The Authorized Ender Companion by Jake Black

The Authorized Ender Companion Cover

Ender’s (Authorized) Companion

The Authorized Ender Companion is an encyclopedia to the universe of Ender’s Game. Jake Black has compiled detailed character summaries, technical specifications and essays regarding various aspects of the Ender series created by Orson Scott Card.

Sections Include

  • An encyclopedia that details the actions taken by each character.
  • A time line of events.
  • Ender’s Family Tree
  • An essay detailing behind the scenes struggles to get an Ender’s Game movie made.
  • A look at the technology of the Ender Universe.
  • And more.

(Ed. Note: I received a copy of this book for review at no cost to me. )

My Opinion

The Authorized Ender Companion is a fun book to flip through and relive memories of a science fiction classic. I got stuck reading the character summaries. I found myself bouncing back and forth through the events of the books and enjoying my disjointed trip down memory lane.

The only problem I have with the encyclopedia section, and the book overall, is the lack of new information. It would have been nice to see more details that didn’t make it into the original stories. Short profiles of the characters before the recitation of their involvement in the stories would have been nice. A faux battle school dossier would have been cool, including things like height, weight, nationality, with a short description of the character and the qualities that make them an asset to Battle School

An index of events, and a list of participating characters, would have also been nice. The Ender Universe is full of conflict and confrontation, an index of the most significant with a detailed summery of the impact they had would have made a nice inclusion.

The Friends Of Ender section just seems out of place to me. It’s a collection of fan letters about the impact Ender’s game has had in their lives. It’s cool to see how these books have touched people, and even changed lives, but it doesn’t really belong in a companion book though. It has nothing to do with the stories.

Verdict

The Authorized Ender Companion should appeal to fans of the Ender Universe created by Orson Scott Card. The bad news is fans probably already know most, if not all, of the information contained within. The Authorized Ender Companion is great for reliving memories, but you may find it tough to use as a reference.

The “indispensable guide to the universe of Ender’s Game” isn’t indispensable… or much of a guide. It is fun to read, but you could get the same information, and more enjoyment, by re-reading the books again
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