Ender's Shadow

Rating:
Summary: A Shadow of "Ender's Game"
Review: I was really looking forward to this novel. After all, Ender's Game was so good, and Card failed to follow up with fabulous sequels. So, in a sense, this book was like a second chance for me to enjoy the universe Card created 10 years ago. Ender's Shadow is a VERY good book. However, it does take a while to get into. Not much happens in the first third, and frankly Bean's life before Battle School does not make for page-turning entertainment. Once Bean hits space, however, the book begins to take off. I was worried we would be reading exactly the same things we read in Ender's Game, but happily, I discovered that Bean's point of view on events was much different from Ender's. Bean has his own skills and abilities, and Card interweaves them into the story we already know, but in doing so, the story is vastly different. Yes, we know the ending, but because Bean is a different character, the ending is still satisfying. Also, I'm happy to say that Card has set up a sequel with Bean. I just hope he can write an exciting sequel this time, with even more action and adventure than in Ender's Shadow. He's crafty, this Card guy. He's created a new chance to explore Ender's universe. I just hope his next book isn't Speaker for the Dead, part 2.

Rating:
Summary: Take a chance
Review: I was utterly dissapointed by Card's "Xenocide." I was even reluctant to pick up "Ender's Shadow." Something about Bean, though, was intriguing enough to make me want to read the fifth novel in this series.

It was *beyond* worthwhile.

"Ender's Shadow" does, in fact, draw a parallel to "Ender's Game," but it is nothing like the first novel. Bean's experiences are so different and they add layers upon layers to the dynamics that were developed in the first novel.

If you are simply interested in the bugger action present in the first novel, then no, this book is not for you. You already know the punchline. But if you've developed any interest in the children, in Ender, Bean or even their superiors then I *highly* reccomend "Ender's Shadow."

As you get further into the book and find out more things, more "secrets" that Card has hidden, you feel like you're getting rewarded! Constantly, the author reveals more information from the first novel, allowing his audience to get a better feel for what was going on and to see the situation from entirely new angles.

Try it!

Rating:
Summary: Ender's Shadow
Review: I'll try to keep this short. To start off with, however, I would just like to point out that Ender's Game, is quite possibly my favorite novel of all time, in the top three for sure.
While Ender's Shadow is well written and would be a good story otherwise, I feel like it takes away too much from Ender's Game. In this it is revealed that Ender Wiggins, was more or less being manipulated (well, maybe not the right word), but helped out of quite a few sticky situations by the superior intellect of Bean.
In my opinion, the best way to sum up this novel would be with an analogy to Harry Potter. You read through Book 7 and Harry defeats Valdomorte. Then in the last chapter, or another book, J.K. Rowling reveals it was really Shamus or Dean, hidden in the shadows that had been preventing Valdomortes rise to power or defeating him the entire series.
I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the Enger Wiggins Series and would highly recommend them to anyone, even people who are not sci-fi fans (I don't really read the genre much myself), but I will not be picking up anymore Shadow series because of the bad taste this one left in my mouth.

Rating:
Summary: Card hits a home run
Review: If you read and enjoyed Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow is a must read. The title refers to Bean, one of Ender's most reliable and competent soldiers in his Dragon Army at Battle School. Card starts from Bean's earliest childhood during which he nearly starves to death in Rotterdam. Bean's extraordinary intelligence is soon recognized and after a couple turbulent years in a street gang he winds up in Battle School, where he quickly learns more about the training facility and the teachers' motivations than any other child there. Eventually Bean meets Ender and the two come to depend on each other for the success of Dragon Army. From this point on, the story parallels Ender's Game but is told from Bean's viewpoint. We learn that Bean had a lot more to do with events at Battle School than we previously thought! Along the way, we learn the disturbing secret of Bean's genius intellect and the terrible price he must one day pay for it. Bean is not who he seems.

Just like Ender's Game, the pace is generally quick and the story quite straightforward. But Shadow is a more mature work than Game. This is due both to Card's growth as a writer and to the fact that much of the subject matter deals with Bean's ongoing thoughts, which due to his genius must reflect the insight and experience of a grown adult.

There's not much more to say. If you liked Ender's Game, you've gotta get this one! Also, it leaves plenty of room for a sequel (Shadow of the Hegemon, already published).

Rating:
Summary: Musst read for Ender fans
Review: The release of Ender's Game, Card's first novel, firmly established him as a major talent in the science fiction genre. Card wrote several sequels to Ender's Game, but they took place thousands of years in the future due to the quirks of faster-than-light space travel. As a result, many fans felt unsatisfied with the sequels, even though they loved the original novel.

In a vast departure from the norm, Card wrote Ender's Shadow, a parallel novel to Ender's Game. A parallel novel takes place at the same time as the original novel, but is written from the viewpoint of a different character. This is a very difficult type of novel to write since presumably the reader already knows how the story will end. However, Card brilliantly executes this story by using a relatively minor (but engaging) character from Ender's Game and providing enough new material that the novel never feels repetitive.

Twice the Buggers, an insect-like alien race, have attacked the human race. The first two wars went poorly for Earth and so a battle school has been established to train new leaders for our military forces. An invasion fleet has been launched towards the Buggers' home worlds. Because of the vast distances of interstellar space, the battle school has time to turn out the supreme commander and his lieutenants before the fleet is in position to attack. The best and the brightest of Earth's children are recruited and brought to battle school to be trained as the future Napoleons of Earth.

Although Ender Wiggin eventually became the supreme commander, there were other candidates at the battle school. Bean, a small child even younger than Ender, possessed an uncanny strategic intellect and eventually became Ender's right hand man during the war against the Buggers. Card now tells the story of Bean's early years and his recruitment to battle school.

Barely surviving amongst the street gangs of Rotterdam, Bean used his vastly superior intellect to gain acceptance into a children's gang. Eventually, he molded his gang into a template for all other street gangs in the city. Bean's exploits attracted the attention of a battle school recruiter and he became the youngest person ever to enter the school. Once there he must use all his mental might to ensure that he becomes one of the few leaders that will have the chance to save Earth from destruction at the hands of the Buggers.

The first half of the book covers Bean's life before battle school and therefore covers totally new ground. Once Bean is recruited and sent up to the school, the action begins to overlap with the original novel. However, Card does a masterful job of constructing the action from Bean's perspective. Even some scenes that were included in the original novel seem fresh and new this time around. This is a very difficult type of novel to write, but Card executes it flawlessly. While this book did not have the surprise ending of Ender's Game (same ending, but we already knew the surprise), it is still a well-paced novel that did not fail to hold my interest. If you enjoyed Ender's Game, you'll love this book too!

Rating:
Summary: If the title doesn't give you the shivers...
Review: The rest of the book will. Totally awesome!