Shadow of the Hegemon

Great book that is full of action from cover to cover. Card keeps you coming back for more and more.

This, Shadow Puppets and Shadow of the Giant are terrific. The military sci fi with some realpolitik mixed in is awesome. I've read all the Enderverse novels and these featuring Bean are the best of the bunch.

I have read the whole ender series, but with a strange sequence which may have affected the way I view the different books in the series. The first book I have read was the Shadow of the Hegemon, thanks to a tourist that had left it in the library of a hotel in Skiathos island. This book got me hooked, but it confused me also as I didn't know if I should start reading the next books or the previous ones. The general pattern in the whole series is: The beginning book is Ender's Game. Then we have two subcategories, one the Shadow series (which, with the exception of the first book, take place on earth and are more within military strategy) and one the Ender series (which take place in space and are more into new sci-fi ideas). Shadow series probably can be read from everyone, while I guess that the Ender series (especially from Speaker for the Dead onwards) would be read mainly from sci-fi fans. Below are my comments for the books of the series, in the order I have read them and a marking (10 is the highest mark): Shadow of the Hegemon: The first book I have read, and which I could not leave from my hands. I finished it in 2 days. It was fast paced action, very smart plot and after reading it I believed that Orson Scot Card (OSC) has invented/re-invented a new genre of literature. That of military strategy and adventure combined with brilliance/mind games and hidden portions of romance. Such books always existed but this seemed to be THE book. It was like the way Dan Brown re-invented books with trivials and puzzles, together with fast paced adventure. I strongly recommend it to everybody that likes such type of books. (mark: 10) Shadow puppets: The sequel to the above. I found it interesting but somehow boring as the above story developed little and the focus was on the characters (maybe too much focus so that it seemed to me that it was slightly mumbling jumbling. Strategy, brilliance and adventure seemed to be very low here. I would not recommend it for anybody to read it in isolate, unfortunately you have to read it if you want to go to the next book. I really believe that OSC made a mistake here (deliberately or not) as this book should have been told in 50-60 pages and be included in the previous or the next book. (mark: 6 but you will read it because you will want to read Shadow of the Giant) Shadow of the Giant: (see below) Ender's game: A really great book to read, probably the best of the series, however, as I had read its sequels first, when I reached the 80% of this book, I had predicted the end. However, it's at the highest standards of sci-fi, military strategy, adventure, brilliant mind games and very good depth in the human aspect of the characters. In comparison to the shadow series, it is more "space" sci-fi, while shadow series have much lesser sci-fi elements and are more down to earth. (mark: 10) Speaker for the dead: Another great book, but different style. Less adventure, more human aspect, more maturity. Brilliance ye

Once again, I wasn't disappointed by this sequel to Ender's Game / Ender's Shadow. Card returns to what he does best - blending worldwide military and political strategy with character studies. For anyone who's read the previous Ender books, this will be hard to put down. I'll try not to reveal too much detail, but the story concerns the group of child military geniuses from Battle School and what happens to them after the bugger war when they return to Earth. (Ender and Valentine don't appear in the book at all.) However, most fans have long awaited more details about Peter, what he did on Earth, and how he rose to power. Other primary characters from previous books are Bean (main character from Ender's Shadow), along with Petra Arkanian and others.The author has an amazing knowledge of military strategy. More amazing, though, are the riveting dialogues between his characters! (He writes such intelligent and witty characters. I often wish I was half as smart!) Lest the talk of global strategy make this book sound dry, let me assure you that it's not. I had to discipline myself not to finish it too soon. :) Highly recommended.

When I picked this book up, frankly, I was worried. Several months ago, I read Ender's Game, and loved it. Not long after that, I devoured Ender's Shadow with gusto, becoming ridiculously enamored of the main character, Bean. But... how could this book, Shadow of the Hegemon, possibly live up to the high standard of the earlier novels?Well...it did! Card weaves a thick, suspensful plot about the political intrigue on Earth after the Formic Wars. We learn more about each character, their personalies, their secrets, their motives. Sort of an insight of why they do what they do. Petra and Peter in particular become far more in focus than in Card's other books. The storyline was surprisingly good, and not at all predictable.Do I recommend this book? Of course. But first, read Ender's Shadow, which is equally good (if not slightly better). Card's a great writer for people who don't like SF books, and those that know they do. Don't worry. You won't be disapointed.

When Orson Scott Card wrote this book he had a few limitations. First, he no longer had the magic of the Battle School to aid him. Second, he had to work around limitations he may or may not have meant to put in previous books. Last, he was writing a sequel, and that is always dangerous.Orson Scott Card, though, did a great job of overcoming all these limitations. The book made earth into the Battle School, and brought in even more elements. No longer were these kids all living in a world of their equals. They were now in a world of stupid Adults, and power-hungry nations.At first, I was afraid that a certain flaw in Bean's genetic makeup would severly limit this story. But, again, Orson Scott Card worked in the genius he used when he wrote Ender's Shadow. He made the book even more enriching, using Bean's limitation to further the story, and make it even more understandable. Few authors have this almost magical ability that Orson Scott Card has.Orson Scott Card was taking a huge risk by writing a sequel to a parrallel novel. He had absolutely never addressed what had happened on Earth, besides in one of his sequels mentioning that Peter had become Hegemon of Earth. He could have potentialy destroyed the characters that we all coveted so dearly in Ender's Game. Just making Petra one of the main characters was an incredibly risky move. Luckily, though, I'm almost completely sure that Orson Scott Card was aware of all this. He was very careful to keep the characters realistic while also using their genius to make the story all the more interesting.Orson Scott Card has shown us again and again his ability to make an engaging world out of just some words on paper. He has been able to suck us into a world that we do not want to leave. He has made us wish that Ender had really existed, almost made us wish that WE were the geniuses made to destroy an alien species. When he writes, he almost makes us believe that we are part of the book, that we ARE its characters. And this is why this book is so successful. Orson Scott Card does it again.

I couldn't wait to pick up my copy of Card's new book! Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow are important books for me so it is hard to be critical of this new installment. However, this book is much more accessible than some of the other Ender sequels and is a great continuation of Ender's Shadow. Bean is far from normal and he makes an interesting character to follow. Without giving any spoilers, it is great to finally read about Peter and the events on Earth after Ender's departure. Of course, the other books set in this universe have referred to some of the events that occur, but now knowing the story behind them is much more satisfying. If you are not familiar with the Ender series, please do not start with this book. Ender's Game should be read first for the pure joy of it. Then read Ender's Shadow and finally this book. You won't regret it. I have recommended Ender's Game over and over for more than a decade and have never had a negative response.