Rating: 
Summary: Don't ruin your memory of Ender's game with this
Review: As great as Card was with Ender's Game, he's disappointing with this. I can only guess that this was his editor's idea to revisit the Ender series from a different point of view and that Card went along for the ride to humor the publisher. There is little suspense of course, already knowing the outcome of the main plot.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not Ender's Game
Review: As you probably know by know, Ender's Shadow was written by Orson Scott Card to be a companion volume to Ender's Game, one of the most popular works of modern science fiction. What Card has actually created is the story of Ender's Game from a completely different perspective and thus gives us what is in fact a totally different story. Ender's Shadow is the story of Bean, who like Ender Wiggin is an extremely bright young lad who winds up as one of Ender's captains in the final battle with the Buggers. While this is a fascinating story that seems fresh and new when told from Bean's perspective, it has one major drawback: Bean is just too smart. I had real problems connecting with Bean as a character throughout much of this book, especially when he arrives at Battle School. His actions just didn't make sense to me. He seemed way too adept at figuring things out, way ahead of even Ender. Many times he seemed to guess at things that he could have no way of knowing and come up with the right answer. This issue knocked the book down to 4 stars instead of 5 for me. Other than that this is an excellent work that stands well as a sequel to Ender's Game. I found myself becoming engrossed with what was happening and reading for hours at a time. I highly recommend this to anyone who loved Ender's Game!
Rating: 
Summary: The better follow-up to Ender's Game
Review: Don't get me wrong -- I loved Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide (my fave) and Children of the mind -- but for those who just couldn't get enough of the children in the battle school, this is a great flipside to the Ender coin. The story follows the life of Bean, the smaller, younger boy who in some small ways Ender realized was possibly the superior soldier. I love the fact that with this book we get to see all of the happenings in Ender's Game from a different perspective.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit repetitive
Review: Enders Game was Orson Scott Card's original novel that started the entire Ender series. It tells the story of a young prodigy, Ender, who quickly climbs the ladder of command and is soon responsible for preserving the human race. In both novels, either Ender or Bean, proves to be the central characters and the young geniuses who assume key roles in the defense of the earth. But the sequel to Enders Game seemed all too familiar. Despite the contrasting beginnings (Bean starts out in the run-down and conflict-ridden ghetto of Rotterdam, while Ender had a reasonable and well-nourished upbringing), the remainders of the stories are extremely repetitive. They both single in on a young boy and his journey as he strives to be the smartest and most recognized young wonder of the time. Bean is turns out to be Enders assistant in the end, and he follows a very similar path to the top as Ender did. Both went through the struggle of being tossed around by the older boys initially but both are ultimately respected by their elders. Both prove their strength and brilliance in the mini-games the children are involved in during training. And both children are secretly feared and intimidating to the other inferior children at the training center. Ender and Bean are also both deceived by the officers into thinking they are just playing a simulator when they are actually defending the earth from alien offenders. Overall, the novel was a good read by seemed too much like Enders Game. The two boys encountered much the same life at Battle School and were revered by many. They had virtually the exact same experiences that helped them develop into vital leaders that thrived among other boys and girls who proved too inept in the protection of the earth.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful, Wonderful Story
Review: Enders Shadow is actually my favarite story of all time. As a supliment to Enders game it has appeal on several levels. One, it explores the truth that truth is often a matter of viewpoint... That there are many sides to any story, and rarely do we have the advantage of knowing more than one. Secondly it is a great essay into the nature of genius... Often I think that people think that genius is a happy wonderful thing, when in reality it is a lonely place. As the sentiment found in C J Cherryh's book "Wave without a shore" being the smartest person in the world means you have no one that can understand your perspective. It is also an exploration of the diffence of ability and intellegence. For while Bean's character, is clearly the most intelligent, he come's to realize that Ender is clearly the one most fit to lead. Something liberals in our country could take a lesson from. It explores what sacrifices we ask of our military, and reminds us to let our children have a childhood. As the begiining of the Shadow series, it is in more action oriented and fast paced linier exploration of a character than the also wonderful Ender series that gets in to deep religious theory and covers milenia.
I am patiently waiting for my delivery of Shadow of the Giant as I write this.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I enjoyed this book, though I'm fairly particular about what science fiction I will read. If you liked Ender's Game, I suspect you'll like this book too.
Rating:
Summary: Nearly As Good As Ender's Game !
Review: I have read all four books in the Ender series. Ender's Game remains one of my all time favorite books. Number 2 - Speaker For the Dead was very good. Xenocide and Children of the Mind were good, but extended the series a bit longer than necessary I felt. I enjoyed Ender's Shadow almost as much as Ender's Game! You're hooked right from the start! Bean was a fascinating character in the original book, and it was great fun finding out more about his life, thoughts and personality. Card's writing style is so fluid, his characters so interesting and real, and his dialogue is always so believable. Personally I would recommend reading Ender's Game first and then this book, then Speaker For the Dead. If you enjoy science fiction, trust me, these three books are unforgettable and will stay with you forever! Get ready for a journey to a different place and time you will really enjoy! (Note to future reviewers: Please be careful not to reveal plot twists in your review as several below have done.)
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Impressed...
Review: I have to admit that when I saw that Ender's Shadow had been released I put off buying it for several weeks. Ender's Game is my favorite novel, by far, and I have probably reread it eight times. When Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide and Children of the Mind failed to meet the standard that Ender's Game had set (the standard by which I have come to compare everything I read) I expected much the same from Ender's Shadow. But Card actually pulled it off. I found Ender's Shadow as close as any other book I've read, to meeting the standard Ender's Game has set. Though not quite it's equal, Card has come very close and I expect I will be rereading this one again and again, as well. Card's treatment of the characters and the eloquence in his writing style make both Game and Shadow very difficult to put down. The parallel events, from the unique perspective of Bean, make Ender's Shadow the perfect compliment to the original novel. I will be rereading Ender's Game before I start reading anything else, and will most likely read Ender's Shadow immediately after that. My only suggestion to anyone who has not yet read Ender's Shadow is to be sure to read Ender's Game first. But don't expect to be disappointed by either.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of the Ender name
Review: I picked this novel up after reading Ender's game and while I was hopeful that the novel might be good, I was doubtful it could live up to Ender's Game. It did.
The novel tells the same story as Ender's Game. The world has been nearly wiped out in two previous invasions by aliens and to ward off a future attacks, the governments of the world have united and set up a space station to train super genius children. The novel tells the story from the perspective of Bean, another child at the station.
Bean lives a life quite different to that of Ender. Where Ender lived happily in a suburban household, Bean has lived on the streets struggling to survive. The first few chapters of the novel are about Bean's life on the street and play a critical role in the development of Bean's character.
The character of Bean is very unique. Like Ender, he performs better than those around him and is picked out by the commanders. However, as information about Bean's... unique situation comes out, the commander's begin to question their faith in Bean, making for an interesting dilemma.
The novel has several interesting sub plots such as the search for Bean's origins and his feud with Achilles. The way the novel reveals more information about the events from Ender's Game adds to the interest of the novel.
The story has few flaws. While it lacks a new story (it is essentially Ender's Game retold) the new perspective and the sub plots that result make it well worth the price of admission.
Rating:
Summary: A heart-wrenching disappointment
Review: I wanted to love this book. I was so excited when it first came out -- ecstatic, really. "Ender's Game" has been my favorite book since I first discovered it over 10 years ago, and I couldn't imagine anything better than rereading my favorite story through another character's eyes. Boy, was I wrong. The story itself was well told, and if I had read this before "Ender's Game," I would have loved it. Unfortunately, what the book did for me instead was ruin the character of Ender. I loved Ender, his gifts and his faults, his failures and successes. I love his story and I've read it countless times. I didn't like the view I got of him from Bean, who according to "Ender's Shadow" was smarter and faster than Ender, who was ready to step in any time Ender stumbled, and who was basically just all around "better" than Ender. It felt like I was reading the self-absorbed biography of a jealous child trying to knock Ender off his pedestal, and I was left actively disliking Bean a whole hell of a lot. This book has colored everything I ever loved about Ender and "Ender's Game"; I pretty much am trying to just forget I ever read it.
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