Can someone please summarize what changed in the 1991 edition of Ender's Game?
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1My answer should be more inclusive.– ibidCommented Apr 10, 2016 at 4:11
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@ibid - so it is. Here's a bounty to compensate for not getting the votes for later-posted better answer.– DVK-on-Ahch-ToCommented Jul 10, 2016 at 13:18
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@DVK-in-exile - Thanks. This was my first post on the site.– ibidCommented Jul 10, 2016 at 13:47
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2 Answers
From this link:
This:
"Let's freeze a few," Alai said. "Let's have our first battle. Us against them."
They grinned. Then Ender said, "Better invite Bernard."
Alai cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"And Shen."
"That little slanty-eyed butt-wiggler?"
Ender decided that Alai was joking. "Hey, we can't all be niggers."
Alai grinned. "My grandpa would've killed you for that."
"My great great grandpa would have sold him first."
"Let's go get Bernard and Shen and freeze these bugger-lovers."
Was changed to:
"Let's freeze a few," Alai said. "Let's have our first battle. Us against them."
They grinned. Then Ender said, "Better invite Bernard."
Alai cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"And Shen."
"That little butt-wiggler?"
Ender decided that Alai was joking. "If you didn't hold yours so tight it would wiggle, too."
Alai grinned. "Let's go get Bernard and Shen and freeze these bugger-lovers."
Some more changes:
Chapter 15 was completely re-written to flow with the other books in the series better.
The original version referenced the Warsaw Pact. The newer version references the New Warsaw Pact.
On January 28, 1986 the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. The original version made mention of the perfect safety record for space flights. This was changed.
The writer's introduction was changed.
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2That's interesting - I have a copy of the book with the 1991 introduction, but none of the changes you mention above. It was printed in Britain by Orbit in 2002 (although, I bought in Australia).– HorusKolCommented Oct 29, 2011 at 2:26
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@HorusKol Feel free to post an answer to this question using your book as a reference.– KalamaneCommented Oct 31, 2011 at 20:29
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3I don't have the original edition of the book to compare, so I can't really give a qualified answer - just that I recognised the original banter between Ender and Alai, and realised that my copy was missing the changes you cite. Perhaps it's a regional thing - only the US prints got the changes in the story, but everyone else got the new introduction?– HorusKolCommented Oct 31, 2011 at 22:07
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- an introduction was added
- the formatting was changed, most notably in the start-of-chapter-dialogs and the messages
- a passage that had implied Peter knew about Stilson was corrected
1985: Ender lifted his right leg and took off his shoe. He held it up. “See there, on the toe? That’s blood, Peter.”
1991: Ender lifted his right leg and took off his shoe. He held it up. “See there, on the toe? That’s blood, Peter. It’s not mine.”
1985: "You're in deep poo," said Peter. "They found out what you did to Stilson, and now they're gonna make you do time out in the Belt."
1991: "You're in deep poo," said Peter. "They found out what you did to that kid in school, and now they're gonna make you do time out in the Belt."
- a phrase was modified due to the challenger disaster
1985: first failed launch in the history of the shuttle
1991: first failed launch since the early days of space flight
- a passage was re-written to remove the word nigger
1985: "That little slanty-eyed butt-wiggler?"
Ender decided that Alai was joking. "Hey, we can't all be niggers."
Alai grinned. "My grandpa would've killed you for that."
"My great great grandpa would have sold him first."
"Let's go get Bernard and Shen and freeze these bugger-lovers."1991: "That little butt-wiggler?"
Ender decided that Alai was joking. "If you didn't hold yours so tight it would wiggle, too."
Alai grinned. "Let's go get Bernard and Shen and freeze these bugger-lovers."
- changes were made to reflect the fall of the USSR (Note: 13 occurances of Warsaw Pact weren't changed)
1985: "The world, Val. You know Russia? Big empire? Warsaw Pact? Rulers of Eurasia from the Netherlands to Pakistan?"
1991: "The world, Val. You know Russia? Big empire? The Second Warsaw Pact? Rulers of Eurasia from the Netherlands to Pakistan?"
1985: Demosthenes began to develop as a fairly paranoid anti-Warsaw writer.
1991: Demosthenes began to develop as a fairly paranoid anti-Russian writer.
1985: Everyone knows that from the beginning the Warsaw Pact was to be regarded as a single entity where those rules were concerned.
1991: Everyone knows that from the beginning the Second Warsaw Pact was to be regarded as a single entity where those rules were concerned.
1985: "It's fine to work with these hegemonist Russians with the buggers out there, but after we win, I can't see leaving half the civilized world as virtual helots, can you, dear?"
1991: "It's fine to work with these hegemonist Russians with the buggers out there, but after we win, I can't see leaving half the civilized world as virtual serfs in the Russian Empire, can you, dear?"
1985: Demosthenes wasn't wrong to suspect that the Warsaw Pact was not abiding by the terms of the League.
1991: Demosthenes wasn't wrong to suspect that the Second Warsaw Pact was not abiding by the terms of the League.
1985: The Warsaw Pact was on its way to hegemony before the First Invasion.
1991: The Russian Empire was on its way to hegemony before the First Invasion.
- a statement of Dink's was modified
1985: "That's right, we never cry. Christ, I never thought of that.
1991: "That's right, we never cry. I never thought of that.
- Myth: The final chapter was completely re-written. There is a planned revision (and officially OSC has already written the new chapter) but as of 2015 it has yet to printed.
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1According to OSC's comments in the audiobook version of Ender In Exile, there was a rewrite to chapter 15, but that rewrite is (currently) only available as a download to subscribers of OSC's "Intergalactic Medicine Show" web site. See also everything2.com/title/Ender+in+Exile– David C.Commented Jul 1, 2016 at 23:52
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2@DavidC. - Ender's Ansible says that they have never seen the revised chapter, nor have they ever gotten any reports from people who have actually seen it.– ibidCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 0:03