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Title: Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0-8125-7571-7 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 15 December, 2000 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (541 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Needed? No. Enjoyable? Yes.
Comment: There are definitely two divergent approaches to this book. Depending on which approach you take, Ender's Shadow is either an enjoyable add on to a popular book or a waste of the paper it is printed on.
In approach number one, you would have to separate Ender's Shadow from the classic sci fi novel Ender's Game. An example would be if you had read Ender's Game a while ago, long enough that it was a little blurry in your mind, and you had enjoyed it when you read it. Maybe you would even have read some of the sequels to Ender's Game. In this case, you'd probably be looking forward to hearing more about Ender and the Battle School, etc. But you wouldn't remember every detail of Ender's Game. Under these conditions, you would find Ender's Shadow to be a real blast - you'd get additional details about the world that Ender lived in, although from a completely different perspective. Ender's family was middle class, Bean's family doesn't exist and he's a street urchin. Yet, despite their different paths, both Ender and Bean end up in the same place: Battle School. Then, you'd get additional information on the battle school, although from a younger, less popular kid. Finally, you'd get details of the Bugger battle from Bean's perspective. From this approach, it would definitely be worthwhile to read this book and I think you would definitely enjoy it.
On the other hand, let's say you've just finished reading Ender's Game or you have a better memory for all of the details of Ender's Game. I think it's likely that you would find this book boring and a waste of time. Ender's Shadow doesn't really add anything substantive to the story in Ender's Game. In addition, the story and writing in Ender's Game is SO far above the level of Ender's Shadow that it makes Ender's Shadow seem a bit disappointing despite all the things that make it an enjoyable book.
Also, if you have never read Ender's Game, don't bother reading this book. Start with Ender's Game and in a while, when you have forgotten some of the details and want to revisit the original world of Ender, go ahead and read Ender's Shadow.
From my point of view, it was about two years since that last time I read Ender's Game. I did read the sequels Xenocide and Speaker for the Dead. I held off on buying Ender's Shadow because I thought it would be disappointing. However, when I got the book, I read it in less than a day. It was very engrossing. The only problem was that seeing all of this from Bean's point of view made me want to re-read Ender's Game. When I re-read Ender's Game, I was very disappointed in Ender's Shadow because I could not really find a good reason for Ender's Shadow to exist. Still, despite the fact that I really don't think this was a book that needed to be written, it was kind of fun to read.
Rating: 4
Summary: If Bean doesn't scare you, you're not human.
Comment: In Ender's Game, Card introduced us to the old-before-their-time children of the Battle School, and the battle agianst a powerful enemy (the "Buggers") that threatened to destroy humanity. In the books that followed, the story developed well away from its origin in Ender's Game.
In this, the fifth book in the series, we return to a parallel story centered around another student, named Bean, who is intellectually Ender's superior. Genetically modified and "raised" a street child, Bean is discovered by the International Fleet, sent to Battle School, and quickly peers through the wall of secrecy surrounding the IF's war against the Buggers. Nothing can be hidden from him for long, and he eventually proves himself invaluable to humanity's fight for survival.
Although Bean is a prominent character in Ender's Game, the change in perspective greatly changes his importance from peripheral to central. Bean is modelled after the people in institutions everywhere who receive no notice yet perceive everything about the organization's mission and without whom nothing would happen. Only Bean is superhumanly bright and quick to a degree that could only be described as frightening.
Although too young for Battle School, and very small even for his age, there is nothing child-like about Bean. Even his curiosity has cold purpose.
Although you need not have read Ender's Game to understand or enjoy this book, you will want to read Ender's Game if you enjoy this book. I would recommend this book highly to anyone for whom intelligence is a fundamental, and not always benign, fact of life; particularly if a child. Obviously, I would also recommend it for fans of Card or of the Ender series.
Rating: 4
Summary: Not as good as the original.
Comment: Unlike its predecessor, This work is not driven both by character development and plot. In fact since the plot is already mostly know it is almost evntoirely based on the character of Bean. At first it seems like this will work out very well. The first part of the book where Bean lives on the streets of Rotterdam are fascinating, but things go downhill aftre that. Amazingly despite the fact that the whole book is aimed at developing Bean as a character hhe remains remarkably flat throughout. Furthermore Ender is pushed to the back almost as if he is a nonessential character in the story.
On the up side, the plot moves along quickly. for old fans of the battle school getting caught back up in the setting will not be difficult. Overall the work is entertaining but not on the level of Ender's game.
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Title: Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0812565959 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 09 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Shadow Puppets (Ender, Book 7) by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0765340054 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 03 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0812522397 Publisher: Tor Science Fiction Pub. Date: 15 June, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Xenocide : Volume Three of the Ender Quartet by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0812509250 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 15 August, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0812550706 Publisher: Tor Science Fiction Pub. Date: 15 July, 1994 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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