Ender's Shadow - Orson Scott Card

[goodreads]

Title: Ender's Shadow (Shadow #1)
Author: Orson Scott Card
Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 469
Date read: March 2013, June 2025

Growing up is never easy. But try living on the mean streets as a child begging for food and fighting like a dog with ruthless gangs of starving kids who wouldn't hesitate to pound your skull into pulp for a scrap of apple. If Bean has learned anything on the streets, it's how to survive. And not with fists. He is way too small for that. But with brains.

Bean is a genius with a magician's ability to zero in on his enemy and exploit his weakness.

What better quality for a future general to lead the Earth in a final climactic battle against a hostile alien race, known as Buggers. At Battleschool Bean meets and befriends another future commander - Ender Wiggins - perhaps his only true rival.

Only one problem: for Bean and Ender, the future is now.


While Ender's Game is one of my all-time favourite books, I never really got hooked by the later books in the Ender saga. Still, I wanted to read more about Ender Wiggins, so finally decided to give this one a chance - the events of Ender's Game as told by Bean - the smallest kid in the Dragon Army.

I'm glad I did. Sure, it's still not exactly as good as Ender's Game, but it's a lot better than book 2 and 3 of the Ender saga (I gave up after that), and I loved revisiting the events of EG from a different perspective. Bean isn't quite as lovable as he appeared in EG, but Card made it work, and Bean definitely had my sympathies, even if he didn't prompt the same level of devotion as Ender did. Oh, and the ending brought tears to my eyes :) Very fitting :)

So now I once again want to read more about this universe and am contemplating whether I should continue with Bean and the Shadow series.

Comments

[nick asselberghs (from livejournal.com)]

Thank you Maria:)

I´ve read and listened to Ender´s game (from audible) a thousand times it seems I love the story, but I coulden´t get into Speaker for the dead although I tried. Sounds like I could get into Ender´s Shadow I will definitely give it a try and report back what I think if you like.

Kind Regards

Nick / Asselberghs / Nicodemus

[bogormen.livejournal.com]

Please do - I'd love to hear what you think :)

[nick asselberghs (from livejournal.com)]

That, was simply amazing Maria, thank you very much for getting me to give it a chance.
I don´t know what would have happened, had I read Ender´s Shadow first. I think it´s an excellent story in it´s own right, I can´t really say because I know Ender´s Game very well, so from my point of view I read it as a supplement, which improved both books and it was an Amazing experience. I´ve never read any story that could do that, running books in parallel to improve both stories both of which in the beginning are excellent on it´s own.
It made me smile every time I could connect acts between the books, and passages of Ender´s Game started playing in my mind, when they occurred in the book.
I think, as Card mentions in his afterword, that combining Ender´s Game and Ender´s Shadow, when the movie comes out will make it good, I am concerned that alot of the story could go lost because we can´t get inside ender´s head like we are in the book Ender´s Game.
I´m definitely going to recommend both books now as a collected reading because it gets so much better in my opinion knowing both of them.
I think I´m going to wait a while and then listen to Ender´s Game again, now that I know Bean quite a bit better than before, it might make me see him in a new light somehow, I think that could be interesting.
If one compares Ender´s Game against Ender´s Shadow I like Ender´s Game better but seeing them supplement each other I don´t distinct between them.


Thanks again:)

Kind Regards

Nick

[bogormen.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was quick! I'm impressed :-) I'm glad you liked it though. I can't wait for the movie - although at the same time I'm worried that it'll disappoint... But isn't it always like that when favourite books are adapted for the screen.

Thanks for letting me know what you thought.
Maria