Rating: 
Summary: Rhapsodic Prose With A Frightening Edge
Review: As with all of Card's beautiful novels I was succumbed into this new setting that quickly enraptured me. I had read Ender's Game about a year or so ago, and once again just a couple weeks ago. The first time I read it, I was quite frightened at the aspect of child murderers and power-hungry adults and so forth. The second time I read it I was scared still-- but with fascination. The same has happened for Ender's Shadow.
I'm glad that Mr Card managed to write the story with a different POV, and yet it wasn't as boorish as I thought it would be. Same conversations are brought up again, yes, but Bean, Bean with his ingenious mind contemplates every aspect of the conversation which somehow fascinates us. Just by reading these two books I can compare and contrast Ender and Bean-- Bean is certainly smarter, and I delight in him when he shocks Graff/Dimak/any adult by his intelligence. But Ender has so much more of a leadership quality, and yet he is still secluded in the way that he is burdened with guilt.
I definitely got to know minor characters better-- and knowing that Petra and Bean are going to fall in love in the future (sorry if I spoiled it ^_^;;), I was glad that Card kept it to a minimum, but that he didn't completely disregard it. But I STILL can't get over the fact that Bean is approximately 6 years younger than Petra (egads!).
Perhaps some of you are annoyed at the exaggerated intelligence that is inserted into the Battle School characters, but for me, it excited me and made me even more drawn in! Of course I do envy them, and wish I had been smart enough to know how to square root 2+'n', but *sigh* I shall have to be content.
Rating: 
Summary: Even better than Ender's Game
Review: After reading Ender's Game, instead of continuing with the series, I picked up Ender's Shadow, which Card calls more of a "companion" novel than a sequel. Ender's Shadow is about Bean, whom we meet in the first book. Bean is a street urchin in Rotterdam, small for his age but phenomenally intelligent. His trials on the streets of Rotterdam comprise most of the first of the book, with local nun Sister Carlotta's attempts to get him into Battle School. Once in Battle School, Bean becomes seen as the next Ender, who is there at the same time. Thus, Card is able to tell basically the same story, but from the viewpoint of a very different mindset. I actually enjoyed Ender's Shadow more than its predecessor but either of them would be fine for anyone looking for a wonderful escapist novel. Even people who don't like science-fiction (like myself) find themselves engrossed in these stories. Try them out.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly varied from Enders Game
Review: I was when I originally picked up Enders Shadow very skeptical. Mainly of the fact that it was made to cronolog essentially the same events as in Enders Game. Then I began to start reading and as I read I was completely amazed at how at how different every thing in the book was. So I believe if you enjoyed the previous Enders Game stories like I did you would be doing yourself an injustice to not read Enders Shadow. Enders Shadow had the same witty and thought provoking political insights as the rest of the Enders game series. Once again Card has delivered a thought provoking literary masterpiece as in all of his previous works. This book has alot to do with Beans past which is one of the most interesting parts and through the whole book more of his past is being revield. Also you learn about his inner turmoil about hving to constantly be taking second stage. Ecen though he is possible the most brilliant child in battle school. It is my personal opinion that if you like science fiction and/or Cards previous works you should get this book whether you get it from the library or buy it you should not miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Card returns to the top of his game
Review: For those who read "Ender's Game," the sequels that followed it went on a painful downward spiral. "Speaker for the Dead" was ok, but things just dropped off from there. This book marks Card's return to form. It is not just a retelling of the same story from a diffeent person's perpective; it tells the story of Bean's origin and makes Achilles into a much more powerful and chilling presence than he was in "Game. Some of the most interesting parts of the book, detailing Bean's life on the streets, occur prior to Bean's entry into Battle School. The rest of the book is fun too--well-executed, so much more than just the same story all over again.
Rating:
Summary: Good pace, a page turner
Review: Although is not as shocking as Ender's Game is this is a fine book that should be read after the first book in the series. I liked the fact that Orson Scott Card came full circle and wrote again about how savage kids can be. I'm not giving this book 4 stars because I think that it would be great to have new novels from this author, a 3+ book series is way too much.
Rating:
Summary: Everything the Ender Series Deserves in a Successor
Review: The original Ender series surely deserves to be ranked among the all-time greats of science fiction. It is better, in my estimation, than even Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. When Orson Scott Card published Ender's Shadow as the first book of a parallel retelling of the Ender series through different viewpoints, I resisted buying the book. I didn't believe it could live up to the original and besides, I knew what was going to happen, right? Wrong. Through the parallel retelling of the story, Card delivers magnificent new depth to characters who were little more than set pieces in the original. We get a much more fully developed idea of world events and the politics of the future Earth in which the series takes place. If you enjoyed the original Ender, belly up the bar for more because Ender's Shadow will not disappoint!
Rating:
Summary: Read the regular Ender series first
Review: This was a great novel to accompany Ender's Game. It gave you a much different perspective on the events of Ender's Game, from Bean's point of view, and Card really does change your mind on how things happened.
Card, in the introduction, says that he wrote Ender's Shadow to stand on its own without necessitating a read of Ender's Game first. While I agree it stands on its own, I really think you'd ruin some of the plot of the Ender series if you read this book first. Plus, A lot of what happens in the later novels of the Ender series is aluded to in this novel, and if you haven't read them, you won't get the importance of those references.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Read
Review: A good read to go with the original, Ender's Game novel (or even if you are just starting out, it's great on its own). Very easy to get into and enjoy. Very interesting from Bean's point of view! Shadow Of The Hegemon would go great with this as well.
Rating:
Summary: Another great addition to the series
Review: If you liked Ender's Game, you'll love this one. You'll see Ender's Game from a whole different perspective. They're a pair - you won't want to put it down and when you finish you'll want to pick up Ender's Game and read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Ender's Shadow
Review: This novel tells the story of Ender's Game again, but from the point of view of Bean, the younger, smarter, and colder kid from Battle school... but tells his story, how he got to battle school, what his experiences were there, and then to his eventual part to play in the Bugger War. It tells a compleatly diffrent side of the story, and could be read independantly, but not first. Too many of the 'twists' in Ender's Game are sited as points of fact in this one to enjoy it as a follow up.
Both novels work beautifuly together, or apart. The plots are diffrent enough, and the story so radicaly diffrent as to both surprise and entice anyone who enjoys Sci-Fi. I recomend following Ender's Game with this novel... to anyone who liked the first.
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