First Meetings: In the Enderverse

A great companion piece to the Ender Universe. Describes how humanity meets the deadly bugger force, and gives Card's epic series a brand new path to follow. Written in a style similar to Ender's Game over other books in the series, it is easy to burn through, but worth the time it takes.

This book was really great. It fascinated me in the details of John-Paul's past, how Ender's parents came to be, and the challenges facing someone who's conquered space but still has more to learn. Thanks Mr.Card.

I loved finding out more about where the genius came from in the Wiggins children, but a novel to that would have been better, I think. I didn't care as much for re-reading excerpts from other novels. Over all, it was enjoyable.

Please... start by reading the previous 8 or 9 books, to which I gave at least 4 stars. In fact, the majority of the books so far from the series I've given 5 stars.
This one is for the fans, and, well... five stars.

Do yourself a favour.

Being nearly 11 if a book has: action, violence (possible gore) and bad words along with Sci-Fi and cheesy, dry humor; I WILL most definetly read it. (Don't get me wrong, I read all types of books, just that is my favorite mix.) So I checked out Ender's Game from my school library. [and yes the librarian let me] (I thought that Ender's Game was a masterpeice after the second page.) And I HAD TO GET MORE!!!!!!!! So I: bought Ender in Exile. Then I got Ender's Shadow out of my public library and Speaker for the Dead along with: First Meetings and Shadow of the Hegemon. I enjoyed the little stories which made me think deeper about John "Wiggin". It also introduced me to Jane and showed how much The Hive Queen and The Hegemon actually sold.

Orson Scott Card's masterpiece, Ender's Game the novel, has been an invaluable tool for teachers and parents to show young people how much fun reading can be, inspiring so many of the last two generations to become serious readers. It is also considered one of the very best all-time science fiction stories. Besides that superb stand-alone novel, Card has expanded the "Enderverse" with numerous sequels and parallel books that have almost universally received high praise from fans and critics alike. This book, FIRST MEETINGS IN ENDER'S UNIVERSE, is a collection of four short novellas that fill in some of the back story of Ender's saga, focusing on key events that helped shape the direction of the overall story, but that had not been previously told. All four of these short stories are very well written, highly entertaining, and should be enjoyed by any fan of the series.

Two of the stories tell of Ender's father, John Paul, who as a young man was pressured to join Battle School (as Ender later did), and managed to manipulate -and was manipulated by- the one-world government of the time. My favorite story of this book shows how John Paul met and began courting Ender's mother, a somewhat disgruntled (but genius) graduate-student teacher of his, during his days at University. One other novella here skips to the time between the novels Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, and shows us how Ender first met Jane, his wonderfully-complex virtual companion of the later Ender novels. This tale proves amusing, but doesn't really add much to the greater story, as we already knew how Jane came to be, and Ender's relationship with the program is central to -and fully explored by- other books.

Finally, this volume also contains the original "Ender's Game" short story, first published by Analog magazine in 1977. This is the first time I've read the original story, and I found it fantastic. I had been curious about how Card had crammed the fast-paced and intricate story from the novel into such a short piece, and it was really interesting to see what was included and what was initially missing from the story. Obviously, I'd recommend the full novel to those just entering the Enderverse, but for those who wish to make a quick visit to Ender's Game, this short story provides a wonderfully nostalgic experience.

While short, this collection of novellas is of excellent quality and content. Fans of the series should be pleased. Highly Recommended!

According to this book's description, this is where the iconic Ender's Game series began.

These short novelettes describe the events that take place before, during, and after the events of Ender's Game. And while they're not a necessary read to enjoy the book that these stories eventually created; it's enjoyable to at least get a little bit of the history of Ender's family and the events that happened before he was born.

But do yourself a favor and skip the last chapter.

It's basically about Ender almost getting screwed over by a shady banker when he's trying to figure out how much taxes he needs to pay from the trusts that the government gave him for saving the human race.

Yep, that's about it.

One chapter you're reading about an epic tale of humanity doing what it can to prevent a formidable alien species from eliminating the entire human race, and the next chapter you're reading about petty white collar crime.

It watered down the previous chapters for me and (besides the whole Speaker of the Dead business) it left me wondering why it was even written in the first place.

Ender's parents never got their due in the original Ender's Game novel, but Card began developing them as fascinating characters in Ender's Shadow and its sequels. If you've only read Ender's Game, you probably think of Ender's father as a simpleton, and his mother as... well, as nothing, really, because there's so little about her in the book.

But of course, there's a contradiction in that. How could two people of average intelligence produce three super geniuses (Ender, Valentine, and Peter)? Ender's Shadow began to resolve that problem by presenting them as being very smart, but hiding their intelligence so they did not overshadow their children.

This book goes back in their lives before they got married. In the father's case, it begins when he is a small boy. Besides developing two great characters, numerous holes in the original novels are nicely resolved - the religion of Ender's parents and how that plays into the fertility laws, how Ender's family got to America, and how the family was induced to produce kids like Ender.

Another character's genesis is also covered in the final story - the computer program Jane, who will be familiar to readers of the Ender's Game sequels. It's a short, satisfying read, and very much in Card's distinctive style.

Finally, there is the novella that started it all. I read this when it first appeared, and this award winning story motivated me to get the Ender's Game novel as soon as it appeared. If you like the Ender universe, you really ought to read this just to see how it all got started. Be warned - there are some inconsistencies with the novel. But they are minor, and it's interesting to see the evolution from the novella to the novel.

This is a short read. It is suitable for teens and adults - the same audience as Ender's Game, really. If you liked any of the Ender series, you really ought to get this.

This was four great stories set in the Ender Universe.

One of them is the original short story of Ender's Game (before turned into a novel) that appeared in Analog Magazine. It is the same story as the novel only the stories of Peter and Valentine and some of the other games are left out. If given the choice between the novel and the short story, I'd suggest the novel. But I've read the short story a number of times when I just want a quick jaunt into the Ender story (I've read the short story about four times and the novel about six times... one of my favorites).

Two of the stories revolve around Ender's father, one of them being how he originally met Colonel Graff (it wasn't when he picked up Ender) and also how he met Ender's mother. Both of them add a lot more depth to Ender's parents and I think helped pave the way to a lot of the story in "Ender in Exile", Orson Scott Card's latest Ender Book (I'm currently still reading it).

The last story is how Ender met Jane. That would be significant in itself but it seemed to also show how Ender first picked up the "job" Speaker for the Dead. In this story he not only attends his first speaking but he also performs his first speaking.

All four stories are great and add a little bit more depth and background so many of the characters from the Ender Universe. If you loved the Ender books (more than Ender's Game) than I highly suggest you pick this up... you won't be disappointed.

This is a slightly expanded version of the First Meetings edition that was published a few years earlier, featuring four (rather than three) tales of Orson Scott Card's "Enderverse." All four stories are pretty good, particularly if you haven't read the three stories which had been published previously.

The stories are presented in chronological order of events, rather than the order that they were written, and as such, some of the earlier stories explain away things that play a part in some of the other, full-length books, but not so much in this one. This collection begins with "The Polish Boy," the story of a young genius who is trying to find a way to outsmart the Interstellar Fleet that wants to send him to Battle School. This is followed by "Teacher's Pest" (the new story in this collection), featuring the child as a young man who encounters a graduate student who challenges his intellect in a way that nobody has before. Even if it wasn't spelled out. In the past, the expansion of Ender's universe has mostly gone forwards, showing what happened to his comrade Bean after the war with the Formics or the distant future, showing Ender's life as an adult hundreds of years beyond the war. These two stories go in the other direction, fleshing out the two people who would become Ender's parents in very satisfying fashion. Frankly, I'd never given John Paul and Theresa Wiggin much thought before, and these stories succeeded in making them both as engaging a pair of characters as their children would one day be.

Next is the original 1977 version of "Ender's Game," the short story Card would later expand into the classic novel. People who have read the novel will find that virtually everything in this short story did make it into the full version of the story, but there are a wealth of subplots and characters missing. The story works quite well on its own, fortunately. It does, however, pose a slight problem for the final story in the collection, "Investment Counselor." This story flashes forward to a time when Ender -- subjectively 20 years old, but hundreds of years past the War -- visits a new world where a bizarre computer program begins to give him advice about the fortune that has accrued during his years of interstellar travel, and tries to protect him from an unscrupulous tax collector. This, again, is a really good story, but it's missing something in this book. This is the tale of how Ender first encountered his computer companion, Jane, who evolved from a computer game he played as a child. The game subplot is vital to the Ender's Game (The Ender Saga) novel, but was absent from the original short story, so people who read this book without having read the novel are missing a vital piece of the puzzle.

Overall, this is a strong collection of short stories, but I recommend it more for people who have read the other Ender books (or at least Ender's Game), so they'll have the proper context in which to view these tales.

As a general principle, I agree with and applaud Card's embellishment of the Enderverse. The characters he creates in Ender's Game are worthy of examination. In First Meetings Card takes the concept to the next level by creating mini-prequels of Ender's Game with "The Polish Boy" for Ender's father, "Teacher's Pest" for Ender's mother and "Investment Counselor" for Ender's first encounter with Jane. The other novella is a reprint from Card's submission to Analog lo these many years ago, that started it all.

Please take my criticisms in the spirit of an enthusiastic fan of OSC in general and the Enderverse in particular.

First, I thought that the book was too short. Card certainly has the capability (and, if you believe his autobiographical materials, the compulsion) of writing more intricate, complicated and just plain longer material. The first two novellas could have easily been a full-length novel.

Second, when you backfill an extant fictional universe like Card does here, you've got to make sure everything fits. I got the feeling in Ender's Shadow that Card was shoehorning Bean's actions in to fit in with Ender's Game, but I couldn't pin down any specific contradiction between the two books. That's not the case with the short story "Investment Counselor" in First Meetings and Speaker For the Dead. I remember the first time I read Speaker that it seemed odd and unrealistic that Valentine would not know about Jane, since Valentine and Ender had for years been inseparable. Why could Ender, and *how* would Ender, keep his relationship with Jane a secret from Valentine? In chapter 18 of Speaker, the following conversation via ansible takes places between Ender and Valentine:

Valentine: "There's apparently some kind of resistance movement that's helping us -- someone named Jane has jimmied the computers to cover our tracks."

Andrew: "I know Jane."

Valentine: "So you do have an organization there!"

Yet, Card has Valentine grumbling in "Investment Counselor": "I can't promise I won't get jealous though. Am I about to lose my brother to a piece of software?" Ender replies: "Jane is nothing but a software program."

This book is a collection of three short stories set in the universe of Ender's Game. Ender's Game is one of my favorite books in any genre and the Ender series is one of the few actual science fiction that I read (I tend toward fantasy). I wondered how short fiction set in this universe would fare. I was pleasantly surprised. This was a very enjoyable volume to read.
The first story was "The Polish Boy". This is a story of Ender's father, Jean Paul. Jean Paul was not even six years old, but was incredibly intelligent and gifted. He was living in Poland, with his family in defiance of population control laws. Families were only permitted two children, but Jean Paul's family is Catholic and they obey God not man. This is the story of the interest that Battle School took in Jean Paul and hints at the future of Ender and how he to go be who he is. This felt like the weakest of the three stories and I liked it the least. It was little more than a prologue to Ender's Game and an unnecessary one at that.
The next story is my favorite of the bunch, "Investment Counselor" is the story of how Ender met Jane (Jane is the computer program that appears in Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind). I liked seeing Ender not having yet become a Speaker, yet having written both Hive Queen, and the Hegemon. Ender and his sister Valentine have arrived on a new planet. Ender has just turned 20 (due to the slow aging in interspace travel) and now has to pay taxes on his revenue from his service in the Formic Wars (from Ender's Game) and also from his books. As 400 years have passed (again, because of interspace travel, Ender and Valentine age very slowly while traveling), Ender has quite a bit more money that he would have imagined. Enter Jane. Some people may not find this story as interesting, but I always found Jane to be one of the most fascinating characters in the entire Enderverse.
The third and final story is the original "Ender's Game". This was the story that Card wrote first and later expanded to the award winning novel Ender's game. This story is quite a bit rougher and not nearly as polished as the novel. It is still a good story (it was nominated for a Hugo), and it is interesting to see the evolution from this story to the novel. Because this is the same story as the novel, only rougher, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as "Investment Counselor". On the other hand, this could be a very good introduction to the Enderverse if someone has not read Ender's Game (the novel).
I am aware that this book has been republished with a fourth story "Teacher's Pet", dealing with Ender's mother. This particular collection did not include that story, so I can't comment on it. I finished this book a couple of hours after starting it, and I really enjoyed reading it. It is a nice little collection, and I'm glad that I got the chance to read it and see how Ender met Jane (for me, this was the story that meant the most).

The `Ender's Saga' and its most famous beginning, "Ender's Game", are among the most revered science-fiction series of all-time. While Card did a marvelous job chronicling the life and times of Ender Wiggin in the first four novels of the `Ender's Saga', and richly enhanced that universe with his subsequent three-book "Ender's Shadow" series, one could not help but think that there might be more than need be told. Enter "First Meetings in the Enderverse", an anthology of four short stories that give even greater insight into Ender's world.

One of the four short stories included in "First Meetings..." is the actual original "Ender's Game" short story. Card wrote this in the mid-1970's and expanded it into the award-winning novel everyone knows in the early to mid-1980's. Here, fans of "Ender's Game" can read Card's original vision and appreciate how the full novel came to be. The other three shorts tell some fascinating tales. The first one deals with the life of Ender's father, John Paul Wiggin, when he was a little kid, not much older than Ender at the time of "Ender's Game". Without revealing too much, here, it can be said that the events of young John Paul's life explain a great deal about what came to pass for Ender a generation later. The second tale advances John Paul to college age and reveals how John Paul and Ender's mother, Theresa, came to meet and fall in love. The final tale (after the original "Ender's Game") bridges a period of time between the ending of "Ender's Game" and its amazing sequel "Speaker for the Dead". The mystery of how Ender and his constant virtual companion, Jane, came into each other's lives is explained and it makes for an amusing anecdote.

Once again, Card continues to show a brilliant grasp of human emotion and personal interactions in bringing these shorts to life. He doesn't get bogged down in the existentialism that plagued "Children of the Mind". He sticks with elements that make this saga great.

This book's four stories have been my introduction to Orson Scott Card, and I'm pleased that I finally gave his work a try. I'm told that each tale is meant to provide backstory to the universe depicted in a series of Card novels featuring Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a brilliant young man who as a child nearly wiped out an alien species. Although he did this as a result of adult manipulation, and at the time it made him a hero because the "Buggers" were humanity's most feared enemies, Ender as an adult regrets his actions. Thanks to books he has written, his fellow humans no longer see him as a hero. Instead, they see him as the perpetrator of genocide. All in all, Ender Wiggin's a facinating mixture of hero and anti-hero; and beginning to read about him by reading his father's stories first ("The Polish Boy" and "Teacher's Pest") made the 1977 novella that started it all, "Ender's Game," all the more interesting when I came to it. The book's fourth story, "Investment Counselor," I found a bit puzzling. A bit of research about the series has let me know that this tale's purpose is to explain how Jane, a computer program that becomes one of the Enderverse's major characters, came into Ender's life.

I hope the Ender novels are even half as good as these four bits of backstory, because now I expect I will have to start reading them.

First Meetings by Orson Scott Card is a collection of short stories correlating to the Ender series. I believe all the stories are new except for "Ender's Game" which is a reprint of the original 1977 publication. If "Ender's Game" is indeed an exact reproduction, then I'm impressed with how well the shorter story stands on its own and also at how seamlessly Card expanded it into the now-classic novel.

Ender meeting Jane for the first time in "Investment Counselor" reminded me of Spike Jonze's "Her" (2013) although the former came first. There are lots of similarities between the two despite Card's vision of the relationship being decidedly un-sexual in nature.

Well written and interesting for all those who have eagerly read the book from the "enderverse". Led together by something other than fate, Ender's parents marry and have super children. Their children's brilliance is unexplained in the novels, and unquestioned, until the Shadow books. Ender's parents are decoded in these short stories as bright individuals born too early for the child military program. The pictures provide in the hardback book are cartoonish and didn't fit with my vision at all. In all actuallity, the drawing were a distraction that I could have done without. The original Ender short story is interesting from a writer's perspective; Orson's skill for story telling has greatly improved since it was written. After reading it, there was no doubt in my mind why he chose Bean to star in his parallel novel.
Overall I enjoyed the novel, though my wallet was still smarting from the price when I finished it. It took me about two movie lengths to finish the book, so it was about two movie tickets worth of entertainment.
Judge for yourself if that is worth the buy. I have the whole Ender collection, so I couldn't leave it incomplete for lack of this book.

Card's other books on writing science fiction talk about how authors never get the chance to tell all the background they hold in their heads for their characters. Here is a glimpse into what Card had in mind for Ender, his parents and Jane--things that would have been out of place in the books but is awesome for the fans of the series.

The short stories give a great depth to Ender's parents; first in a story about a young Polish boy (Ender's dad) and how, in an Ender-esque style, he manipulates the government at a tender age to better himself and his family despite the family's struggle with religious intolerance. We meet Graff, a young government official, and bein to see the patterns of government interference and brilliant children outwitting them that run throughout the Wiggin family. Second, the tender story of Ender's parents' meeting show further government manipulation but a couple that genuinely is interested and excited by and loves each other. Finally the story of Jane's introduction to Ender is a smart and humorous start to Jane's sassy personality.

Orson Scott Card joins the ranks of the fantasy/SF authors who have written a book of short stories set in their best-loved universe. "First Meetings" is a nice accompanying book for the Ender series or its "Shadow" spinoffs. And this is "First Meetings" 2.0, with the original "First Meetings" collection being added to with an extra background story. It's a small book, but Card never tries to flesh it out too much. It's the content of the stories that really makes it worth the buy, because of what he does with them. "Boy" adds an extra dimension to Ender's father and the situations that came years later. "Pest" is interesting, but a little too "talky" to really be outstanding. "Investment" is a nice bit of backstory, with a slightly humorous tone that makes it lighter than the books. And "Ender's Game" (the short story) is merely pleasant to read because it's nice to see how this short story blossomed and expanded.
Fans of Card will not be disappointed by this moderately interesting collection of stories. Pleasantly written, fleshing out both key and supporting characters, it may interest Enderverse fans but not many others.

This novel is listed as "Young Adult" but so outstanding that any adult who has ever heard of the author Orson Scott Card, or of the famous characters "Bean" and "Ender" MUST get this book! This has four novellas. One is totally brand-new to the Ender collection and one is the original novella "Ender's Game" which appeared in 1977.
No matter how tempted you become, do NOT begin this book with "Ender's Game". These four stories work together. They are set in the order that they supposedly happened. So begin reading at the beginning, where you should! As a bonus, the book is fully illustrated throughout.
"The Polish Boy" © 2002 by Orson Scott Card first appeared in First Meetings: Three Stories From The Enderverse.
"Teacher's Pest" © 2003 by Orson Scott Card. This is the first appearance!
"Ender's Game" © 1977 by Orson Scott Card. First appeared in Analog magazine.
"Investment Counselor" © 2000 by Orson Scott Card. First appeared in Far Horizons, edited by Robert Silverberg.
***** Do I recommend it? Oh, yes! Orson Scott Card pleases his adult fans and makes some new young fans at the same time. Very clever. But what did you expect from a Sci-Fi Master? *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Card's other books on writing science fiction talk about how authors never get the chance to tell all the background they hold in their heads for their characters. Here is a glimpse into what Card had in mind for Ender, his parents and Jane--things that would have been out of place in the books but is awesome for the fans of the series.

The short stories give a great depth to Ender's parents; first in a story about a young Polish boy (Ender's dad) and how, in an Ender-esque style, he manipulates the government at a tender age to better himself and his family despite the family's struggle with religious intolerance. We meet Graff, a young government official, and bein to see the patterns of government interference and brilliant children outwitting them that run throughout the Wiggin family. Second, the tender story of Ender's parents' meeting show further government manipulation but a couple that genuinely is interested and excited by and loves each other. Finally the story of Jane's introduction to Ender is a smart and humorous start to Jane's sassy personality.

Orson Scott Card joins the ranks of the fantasy/SF authors who have written a book of short stories set in their best-loved universe. "First Meetings" is a nice accompanying book for the Ender series or its "Shadow" spinoffs. And this is "First Meetings" 2.0, with the original "First Meetings" collection being added to with an extra background story. It's a small book, but Card never tries to flesh it out too much. It's the content of the stories that really makes it worth the buy, because of what he does with them. "Boy" adds an extra dimension to Ender's father and the situations that came years later. "Pest" is interesting, but a little too "talky" to really be outstanding. "Investment" is a nice bit of backstory, with a slightly humorous tone that makes it lighter than the books. And "Ender's Game" (the short story) is merely pleasant to read because it's nice to see how this short story blossomed and expanded.
Fans of Card will not be disappointed by this moderately interesting collection of stories. Pleasantly written, fleshing out both key and supporting characters, it may interest Enderverse fans but not many others.

This novel is listed as "Young Adult" but so outstanding that any adult who has ever heard of the author Orson Scott Card, or of the famous characters "Bean" and "Ender" MUST get this book! This has four novellas. One is totally brand-new to the Ender collection and one is the original novella "Ender's Game" which appeared in 1977.
No matter how tempted you become, do NOT begin this book with "Ender's Game". These four stories work together. They are set in the order that they supposedly happened. So begin reading at the beginning, where you should! As a bonus, the book is fully illustrated throughout.
"The Polish Boy" © 2002 by Orson Scott Card first appeared in First Meetings: Three Stories From The Enderverse.
"Teacher's Pest" © 2003 by Orson Scott Card. This is the first appearance!
"Ender's Game" © 1977 by Orson Scott Card. First appeared in Analog magazine.
"Investment Counselor" © 2000 by Orson Scott Card. First appeared in Far Horizons, edited by Robert Silverberg.
***** Do I recommend it? Oh, yes! Orson Scott Card pleases his adult fans and makes some new young fans at the same time. Very clever. But what did you expect from a Sci-Fi Master? *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

First Meetings in the Enderverse is a collection of short stories. These stories start with Ender's father as a child and end with Ender's adulthood. The first story, called "The Polish Boy" is about the International Fleet, an army created after the first "Bugger" attack, trying to recruit his father John Paul Wieczorek, a child genius. The problem is he does not want to join unless his family is given a good education in return. Through a little trickery John Paul does not join in the end, but his family is educated. In the next story John Paul Wiggin (his name changes) is a young adult who falls in love with a girl, who, though the book doesn't say so, probably becomes Ender's mother. The Third book is about what happens to Ender in Battle School. It also talks about the final battle with the "Buggers" which are now called the "Formic". The fourth book is about Ender's struggle with taxes; including the discovery of Jane, an artificial computer program. Card is true to form as an extremely good writer; he is very good at portraying human emotion. Another thing I liked was how at first glance they all appear to be separate stories, but they are really one long story. If you like this book, try the rest of the Ender's Saga series, starting with Ender's Game and continuing to Children of the Mind. There is also Bean's Saga, which starts with Ender's Shadow and goes to Shadow of a Giant. There is also an Ender's Game movie coming out, but it has no release date. I hope you take way as good a feeling from the book as I did.

First Meetings is a book of short stories that introduce several important from the Enderverse, most notably Graff and John Paul Wiggin (Ender's Father). Like Ender's Game itself, First Meetings is simple, straightforward and fantastic. Card really seems to shine when he is not trying to reach too far (e.g. the near disaster that was Speaker for the Dead.) First Meetings is a must read for any Enders Game fan, for in it we learn that Ender's father was actually the prototype for the Wiggin genius and he was actually manipulated in some ways to produce children that could save the world. That whole idea is very reminiscent of the manipulation done to Ender when he was "training" to fight the buggers. It's interesting that Card's world view is such that people have to be manipulated to do what is best for them and for society. I am not sure exactly how that meshes with his religious and political views, but I'm sure they are related somehow. Regardless, I heartily recommend First Meetings for any SciFi fan, even if you have never read the rest of the Ender and Bean stories.

I read the original novella "Ender's Game" around the time it first came out, and always considered it one of the great classic SF stories. When my kids started reading the Ender books, I assumed I'd read the novel, but it turned out I hadn't, so I read the novel, plus most of the sequels (including the nearly interminable "Xenocide"). Rereading the original novella in this charming anthology, I still maintain that it is a great work of science fiction, far better than the novel based on it. This author writes well short. He lets the reader fill in the blanks.

The pictures in this anthology are hilarious - and telling! They may be trying to imitate manga, but what they actually do, with their jutting jaws and crewcuts, is underline the 1950's boy's SF tradition that Card carries on from the Heinlein juveniles. Yes, Ender's Game is basically a slightly later version of Space Cadet and Starship Troopers!

A collection that basically does as advertised, although the 'Ender's Game' original novella is to be found here, too.

Meetings of Ender';s dad as a kid, his parents when they are university students, and Ender and his AI assistant.

Battle School strategy surprise.

4 out of 5

AI accountants are cool.

4 out of 5

Young ancestor deal, breeding side-effects rather useful.

3 out of 5

Smart people meeting.

3 out of 5

3.5 out of 5

This is a great quick read that compliments the books in the Ender's Game series. The short stories inside of this book are not as detailed as the other Ender books. If you have never read any Ender books, this would be okay to start out with. The book includes an early version of Ender's Game that differs from the full Ender's Game book. The first two stories in First Meetings tell background that send ripples through the whole Enderverse. What happens in these two stories sets the ground work for Ender's Game. The last story takes place after Ender's Game. All four stories are great. The short version of Ender's Game is good, and it helped remind me of what happens in the full version. Buy it and enjoy.

I would not call these three new works novellas, but simply longish short stories; they are very quick reads.
The most memorable, I think, is "The Polish Boy". Concerning duels between a 5-year-old and various administrative figures, it recalls some of the best of "Ender's Shadow": the illustration of how a very young child can, with sufficient wit and preternatural maturity, overcome adult opposition.
"Teacher's Pest" is the least of the three. It concerns cleverness used in the furtherance of adolescent romance. While this might be as excitingly done as the first story, it would have to be on a higher level of wittiness to succeed as well. But it doesn't reach that level, and it seems a bit pedestrian.
"Investment Counsellor" is set in Ender's "quiet" stage--after he's overcome the trauma of "Ender's Game" and before he's set out upon his Speaker of the Dead life. The fireworks of his passion are missing here--neither his command skills nor his personal interaction livelihood are generating the sparks that provide much of the interest in the books. It's a connector piece, showing some origins of things to come. These are good things, and it's good to have their origins, but it's not very exciting story-telling.
The illustrations do nothing for the book but take up page-space, adding 10 or 12 pages to the total. Without them, the book would be under 200 pages in length--and better, in my estimation. (When are illustrators going to stop putting airplane wings, rudders, and elevators on spacecraft??)
Having the original "Ender's Game" included is rather interesting, allowing for comparison with the novel it spawned. Bean is there, in all his arrogance, but essentially none of the other characters that have made the continuing saga so memorable: no Valentine, no Peter, none of Ender's other sub-commanders, nor his tormentors. The Hive Queen has not yet been imagined, and Buggers are entirely faceless. But all the pathos of the child used as a soldier--that essential kernel is there in boldface.

I enjoyed reading this group of short stories about the original meetings of various characters in the Enderverse. Some of the stories give a bit of insight into characters that weren't previously revealed. My only gripe, and it's a small one,is that if you already have read the other books in the series some of these stories are either a retelling or are verbatim the same. Of course, if you're a fan, rereading those is like visiting an old friend.

If I'm not wrong, all "First Meetings" books have sketches of what's happening in the book. I only saw the first one, but it changed my vision of how two of the characters ought to look like. I resented these sketches imposing how the world in the Ender Series should look like; I had my own way of envisioning it. Therefore, I covered the sketches with my hand. This is more of a complaint than a review, because anything Card writes I completely support. This book provides background information on the first three books of the Ender Series. It took me back to the time I read the first book. Good times.

Orson Scott Card's penmanship is evident in this short work, but apart from some details on how Ender became rich and a speaker for the dead, there is nothing new here. Not worth the money for me.

On a separate and unfortunate note, Mr. Card is an outspoken opponent of gay rights and has recently used his fame and money to support anti-gay rights organizations and to advance their causes. I believe in equal rights under the law for all Americans, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or any other discriminating factor. It is with regret, therefore, that I have decided to not support Mr. Card any further with my dollars, so I will no longer buy anything written by him.

First, this is a nice collection. Anytime Card publishes, it's a delight. The stories work, and the original Ender's Game novella is a delight to see.
However. . .I get the distinct mental image of OSC about 3 or 4 years ago reviewing how many of his rug rats would be in college at the same exact time, figuring up how much college costs these days and going into full scale PANIC mode; hence this volume and another Alvin Maker and all those Ender volumes in such a short period of time.
Not that I blame him, and I bought all the books in hardback and enjoyed them more than I've enjoyed most of the books I read. But it's still very interesting to me that he's being so productive and publishing so many "safe" books (i.e. Ender's world books) in such a short time when his kids are at college age.
I pray that none of them want advanced degrees so that Mr. Card may go back to a more leisurely pace and do some original works in the future.