Ender's Game

Publication Order: First timers, follow this list, or Awesome Order below.

1. Ender's Game (1985) – Nebula Award 1985, Hugo Award 1986, Locus Award nominee, 1986
2. Speaker for the Dead (1986) – Nebula Award 1986, Hugo & Locus Awards 1987, Campbell Award nominee, 1987
   Xenocide (1991) – Hugo and Locus Awards nominee 1992
3. Children of the Mind (1996)
   Ender's Shadow (1999) – Shortlisted for a Locus Award 2000
4. Shadow of the Hegemon (2001) – Shortlisted for a Locus Award 2002
5. Shadow Puppets (2002)
6. First Meetings (2002) – short story collection
7. Shadow of the Giant (2005)
8. A War of Gifts: An Ender Story (2007)
9. Ender in Exile (2008)
10. Shadows in Flight (2012)
11. Earth Unaware (2012)
12. Earth Afire (2013)
13. Shadows Alive (forthcoming, originally planned as part of "Shadows in Flight")
14. Earth Awakens (forthcoming)

Chronological Order: Re-readers, for a fun fresh take, follow this order:

1. Earth Unaware
2. Earth Afire
3. Earth Awakens
4. First Meetings
5. Ender's Game
6. Ender's Shadow (same time as Ender's Game)
7. A War of Gifts (same time as Ender's Game)
8. Shadow of the Hegemon
9. Shadow Puppets
10. Shadow of the Giant
11. Ender in Exile (same time as Shadow of the Hegemon and Shadow of the Giant)
12. Shadows in Flight
13. Speaker for the Dead
14. Xenocide
15. Children of the Mind
16. Shadows Alive

Awesome Order: Skip two of the books that were not quite as amazing as the fifth book and that happen way later in time so they don't affect the continuity of the story when skipped. Skip straight to the fifth book which is really awesome and is very tightly related to the first book so is timely.

1. Ender's Game
2. Speaker for the Dead
3. Ender's Shadow (same time as Ender's Game)

Be sure and ask yourself which you liked better, 1 or 2! Orson wrote 1 as a quick throwaway just to establish characters for 2, his imagined masterpiece. Yet most fans actually like 1 better! How funny! 1 is left brained and tactical. 2 is right brained and more growth / emotional. Which one do you like better?

Ok, so notice that you are skipping Xenocide and Children of the Mind. These two are ok, but were not as widely admired, while Ender's Shadow was amazing. If you read those two and start to find your interest drifting, please go straight to Ender's Shadow. Also, notice that in book chronological order, Xenocide and Children of the Mind happen far later in time, so you none of what is in those books affects jumping straight to Ender's Shadow which happened at the exact same time as Ender's Game.

I haven't read the rest, so I can't give awesome order advice beyond this. My best guess is that this will be the best order after those three:

1. Shadow of the Hegemon
2. Shadow Puppets
3. First Meetings
4. Shadow of the Giant
5. A War of Gifts (same time as Ender's Game)
6. Ender in Exile (same time as Shadow of the Hegemon and Shadow of the Giant)
7. Shadows in Flight
8. Earth Unaware
9. Earth Afire
10. Xenocide
11. Children of the Mind
12. Shadows Alive
13. Earth Awakens

OR, read 11. Xenocide and 12. Children of the Mind first, then follow the above list. Especially if you are more interested in Ender's story vs the Shadow story.

As always, I am excited to hear your opinions on these lists and these stories in general! :)

You can buy all or some of these books by clicking on my guide on Amazon at this link

Ender's Game Guide on Amazon

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