Ender's Shadow
A novel by Orson Scott Card

When I was young, I used to dream about being a student at the Battle School featured in Orson Scott Card's classic novel Ender's Game. The thought of flying around in zero gravity with a gun in my hand -- back when it was okay for kids to play with toy guns -- greatly appealed to my imagination; and the thought of being a child genius didn't hurt either. So when I heard about Card's new book Ender's Shadow, my interest was immediately piqued, and I was not disappointed.

But first, a little background of the whole series (for the three of you who haven't read Ender's Game). Note: If you haven't read Ender's Game yet, stop reading this review and immediately get yourself a copy. Don't worry, I won't be offended. I and the other 499 monkeys chained up in the basement here would be happy to know that you're reading such a wonderful book while waiting for our Great American Novel to be finished (side Note: The sound of 500 typewriters is really loud!)

Ender's Game follows the life of Ender Wiggin, a child genius who is taken from his home to be trained alongside others to become a future military leader. He is the best of the best, but he doesn't realize how important he is to the future of humanity. The sequels to the book -- Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind --are essentially a completely different series, for they take place 3000 years after Ender's Game, and deal with completely different issues. They are excellent books in their own right, but are of a different style then the original, thus should not be considered direct sequels.

And then comes Ender's Shadow.

This book is not a sequel either, but a 'parallel novel' to Ender's Game, for it describes almost all of the same events as the original, only from the perspective of Bean, one of the other genius children whose lives crossed paths with Ender. Starting from the time he was living on the streets, the book follows Bean as his intelligence is realized and he is sent to the Battle School, where he -- fortunately or otherwise -- must follow in the wake of the great Ender Wiggin.

Card not only answers questions that the reader may have had from the first book (such as one that was always bothering me -- where did Bean get the deadline for use in his special squad?!), along with others that the reader didn't realize needed to be answered, but he also adds to the complexity of the story by adding elements such as Bean's origin, and his relationship with the teachers at the Battle School. I cannot say more than that without spoiling some of the surprises that Card has left for the reader (No, really -- if I try, then I get shocked by this unfortunate anti-spoiler chip implanted in my brain. There is drooling, twitching, and the like... it's not a pretty picture). And Card accomplishes this without contradicting, or taking anything away from, the original story -- though he will change your view of how certain events transpired... [Insert Mysterious Music Here.]

If there is a flaw in the book -- the operative word being 'if' -- then it deals with the ending, which seems a little rushed, and indeed left some unanswered questions of its own (though that was most likely on purpose). The bottom line is that this book successfully returns to the style of the original, and is a perfect complement to Ender's Game. If you liked Ender's Game (and who doesn't?), then you'll enjoy Ender's Shadow. And if you haven't read Ender's Game (why?), perhaps this book will give you the desire to do so.

-- K. Burtt

Ender's Shadow is published by Tor Books, and is currently available in hardcover and Special Edition leather binding.

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