The Hive
New York Times bestselling authors Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston return to the prequels to Ender's Game follow The Swam with The Hive, book two in the Second Formic War.
Card and Johnston continue the fast-paced hard science fiction history of the Formic Wars ― the alien invasions of Earth’s Solar System that ultimately led to Ender Wiggin’s total victory in Ender's Game.
A coalition of Earth’s nations barely fought off the Formics’ first scout ship. Now it’s clear that there’s a mother-ship out on edge of the system, and the aliens are prepared to take Earth by force. Can Earth’s warring nations and corporations put aside their differences and mount an effective defense?
Ender's Game is one of the most popular and bestselling science fiction novels of all time. The Formic War series (The First Formic War and The Second Formic War) are the prequels to Ender’s story.
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Orson Scott Card
Before Ender’s Game became required reading in classrooms and a touchstone for science fiction fans worldwide, it was just a short story—one that Orson Scott Card wrote while trying to understand how humanity might survive its own genius. That idea, born of curiosity and a deep interest in moral complexity, would eventually grow into a sprawling series exploring war, empathy, leadership, and the loneliness of brilliance.
Born in Richland, Washington in 1951 and raised mostly in Utah and California, Card grew up in a family where storytelling was a living thing—spoken, passed down, constantly evolving. Though he began his career writing plays and studying literature, he found his true voice in speculative fiction. And when he wrote Ender’s Game—and later Speaker for the Dead—he did something science fiction rarely dared at the time: he treated the genre as a tool for exploring the human soul.
The Second Formic War
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.
The Second Formic War consists of two books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series Enderverse
