogy".
Sure. And if you exclude everything but books 2,4, and 6, The Wheel of Time is also a trilogy.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
quote:Originally posted by Endering: What is the best choice for the order of his Ender related books to be read?
Don't listen to all these knitpickers, just read them according to the order of release, like they were "intended."
That is: Ender's Game, Speaker, Xenocide, Children, Ender's Shadow, Hegemon, puppets, Giant, First meetings (this might bt out of the order) Mazer in Prison, Pretty Boy (if it ever comes out)
Posted by doh (Member # 9420) on :
i concur, read them the way orson intended everyone to
Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
I don't think OSC had any intentions as to the official order to read his books. Ideally, you can pick any one of them up and understand them without having read the others.
PS. When I read Ender's Game, ES had just come out--so I read it next. Then, I read the speaker series and the shadow series as they were written.
[ May 23, 2006, 04:22 PM: Message edited by: Launchywiggin ]
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
Can you really say that was what Orson intended? Something tells me back in the 80's, if someone said he would write a series of books based on Bean, he would have laughed.
Posted by camus (Member # 8052) on :
I would suggest reading them in the order in which they were written. That way you learn about the characters in the same way in which they were revealed to the world.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Don't listen to all these knitpickers, just read them according to the order of release, like they were "intended."
OSC has said here on HR that he thinks that he became a better writer in the 20 years after he wrote EG, and as such he thinks that people should read ES first instead of EG.
Posted by GodSpoken (Member # 9358) on :
quote:Why EG then Shadow then the speaker series..that is throwing the whole chronological order out the door...EG, ES, Shadow seris then speaker series!
Because, silly, you just cant get enough of Ender's Game
If you really really liked the kids and battle school side of it, read EG, then ES and the Shadow Series. Then go back to the Ender series. If you liked the inside of Ender's head, go Ender series, then Shadow series.
Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
Or you could read Xenocide then First Meetings and Puppets and EG and Speaker and Giant and Children and ES and Hegemon and then whatever's left.
It's more interesting that way. Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
agreed.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Are we having a most outrageous order competition?
Very well, I accept.
I recommend rading the prepositions first, then the personal pronouns, then the proper nouns, then the rest in order.
Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :
If we're going to get into what order to read the insides of the books, I would suggest not reading the forwards (or prologues, I can never remember the difference. The ones written by Card*) until you've read the novel that it corresponds to. The one in Speaker for the Dead in particular will make no sense until you've read the novel because it keeps talking about characters you haven't met yet.
*(edit: Okay, I realized after I posted that that was a totally stupid way to phrase it. The ones written about the books, but not actually part of the story.)
I believe I went EG, ES, Shadow of the Hegemon, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind, Shadow Puppets, SotG. Weird, I know, but I found a young adult copy of EG first, which advertised ES in the front cover and none of Card's other works. I read Shadow of the Hegemon next because it came after ES, and then I think I went to the Ender series next because there weren't any others in the Shadow series at the time. Or maybe there were, but I wanted to read about Ender. I really have no idea.
Posted by Amilia (Member # 8912) on :
It's the Forward you are thinking of. The Prologue is part of the story . . . what happens before chapter 1.
I am old enough I read them in the order written. In fact, I was rather indignant about the whole Shadow series. The internal monologue went as follows: "What??!!! He is rewriting Ender's Game and he still hasn't finished The Tales of Alvin Maker?!?!?! Why on earth is he going back and retelling the series he completed instead of finishing the one that is not done yet?!?!?!"
It was only this last year that I finally got over myself enough to read the Shadow series. I rather enjoyed them, and they sent me off on a bit of a Card kick again . . . which is how I ended up here. I am still hoping that Alvin Maker gets finished at some point in the future, though.
Posted by Child_of_Ender (Member # 9421) on :
i didnt get a choice in the order to read them in simply because the shadow series was still very far off. However, I would recomend reading them in this order simply because of the voice used in each. Read all the ender series first. It follows Ender's voice, and thus when you go back to read the shadow series it follows beans voice through and you are not jumping around between voices just to see a second perspective. If I wasnted to hear two sides to a story I would listen intently to the first person speaking, then take in the next ones to compare. I guess it REALLY doesnt matter, but in the long run, it leaves less trying to remember where each was last.
so in that case: Ender's Game Speaker Xenocide Children Ender's Shadow Hegemon puppets Giant
I finished the ender series, along with the homecoming series and numerous other novels of his LONG before Shadow came out...so I am presumably biased...but how confusing would it be to jump back and forth between two different people's perspective on the stories, than just following the flow of thought all the way through.
Posted by Cheezecake214 (Member # 9329) on :
I think that you should read EG and then ES. they really complete each other. Once you have read those which ever sieries you read next is really dependent on what you want to read about. If you want more on Ender and Valentine, then read the Speaker Trilogy. But if you want more on Bean, Peter, the other battle schoolers, and like on earth after the buggers, read the shadow books. All of the books are fantastic, and that doesnt change with the order that you read them.
Posted by Child_of_Ender (Member # 9421) on :
On that remark, Id have to agree.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:I think that you should read EG and then ES. they really complete each other.
Oddly, Ender's Game was considered "completed" for nearly twenty years before Ender's Shadow was ever written. Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote:Don't listen to all these knitpickers, just read them according to the order of release, like they were "intended."
OSC has said here on HR that he thinks that he became a better writer in the 20 years after he wrote EG, and as such he thinks that people should read ES first instead of EG.
Really? I think the reveal at the end of EG is worth preserving, and I'm surprised that OSC doesn't think so.
Posted by Vazor (Member # 9267) on :
I read Ender's Shadow before any other sequel, mostly because I happened to come across it not long after I finished EG. Then I read Speaker, then Shadow of the Hegemon, Xenocide, Children of the Mind, Shadow Puppets, then Shadow of the Giant. I think. Then I got First Meetings.
So long story short, it doesn't matter which arc of the Enderverse you happen to be reading at any given time. As long as each arc is read in order, it doesn't matter if you go back and forth between the two.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: Oddly, Ender's Game was considered "completed" for nearly twenty years before Ender's Shadow was ever written.
Ender's Game: "You... complete me." Ender's Shadow: "Shut up, you had me at hello."
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
I wish I didn't have to pay to get Mazer in Prison. I've spent a lot of mony on OSC's books already.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
It's a freaking $2.50.
Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
No kidding. Plus you get the audio version of it, too.
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