Ender's Shadow

Rating:
Summary: Ender's Shadow
Review: Ender's Shadow
Book Review

Can a boy of four years rise from living as a street urchin to commanding an army? Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card is a parallel novel to his popular book Ender's Game, written from the perspective of another character. This gripping saga describes one child's journey of becoming a leader responsible for preserving the human race.

The war in space has been rough. Humans barely survived the first conflict against the buggers, aliens from a faraway planet. Now, earth is again facing destruction.

Ender Wiggin is a highly intelligent six year old. The earth is counting on him. Summoned to space to be trained as a commander, Ender quickly advances through battle school. But if Ender fails, what will be the fate of the world? This is where Bean comes in.

Bean survived by raising himself on the streets from the time he was one. Discovered at age four, he is declared to have super-human intellect. He too, is escorted into space to begin his training at battle school.

Once Bean arrives at school, he is compared to Ender, whose training is well underway. After only a few months of instruction, Bean is put under Ender's command and soon learns the real reason he is being trained. Although Bean feels superior to his comrades, Ender teaches him the process of gaining respect so that others will follow him.

Will Ender succeed in leading the war or will Bean's survival skills be put to use? Bean is much more than your average child. If you like compelling stories about finding your purpose in life, Ender's Shadow will be an enjoyable read for you.

Rating:
Summary: Love it!!!
Review: First of all, I am not a science fiction fan- but LOVE Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. And, if you haven't read Ender's Game, you should read it before reading Ender's Shadow.

Ender's Shadow takes us into Bean's world- the same time period as Ender's Game. I thought it would be weird, and it would be very similar to Ender's Game, but it wasn't, and took the story to a whole other level. It was well written and impossible to put down.

After I read Ender's Game, I read Speaker for the Dead, and didnt like it. I missed the Battle school, and the children aspect. So I loved Ender's Shadow, and anyone who liked Ender's Game will like it too!

I can only hope Orson Scott Card writes another 'parallel story to Ender's Game.....

Rating:
Summary: ENDER'S SHADOW = Great
Review: Ender's Shadow is a parallel novel to Ender's Game, NOT A SEQUEL. Simply a story set in the same time from a different point of view, Ender's right hand man, Bean. This shows the ever so loyal EG readers that Peter isn't the only bad guy out there. Not to mention the fact that Bean had a much harder life than Ender could ever imagine, much less experience. Contrary to a somewhat common belief, Bean didn't grow up like Ender. He grew up on the streets, in a horrible life not meant for any kid, or man. The book definatly goes much more into detail about Beans talents and gifts, while spouting off extremly interesting philosophy about human life. Amongst all of this bean is in a never ending struggle of good, bad, right, and wrong. Over all i think that Orsen Scott Card did a GREAT job on this novel and would love to see a continuing saga on Bean alone. Great novel, go out and by everything by OSC and make him extremly rich. Five thumbs up

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book, but...
Review: First, I'll say I definitely enjoyed the book. Card is successful in portraying the parallel story. The only thing that bothered me was how superhuman he made Bean - it essentially cheapened Ender's feats from the first book. If you're a Bean fan, then you will thoroughly enjoy this book. Well worth the time to read if you enjoyed Ender's Game.

Rating:
Summary: Enders Shadow
Review: Enders Shadow is not a sequel to Enders Game, and Ender is not the main character. Enders Shadow is a parallel to Enders Game, and is told from Beans point of view. Bean is the main character. He is an ingenious kid from the streets of Rotterdam. Due to his small size, people don't take him very seriously. He is almost on the verge of starvation, when he uses his superior intellect to get himself into a street gang, and to more importantly get food. A nun notices his abilities, and tests him to see if he can get into Battle School. He does so well on the tests that the people in Battle School think they are faked. He gets accepted into Battle School where he meets Ender Wiggin. He develops friends and enemies and has life changing experiences. I will not elaborate any further into the plot, because I don't want to ruin the book for you. Enders Shadow deals with earth politics, genetic manipulation, and the regular stuff with the Bugger Wars. Enders Game deals more with Ender, and how he gets through battle school. I like Bean more than I like Ender. Bean is much smarter than Ender. He picks up on stuff long before anyone else. Overall this is one of the best books I have ever read. Card tells the Enders Game story again, but it is still just as captivating and good as if you were reading this story for the first time. I would strongly recommend reading this book, and all the other books in the Enders Game series.

Rating:
Summary: Who would think a sequel, no side-quel could be so good?!?
Review: Orson Scott Card is perhaps the BEST writer of fiction for thoughtful, intelligent people, whether you are 12 or 42. This is a must-read. (AFTER you have read Ender's Game, of course.)

Rating:
Summary: Good read!
Review: You basically know the premise of the book already from the other reviews and have most likely read Ender's Game and loved it (else why are you looking at this book?), so all I can add is this is a great book.

I always thought the books after Ender's Game didn't have the same spark and was never to fond of them, (I can't even remember what Xenocide was about!) but I saw this book and when I realized it was taking place at the time of the Formic war when Ender did what he does best, I thought I had better read it. The fact that it takes place from another perspective and sort of gives you a behind the scenes look at Ender's Game makes this an even better read. So quit reading this and read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Just couldn't make it through
Review: In my latest attempt to try and read a science fiction book I picked up Ender's Shadow, the parallel novel to Ender's Game. 60 pages in I closed the book and put it on the shelf. It is awful to say the least. Characters with ridiculous names (Bean, Poke, etc.) run around some kind of city where it seems like all children are homeless beggers. The characters spend their time running from "bullies" and formulating plans to get into soup kitchens. Our main hero even reveals that he lived in a toilet when he was less than a year old. Gimme a break.

The writing style is also cumbersome. Card switches from third person to first person in mid-paragraph in order to denote character thoughts not spoken aloud. How about a seperate paragraph and some italics Mr. Card?

If you are under 12 years old this will probably not be too bad a series to get into. If you are older than that, look for more intelligent reading.

And the search for a science fiction book that is actually good continues...

Rating:
Summary: The Other Side
Review: As Orson Scott Card puts in the Introduction, "Ender's Shadow" is a pseudo novel to "Ender's Game," as in they take place around the same period of time. "Ender's Shadow" is the side of "Ender's Game" that completes a single story, and what's great about the title is that it can be read without having read "Ender's Game" and still be wholly understood.

The book's main character is Bean, Ender's 2nd in command from Battle School, when he is 4 years old (even the book's description says 2, but the actually novel says 4) on the streets of Rotterdam, trying to survive among the other homeless children. Not to spoil anything, but after certain conflicts, plans, and tragedies, Bean is eventually accepted as a member of Battle School, a Launchy.

There, he takes a route similar to Ender, deciphering plans about what's happening, only taking it a step further with actually pulling at the seams of what the teachers want to do, as well as fighting his own battles with himself and a returning threat from Rotterdam.

The really amazing thing about this novel is that, even for readers of "Ender's Game," the characters take on the perspective of Bean wholly. Ender, despite knowing him well from his own perspective, seems like a different person from Bean's position, despite having the same traits and even dialogue in some cases. Ender seems like a distant goal, and a harsh commander. Bean even believes that he is stupid and wonders how he gained the reputation that he did, though over time, the two form the uneasy bond they have in "Ender's Game." It's almost easy to believe that Orson Scott Card had "Ender's Shadow" in the back of his mind while first expanding the short story of "Ender's Game" into the full novelization.

While the actual sequels to the first book don't seem as good or in quite the same string as the original, this story fits just right, returning the memory and nostalgia of the Battle School to returning readers, while introducing new readers to the drama and exciting story that began the Ender Saga, now moving into the Shadow series, the story of Bean.

Rating:
Summary: The shadow of Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow
Review: This book isn't just a shadow of "Ender's Game"; it brings out a completely new side to the already fascinating tale. Ender's Shadow is a genius in literature, a gem among gems. Orson Scott Card weaves a complex and entrancing tale about a young boy named Bean, who goes from the streets of a futuristic Rotterdam, to Battle School, an orbiting military school for children. At Battle School, he learns that he and the other children there are the only hope for the planet Earth, a planet in a hostile peace, held together only by the fear of an alien race known as the Buggers. He also meets Ender, a boy who is believed to be the only hope for mankind. The children are assigned to armies, and hold mock battles between each other. Bean finds himself assigned to an army led by Ender. But is everything right at Battle School? Is Ender cracking under pressure? Is there something more sinister behind the manipulative tactics of the teachers? Bean wonders...