The Authorized Ender Companion [Hardcover]

Orson Scott Card (Author), Jake Black (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ender | Publication Date: November 10, 2009

The Authorized Ender Companion is a complete and in-depth encyclopedia of all the persons, places, things and events in Orson Scott Card’s Ender Universe.  Written by Jake Black under the editorial supervision of Card himself, The Authorized Ender Companion will be an invaluable resource for readers of the series.

If you ever wondered where Ender went after he left Earth, before he arrived at Lusitania, you’ll find the answer here.  If you ever wondered how the battle room worked, you’ll find the answer here.   If you forgot the names of the people were who discovered the descolada, the answer is here.  The history of Gloriously Bright’s world?  Here.

The Authorized Ender Companion contains all that and more. There are character biographies, time-lines, colony histories, and family trees.  

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Obviously a labor of love, realized with input from Orson Scott Card’s online fandom and written under Card’s supervision, Black’s compendium contains a wealth of solid information on the people, places, technology, events, and more of the Enderverse, the setting of Card’s cycle of stories springing from an 11-year-old boy’s defeat of aliens who threaten all humanity. The articles and definitions range from single sentences to brief paragraphs to pages-long entries, and include cross-references. A list of battle-school slang; a physical description of the original attacking aliens, the Formics, that was used to design an Ender comic book; and other neat features appear in sidebars. Appendixes include a complete list of Ender short stories and novels, with synopses; a comparative time line of the developments of Ender and his right-hand man, Bean; the Wiggins family tree; a lengthy résumé of the Ender’s Game screenplay’s development; an illustrated explanation of battle-school technology; and a selection of enthusiastic comments from Ender fans. In short, minutiae-for-days for deep-dyed fans and a swell resource for students and teachers. --Sally Estes

About the Author

ORSON SCOTT CARD is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead. Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the only author to win these two top prizes in consecutive years. There are seven other novels to date in The Ender Universe series. Card has also written fantasy: The Tales of Alvin Maker is a series of fantasy novels set in frontier America; his most recent novel, The Lost Gate, is a contemporary magical fantasy. Card has written many other stand-alone sf and fantasy novels, as well as movie tie-ins and games, and publishes an internet-based science fiction and fantasy magazine, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.  Card was born in Washington 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, Card directs plays and teaches writing and literature at Southern Virginia University. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and youngest daughter, Zina Margaret.

 

JAKE BLACK has written for several popular franchises and characters including Smallville, Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Twilight, Star Trek, and many others.  He is also the author of Marvel Comics’ Ender series comic books “Gold Bug,” “Cheater,” and “Recruiting Valentine.” He lives in a quiet Utah town with his wife and son.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (November 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765320622
• ISBN-13: 978-0765320629
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > History & Criticism

More About the Author

JAKE BLACK is the author of more than a dozen books including 2009's "Authorized Ender Companion" published by Tor. He has written comic books for DC Comics, Marvel, and Mirage (the publishers of the popular "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comics), and several other independent companies. He has written for popular characters and franchises including Superman, Batman, Hannah Montana, Twilight, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Smallville, WWE, Star Trek, and more. On screen, he has written episodes of "Ben 10: Alien Force" (Cartoon Network), "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" (Cartoon Network), and "Chaotic" (CW Network/Cartoon Network). He is also the writer and chief researcher for several "Smallville" DVD documentaries.

Throughout 2008-2009, Jake battled cancer. In December 2009, he was declared cancer-free. He continues to write TV, comics, books, and magazines. Jake can be found online at jakeblack.com, twitter.com/jakeboyslim, and facebook.com/jakeboyslim

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, February 16, 2010

By 

Leslie "That Chick That Reads" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Authorized Ender Companion (Hardcover)

I'm a fan of Orson Scott Card's Ender series and was delighted to find this companion! I'm slowly re-reading the series and it's opened up my eyes as well as refreshed my memory on some of the characters and events! The pictures that are included in The Technology of Ender's Game, were very detailed and made the picture that was in my mind clear up. Black went into exclusive detail of every event, character, giving us a useful encyclopedia that needed to be created. This book provided a great insight to the Ender's Game. If you are just beginning to read the series, this is definitely a must have! & If you have already read the series than you should def get your hands on a copy because the detail and insight will def blow your mind! This companion NEEDED to be written and thanks to Jake Black it has! I give this novel 4 out of 5 paws!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible, December 23, 2009

By 

Tim Lasiuta "Comic Fan 42" (Red Deer, Alberta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Authorized Ender Companion (Hardcover)

For the Ender fans among us, this is a priceless jewel. Jake Black has authored a comprehensive encyclopedic listing almost every character, setting, and tool in the Ender books. Many of the entries are biographic in nature, and include notations on which book they appear in. There are notes on the comic books, and screenplay in development.

This rocks!

I understand the work behind such a project, and to complete it so well in an objective manner is difficult. It is easily readible, and can be used alongside the novels. I can easily imagine a 2nd edition, when Mr Card has reached book #15 and his canon has enlarged quite significantly.

Thank you.

Where are the pictures from the book covers and comic books?

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for Ender's fans!, December 20, 2009

By 

S. Sywak "ssywak" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Authorized Ender Companion (Hardcover)

I love this book, and it's not just because I happen to have written a chapter in it.

Well, maybe that has a little to do with it.

No, let's be honest, it probably has a lot to do with it.

But seriously, not only is the chapter on the "Technology of Ender's Game" fascinating, enlightening, beautifully and concisely written, wonderfully illustrated, etc., etc., etc. but I understand there are other chapters in the book as well.

For instance, there's a great chapter on the history of the movie-to-be, and all the trials and tribulations it's gone through and will probably still be going through as the screenplay is developed.

The first part of the book is the "encyclopedia" part, with details on what is probably all the characters, planets, etc., from most or all of the Ender's and Ender's Shadow books (who knows how many more will be written by the time you find this review?)

Fascinating stuff. Fun book. If you're reading this review, you're already and "Ender's Game" fan, and you know you want this book...

--Steve S.