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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  trishtrash | Dec 21, 2009 |  I have to say I prefer this book and the following series over Card's original Ender's Game novel. Perhaps it's the more adult-oriented themes and prose and the earthbound setting of the series but this book is one that I could read over and over and never tire of, I think. I read it for the fourth time this spring, and gained new insights into myself and the characters (an experience I predict I will repeat next year)--it's a rich story, worth more than one look. (  ) krysbrezinski | Nov 22, 2009 | In this reboot of the Ender series, we see things from a new perspective, that of Ender's diminutive jeesh-mate Bean. How did Card pull this off so brilliantly? Ender's Shadow tells the same story, yet it does it in a completely unique and amazing way. In some respects it surpasses Ender's Game. And I can say without shame it brought out emotion in me. Ender's Shadow is simply brilliant. ( ) SendersName | Nov 10, 2009 | This is more or less the same time frame covered in Ender's Game, only from Bean's point of view. It begins with his life as a street urchin in Rotterdam and continues all the way through the end of the Bugger War. There is some overlap between the two books, but since it's from another point of view it doesn't feel repetitive. Bean's train of thought is fascinating and I enjoyed the new characters that were introduced like Achilles and Sister Carlotta. I think of all the other children at Battle School, Bean was the best choice to get his own story, but Ender is still my favorite character. And despite Card's hope for this book to work on its own, I don't think I'd enjoy Ender's Game as much if I'd read Ender's Shadow first. A lot is lost if you already know the ending. Ender's Shadow seems almost predicated on audience understanding. That said, it's still a worthy addition to the series, and I look forward to reading the other books and learning what Bean's adult life has in store for him. (  ) melydia | Oct 28, 2009 | even though i hadn't read any of the other books i just read book 5 it was easy to read.. i got what it meant and what is was all about. it wasn't confusing at all. i usually don't like books like this but this book was really good. it was interesting the things they did to prepare for war. the way they depended on Ender and his smarts to save them. ( ) df1aemilyr | Oct 15, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0812575717, Mass Market Paperback)Ender's Shadow is being dubbed as a parallel novel to Orson Scott Card's Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender's Game. By "parallel," Card means that Shadow begins and ends at roughly the same time as Game, and it chronicles many of the same events. In fact, the two books tell an almost identical story of brilliant children being trained in the orbiting Battle School to lead humanity's fleets in the final war against alien invaders known as the Buggers. The most brilliant of these young recruits is Ender Wiggin, an unparalleled commander and tactician who can surely defeat the Buggers if only he can overcome his own inner turmoil.Second among the children is Bean, who becomes Ender's lieutenant despite the fact that he is the smallest and youngest of the Battle School students. Bean is the central character of Shadow, and we pick up his story when he is just a 2-year-old starving on the streets of a future Rotterdam that has become a hell on earth. Bean is unnaturally intelligent for his age, which is the only thing that allows him to escape--though not unscathed--the streets and eventually end up in Battle School. Despite his brilliance, however, Bean is doomed to live his life as an also-ran to the more famous and in many ways more brilliant Ender. Nonetheless, Bean learns things that Ender cannot or will not understand, and it falls to this once pathetic street urchin to carry the weight of a terrible burden that Ender must not be allowed to know. Although it may seem like Shadow is merely an attempt by Card to cash in on the success of his justly famous Ender's Game, that suspicion will dissipate once you turn the first few pages of this engrossing novel. It's clear that Bean has a story worth telling, and that Card (who started the project with a cowriter but later decided he wanted it all to himself) is driven to tell it. And though much of Ender's Game hinges on a surprise ending that Card fans are likely well acquainted with, Shadow manages to capitalize on that same surprise and even turn the table on readers. In the end, it seems a shame that Shadow, like Bean himself, will forever be eclipsed by the myth of Ender, because this is a novel that can easily stand on its own. Luckily for readers, Card has left plenty of room for a sequel, so we may well be seeing more of Bean in the near future. --Craig E. Engler (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:23 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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Wikipedia in English (1)
As with Ender’s Game, there’s a requirement from the reader; that we believe in Card’s genius-children, maturing fast in both intellect and emotionally, but otherwise I found Ender’s Shadow to be great, readable sci-fi, once I got past that and a couple of other circumstantial anomalies. Bean is small, tough, and analytical, and the principle enjoyment of reading his story is the character’s insight into those around him, and the power-play between him and the staff as they each struggle to trust the other.
I don’t know if I will pursue the ‘Shadow’ series; I wanted to read this one because of my enjoyment of Ender’s Game, and don’t know if a return to Earth is going to float my boat. Then again, I found the premise of Speaker for Dead hard to enthuse about before I picked it up, and it’s now one of my favourite books. (