So... Ender's Game *OT* (Off-Topic)

by Xenos , Shores of Time, Tuesday, November 05, 2013, 21:27 (3822 days ago) @ cheapLEY

Pretty close, he actually didn't have Ender in mind when he was trying to write Speaker for the Dead, and he had already written the short story quite awhile before. So while he was writing the novel for Ender's Game he realized Ender IS the Speaker for the Dead. And yeah it's in one of the intros or notes from one of the books, if I remember I'll check which one when I get home.

Yeah, that sounds right. I don't have my copy of Speaker handy, otherwise I'd give it a glance, but I'm sure you're right.

As an aside, has anyone else read anything else by Card?

I haven't read any of his other novels besides all the Ender stuff, but I have his short story anthology, Maps in a Mirror, and if you haven't read it, it is absolutely worth picking up. So many great stories in there, including the original Ender's Game story and the short story that became his Alvin Maker series. Lots of good stuff in there, if you're into short stories.

I just checked my copy and it's a combination between our two explanations. He decided to write the Ender's Game novel to prepare the story for Speaker of the Dead, but he didn't have the idea for it being Ender until after trying to write the story multiple times.