From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up-Andrew "Ender" Wiggins, a brilliant leader and tactician and destined to save Earth by destroying an entire alien civilization at the age of 12, was first introduced in Card's "Ender's Game" in Analog magazine (1977). That novella, plus three other stories (including one never before published) make up this appealing and entertaining collection of tales, all dealing with first meetings that played significant roles in the life of Ender Wiggins. "The Polish Boy" introduces his extraordinary father, John Paul, who manages at the age of six to trick the Hegemony into bringing his entire family from Poland to the United States. "Teacher's Pest" is the story of how John Paul meets and romances the equally brilliant graduate student Theresa Brown. Finally, in "The Investment Counselor," a mysterious accounting program named Jane appears just when 20-year-old Andrew Wiggins needs help figuring out both his taxes and what to do with the rest of his life. All four stories use the future setting as a framework to explore various issues of religion, government control, population limits, education, and moral responsibility. Character, setting, plot-Card does them all right, and makes it look effortless. The graphic novelesque illustrations will appeal to teens. For newcomers to Ender's universe and long-time fans, this book will hit the spot and whet the appetite for more.Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From AudioFile
Featured in this collection are four novellas spun from the "Enderverse," the world created by Card beginning with ENDER'S GAME. Three of these stories are united by the theme of first meetings. THE POLISH BOY, read by Stefan Rudnicki, follows the boyhood travails of John Paul Wiggin, the future father of Ender. In TEACHER'S PEST, Gabrielle de Cuir reads a tale of college student John Paul Wiggin and how he meets his future wife, Theresa. The best story in the batch, INVESTMENT COUNSELOR, will especially appeal to anyone who has enjoyed the Ender novels. Beautifully read by Amanda Karr and set in the years between ENDER'S GAME and SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD, it describes the first meeting of Ender and his cybernetic companion, Jane. For the final gem in this boxed set, Stefan Rudnicki reads the 1977 novella ENDER'S GAME, which Card used as the basis for his 1994 novel of the same name. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Book Description
Welcome to the Enderverse.

When "Ender's Game" was first published as a novella twenty-five years ago few would have predicted that it would become one of the most successful ventures in publishing history. Expanded into a novel in 1985, Ender's Game won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novel. Never out of print and translated into dozens of languages, it is the rare work of fiction that can truly be said to have transcended a genre. Ender's Game and its sequels have won dozens of prestigious awards and are as popular today among teens and young readers as adults.

First Meetings is a collection of three novellas-plus the original "Ender's Game"-that journey into the origins and the destiny of one Ender Wiggin.

"The Polish Boy" begins in the wake between the first two Bugger Wars when the Hegemony is desperate to recruit brilliant military commanders to repel the alien invasion. In John Paul Wiggin-the future father of Ender -they believe they may have found their man. Or boy.

In "Teacher's Pest"-a novella written especially for this collection-a brilliant but insufferably arrogant John Paul Wiggin, now an American university student, matches wits with an equally brilliant graduate student named Theresa Brown.

It is many years since the end of the Bugger Wars in "The Investment Counselor." Ender's reputation as a hero and savior has suffered a horrible reversal. Banished from Earth and slandered as a mass murderer, twenty-year-old Andrew Wiggin wanders incognito from planet to planet as a fugitive. Until a blackmailing tax inspector compromises his identity and threatens to expose Ender the Xenocide.

Also reprinted here is the original landmark novella, "Ender's Game," which first appeared in 1977.

Fully illustrated, First Meetings is Orson Scott Card writing at the height of his considerable power about his most compelling character.



From the Inside Flap
Four Outstanding Novellas!
One Brand-New to This Collection

Includes the Original
"Ender's Game"

Praise for First Meetings:

"Showcases Card's talent at developing the inner life of a character. Even those who are intimately familiar with the concepts of the Game from later Ender books will be struck anew by Card's virtuosity. His powerful voice and startlingly clear vision will draw many new readers into a lifelong love of science fiction. This accessible collection will impress even non-sci-fi buffs, besides being a must-have for Ender saga devotees."
-Publishers Weekly

"These stories demonstrate the assured scene setting, apparently effortlessly sustained suspense, and moral preoccupation with the responsibilities of kinship and friendship that distinguishes Ender's entire saga."
--Booklist



From the Back Cover
Four Outstanding Novellas! One Brand-New to This Collection Includes the Original "Ender's Game" Praise for First Meetings "Showcases Card's talent at developing the inner life of a character. Even those who are intimately familiar with the concepts of the Game from later Ender books will be struck anew by Card's virtuosity. His powerful voice and startlingly clear vision will draw many new readers into a lifelong love of science fiction. This accessible collection will impress even non-sci-fi buffs, besides being a must-have for Ender saga devotees." -Publishers Weekly "These stories demonstrate the assured scene setting, apparently effortlessly sustained suspense, and moral preoccupation with the responsibilities of kinship and friendship that distinguishes Ender's entire saga." -Booklist


About the Author
Born in Richland, Washington in 1951, Orson Scott Card grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He lived in Brazil for two years as an unpaid missionary for the Mormon Church and received degrees from Brigham Young University (1975) and the University of Utah (1981). The author of numerous books, Card was the first writer to receive both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel two years in a row, first for Ender's Game and then for the sequel Speaker for the Dead. He lives with his wife and children in North Carolina.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Meet Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, the unforgettable boy-hero of Ender's Game--winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novel--and enter his Universe through this collection of stories.

"The Polish Boy" is John Paul Wiggin, the future father of Ender. In the years between the first two Bugger Wars, the Hegemony is desperate to recruit brilliant military commanders to repel the alien invasion. They may have found their man--or boy--in John Paul Wiggin....

In "Teacher's Pest"-a novella written especially for this collection--a brilliant but arrogant John Paul Wiggin, now a university student, matches wits with an equally brilliant graduate student.

"The Investment Counselor" is set after the end of the Bugger Wars. Banished from Earth and slandered as a mass murderer, twenty-year-old Andrew Wiggin wanders incognito from planet to planet as a fugitive--until a blackmailing tax inspector compromises his identity and threatens to expose Ender the Xeoncide.

Also reprinted here is the original award-winning novella, "Ender's Game," which first appeared in 1977.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Ender's Game, first published 25 years ago, and three other novellas by Orson Scott Card comprise First Meetings: In the Enderverse. In "The Polish Boy" (2002), which occurs between the two Bugger Wars, the Hegemony tries to draft a boy genius, John Paul Weiczorek, to help ward off an alien invasion. In "Teacher's Pest," written especially for this collection, John Paul (now known as John Paul Wiggin) spars with the brilliant graduate student who teaches his class at the university. John Paul's son, Ender Wiggin, stars in "Ender's Game," as he trains in Battle School to lead an army against an alien army. And finally, in "Investment Counselor" (2000), Ender has been accused of mass murder and, traveling as Andrew Wiggin, he avoids detection with the help of a mysterious financial adviser. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Four stories set in four different time periods explore new aspects of Card's best-selling "Ender" series. In "The Polish Boy," the Hegemony attempts to recruit new military talent to prepare for a resurgence of war against the aliens known as Buggers, while in "Teacher's Pest," original to this collection, Ender's father, John Wiggin, meets his match in a young woman named Theresa Brown. "The Investment Counselor," a cautionary post-Bugger War tale about guilt and survival, and the original novella "Ender's Game" round out this collection. Suitable for both adult and YA fans of the Ender series. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-Andrew "Ender" Wiggins, a brilliant leader and tactician and destined to save Earth by destroying an entire alien civilization at the age of 12, was first introduced in Card's "Ender's Game" in Analog magazine (1977). That novella, plus three other stories (including one never before published) make up this appealing and entertaining collection of tales, all dealing with first meetings that played significant roles in the life of Ender Wiggins. "The Polish Boy" introduces his extraordinary father, John Paul, who manages at the age of six to trick the Hegemony into bringing his entire family from Poland to the United States. "Teacher's Pest" is the story of how John Paul meets and romances the equally brilliant graduate student Theresa Brown. Finally, in "The Investment Counselor," a mysterious accounting program named Jane appears just when 20-year-old Andrew Wiggins needs help figuring out both his taxes and what to do with the rest of his life. All four stories use the future setting as a framework to explore various issues of religion, government control, population limits, education, and moral responsibility. Character, setting, plot-Card does them all right, and makes it look effortless. The graphic novelesque illustrations will appeal to teens. For newcomers to Ender's universe and long-time fans, this book will hit the spot and whet the appetite for more.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

AudioFile