Earth Afire

By: Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye, Arthur Morey, Stefan Rudnicki, Vikas Adam, Gabrielle de Cuir, Roxanne Hernandez, Emily Rankin

Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

One hundred years before Ender's Game, the aliens arrived on Earth with fire and death. Earth Afire by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston is the story of the First Formic War.

Victor Delgado beat the alien ship to Earth, but just barely. Not soon enough to convince skeptical governments that there was a threat. They didn't believe that until space stations and ships and colonies went up in sudden flame.

And when that happened, only Mazer Rackham and the Mobile Operations Police could move fast enough to meet the threat.

©2013 Orson Scott Card (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“The gifted Stefan Rudnicki leads a team of talented narrators who do an excellent job of keeping vivid and focused the two-dozen or so characters and multiple locations…Orson Scott Card remains a master storyteller, and each narrator is right there with him as he mixes hard science and psychological insights – right up to the cliff-hanger ending.” —AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner

“With a stellar cast of narrators, this prequel to Card's sci-fi classic Ender's Game is a rollicking, rollercoaster ride of an adventure…From the very beginning of this audio edition, the almost nonstop action is delivered perfectly, keeping listeners on the edge of their seats. At the same time, the narrators manage to bring a large and diverse cast of characters to life with a sharply realized array of distinct voices and accents.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Great

Loved the final book of the series. Which it included a bit more of a final ending for the characters but very enjoyable.

...but left me HANGIN', man!

As the second book in a series, Earth Afire begins to weave the characters lives together as I had hoped. In the first book, Earth Unaware, people were depicted going about their lives as usual, (if deep-space mineral mining and living on a colonized Luna is usual). The crisis we already know about is coming. Earth Afire really explodes into action and moves along rapidly, helped in no small measure by the performances of the narrators.
But I think the editorial decision to stop the story where it did was too abrupt. In fact, it felt like hitting a brick wall after jumping off a cliff on a hang glider with one wing and no 'chute. I know that there's at least a few more paragraphs, if not a few more chapters, that could have been used as an epilog or something. It left me HANGIN', man!

Another fantastic part of the Formic story

Such an amazing amazing addition to the Enderverse and the 1st formic war, this thrilling story has me hanging on the edge waiting to see what happens to my favorite characters next!

great follow up to earth unaware

This book is great with many threads and the balance between them is good which keeps you gripped all the way. Where is the next one?

good stuff

Enjoyed the story ans the characters. The characters from the first book had some good growth. Only complaint with the book is how abruptly it ends. The ending was right in the middle of a good action scene and then just abruptly ends with no conclusion or anything.

Good, but that one narrator could be better.

I love the different narrators for different characters but the voice that is used for Lem is not the best. The guy sounds like he is trying to talk without using his lips or trying to talk around something gagging his mouth.

I'm excited to read the next book, however. Even if it's the same narrator for Lem, because the story is just that good.

Excellent production

While long this story remains interesting all the way through. I'm starting to believe Card writes his books for vocal storytelling. The use of various narrators for different characters is excellent.

Second part of the 1st wave Formic War.

Totally enjoyed this part of the pre-story. Drawn into Mazer Rackem story knowing that he is still around with Ender's Game.

Love the whole series

I hear Enders game on one of the free channels and now I’ve listened to almost all of the Enders verse books. Even tho there all so far apart time and space wise there all still set in the same amazing world. And the voices are amazing.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

If you could sum up Earth Afire in three words, what would they be?

very good storyline

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

narrator was very good

Any additional comments?

i guess that there will be another book to finish this unfinished book.