Science Fiction Book Club 60th Anniversary Edition

Proceeding the release of the ‘Ender’s Game’ movie, the Science Fiction Book Club has decided to publish an omnibus edition of ‘Ender’s Game’ and ‘Speaker for the Dead.’ Both of the award-winning novels will be included under the title ‘Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead’ on May 8th, 2013. The sale of this special edition hardcover will not be open to the public. You must be a member of the Science Fiction Book Club, which may involve purchasing other books. If you’re interested in purchasing this edition for your collection, click here and act fast because the sale will be limited.

This is the not the first time ‘Ender’s Game’ and ‘Speaker for the Dead’ have been published together. ‘Ender’s War,’ which included the original version of the ‘Ender’s Game’ novel and ‘Speaker for the Dead,’ was published for a limited time in 1986 and again in 1997.

We apologize for the size of the cover art image and lack of details. We will share more details as we learn them.

Edit:

Here are some larger images of the cover art by Eric Wilkerson:

And here are some sketches that were not used for the cover, also by Eric Wilkerson:

Eric writes on his website that he wanted the cover to resemble “a pre-production illustration for film rather than a stand alone book cover or theater poster style image.”

He says, “I really wanted to get in and play with a little environment design and costume design for Ender’s flash suit as well. This however meant a ton more work than what would normally go into a sci fi cover illustration.”

He was tapped to do the cover by Matthew Kalamidas at the Science Fiction Book Club, who interviewed him about the cover creation.

Eric says,

“I tried to stay as true to the book as possible when it came to the flash suit. Even though it wasn’t described in any heavy detail I wanted the Ender in my painting to represent Dragon Army. The suit colors and dragon logo had to be correct. This was so much more fun to design than sticking him in army fatigues. I imagined the suit to be a more high tech sports/laser tag outfit with appropriate padding for floating in Zero-G. The Chest would be the sensor hub for responding to gun blasts and would send a signal to compress the fibers of his clothing and restrict the movement of limbs when hit. Sensor nodes were placed on the hands, waist and back. No loose wiring or restrictive elements. He had to look like he could freely move his arms, so the chest padding couldn’t be too bulky or loaded with chunky details. I really look forward to seeing what the film does with the suit. The second book treats Andrew Wiggin with the same kind of authority and respect that a priest would receive so it made sense to have his costume or the hint of it in the painting have subtle nods to the clothing of a catholic priest. Further developing the look of the whole illustration I made a full body costume design for Ender and the Speaker.”

Read the full interview here. It’s a very interesting read, and there’s an amazing animation of the step-by-step hologram detail. Thanks, Trevor, for the interview tip!