Ender's Shadow
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Ender's Shadow
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Narrated by:
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Scott Brick
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Gabrielle de Cuir
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full cast
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By:
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Orson Scott Card
About this listen
The novel that launched the bestselling Ender's Shadow series—available for the first time on audio
The human race is at War with the "Buggers," an insect-like alien race. As Earth prepares to defend itself from total destruction at the hands of an inscrutable enemy, all focus is on the development of military geniuses who can fight such a war, and win. The long distances of interstellar space have given hope to the defenders of Earth--they have time to train these future commanders up from childhood, forging them into an irresistible force in the high orbital facility called the Battle School. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin was not the only child in the Battle School; he was just the best of the best. In Ender's Shadow, Card tells the story of another of those precocious generals, the one they called Bean—the one who became Ender's right hand, part of his team, in the final battle against the Buggers. Bean's past was a battle just to survive. His success brought him to the attention of the Battle School's recruiters, those people scouring the planet for leaders, tacticians, and generals to save Earth from the threat of alien invasion. Bean was sent into orbit, to the Battle School. And there he met Ender....
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Critic reviews
“An absorbing, near-flawless performance.” —Kirkus
“The wonders of Battleschool and flashsuits and children's armies should keep readers turning pages.” —Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
“An exceptional work.” —School Library Journal
Both and excellent read and listen
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Bean's character comes across too similar to Ender's especially when he enters Battle School. The main differences are that Ender is empathetic and has leadership skills, whereas Bean is more intelligent but finds it difficult to relate to others - these differences don't come across with enough impact, certainly not in how the characters think or (largely) act. Many of the key themes and challenges that both characters face are very similar; coping with being judged by their size and age, their need to survive at any cost, their battle against the teachers and facing a tormentor from their youth who haunts them throughout their time in battle school. The way they deal with these issues feels too similar, the outcomes are often the same, the thought process of the characters: way too similar. When you hear Bean's story it almost feels like a rehash of Ender's - not a story about a distinctly different character. The closeness of the narrative makes it feel like Ender's outlook and the challenges he faces are less unique and less special. Ender's eventual "triumph" in the war feels less of a feat - because it feels like Bean could have done it had he been a little bit older with better social skills.
The other major flaw is Bean's and Ender's relationship - the relationship feels very different in this book - and only so much can be attributed to a different view point. Some of the dialogue between Bean and Ender is atrociously retrofitted - Bean who comes across as naive in comparison to Ender in Ender's game, is actually revealed to have far more information of the inner workings of the school. So when they talk to each other what was once a sincere conversation in Ender's game, we discover - in Ender's Shadow - was the result of Bean being sarcastic or tongue tied "Can't he tell I'm being sarcastic?", "Does he think I don't know that?". I found that very annoying - in Ender's game Bean is one of the few people who Ender actually confides in - and these special moments are somewhat spoilt by the revelation that where Bean appears earnest and sincere - he's actually being told things he knows already or is acting flippant and sarcastic. If Bean's personality was slightly different in Ender's Shadow we could have had an alternative interesting and plausible viewpoint on their conversations, but Bean's personality (in Ender's Shadow) is just incompatible with those conversations. It doesn't work.
With all that said, I would still recommend this book - I really enjoyed revisiting Battle School and parts of Bean's storyline are very interesting.
Detracts (slightly) from Ender's Game
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Absolutely Fantastic.
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This isn't a retelling of Ender's Game. This is fresh new material. You won't be bored and you will still be surprised when the cards fall. It also reveals a whole new nemesis who is just as terrifying as the buggers.
Bean is just as interesting as Ender
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The most like for like sequel to Ender's Game
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Where does Ender's Shadow rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Pretty high. If you like Enders game, this will be an interesting book.Who was your favorite character and why?
Bean and then Petra. Its good to see Bean again having liked his character in the original Enders Game.Bean's Story is a compelling aternative to Enders
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What did you like most about Ender's Shadow?
The desperate struggle of a boy who feels totally abandoned and alone to stay alive and win at everything he does.Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Good narratorWas this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, not as gripping as Ender's GameGood story but not as good as Enders Game
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This book is a perfect example of what an audio book should be and I hope that the same excellent production is in place for the rest of the Ender series of books.
Brilliant version
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Deeper insight to Enders game
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Bean’s story
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