Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as "Ender's Game"...
Review: ...but then, "Ender's Game" affected me like very few books ever have. "Game" is about the personal journey of one boy through the events chronicled in both books. "Shadow" is about the larger events and ideas that were background filler of the original. Which isn't to say that we don't care about Bean, but the reader's relationship builds much more subtly... Bean possesses an analytical view of the world. He is a robot struggling against his own humanity while Ender was a human struggling against being turned into a machine.Still, "Shadow" is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and it's incredible the way that Card can bring two completely different outlooks to the same story. The writing style is the same... one can tell it's the same author. But few authors could play with the events they wrote decades ago to create a new purpose. Characters that exited stage left at a point in "Game" often continue their storylines in "Shadow." Characters that Card went to pains clearly establishing and fleshing out in his first telling and relegated to the background. Had "Ender's Game" not shown me all the tricks, it is quite possible that this book would have had the same impact. Still, when Bean finally lets go and lets his emotions flow, it was one of the most uplifting experiences I've garnered from a book in a while. And unlike the ambiguous and somewhat downbeat ending of Ender's story, Bean gets a clearly happy ending. This book is highly recommended. Rarely do you find sci-fi with characters as complex and three-dimensions as those in this book. Card is a brilliant writer, and perhaps a brilliant philosopher as well. He isn't pretentious enough to give you the anwsers, but he gets you asking the questions.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful---as good as Ender's Game
Review: If you loved Ender's Game, I can say you will definitely love Ender's Shadow. Orson Scott Card's concept of a parallel novel is brilliant. These two books fit together incredibly well. Ender's Shadow focuses on Bean, one of the members of Ender's Dragon Army. If you read Ender's Game, you'll remember Bean, who was the small soldier that Ender saw as a younger version of himself. Bean was more brilliant than any other of Ender's soldiers. His size and his brilliance form the basis for Ender's Shadow--along with a lot more. The events from Ender's Game are repeated in some places in the novel, but from Bean's viewpoint. This "Rashomon" style of story telling is always exciting--you get the story as told by two different participants and witnesses to the same events. We also get two important new characters here; Sister Carlotta, a feisty, brilliant nun and Achilles, Bean's nemesis and all-around nasty guy. The opening chapters that describe Bean's first years are some of the best writing Card has ever done. Bean's early life in Rotterdam just about made me want to cry. I loved the wider perspective on Bean and Ender and the other members of the Battle School. The twists of plot, the surprises and the interactions of the characters are gripping. I couldn't put Ender's Shadow down. Along with Ender's Game, it's on my list of top ten favorite science fiction books of all times.
Rating:
Summary: A parallel book, but...
Review: ...it's even better than Ender's Game. This is just a really terrfic read...you will not be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Big risk pays off
Review: Another reviewer mentioned that he would give this book 4.5 stars if he could. I feel the same way. I'll give Card the extra .5 for the big risk he took by revisiting the classic story of Ender's Game. Fortunately, his gamble payed off (is it really a gamble coming from the same guy who wrote Ender's Game though?). Not only could Card make a book about a supporting charater from Ender's Game, but he managed to make it over a hundred pages longer than the original! Even having read Ender's Game and knowing how the story will turn out, Ender's Shadow was still a surprisingly intense book. Unlike Ender, Bean seems to have all the answers, and often seems to know more than even his teachers. Bean is in a position to use the system instead of being used by it, unlike Ender, who as we know, is slowly being worn down by it. Despite this position, Bean is often unsure of himself and has to live up to the comparisons to Ender (made by both Bean's peers and teachers, but also presumably the reader!) On top of all this, Bean lives without knowing who his family is, and more importantly, the death sentence that comes with his enhanced intelligence. In spite of this, Bean turns into a fine soldier and a fine kid. I was most moved when he had the chance to take over the final battle when Ender appears to have frozen up, but instead trusts Ender to get the job done instead of taking the power for himself. Card wisely put Bean in a position where he was extremely well-informed, enabling Card to add to the story instead of just rehashing it. Ender's Shadow is not just Ender's Game from another point of view, but a story unto itself. Unfortunately for Card, when it came to interactions between Ender and Bean, he was limited by the original story. As a result, Ender plays as much of a supporting role in this book as Bean did in the original. Most importantly, Ender's Shadow manages to recapture the emotions and imagination of the reader, just like Ender's Game. My biggest knock on the trilogy that Card wrote between Ender's Game and Shadow is that he told a fine story but his characters seemed to be simply vehicles for the ideas he was trying to get across. With Ender's Shadow Card gets back to what I feel he does best: portraying humanity through the story of a young, tragic kid like Ender, and now Bean.
Rating:
Summary: A very compelling read
Review: This was a real page-turner! I had read Ender's Game quite some time ago on the recommendation of my wife (who's very much a sci-fi fan), and loved it. But I never got into the sequels, leaving the first one half-read. Bought Ender's Shadow for my wife for Christmas, and she absolutely devoured it, so I figured I should give it a try. Yep; I liked it every bit as much as the original. My inclination now is to go back and re-read Ender's Game. I noticed that some parts that are a bit awkward because of the need to be true to the dialogue of EG, but it doesn't detract... instead, it makes it a kind of game in itself. And like some other readers, I found the nun a bit of a pain. Card must have gone to parochial school and been scarred for life I was pleased to see the set-up for a sequal featuring a plot line based on geo-political struggles on the earth in the future (which is a subject I enjoy more than sci fi) The obvious advice to people considering this book is to read Ender's Game first
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Parallel Novel to Ender's Game
Review: When I first started reading this book, I did not have very high hopes that it would be as good as Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Card has done a wonderful job writing from both character's points of veiw and the book had its own plot line. Ender's Shadow is about a boy who is raised on the streets of Rotterdam. He does not know where he came from but he does know that he has been on the streets since he was 2 years old. He is recognized as being extremly smart and having the qualities of a leader. A school in space called 'Batter School' enrolls him when he is still about 3 years younger than the others first entering the school. There he is compared to another boy who came to school early named Ender. Both Bean and Ender are child geniuses and are smart enough to be aware of the upcoming war with the Alien enemies. Ender is the chosen pick by the teachers to lead this war and have assigned Bean as the back up in case Ender can not do it. Bean studies Ender and the way he works while also studying the ways of the other children. The streets of Rotterdam made him constantly alert and always analyzing people for threats against him. A child from his past comes up to Battle School to haunt Bean's time there. Although Ender's Shadow has almost the same general plot as Ender's Game, this one has more side plots and more feelings. You really get to understand the way that Bean veiws the world, and also how others veiw the infamous Ender. This book is excellent and I would reccomend it to anyone who likes a good science fiction tale. I would say to read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card first though so that way you will get a better understanding of the way Ender feels before you can compare him to Bean. This book lets you tap into the mind of children who are forced to grow up but in a way of playing war games.
Rating: 
Summary: Pale Shadow
Review: Ender Wiggin made an indelible impression on me when I first read Card's earlier book. So, sadly and inevitably, to accept Bean as a surrogate Ender (with even greater military skills) just did not work. O.K. its a good novel in its own right but for a lover of the earlier 'Ender's Game' it came as a damp squib. It would be like accepting that all along Stonewall Jackson was a greater general than Lee, or Messena greater than Napoleon, or Ptolemy greater than Alexander. Further, the novel is weakened considerably because you know the secret of 'Ender's Game' from the start, and that the Battle School has a darker purpose than just training military officers by realistic war-gaming. Card pulled off a brilliant coup at the end of 'Ender's Game' when the secret was revealed (I for one had not guessed it) but with that tremendous climax, he destroyed the chance of any sequel that could equal it for drama and tension. So I found the Ender sequels and the development of Ender's character (while good) not equal to the first book, and this one seems to fall again below that standard. So buy it for a good read, but it will not abide in the memory like 'Ender's Game'. Ender Lives!
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: Enders shadow review
Review: The Buggers are coming! The Buggers are coming! The Buggers are a hostile, alien race coming to attack Earth. An army is needed to fight the buggers. That's where battle school comes in.Beanis a boy who is small for his age, but is very smart because he was a genetically science expieriment. The stoy begins when Bean was only four years old and was living on the streets of Rotterdam. He was tested for battle school and got the highest scores in history. Once at battle school, he meets Nikolai, who becomes his best friend and later turns out to be his brother. The battle school is taken the best, smartest kids and training them hard. They have a game for training where there are commanders of armies of about 40 soldiers each (the armies are the teams and the soldiers are the players of the game). The armies battle each other. They wear flash suits that get stiff when shot with the game weapons. The commander of Bean's team, Ender, has the second highest test scores at the battle school. He is also the best army commander in the training game. When the teachers give him an army and figure out that he is such a good commander, they get really tough on him and his army to see if he has any weaknesses. They make the opposing teams' suits able to unstiffen after five minutes, but Ender's army's suits do not unstiffen (they are all supposed to stay stiff). They also put Ender's army against two other armies are once. They are only supposed to have a battle once every few days, but the teachers give Ender's army two battles a day plus practices. Even with all those battles, they never lost a single one. Though the story jumps around a lot and parts of this book sound like the Bible, I really liked it. It is an exciting science fiction story. I would recommend Ender's Shadow to anyone who can keep up with a complicated, hard-to-follow storyline.
Rating:
Summary: Enders Shadow, Towers!
Review: Enders Shadow is the reflection of Enders Game. Except in this book, it shows the perspective of Beans life. The author did an excellent job of Paralelling the two books Enders Shadow shows the perspective of Bean, wherein this book, Bean living off the streets of Rotterdam, joins a group lead by Poke. From the beginning Bean is an astonishingly bright kid compared only to Ender while in battle school. All is well when Bean joins Enders team. Until he and the rest of Dragon army is split up into different teams pitting them against each other. While Bean commands Rabit Army, he also has the hefty task of finding out all of the information that the teachers are hiding from them. Unfortenatly Bean has an encounter with a well-known enemy from the streets of Rotterdam. Bean must out-smart his enemy before the enemy outsmarts him. This book is much better to Enders Game. For this book explains why everything that was hidden in Enders Game happend. Bean is one of the brightest kids in battle school. He has the reactions of a fox and the reasorcefulness of... well ender yet better. Bean is able to find things out about battle school that ender didnt learn till it was all over. This book shows the relationship between Ender and Bean while still giving you a brilliant yet understandable reason of it all. Most Enders Game readers that i have talked with, don't end up reading Enders Shadow, thinking that it would be the entire story over again just writen in a different expression. But that is not true. Enders Shadow explains the unsolved mysteries that leave you hanging and annoyed. No other author could of writen this as good and as brilliant as Orson Scott Card, KUDOS!!!!
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