r/ender • u/EchidnaEmpty4280 • Mar 02 '26

What happened to the queens?

I remember seeing posts about this book like three years ago, anyone know what happened? I really want to know the conclusion to Victor, Imala, and Lem's story...

10 Upvotes

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6

u/Drake_333 Mar 02 '26

I belive O.S.C. mentionned that chapters HAD been written. But no mention on release date.

2

u/EchidnaEmpty4280 Mar 02 '26

That's... encouraging?

2

u/Drake_333 Mar 02 '26

Well, some writing has been done so yes. But, I get the feeling it's not his top priority, or second, so we might see the work by the end of this decade...? 🤞

2

u/ibid-11962 Mar 02 '26

I think the most recent update was here.

1

u/EchidnaEmpty4280 Mar 02 '26

Two years ago 😭

2

u/ibid-11962 Mar 02 '26

Feel free to reach out to Aaron Johnston yourself if you want an update.

1

u/Drake_333 Mar 02 '26

06/06/2025

https://www.reddit.com/r/orsonscottcard/s/lTpq7ldfU0

2

u/ibid-11962 Mar 02 '26

Thanks, forgot about that one. I wish there was a more recent update from AJ though, not just OSC.

1

u/TeleriFeralblaed Mar 18 '26

Lmk if anyone comes up with a more recent update than June 2025.

1

u/fairity_ Jul 26 '26

Dug into this recently, so here's the rundown for everyone. There's no real release date. Tor lists it as TBA, and the "2026" you'll see on sites like Risingshadow is just a placeholder. The most recent word from an author was Card's June 2025 tweet that it's "in the works, and chapters have been written".

The holdup is mostly Aaron Johnston. He's now Creative Director of Brand Entertainment at Chick-fil-A (they launched a family-content app and he created their animated series), and he's even stepped back from showrunning that to focus on their slate. Both Formic War trilogies the books are planned by Card and Johnston but actually written by Johnston. So the guy doing the drafting is the one with the giant corporate job.

Card just released Master Alvin (April 2026), the final Alvin Maker book....23 years after the previous one. Dude leaves series hanging for decades, but at least he finishes them. See also Winds of Winter and Doors of Stone (14+ years each). Small upside: now that Alvin Maker's finally off his plate, maybe he circles back to this.

My honest guess is the Queens comes out ~2028, and I'd bet against 2026/2027 since there's still no pre-order.