Ender's Shadow

Rating:
Summary: Dificult to believe at times
Review: The weakness of Ender's Shadow is neither the plot, nor the storytelling, but the attempt to tell it as a parallel to Ender's Game. The story takes place at the same time, and in many of the same locations, but it fails to convince the reader that the events are truly the same. "No, that's not what happened at all. HERE's the way it REALLY is..." seems to be the message conveyed. Three major issues create this impression:

First, the world in the book has been updated. The original Ender's Game was obviously meant to be in "the future," and the real-life Internet and technological developments since it's publication have rendered some of the futuristic touches obsolete. Ender's Shadow touches up some things to make the fictional future more compatible with where our real future might head. E-mail addresses are used, and the battle school is given a few upgrades. A few of these differences seem to be in contrast with what we understood from the first book.

Even more importantly, some of Bean's dialog didn't really fit with the character Orson Scott Card wanted to create in Ender's Shadow. A few too many comments are chalked up as "just kidding" or "being sarcastic" to cover the original meaning of dialog. Hearing a block of dialog repeated and then having the meaning changed (in a rather unconvincing way) removes the reader from the story rather abruptly.

Finally, throughout the story we learn through various sources how much smarter, and how much better Bean is than Ender. For those who really believed Ender's Game as a story, it's dificult to then discard the notion that Ender is the best and the brightest. The feeling is almost that the heart of the original book was thrown out completely just for the sake of making a new story.

Ender's Shadow does stand alone very well -- the story is complete and well-told. If you're willing to discard elements (including some very significant ones) of Ender's Game to enjoy this book, you'll enjoy it as much as the original.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Ender's Game but well worth a read.
Review: It was a fascinating exercise to review the events of Ender's Game through the eyes of another character. I found the premise of Ender's Shadow to be interesting, but the cool intellectual view of Bean was just not as moving as the tortured emotions of Ender Wiggin. The problem was that both Bean and I knew too much about what was going to happen before it happened, which meant there was very little of the suspense of Ender's Game. I also felt that too many questions and problems about Bean and his future were glossed over or left hanging in favor of a rather improbable "happy ending." Perhaps this is because a sequel is intended? Anyway, I think Ender's Game is the better read but Ender's Shadow was a good follow-up.

Rating:
Summary: Bean's Game
Review: I read Ender's Game a few years ago and really loved it - it is one of my all time favorites. However, I really did not like its sequels - they were very different from the original, and did not appeal much to me. So when I heard about Ender's Shadow I had mixed feelings. Will it capture "Ender's game"'s essence? Or will it be like the sequels? and how much can this story be retold, anyway? Surprisingly, more than once!
Ender's Shadow tells the story of Bean, who had a small role in the original book. But there really isn't a lot of overlap. The book begins with Bean's rough childhood in the streets of Rotterdam, how he grew in a gang and every day was a struggle for life, and it continues when he gets to Battle School and meets Ender Wiggin. Even though many of the events are already chronicled in Ender's Game, the perspective is so different that it is possible to forget this is a story which was already told before. Bean is a genius - but Bean is no Ender, so their perspectives vary greatly. Ender's Shadow is much more analytical, much more of a psychological novel. I think Ender's Shadow is not as good as Ender's game, but still very, very worthy of a read - although only if you've read Ender's Game before. It is definitely Orson Scott Card at his best - the writing is simply brilliant. One last point, I agree with some other reviewers who said that Ender's Shadow takes a bit from Ender's Game. We see that Ender wasn't as brilliant as we thought he was (even if still more brilliant than anyone else), some things we thought were coincidental were not in fact. This detracts a bit from the original, especially since we know it was written without knowledge that there will be another book in the future, with Bean playing such a prominent role. Nevertheless, it is still superb as a complimentary reading for Ender's game. I am certain I will not forget Bean's story for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: Another superb title from ever-reliable Card
Review: There are few authors whose books I know I will like. Orson Scott Card is one of the few. His writing style is so elegant and fresh. After reading Ender's game I went on to "speaker for the dead" and then to this because I wanted to get back to the battle school children. This book was very enjoyable. It was however, not as thought provoking as Ender's game and Bean, this book's protagonist, is not nearly as likeable and endearing as Ender. his lack of any heartfelt emotion stops this book from being as good as "Ender's Game". If you like the Ender series, however, don't miss out on this book.

Rating:
Summary: Even better than Ender's Game, if that is possible
Review: If you liked Ender's Game, you will love Ender's Shadow. While the other books in the series continued Ender's story, yet had little to do with the original Ender's Game, this book goes into the mind of another child in Battle School. Bean is, if anything, even more brilliant than Ender, and it is this brilliance that brings him to the attention of Battle School recruiters, when he is nothing more than a tiny street urchin, wandering the the streets of the hellish city of Rotterdam. Though Bean's almost constant arrogance annoyed me, I found him to be a basically endearing character, who I came to enjoy very much. Just from reading this book one can see how much the author had developed as a writer since Ender's Game, and it is actually in some ways and even better book, though I would recommend reading Ender's Game for backround first.

Rating:
Summary: A fine book
Review: The book is worth reading. I'd read all ender books so decided to take my chances with this one. It wasn't disappointing. This time the central character id Beam, whom you may remember as one of ender's companions from battle school. We learn about his origins as street urchin from Rotterdam until his genius is discovered and sent to training. The book is well presented and gives much wanted detail on battle school itself and it's teachers. However and without giving away the book, it pained me to see how OSC had to manage to convince us that Bean was way, way smarter than Ender even though none of his interactions with Ender in Ender's game showed it. All the conversations obviously replayed in this book though from a different perspective seemed strained. But the obvious flaw of the series is the improbability of it all. I mean I could accept that Ender (and perhaps Bean) is so unique and exceptional that his training must be rushed to command the battle. He is one of a kind, the best. But how come none of the graduates of battle school are there in the final showdown? All those generations of graduates that had a normal training through tactical and command school (opposed to a few months) never produced any good commander??? That's hard to swallow. You could argue that they were chosen because they'd obey Ender but if the ship captains put their lives on the line surely an adult can take a few command orders from ender. However this is a critique both for Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. Apart from those annoying (though really unimportant) gaffes it's a good parallel novel and certainly worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Warning side effects may include loss of sleep
Review: I read "Ender's Game" awhile ago and I don't remember it fully, but I do remember loving it and that's why I picked up this book. Orson Scott Card has shown us another side to the same story and it absolutely amazed me! If you don't know the story behind this book, it revolves around the same set of events as another book by Mr. Card: "Ender's Game", however these events are viewed through another characters eyes. If you've read "Ender's Game" don't think you can skip this book. When I read this book I couldn't belive I had read this story before, it was all new and unique to me. I think if you're a fan of the Ender series you'll love this book, and if you just like general science fiction you'll love this book as well. I spent many a sleepless night reading this book, literally unable to put it down because I wanted to see what happened next! One more point, Orson Scott Card designed this book so that "Ender's Game" is not required reading before this one, they can be read in any order.

Rating:
Summary: More thoughtful that 'Game', but less universal
Review: "Ender's Shadow" is the story of mankind's struggle against a seemingly implacable foe from Outer Space. The "Buggers" seem bent on destroying the human race, so humanity responds by attempting to wipe out the Buggers in the first interstellar xenocide. Bright children are brought to the Battle School, a space station where they can train in military/zero-G tactics. "Ender's Game" told the story of the Battle School from the perspective of its best student, Ender Wiggum. This book, "Ender's Shadow," tells it from the perspective of the 2nd best student, Bean.

Bean grew up as a street-kid, and his survival skills and superhuman intellegence are his great attributes. It is fascinating to follow his logic and perception in solving the problems put before him, especially since we already know Ender's solutions after reading "Ender's Game." Thus, readers will find "Ender's Shadow" much more rewarding if they are familiar with the earlier work, but the novel can stand on its own. It certainly fleshes out the story of the Battle School greatly, and is very well written. There is actually very little of the book that is "repeat" material - similar to the relationship between the plays "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" and "Hamlet." While Ender's story plays in the background for half the book, Bean's experiences and tribulations are brought to the front, and are entirely new experiences.

Card himself called this book a 'parallax' to Ender's Game, and I agree that it's the best term. While some events are the same (we know how the war turns out, for example), seeing them through another's eyes give them a fresh look. Bean is more analytical and strategic than Ender, so this book is more thoughtful than the original. To me, it's a better book, because Card is a better writer. However, it may not have the same universal appeal, especially to younger readers - there isn't as much action, for instance. And it isn't quite as good as "Speaker for the Dead," my favourite of the Ender books, so I give it 4 stars. It is still a great (and original!) book, and in no way a simple attempt by Card to cash in on the popularity of the series.

Rating:
Summary: A shadow which overtakes the original
Review: If you ever intend to read =Ender's Game=, make sure you do before reading this book. First of all, the "secrets" of the first novel are given away, and thus lessen the impact of surprise one gets on first reading =Ender's Game=. Secondly, the characterization and plotting in =Ender's Shadow= surpasses the original novel; a lot of time has passed since Card wrote his wildly popular book, and he has used his intervening time well in improving his craft as a storyteller.

Like =Ender's Game=, =Ender's Shadow= is a story about an execeptional child trying to fit in and succeed, in which the child has a nemesis who haunts his thoughts, and an advocate who seems to betray him. Upon multiple readings of both novels, more and more parallels pop out; however, I find the characters of Ender and Bean to be extremely different. Ender seems to sink further and further inside himself, as he tries to protect himself from the dangers which threaten him from outside; Bean starts as a cold, survival machine, remnant of his battles to stay alive on the streets of Rotterdam as a toddler, but as he moves on he reaches out to protect himself from his own external dangers. As Ender becomes more obsessed with the Buggers, Bean keeps thinking about the wider world, and the inevitable wars on Earth that would result from defeating the Buggers. At the end of the novel, Ender is about to leave Earth forever, to start on his long journey away from humanity as =Speaker for the Dead=; Bean returns to Earth to a new family and a new sense of purpose and humanity.

It does not matter that one knows what happens in =Ender's Game=; Card realized that Ender's point of view on Battle School and the world as a whole was extremely myopic. One finds new significance to dialogues between Ender and Bean, knowing the limitations both have in knowledge of the other. I'm glad Card revisited the story of Ender and has extended it to the period on Earth right after the Bugger War, which was glossed over in the Ender series. Bean's series continues with =Shadow of the Hegemon=, and the parallel stories have ended. If nothing else, one can note the maturation of Card as an author in the time between =Ender's Game= and =Ender's Shadow=, with more complex characterization and a sharper contrast of good vs. evil, =Ender's Shadow= definitely comes out on top.

Rating:
Summary: Bean keeps the story together
Review: I read Ender's game about a year ago-I was bored, and it was all a friend had to offer. It was great. I loved it. IO finished it in a day and then left it. Until I was on Amazon.com and I saw this. I read some reviews, and since Bean was always my fave character, I bought it. Not only is this book the most realistic sci-fi book I've ever read, it is also touching and very adventurous. It tells the story of Bean, who was two and suffering on the streets of Roterdam before the brilliance in him emerged and he managed to civilize a whole city before his utter brilliance was noticed. And at four, he was recruited as the youngest to be going to battle school, earning top maeks on the tests that other kids took when they were six.

I finished the book in two hours. It was amazing. Bean is among the most amazing literary figures ever created, among Crime and Punishment's Roskalnikov and Dracula's Count Dracula. He is a character that simply will not let go of your mind. I walked around my house, entranced, with the book glued to my nose.

This book has gotten a pretty bad rep. They're saying Card was just trying to make money off of Ender's Game, the original. I disagree. In fact, I think this book was the better of the two books. Bean was less compassionate, and he didn't act all sappy towards anyone during the whole book like Ender did toward Valentine. Bean was also much more perceptive and intelligent, and he figured out the obvious in the end - but you'll have to read that for yourself.

Not that Bean was the only great character in Shadow. card offered a much more detailed psycho-analysis of Ender through Bean's eyes and also of Bonzo Madrid, commander of Salamander Army and Enders nemesis. It developed the character Nikolai, Bean's only true friend, much better than in Ender's Game, in which Ender saw him merely as another soldier. I'm sorry that Card didn't get Bean to get along very well with Petra or Alai (Ender's other good friends), because it wouldn't have made him look like such a hard-to-get-along-with young boy. Besides that, all the characters were very well analyzed.

If you need a good read, even if you hate sci-fi (I did before Ender's Game, definitly pick up Ender's game. TRhen move on to this book. Even though Card says in his intro that Shadow was made to stand alone, I read Ender's Game again after reading Shadow, and for the full effect I highly recommend reading Ender's Game first.

The only weird thing about this book is the countereffect it has on the reader's impression of Ender's Game. Instead of giving the credit (where credit is due) entirely to Ender Wiggin for defeating the bugger race, all of a sudden we are asked to believe that Bean was the "brains" behind the operation. Obiously, Bean is a great mind, perhaps much greater than Ender, but it casts a shadow on the whole effect of the trilogy to downplay Endeer Wiggin's heroic antics.

It made it unfair that they kept insinuating that Bean should have been commander, Bean is better, the teachers are fighting over him, he writes better papers. Ender is without a doubt the right choice and the book was good enough without making Bean into this super tactician, better than Ender? Ender is the commander, that's that.

Even though Bean is better.