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Formic Wars #1
Ender's Game: Formic Wars: Burning Earth
The never-before-told prequel to ENDER'S GAME! An unidentified ship is rocketing toward Earth with tech far beyond anything we've ever seen, and the only people who can give warning are a small band of asteroid miners millions of miles from home. The clock is ticking, and it doesn't look good for the human race. From New York Times-bestselling author Orson Scott Card comes the tale of humanity's first contact with the Formics - and the horrible toll it took on mankind. Collecting FORMIC WARS: BURNING EARTH #1-7.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published September 21, 2011
6 people are currently reading
3566 people want to read
About the author
Orson Scott Card
892 books20.7k followersOrson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
June 21, 2017
I didn't realize when I first started searching for this that it was a graphic novel. I've got nothing against them, but it's not a medium I normally read. Still, I was excited to see this part of the Ender's Game story, so I was only slightly disappointed.
As it turns out, Card gets credit for the plot, but he turned to someone else for the scripting. I think it suffers just a little from that. This isn't to say that the writing of Aaron Johnston isn't good, it's just not really in Orson Scott Card's voice and so it doesn't always feel like part of the same larger story.
I was pleased with the story, so I'll definitely read the follow-up that is due out soon. I do recommend it to fans of Ender's Game, although ti definitely would not be a good starting point for someone unfamiliar with the original novel.
As it turns out, Card gets credit for the plot, but he turned to someone else for the scripting. I think it suffers just a little from that. This isn't to say that the writing of Aaron Johnston isn't good, it's just not really in Orson Scott Card's voice and so it doesn't always feel like part of the same larger story.
I was pleased with the story, so I'll definitely read the follow-up that is due out soon. I do recommend it to fans of Ender's Game, although ti definitely would not be a good starting point for someone unfamiliar with the original novel.
November 26, 2011
It was really fun. It was a very solid story with several storylines and vivid characterizations. I had an easier time following the graphic novel format than I usually do too, it didn't skip around as much as some that I've read or just skip lines all together; if you aren't normally a graphic novel fan you shouldn't let the format stop you from reading the book. I thought the art was great and set the rough, warlike tone really well. Although Mazer being so hot was a shock after so many years of reading about a somewhat broken-down older man. I know that everyone is young once, but I sure didn't picture him like that! Anyway, I found the book to be surprisingly satisfying and I'm really looking forwarded the next installment.
April 23, 2013
I'm a fan of comics and of the Ender's Game books series, but I truly feel these never should have been translated into comics. The characters here are great, but what I like about the Ender books is the political (much of which is dulled down here) and the way he can create mental imagery without much description.
Perhaps if the art were better, this would have been more enjoyable. I would have liked to see it in book rather than comicbook format.
Perhaps if the art were better, this would have been more enjoyable. I would have liked to see it in book rather than comicbook format.
November 26, 2024
I watched the movie long time ago and liked it. This book began ok, but then something gets fishy. The best military strategists were Isralese?? Errrr... I thought Jews lost their country. And then, Peter and Valentine pretended to be adults and wrote articles in internet in order to take control of the world.... 2 kids of 13 and ten..... This is dumb in all dimensions. People / mob are not swayed by "articles", no matter in paper or internet. Mobs are always swayed by emotions! And, the "genius" in this story are super dumb. I though the kids in war room are budding psychopath. It is impossible that they did not manage to find ways to kill each others after so many years! Ender's strategies are just way too obvious. eg, in the Giant's game, any other ways to get out of the impass except killing giant? And Ender is the first who thought of it??? And it is a game, I am sure no users would be traumatized, thinking they are psychopath just by killing a electronic troll!
This sci-fi is for teenagers, ya I know. But if you are a kid and interested in sci-fi, pls read Asimov instead. At least something smart!
This sci-fi is for teenagers, ya I know. But if you are a kid and interested in sci-fi, pls read Asimov instead. At least something smart!
June 21, 2019
Rushed into mediocrity
When I discovered there is a prequel story made in a graphic novel on Orson Scott Card's Enders Game series, I had to pick it up. Burning Earth is a 7 part books covering a total of 168 pages, I felt the graphic novel to be average at best. Nothing really stands out besides the plot. The art and the script are decent, but nothing to write home about.
Enders series real strength was the detailed plotting and character development, this work in novel format but the graphic novel focuses on fast-paced action and that just didn’t work for me.
When I discovered there is a prequel story made in a graphic novel on Orson Scott Card's Enders Game series, I had to pick it up. Burning Earth is a 7 part books covering a total of 168 pages, I felt the graphic novel to be average at best. Nothing really stands out besides the plot. The art and the script are decent, but nothing to write home about.
Enders series real strength was the detailed plotting and character development, this work in novel format but the graphic novel focuses on fast-paced action and that just didn’t work for me.
May 21, 2020
Art was well done, and I'm enjoying getting to see a bit of the history of this and where Mazer Rackham comes from. I agree with another commenter on here that it's definitely missing the depth of Card's authorial hand, but also the graphic novel medium could be hindering deeper dives into the characters, etc. It all moves so fast, given the short page numbers each issue can have. I didn't realize when I started it that this was not a full story until you read the Formic Wars: Silent Strike series as well.
July 9, 2018
Brian, Central patron, July 2018, 5 stars:
From what I can tell so far the Formic Wars saga does a great job covering the events leading up to the Ender's Game book series. Produced by Marvel, the art is as you would expect, stunning, and the writing as well. This graphic novel had me hooked from cover to cover. I hope the library gets the next trades in this series.
From what I can tell so far the Formic Wars saga does a great job covering the events leading up to the Ender's Game book series. Produced by Marvel, the art is as you would expect, stunning, and the writing as well. This graphic novel had me hooked from cover to cover. I hope the library gets the next trades in this series.
January 22, 2019
Wow I didn't really think I was going to like this book, without Ender Wiggins, I was very wrong, the story is fantastic and the art is well done. I am already looking for the next issue. If you have never experienced comic books, all I can say is that short of watching the movie, I don't know many mediums that can advance a story so fast. This was a good read.
July 14, 2019
A derivative and melodramatic graphic novel about ant men from beyond the stars who invade the solar system and earth. After their faster then light invincible ship lands, they emerge with rifles to battle human soldiers.
Only for devoted OSC fans who have to read everything by him.
Only for devoted OSC fans who have to read everything by him.
November 28, 2023
My children both had to read this book, this year, for their respective English classes. I decided to read it with them. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, as science fiction is not typically my genre of choice. Great character and plot development. A true adventure.
August 14, 2023
What if starship troopers bug killing was in the enderverse?
Fuck yeah
Fuck yeah
August 3, 2012
Many of the novels and short stories in Orson Scott Card's Ender series have been adapted into comic book form by Marvel, but this collection represents a brand new story in the series written as a comic. Card and Aaron Johnston co-wrote the story (Johnston wrote the script). They have announced plans to expand on the story in a trilogy of novels, the first of which Earth Unaware was published last month.
The artwork by Giancarlo Caracuzzo is adequate. The panels support the text and were usually easy to follow. His depiction of the Buggers was spot-on as to how I imagined them reading the first book twenty years ago. A few of the covers, especially the last one depicting flaming alien ships falling from the skies, are very evocative and memorable. I had some quibbles with the fact that Captain O'Witt's skin color kept changing hues from white to dark, and it was hard to tell the soldiers apart in a few of the fight scenes inside the enemy ship. Also, I felt the art was too cartoonish; I preferred Pasqual Ferry's more three-dimensional and textured artwork in the original Ender's Game adaptation.
The story itself was fast-paced and exciting, especially the hand-to-hand combat scenes in China between human resistance fighters and the Formic aliens. The focus was clearly on the action and not on detailed plotting or character development. In general this has been true of all the comic adaptations in the series, except Speaker for the Dead. The result is much different than the novels, which are much more focused on characters and politics. If this were a standalone man vs. alien tale, I would probably appreciate it as a simple adventure tale.
How does it fit within the overall scope of the Ender saga? Well, not too well.
It seems Card and Johnston decided to ignore the events of the First Invasion, as originally told in EG. I could understand a few continuity errors, but this will probably require a rewrite of several passages in a future edition of EG.
1. In EG, we learned the first battle of the First Invasion occurred on Eros. The Formics had made Eros their forward base of operations, and they blacked it out so we (humans) couldn't see what they were doing. Earth sent a ship to investigate and the Formics killed all the crew. This was how we learned of the Formics and how the first war started.
In EG, Mazer explains that people on Earth watched via delayed video feed as buggers boarded the ship sent to Eros and methodically killed the crew. He tells Ender that the buggers probably thought they were killing the ship's communications by doing this. In fact, of course, they never disrupted communications at all because it never occurred to them humans might not communicate telepathically. Mazer points this out as a major weakness of the Formics, one of the few advantages Ender can exploit.
Ender's entire understanding of the biology of the Formics, the role of the queen and drones, and the way in which faster-than-light communication occurred all stemmed from what Mazer told him about the Battle of Eros and the final battle of the Second Invasion, in which Mazer destroyed a queen. Ender's decision at the end of EG was directly influenced by these events.
But in Formic Wars, this Battle of Eros did not happen at all.
2. In EG, we learned Formics made no effort to block radio or video communication. Since they communicated to each other via telepathy, it never occurred to them that humans would communicate via technology.
In Formic Wars, the alien ship blocked all radio and satellite communication, at least while in flight. This may have been an inadvertent byproduct of the ship's technology itself rather than an intentional strategic decision by the Buggers. Still, it's a pretty big plot hole.
3. In EG, we learned the First Invasion occurred 30 years before the Second Invastion. Mazer Rackham served in the 2nd Invasiion, and is described as "little known, twice court-martialed" before his victory in the 2nd war. Then, he was stationed on Eros for 20 years. Then, he took a relativistic space flight that aged him 8 years, while 50 years passed on Earth. He appears to be around 60 years old at the time of EG.
If you work the timeline backwards, it is not possible for Rackham to have served in the First Invasion. He would have been 2 years old. Plus, it's hard to believe Rackham is an unknown at the time of the Second Invasion, given his huge role in repelling the First Invasion in Formic Wars.
The artwork by Giancarlo Caracuzzo is adequate. The panels support the text and were usually easy to follow. His depiction of the Buggers was spot-on as to how I imagined them reading the first book twenty years ago. A few of the covers, especially the last one depicting flaming alien ships falling from the skies, are very evocative and memorable. I had some quibbles with the fact that Captain O'Witt's skin color kept changing hues from white to dark, and it was hard to tell the soldiers apart in a few of the fight scenes inside the enemy ship. Also, I felt the art was too cartoonish; I preferred Pasqual Ferry's more three-dimensional and textured artwork in the original Ender's Game adaptation.
The story itself was fast-paced and exciting, especially the hand-to-hand combat scenes in China between human resistance fighters and the Formic aliens. The focus was clearly on the action and not on detailed plotting or character development. In general this has been true of all the comic adaptations in the series, except Speaker for the Dead. The result is much different than the novels, which are much more focused on characters and politics. If this were a standalone man vs. alien tale, I would probably appreciate it as a simple adventure tale.
How does it fit within the overall scope of the Ender saga? Well, not too well.
It seems Card and Johnston decided to ignore the events of the First Invasion, as originally told in EG. I could understand a few continuity errors, but this will probably require a rewrite of several passages in a future edition of EG.
1. In EG, we learned the first battle of the First Invasion occurred on Eros. The Formics had made Eros their forward base of operations, and they blacked it out so we (humans) couldn't see what they were doing. Earth sent a ship to investigate and the Formics killed all the crew. This was how we learned of the Formics and how the first war started.
In EG, Mazer explains that people on Earth watched via delayed video feed as buggers boarded the ship sent to Eros and methodically killed the crew. He tells Ender that the buggers probably thought they were killing the ship's communications by doing this. In fact, of course, they never disrupted communications at all because it never occurred to them humans might not communicate telepathically. Mazer points this out as a major weakness of the Formics, one of the few advantages Ender can exploit.
Ender's entire understanding of the biology of the Formics, the role of the queen and drones, and the way in which faster-than-light communication occurred all stemmed from what Mazer told him about the Battle of Eros and the final battle of the Second Invasion, in which Mazer destroyed a queen. Ender's decision at the end of EG was directly influenced by these events.
But in Formic Wars, this Battle of Eros did not happen at all.
2. In EG, we learned Formics made no effort to block radio or video communication. Since they communicated to each other via telepathy, it never occurred to them that humans would communicate via technology.
In Formic Wars, the alien ship blocked all radio and satellite communication, at least while in flight. This may have been an inadvertent byproduct of the ship's technology itself rather than an intentional strategic decision by the Buggers. Still, it's a pretty big plot hole.
3. In EG, we learned the First Invasion occurred 30 years before the Second Invastion. Mazer Rackham served in the 2nd Invasiion, and is described as "little known, twice court-martialed" before his victory in the 2nd war. Then, he was stationed on Eros for 20 years. Then, he took a relativistic space flight that aged him 8 years, while 50 years passed on Earth. He appears to be around 60 years old at the time of EG.
If you work the timeline backwards, it is not possible for Rackham to have served in the First Invasion. He would have been 2 years old. Plus, it's hard to believe Rackham is an unknown at the time of the Second Invasion, given his huge role in repelling the First Invasion in Formic Wars.
April 15, 2020
This graphic novel has a lot going on, but wisely focuses on three main characters, one of which is a direct link to Ender's Game. The art presents a plausible futuristic world where scavengers mine asteroids and explore the frontiers of space, whilst Earth becomes highly commodified and driven by corporations. The incoming aliens create great tension that only increases as they approach Earth, and battle tactics are smart with a few really cool character showcases - and some surprisingly emotional moments, credit to the relationships established by the writing. A definite read if you're into alien invasions/ horror, or an advanced but gritty and realistic sci-fi Earth.
Read
February 26, 2017I have not read a ton of graphic novels so I am not a great judge of their quality. I know these came before the Formic novels but I am glad I read the novels first since the storyline had so much more detail. It was very interesting to see how many of the scenes / characters were depicted but it was very different in many ways than what I imagined. That it not a criticism in any way, each reader makes the story their own in some way.
August 3, 2012
I dug this, and enjoyed the art and coloring. No surprising bad language, a nice extension to the Ender story. It just didn't "pop." I'm sorry that the comment is so subjective, but it was just missing something intangible.
Tangible-wise I can say that I found the illustration of the Formics a little disappointing. I'm not sure if it was or was not intentional, but they just didn't strike fear in my heart. I enjoyed how it hopped around from place to place. I loved the characters to whom we were introduced. A little development was lacking for many of them, but it is a graphic novel that moves quickly.
If you like the Ender universe, this is a must read. If you are unfamiliar with it, this may inspire you to pick up Ender's Game. After that, you should grab Ended's Shadow. Recommend.
Tangible-wise I can say that I found the illustration of the Formics a little disappointing. I'm not sure if it was or was not intentional, but they just didn't strike fear in my heart. I enjoyed how it hopped around from place to place. I loved the characters to whom we were introduced. A little development was lacking for many of them, but it is a graphic novel that moves quickly.
If you like the Ender universe, this is a must read. If you are unfamiliar with it, this may inspire you to pick up Ender's Game. After that, you should grab Ended's Shadow. Recommend.
September 19, 2011
I was totally entertained with this. For someone who has micro-managed the film rights of the Ender world to the point where it will probably never get made while he's alive, I was uber-surprised to learn that Orson Scott Card would allow his money-machine to do something in an exclusive graphic novel format. This is a prequel to the Ender series and introduces the reader to the Formic war and the origin story of Mazer Rackham. To my knowledge, Card has no plans for a novel version of this story. Granted it is only part 1 of who knows how many that will follow but if you are a fan of the Ender series, this is a must read.
March 1, 2014
For as well crafted as Earth Unaware was, this book did not seem as good. It has more dramatic character interfaces, more intrigue, and certainly more action. It seemed rushed and quick sometimes, and then dragged out in other places. Mazer gets an unlikely romance, Viko pretty much gets adopted, Len starts his paternal overthrow plan. The end came abruptly I thought, as if to set the next book started in the heat of the action. It will leave some readers frustrated. You may want to hold off on buying this one until the third comes out, and you can dive right into that one. There are some funny moments with the Chinese military, and a classic quote at the end from them.
March 3, 2016
Wasn't this two novels originally? It doesn't feel like it; while the book is pretty dense, there doesn't seem like it was two novels' worth either. This is a pretty faithful, albeit cut-down, adaptation of the novels, trimming off all the extraneous character development and focusing entirely on plot. And that's kind of the problem - if you've read the novels, there's nothing here that's new or expanded upon besides the art, which is acceptable but nothing to make you pick up the book on its own. And their interpretation of the characters really don't align with my mental images. Ultimately, this is basically a classics illustrated retelling of a book series that isn't really a classic.
September 8, 2011
Enjoyable addition to the Ender saga by Orson Scott Card. It's been a while since I last read Ender's Game, so I did not spot the plot discrepencies that others have pointed out. What did bother me was how matter-of-factly the characters in this book dealt with First Contact. I think there should have been a bit more debate even among the adventurous, though stoic, miners. On the up side, the story was exciting and the art was effective.
September 29, 2011
It's good to finally get a prequel to Ender's Game--the writing and style is very much like that book.
Keep in mind, though, that it will take you a couple of hours at most to burn through this graphic novel. Although if you consider that it's a collection of the first 7 issues in the comic series, it's like paying a little over $2 per book, which I guess is not a bad deal.
All in all, I'm not sure if I will purchase the next book(s) in the series. I expected this book to be a self-standing prequel, so I was a little surprised when it ended "To be continued..."
Keep in mind, though, that it will take you a couple of hours at most to burn through this graphic novel. Although if you consider that it's a collection of the first 7 issues in the comic series, it's like paying a little over $2 per book, which I guess is not a bad deal.
All in all, I'm not sure if I will purchase the next book(s) in the series. I expected this book to be a self-standing prequel, so I was a little surprised when it ended "To be continued..."
December 5, 2014
This was good but not great. I don't think it would function very well by itself if it didn't have the entire Ender's Game saga before it. It doesn't seem like they did a whole lot with 168 pages worth of material, but I'd be interested to finish the graphic novel series and see if I like it. I've also not read any of Orson Scott Card's novels about the first first formic war, so I can't compare it to that. 2 stars not because it's bad, but while I wouldn't discourage anyone reading this, I wouldn't recommend it.
June 9, 2012
When I ordered this book, I was unaware that this is a comic book. But having read just about everything else in the Ender-verse, I wasn't going to send it back. And I wasn't disappointed in the least. This is really a very entertaining book and an excellent read. Now, I'll have to eagerly await the sequel (Formic Wars: Silent Strike)... My advice if you want to read this: make sure you have the sequel at hand, before you open this one ;)
July 6, 2015
An interesting book (comic) that answers questions I never really asked. It fleshes out the history of Card's Enderverse. This volume includes the comics up to this point, so the story hasn't been finished. There hasn't been anything terribly original in the story, and the Formics aren't how I pictured them, but an okay read that has the potential to get better (or worse) in subsequent issues, which may force me to adjust my rating.
October 13, 2011
Graphic novel Ender prequel but not nearly as good as it should have been. Unimpressive art (though not bad), unimpressive writing and most problematic unimpressive story. Just not the right story to take to this media. Sure it is Ender and I'll read just about anything in the Enderverse but I'd hoped for better.
May 20, 2012
Not altogether keen, to be honest; the artwork has its appealing moments, and I like the storytelling (as always with OSC) but I'd have to see a bit more to see how this fits into a bigger picture before commenting in any detail on matters of construction and theme. Definitely Of Interest though, and I'll be keeping an eye out for future volumes.
January 5, 2015
I read this after reading the first 2 books, Earth Unaware & Earth Afire. This graphic novel really disappointed me. I thought it would be a good companion piece but it left out way too much backstory. Like most comics all meat & no vegetables. I hope the third book Earth Awakens is better than some of the reviews I read and gets me excited about continuing my read through the Enderverse.
January 30, 2012
The only thing wrong is that there isn't enough of it. Given the number of characters and the story arc it would have been nice to see more character development and back story...
Still a must if you're a fan of Ender's Game.
Still a must if you're a fan of Ender's Game.
October 19, 2011
Nice to get a new little entry into the Enderverse. As I flipped through the first couple pages, I wasn't sure I'd continue. It's a very different way to injest an Ender story. But before long I was hooked, and am now excited about part II.
December 1, 2011
I enjoyed this initial installment. Nice progression of the story; good to hear how it all started. There was even some character progression - especially with Lem. I would enjoy reading the rest of the story.
January 25, 2012
it was nice to get more insight on the world Ender was born into. I liked the mention of intelligence in children, not only did it give a foreshadowing into Ender's Game, it gives a hint as to where the concept of using children as leaders came into play. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews