Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't top Ender's Game. But then, what could?
Review: I browse through the seemingly endless reviews for this book, wondering, 'should I buy it?' It took me long enough to get Ender's Game, and I loved that one, so eventually, of course, my money went over the shelf and into my hands came one brand new copy of Ender's Shadow. Like any other self-respecting fan of decent scifi I absolutely loved Ender's Game. Orson Scott Card wrote an unbelievable book with that one. To clear some things up with this novel, don't go into it expecting the same level of entertainment you might have gotten from Game. Shadow is a great book in its own right, but as Card might have meant it to do, it will always remain overshadowed by its predecessor. Shadow is not for newcomers, either. Bean is a wonderful character, but his situation is much better understood and revelled in if one has read Ender's Game first. Why is this? Well one big reason to me is, ironically enough (to those who have read this novel), Ender is much more human than Bean. It is easier to understand Ender's situation, however amazing it is, than to see through Bean's veil of mystery as it is slowly pulled away. Ender's Game entailed the making of a hero who could stand up on his own. Ender's Shadow brings to light a very interesting character who just cannot quite stand up without the help of the one whose shadow he lives in.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating!
Review: This was the first book in the Ender series I have read, as well as my first OSC book. I can say emphatically that I am now an Orson Scott Card fan, and intend on reading more (if not all) of his books next. From the very start I became interested in the character Bean, and liked him even more as he grew up. I can't say enough good things about this book, and I can't find one bad thing to say about it either. There is not one single boring moment in it, and the best advice I can give you is, once you sit down to read it, make sure you have alot of free time ahead of you, because you wont be able to put it down any time soon! I love this book!
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: Although I thought the premise of this book looked like a sad attempt to cash in on his classic "Ender's Game", I decided to give it a try. The main character this time around is Bean, a clever, curious child genius, who is aptly named due to his small size. His small size was mainly brought upon by living in starvation in Rotterdam. He makes a name for himself through his intelligence and after being discovered by a nun recruiter for the International Fleet, he is sent to Battle School. There he meets Ender Wiggin, the gifted child that found his way into the hearts of many a sci-fi buff. Bean is clearly much wiser than Ender but does not have the leadership abilities that Ender does. The entire story is the same except we get to see what Bean was doing while Ender was rising up. The story ends just the same as EG and Card shamelessly sets up a sequel, which apparently is out now. I disagree with Card saying that it doesn't really matter which book you read first. Neither book spoils anything in the other, but, while Bean is a good character and this is a good book, Ender was a better character, as was his book. I imagine that reading Ender's Shadow first might lessen the impact of the original. This is a good book but if you're new to the Ender series I suggest you read them in this order: Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon. Forget Xenocide and Children of the Mind, they're tossers.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy Heir To Ender's Game
Review: Since the project in question was to write more about the children at the battle school, I have to say that the book succeeds admirably. Card is smart to point out that the first trilogy provided different kinds of satisfaction in the different books depending on whether the subjects were children or adults, and this is a refreshing return to the flavor of the first book. I agree with the reviewer who wrote that if you've recently read _Ender's Game_ this will probably be less enjoyable than it was for me-- I read it years ago, and my memory of it was vague enough that I was pleased by plot overlap rather than put off by it. The writing style throughout the book is consistently good, and the plot that Card crafts for Bean is believable. My only real annoyance was with the Sister Carlotta character who returned too much as a plot device to provide exposition-- it felt a little bit lazy.
Rating:
Summary: Read it on the Weekend!
Review: "Ender's Shadow" was a rare book on many levels. First, Ender's Game, a classic, was followed up by "Speaker for the Dead", a loser. I was so discouraged by it, I didn't even continue the series. It just was a different type of book which didn't interest me. Apparently, I was not alone. Mr. Card, in his introduction to "Ender's Shadow" writes "I never found it surprising that... the sequels never appealed as strongly to younger readers. " Well I am 33, but maybe I am young at heart because I just didn't like those sequels. However, I was so encouraged by his introduction to Ender's Shadow, that I took a chance. I am very glad I did. This book is great! It is one of the rare sequels which is as good as the original. In some ways, I could even say it was written better but, since I like Ender more then Bean, I liked the first book more, but only by a very slight amount. Anyway, if you liked Ender's Shadow, at all, buy this book! "Speaker for the Dead" should not taint you or scare you from this series. This is the sequel which should have been written years ago. All this, and nothing new really happens. This book is a story of the Earth\Bugger war told from the perspective of Bean. Bean was one of Ender's classmates. He is more then he seemed. Living on the streets of Rotterdam since he was two, Bean learned how to survive and florish where others who were bigger and stronger then him died. "Battleschool" was almost a vacation for him. Bean, however, is even more then he seems. What exactly he is, however, is one of the mysteries in this book. What he clearly is, throughout the book is one of Ender's secret helpers. Without him, the bugger war may have been lost. But then again, much of the book is written from his perspective. In "Ender's Shadow" we are also treated to a strange yet familiar future. The uses of technology are shocking, because they could be real. The "battleroom" featured prominetly in the first book is back. But other future technologies, less pleasant, also make their debut. The best thing about "Ender's Shadow" is the writing. Mr. Card writes dialogue better then any other writer I know. The conversations he writes, flow smoothly. The story reads quickly. You will almost feel cheated when you are done, because you will think it went by so quickly. Look again, this book has over 450 pages in it. It just goes by so quickly, because you won't want it to end. Thankfully, there is now another sequel. I hope it follows the same path. Writing like this needs to continue.
Rating: 
Summary: Needed? No. Enjoyable? Yes.
Review: 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: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I liked Ender's Game very much. I also liked the 3 sequels despite the fact they were radically different - much slower pace and less adventurous. The quartet was ammazingly brilliant, and I was looking forward to the next chapter. Being a parallel book, I was expecting another gem. Unfortunatelly, Major parts of the beginning (before battle school) lack credability and the looooooooong essays capturing Bean's thoughts are simply boring. I would give this book an even lower rating, if it wasn't Ender's Shadow. If I would read it first in the series, I would dump it in the middle.
Rating:
Summary: Every bit as enjoyable as Ender's Game
Review: As the editorial review states, a parallel story to Ender's Game, taking us along the life of Bean, a brilliant kid with a mysterious past ... and dangerous enemies. Just as absorbing in its portrayal not only of the machinations of Battle School and its adult leaders, but of the lives of children as they really are, even the killers (which was what shocked many adults - and got them hysterical - about Ender's Game). We are given a little more depth into the final battle, and more interaction between Ender and Bean. As always, Card's prose and dialogue are sharp and thoughtful. A worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Companion to Ender's Game
Review: Ender's Shadow (better title than Urchin, which I understand the author prefers)met my very high expectations. Ender's Game has long been a favorite of mine. (I recognize the strength of Speaker for the Dead, but I found Xenocide and Children of the Mind unsatisfying). I was enthused that the story of Bean would be told in more detail, and I hoped that his story would have the depth and narrative urgency of Ender's Game. It surely does, and I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoyed Ender's Game. The character development is good, and somehow Mr. Card keeps an element of dramatic tension even though I well remember the story of the same events from Ender's Game. Bean is now a three-dimensional gifted boy, whose future matters to me. The story of his desperate early years and his uneasy home in the Battle School is interesting, and focuses effectively on the moral issues that he must face. Mr. Card's best books (and there are many) affect me because the essential dilemmas faced by his characters deal with choices of morality, rather than how to win by cleverness - Bean is always smart, but he learns that being smart is not always the same as doing right. As others have noted, there is obviously room left for a sequel to explore Bean's fate. Bring it on.
Rating:
Summary: Ender's Game revisited
Review: Can you tell the same story a second time and make it as fascinating as the first time? OSC obviously can do it: In Ender's Shadow he once more tells the story of the war with the Buggers, this time from the point of view of Bean, one of Ender's fellow leaders in that war. Through the different perspective, the plot gains more than enough to captivate this reader. Knowing how the war will end did not diminish my suspense, as the actions and reaction of Bean and the other children with him and Ender keep adding new aspects to the developement of the story. So in summary, OSC can retell a story so well that as soon as I had closed Ender's Shadow I immediately started to reread Ender's Game. As I had read it the last time several years back, this turned out well worth, too. However, if you haven't read either of them yet, do start with Ender's Game, as the climatic revelation at the end of the war is not quite as shocking in Ender's Shadow.
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