*Also printed as “First Meetings in Ender’s Universe”
by Orson Scott Card
Release Date: August 2004 (First For Teen Edition)
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Description: First Meetings in the Enderverse is a collection of 4 short stories- the original Ender’s Game short story, The Polish Boy, Teacher’s Pest and The Investment Counselor.
“‘The Polish Boy’ begins in the years 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 War 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.”
Book Length: 224 pages (For Teens mass market paperback)
Reviews: “[An] appealing and entertaining collection of tales….For newcomers to Ender’s universe and longtime fans, this book will hit the spot and whet the appetite for more.” -School Library Journal on 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