The swarm

Title:

The swarm

Author:

Card, Orson Scott, author.

ISBN:

9780765375629

Personal Author:

Card, Orson Scott, author.

Publication Information:

New York : Tor, 2016.

Physical Description:

462 pages ; 24 cm.

Series:

Volume one of the Second Formic War

Second Formic War ; v. 1.

General Note:

"A Tom Doherty Associates book."

First volume in a trilogy by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston.

Abstract:

The first invasion of Earth was beaten back by a coalition of corporate and international military forces, and the Chinese army, but China has been devastated by the Formics' initial efforts to eradicate Earth 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. Earth's government has been reorganized for defense; it now comprises a Hegemon, a planetary official responsible for keeping all the formerly warring nations in line, and a Polemarch, responsible for organizing all the military forces of the planet into the new International Fleet. But ambition and politics, greed and self-interest remain. It is up to Will Bingwen, Mazer Rackam, Victor Delgado and Lem Juke be able to create a weapon that can effectively defend humanity,

Subject Term:

Space warfare -- Fiction.

Space flight -- Fiction.

Human-alien encounters -- Fiction.

Human-alien encounters. (OCoLC)fst00963475

Space flight. (OCoLC)fst01127676

Space warfare. (OCoLC)fst01128112

Genre:

Fiction.

Science fiction.

Science fiction, American.

Novels.

Added Author:

Johnston, Aaron,

Harris, John, 1948 July 29-

Document ID:

SD_ILS:2240209

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Library	Collection	Collection	Call Number	Status
Searching... Clovis Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Science Fiction Area	CARD OR Swarm	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Delano Branch Library (Kern Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Science Fiction	SCI FIC CARD ORS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hanford Branch Library (Kings Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Science Fiction	SF CARD	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Holloway-Gonzales Branch (Kern Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Science Fiction	SCI FIC CARD ORS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lemoore Branch Library (Kings Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Science Fiction	SF CARD	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Politi Branch Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Science Fiction Area	CARD OR Swarm	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston return to their Ender's Game prequel series with this first volume of an all-new trilogy about the Second Formic War in The Swarm .

The first invasion of Earth was beaten back by a coalition of corporate and international military forces, and the Chinese army. China has been devastated by the Formic's initial efforts to eradicate Earth 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.

Earth has been reorganized for defense. There is now a Hegemon, a planetary official responsible for keeping all the formerly warring nations in line. There's a Polemarch, responsible for organizing all the military forces of the planet into the new International Fleet. But there is an enemy within, an enemy as old as human warfare: ambition and politics. Greed and self-interest. Will Bingwen, Mazer Rackam, Victor Delgado and Lem Juke be able to divert those very human enemies in time to create a weapon that can effectively defend humanity in the inexorable Second Formic War?

THE ENDER UNIVERSE

Ender series
Ender's Game / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind / Ender in Exile / Children of the Fleet

Ender's Shadow series
Ender's Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight

The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)
Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens

The Second Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)
The Swarm / The Hive

Ender novellas
A War of Gifts / First Meetings

Author Notes

Orson Scott Byron Walley Card, was born in 1951 and studied theater at Brigham Young University. He received his B.A. in 1975 and his M.A. in English in 1981. He wrote plays during that time, including Stone Tables (1973) and the musical, Father, Mother, Mother and Mom (1974).

A Mormon, Scott served a two-year mission in Brazil before starting work as a journalist in Utah. He also designed games at Lucas Film Games, 1989-92. He is best known for his science fiction novels, including the popular Ender series. Well known titles include A Planet Called Treason (1979), Treasure Box (1996), and Heartfire (1998). He has also written the guide called How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (1990).

His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead, both won Hugo and Nebula awards, making Card the only author to win both prizes in consecutive years. His titles Shadows in Flight, Ruins and Ender's Game made The New York Times Best Seller List. He is also the author of The First Formic War Series, which includes the titles Earth Unaware, Earth Afire, and Earth Awakens.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Card and Johnston continue to flesh out the early years leading up to the events of Ender's Game with this first installment of the Second Formic War trilogy. Following 2014's Earth Awakens, humans have beaten back one invasion from the alien Formics and are preparing for the larger onslaught yet to come. A sprawling cast works on numerous fronts to develop the weapons, technology, and tactics to defend Earth, but they're often stymied by bureaucracy, corruption, and self-serving, ambitious leaders. The real mystery, however, is what exactly the Formics are attempting to accomplish in the asteroid belt, and whether humankind's best and brightest, including Mazer Rackham and Victor Delgado, can figure it out in time. The authors carefully construct their story on a solar system-wide scale, the numerous plot threads unspooling at a leisurely speed while still maintaining tension. Despite this being a military piece at heart, the action is often overshadowed by long explorations of scientific developments, discussions of morality and philosophy, and bureaucratic obstructions, such as Mazer's court-martial at the hands of a hostile superior officer. It's a solid continuation of the ongoing epic, moving all the pieces into place for the next entry. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Earth survived the attack of the first Formic scoutship. But can the heroes of that first invasion save humanity from the full fleet that's on its way? The Swarm picks up a few years after the conclusion of the First Formic War series. Earth has begun preparing a desperate defense. The Hegemon, Polemarch, and Strategos are in place, and the newly minted International Fleet is working with corporate forces to build an armada and weapons as fast as possible. Will it be enough? And can humanity overcome the dangers posed by political machinations, careerism, international squabbles, and petty bureaucracy? The greatest threat may be ourselves. This is a solid outing, well-paced and exciting with a mounting sense of crisis, grand in scope yet human in perspective. Fans of the Ender Universe and the First Formic War series will be eager for this one readers will find the same central characters as well as some new faces. It will be particularly satisfying for longtime fans to finally see the creation of the Battle School.--Keogh, John Copyright 2016 Booklist