New York Times bestselling authors Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston return with an all-new prequel to Ender's Game, The Second Formic War
The first invasion of Earth was beaten back by a coalition of corporate and international military forces. China has been devastated by the Formic's efforts to eradicate Earth's life forms and prepare the ground for their own settlement. The Scouring of China struck fear into the other nations of the planet; that fear blossomed into drastic action when scientists determined that the single ship that wreaked such damage was merely a scout ship.
There is a mothership out beyond the Solar System's Kuiper Belt, and it's heading into the system, unstoppable by any weapons that Earth can muster.
Card's Ender's Game is one of the bestselling and most beloved science fiction novels of all time. It is set on an Earth where society and governments have been radically altered in the face of alien invasion. Readers will discover the past of Ender's world, feel the desperation of Earth that drove humans to make the changes they did, and meet the heroes who fought off the tide of invasion until Ender could decisively end the wars.
The series
The Second Formic War series takes readers deep into the heart of a universe on the brink of annihilation, where humanity's fight for survival against a terrifying alien species—the Formics—reaches a fever pitch. Set within the same universe as Orson Scott Card’s iconic Ender's Game, this thrilling series co-authored with Aaron Johnston expands the stakes in a saga that is as much about the resilience of the human spirit as it is about interstellar warfare.
Read full series description
In this gripping prequel to the Ender's Game universe, the Formics are back, and humanity finds itself once again facing an alien enemy that is relentless, brutal, and far more advanced than they could ever imagine. The second war is not only about military might—it’s about strategy, sacrifice, and the delicate balance between survival and becoming the very thing they fear. With humanity divided, the leaders of Earth must navigate both political intrigue and military pressure, fighting a war not just for their existence, but for the future of their species.
What makes The Second Formic War truly stand out is its richly layered world-building and the moral complexity of its characters. The series delves deep into the consequences of conflict, where each decision carries weight and reverberates across space. Readers will encounter familiar faces from the Ender's Game universe while also discovering new characters who face the horrors of war with determination, fear, and unexpected courage. From military commanders to civilians caught in the crossfire, every character's journey weaves together in a tale that explores themes of loyalty, duty, and the price of survival.
The atmosphere is tense, filled with high-stakes space battles and the ever-present threat of the Formics, whose hive-mind tactics challenge human ingenuity at every turn. Yet, beyond the action, the series is a meditation on leadership, sacrifice, and the frailty of civilizations at war. It’s a story of how humanity rises, falls, and rises again in the face of overwhelming odds.
With each book in the Second Formic War series, Card and Johnston invite readers to witness the growing complexity of this universe, where the line between hero and villain is often blurred, and where the cost of victory might be too high for anyone to bear. Fans of military sci-fi, space opera, and character-driven narratives will find themselves drawn into this battle for the future—where every victory comes with a loss, and every strategy is a risk.
Prepare to dive into a series that is as much about humanity's evolution as it is about the fight for survival in the vastness of space. The Second Formic War is a journey into the unknown, and it’s a story you won’t want to miss.
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