Ender's Shadow

Rating:
Summary: Great till it converged with Ender's Game
Review: Up to the point at which Bean met Ender, this was the best book I have read since Ender's Game which I read about 10 years ago. Bean's character was powerful and interesting as with Ender, Valentine, and Peter.

After Bean meets Ender, the story loses a lot of momentum since Card is forced to delegate credit to Bean for feats initially assigned to Ender. Some of that seemed very artificial (especially since Ender was my favorite character of all time). What should be more interesting is that Card created opportunities for young Bean in future novels which are not limited by Ender's Game.

Rating:
Summary: Enhances the original book while running a paralell plot
Review: Found the book engaging from the first page. Enough uniqueness to keep you interested but enough links to make you want to re-read Ender's Game. The main character, Bean, pulls you in and you want to alternately rescue him and cheer him on throughout the story. Another good one from Orson Scott Card !!

Rating:
Summary: Just can't say enough good about this book.
Review: How can an author build tension when the reader already knows the outcome? Well, read Enders Game then this book, and experience Orsen Scott Card in action. I just couldn't put it down. I am now searching for the next book that is as absorbing as Enders Shadow. Wish I hadn't read it so fast!!!

Rating:
Summary: If you liked Ender's Game, you can forget about it
Review: I'm sorry that I ever read Ender's Game. My reading hasn't been the same since. After reading Ender's Game, my standard for Military Science Fiction shot up so high that I find it hard to read another "good" book in the same genre. Now comes Bean..

I must admit, I've only read it halfway through because I want to relish every word of it. But this is the best part of any fantastic piece of literature - the middle - when you know you love the story and you know that you have the next half to read.

In a week, when I'm re-reading it for lost details, I'll enviously look back on myself tonight and say "you lucky fellow."

This is a GREAT book, and if you liked Ender's Game, BOY you can forget about it all over again!

Rating:
Summary: Lives up to Card's high standards
Review: I admit I was a bit wary of a parallel novel to 'Ender's Game,' but before I'd finished the first chapter of this book, I was hooked. It's not a retelling, like I assumed, it's a whole new story that just happens to take place in the same time and setting as the first book. The simple fact that I knew the ending did not in any way diminish my enjoyment of this book -- Card still managed to pull off new surprises and insights. In fact, I think 'Ender's Shadow' has supplanted its predecessor as my favorite SF book -- Bean is such a wonderful character, and he compliments Ender perfectly. Here's hoping to see more of Bean's story in the future!

Rating:
Summary: Very, very good
Review: I look forward to seeing a sequel to this book, because I think that this is when Bean will really get to be his own character and stop being "Ender's Shadow." This book is very strong in many ways, but where it suffers is the fact that a lot of the book was simply a retelling, and not a new story. Still, it really was very, very good. I will be first in line to get a copy of the book that will surely come as a sequel to this.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Orson Scott Card is my favorite author. Though I just found Ender's Game about six months ago, it is my favorite book. I knew that I had to read Ender's Shadow when it came out.

I knew I would love Ender's Shadow, and I did. When I read it, there was no feeling that Card was just cashing in on Ender's Game popularity. The universe he created there was so rich and full of possibility, there is rooom for an infinite number of stories. This story stands on its own as a great novel.

If you liked Ender's Game, and the story told there, you'll like Ender's Shadow.

Rating:
Summary: Card pulls it off again
Review: I have to agree with those have urged reading Ender's Game first. Years ago as a teenager I found my first copy of Ender's Game sitting on my mother's dresser- it was the first Card book I'd ever read, and as a consequence of that action I've now read EVERY Card book I've ever found. Three years ago my family adopted two teenagers; my little brother also became a Card fan when he read Ender's Game just a few short months ago. We both knew several months in advance that Shadow was coming out. When it finally did, he called me long-distance from suburban DC to Greensboro, NC to taunt me in that he'd gotten his copy before I got mine. Well, the bookstore where I'd reserved a copy was late in getting it, so I gave up & ordered from Amazon, which provided next day shipping. The following night I returned that call to tell him that he was right, he got his copy first... but I finished reading it first!

Rating:
Summary: Orson Scott Card does it yet again.
Review: To put it very simply, anyone who enjoyed Ender's Game will enjoy this book. As usually Orson Scott Card writes with a level of emotional clarity unmatched in science fiction today. And for those who have not entered Ender's world before get ready to experience a journey from the mean streets to the depths of space with a boy who learns what it means to be a leader. The characters are so real I found myself cheering them and crying with them. I throughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Un-parralleled except by Ender's Game.No pun intended ha ha.
Review: One of the happiest times in my life was when I found out that Card was going to write another book in the Ender series. Even better was the fact that it was a parrallel novel to Ender's game(my favorite book ever written). I've read Ender's Game at least 7 times and never get bored of it and now I get to read another story just as interesting. I extremely recommend reading Ender's game first and then Ender's Shadow for it will add significantly to the story of Ender's game. Without reading Ender's Game you won't know how much this book explains and reveals vast amounts of information that would otherwise be lost.

Now, back to Ender's Shadow. The book is about a homeless child in Rotterdam who survives oly by his intellect. He is a master at deduction and military tactics. The only other person as smart as he is is Ender, a legendary commander and soldier at the battle school. He becomes, like the title says, Ender's shadow. He has had an extremely hard life and it seems to be getting harder but in different ways. At first his problem was not starving, now it's learning to save the entire human race.Tied in with that huge goal are the little troubles like staying safe from older kids trying to beat you up or protecting your friends who are also in jeopardy of getting beat up or worse. It seems like his troubles never end.

In my opinion, this is the second best book ever written and would gladly buy and read any other books written for the Ender series.