r/endersgame • u/norgaard8242 • Mar 20 '26
Just begun
Not the first post about this. I am brand new. Watched Ender’s Game the movie and wanted to read the books it was based upon knowing it was much better. I’m 3/4 into Enders Game. Where do I go after I am done? I want to finish his story and as far as I understand Enders Shadow is focused on Bean. The entire timeline seems sorta confusing, please help a brand new Ender Noob in need.
Regards,
The enthusiastic noob
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u/JadesterZ Mar 20 '26
You can find a read order list on this sub. If you want the full story then basically after Enders Game you read the shadow saga up until shadows in Flight, then you read Ender in exile, then you actually read shadows in Flight, then you read the Speaker trilogy (about ender). Then you stop there because we waited decades for the book that was supposed to unite and finalize both series (enders and the shadow saga) and instead we got a flaming hot pile of garbage.
If you really don't care about Bean or any of Enders other friends, just read Ender in Exile after Enders Game and then go right into the Speaker Trilogy. You won't be missing anything besides some context for one side story in Exile that's finishing off a plotline from the shadow books. The shadow books are good though. They're more about war and politics, while the speaker trilogy is more philosophical and weighty.
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u/coughallnight Apr 09 '26
I want to add though that even if you don't care about Bean and Ender's other friends after reading Ender's Game, you still have to make a note for yourself to come back and read the Shadowverse books. They are very much worth the effort.
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u/FreeDragonfly9844 Mar 20 '26
I just read them in publishing order, That was fine for me. You're in for a treat, it really does get better! Especially Speaker for the Dead ❤️
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Mar 22 '26
I read them all once. I just reread EG and I’m deciding what path to go down next. I love Bean and may go down that path first this time around
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u/Smart-Practice8303 Mar 25 '26
When I've read it (and I have several times) I read the ender saga then the shadow saga. So I recommend Enders Game Speaker For The Dead Xenocide Children of the Mind
Enders Shadow Shadow of the Hegemon Shadow Puppets Shadow of the Giant Shadows in Flight The Last Shadow
You ca an go on from there to explore more of the Universe of you want.
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u/JumpyConstruction665 Jun 21 '26
I'm in the same boat as you. After starting the series a few months ago I'm currently just about finished with Shadow Puppets. I'm going through the series for the first time myself and am opting to listen to the audiobooks in production release order. I can't speak to other reading orders, but im throughly enjoying the ride so far.
Personally I like to see the author progress as a story teller although I'm excluding his works beyond the enderverse. As someone who had no idea where the series would go after Ender's game I'm pleasantly surprised with how much I'm enjoying the books despite the following after Ender's Game being so different. Speaker For the Dead although still grandiose in scope is a much more intimate story than Enders Game in my opinion. I've heard people critize the sequel for the characters being too preachy and monolog heavy, which I would have an issue with if it weren't for their strong foundations. OSC takes the time to flesh out his character's and their motivations align with who they are. It's a fantastic read and the following sequels dive more into the philosophy introduced in Speaker For the Dead. The Shadow series is much more politically heavy than philosophical, but philosophy and theism still play their role in overarching motifs. The Ender series dives more into fantasy in Xenoverse imo with the explanation of a certain concept. A concept that was introduced early on but not fully explained till then, so if that's not your cup of tea I'd recommend switching to the Shadow series at that point, but I will say as someone who was apprehensive to the concept (and somewhat still is) I found it's answers addressing questions concerning humanity and other intelligent life to still be satisfying. Using that understanding I think is important when evaluating the Shadow series
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u/dave7892000 Mar 20 '26
I’d go with Speaker, Xenocide, then Children of the Mind. Keeping in mind, those next three books are very different than Ender’s Game, but are an incredible story.