Rating: Summary: A must if you loved the Ender series Review: I remember the day I went to the local book store to pick up copy of "Enders Game" having given away yet another copy to a friend. When I saw the the title on the shelf I had no choice but to buy it. I have always loved "Ender's Game" since my mother gave me a copy when I joined the ARMY. I ended up reading the entire series but always wanted to know more about Battle school and the other children there. I was worried that I would be bored reading this book having read the series five times but I could have been more wrong. If anything it enhanced my appreciation for the author's gift. This book although it tells the same story from a differt point of view could stand up for itself even if it were the only book in the series. I never buy books in hard cover because of the cost but I feel that this book would have been a steal at twice the price. If you like SiFi, military, tactics, phycology, children, or even just great stories you must read this book(and the whole series for that matter.) Thank you Mr. Card
Rating: Summary: A decent novel, but somewhat lacking Review: Assuming that most if not all readers of Ender's Shadow will have read Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow comes up lacking in substance. Card does an excellent job in creating a new set of challenges and scenarios for Bean to undergo. However, Card seems to try to overanalyze every scene of Ender's Game to try to squeeze as much content out to write into Ender's Shadow. Some of the material failed to capture my imagination.Of course, Ender's Shadow will always be compared Ender's Game, a modern classic and a difficult book to write a parallel novel with since most readers will know how it ends. With that in mind, Ender's Shadow is still an entertaining read, thus I give it 4 stars.
Rating: Summary: Impressive and captivating retelling of the game Review: I picked this book up in hopes of regaining the sensation I experienced when I read Ender's game, and although you do know the end of the story this time through, it is still captivating. Bean is not a "surrogate Ender", in fact the story feels very differently when told from his perspective. I really enjoyed the insights into the characters when seen from Bean's perspective. Bean is at times better and worse than Ender and in the end, he is not as good of a General. He may have a higher IQ than even the vaunted Ender Wiggen, but he does not have the leadership, the intuition and the guts that Ender has. Bottom line, Bean is a Longstreet not a Lee. A fascinating tale and very much worth the time and the energy to read. I found it a wonderful complement to Ender's Game and not simply a way for Card to cash in on the same story twice.
Rating: Summary: Better, darker than Ender's Game Review: I thought Ender's Game was a well-done scifi novel, in the Orson Scott Card mold. In Ender's Shadow, the moral lessons (this *is* Orson Scott Card, after all) are more ambiguous, making it a more intriguing look at the the dynamics of human relationships. In my opinion, Ender's Shadow is the stronger of the two and the one I'm more likely to reread (if I could ever get my copy back from my co-workers). Read Ender's Game first, believe that you understand it, then read Ender's Shadow to find out what you missed.
Rating: Summary: EXCELENT cover to cover. Review: It was the best book i have yet read. I was reluctant to read it but once i started it i couldn't put it down. The book is wonderful and consistant. The characters were easy to follow and identify with. I often found myself in beans shoes thinking what i would do. For once in a long while I have found a book with and excelent ending. I usually feel left out but in Ender's Shadow I felt a part of it.
Rating: Summary: Excellent parrallel well worth reading Review: Orson Scott Card once again has roved himself a brilliant writer as he explores the life of the young street urchin Bean. The book takes place along the same time line as Enders Game but is very well as a stand alone, I picked it up and couldn't put it down until i was finished. You learn things in this book that if having read Enders Game will spark a memory in you that brings a smile. Two thumbs up again to Orson Scott Card
Rating: Summary: Interesting idea, wrong direction Review: Card attempts to write a parallel novel to Ender's Game, but he finds himself constantly constrained by the requirements of consistency. Ender's shadow turns out unfocused and awkward. Perhaps Card should have written a less restricted (and somewhat inconsistent) companion novel instead. I look forward to reading The Shadow of the Hegemon, as there is far more room to develop Peter than Bean.
Rating: Summary: A Great Companion to the Hugo Award Winner Ender's Game Review: Although Orson Scott Card himself wasn't exactly sure how to classify Ender's Shadow (a sequel, companion novel, etc.), it is no doubt one of the best books in the series. Ender's Shadow returns to the traditional style of Ender's Game, the telling of the story of an extrodinary child. From the streets of Rotterdam where the main character Bean (who you might remember fondly from Ender's Game) struggles to survive in a bully dominated environment. Then it chronicles his arrival at battle school, all the while he is coping with his amazing intellect in a very small "doll" body. What makes this novel great is Orson Scott Card's incredible ability to tell a story. For those who nostalgically remember Ender's Game and the first time they read it, hopefully Ender's Shadow will fill that void with a knew, fresh story that almost equal's its predecessor's greatness (although that feat is most impossible). Pick up this book and read it, I don't think you will regret it.
Rating: Summary: Ohmigod, it's almost as good as the first... Review: Wow! There can never be enough words to say about this book! "You ain't wortha" Bean lives on the means streets of Amsterdam, a child unlike any other out there. Almo-no, ON the brink of starvation, he tells a stupid little kid leader a plan that changes everyone's life. After investigated him, they decide he is perfect as a back-up for Ender. This book is very detailed in completing the first book, telling you things that explain all about how Ender got his Dragon Army, and how amazing Bean is at figuring stuff out. He's definitly worth a bean, of not a hill.
Rating: Summary: The amazing duo Review: Honestly anyone who rates this book lower than a 5-star has not read the book, or paid absolutly no attention while reading it at all. After reading the source novel, "Ender's Game", I was compelled to also read this novel. That decision was one of the best I have ever made. Card throws in all kinds of twists in to this story, such as the main chacters all being under ten years of age, and keeps you curious throught. This book has made my thinking much more broad and creative. Although I do recomend reading "Ender's Game" prior to, it is not manditiory. If you do so, you obtain an in depth look at the lives that these CHILDREN live. I am not a much lived science fiction reader, yet Card has pushed me to become one. In all honesty, if you are curious as to read science fiction books, let this and "Ender's Game" be them. As for the avid science fiction reader, you'll fall in love too.
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