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Shadow of the Hegemon

(The Shadow Series #2)

Orson Scott Card

3.95 · Rating details · 71,970 ratings · 1,626 reviews

The War is over, won by Ender Wiggin and his team of brilliant child-warriors. The enemy is destroyed, the human race is saved. Ender himself refuses to return to the planet, but his crew has gone home to their families, scattered across the globe. The battle school is no more.

But with the external threat gone, the Earth has become a battlefield once more. The children of ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 451 pages

Published December 9th 2001 by Tor Books (first published December 10th 2000)

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Aug 15, 2008 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2000-2005, military-fiction, audiobook, science-fiction, humans-rule-the-galaxy, children-behaving-badly, award-nominee-locus, war-sff, political-fiction

5.0 stars. Sometimes love is not a strong enough word so I am going to borrow from Woody Allen, "I LURVE THIS BOOK!!! This is my second favorite book in both Ender series (behind only Speaker for the Dead). In fact, like Speaker for the Dead, I thought this book significantly surpassed its predecessor, Ender's Shadow which I loved by the way.

This story takes place in the latter half of the 22nd century (so my poster above is for the 2208 elections), soon after the end of the Formic (aka Bugger) War when all of the gifted children of the Battle School that fought under Ender have returned to Earth. Upon their return, these gifted warriors all become instant national treasures in the eyes of their respective countries who want to use their vast expertise in strategy and tactics to assist them in the global war that they know is coming. It seems once the threat to humanity has been eliminated, people are going back to thinking of their own petty dreams of power...typical.

Ender, whose very presence on Earth was seen as too much of a destabilizing force, has agreed to be sent into exile to avoid a global fight over the use of his abilities. Personally, I think he should have shown up with his mates and kicked the idiots in power in their collective, narrow-minded asses, but that's just me.

Anyway, soon after their return, the former members of Ender's Army or “jeesh” are kidnapped and an attempt is made upon Bean's life. I won't give away any spoilers, but from this point forward the plot unfolds as a massive, complicated version of the board game "Risk" with moves, countermoves, alliances, betrayals and some absolutely stunning battle maneuvers with the end prize for all of this being global domination.

The scope of this book is amazing, but the best part about it is Card's writing and his attention to detail. Especially impressive is the dialogue between the various gifted characters (most notably Bean and Peter Wiggins) and how authentic it sounds. This certainly belongs among the elite installments of the Ender series and I give it my HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!

Nominee: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
...more

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Dec 29, 2008 Nicholas Karpuk rated it it was ok

I'm tired of you Orson Scott Card.

Ender's Game was fun. Ender's Shadow was a similar kind of fun in the same setting. I had hoped Shadow of the Hegemon would follow the nifty character of Bean back to Earth.

It does.... sort of.

Have you ever met one of those nerds who owns multiple editions of Risk? Who had complete DVD series spanning half a wall that's entirely about World War 2? Who owns board games relating to a single historical battle? That's how Card seems to roll these days.

This book scra I'm tired of you Orson Scott Card.

Ender's Game was fun. Ender's Shadow was a similar kind of fun in the same setting. I had hoped Shadow of the Hegemon would follow the nifty character of Bean back to Earth.

It does.... sort of.

Have you ever met one of those nerds who owns multiple editions of Risk? Who had complete DVD series spanning half a wall that's entirely about World War 2? Who owns board games relating to a single historical battle? That's how Card seems to roll these days.

This book scrapped the idea of character development entirely. We don't learn much about these characters we didn't already know. Card even acknowledges that the story is essentially RISK set in a near future.

I don't like RISK, I'm not interested in strategy. I enjoyed the earlier Ender books because I like the pacing and the characters. None of that is left here. We get a book where India feels like Thailand feels like North Carolina. He seems to preoccupied to bother with atmosphere or storytelling. None of the characterization or physical detail got through in this volume.

Maybe Card should stick to alien worlds and invented environments? Most of the last two books I read took place in a fictional battle school in space. Perhaps I should double back and read "Speakers of the Dead" instead of pursuing my current path.

The trouble is that Card appears to have become a bit of an ass in his old age. There's some really obnoxious political editorializing that goes off the rails in a few instances. I might not mind this as much in a political thriller, but this story is set 200 years in the future. The fact that his opinions are rather toxic and hostile does not make those moments go down any better.

Card has misread his audience. He assumed we all care as much about military history, strategy, and tactics as he does. The shift in priorities made this volume drag.

"Ender's Game" was a fast paced work of economic prose and it's sad to see how bloated and self-absorbed his style has become 15 years later. I'll probably stick to the stuff he wrote in the Reagan era. ...more

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Nov 30, 2010 seak rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011, audio

I enjoyed Shadow of the Hegemon but not nearly as much as Ender's Shadow, the first in the Shadow series.

I don't know, and I had this same problem after finishing Speaker for the Dead (Book 2 in the main Ender series), but I just feel like this series is getting beat to death. I'm not the only one right? As good as these sequels are, I still think Ender's Game (with possible addition of Ender's Shadow) should have been left that way, on its own, no sequels. I know, now I'm beating a dead horse.

I I enjoyed Shadow of the Hegemon but not nearly as much as Ender's Shadow, the first in the Shadow series.

I don't know, and I had this same problem after finishing Speaker for the Dead (Book 2 in the main Ender series), but I just feel like this series is getting beat to death. I'm not the only one right? As good as these sequels are, I still think Ender's Game (with possible addition of Ender's Shadow) should have been left that way, on its own, no sequels. I know, now I'm beating a dead horse.

I still have to admit this is a good book. It's well done as always, and Bean is a great character. In Shadow of the Hegemon, we learn more about Petra Arkanian and Peter Wiggin and guess who's back, Achilles (pronounced in the French way - Asheel).

I know Achilles has only been the "bad guy" for two books, but I was already getting tired of him to be honest. His motivations for his evil are explained, but I'm tired of it and ready to move on to another threat.

Now that the alien threat is over, earth once again turns to its old ways - countries are back at each other and the best military minds in the world, the battleschool kids, are the prime currency.

Other than great plotting and highly believable characters, Hegemon delves into some deep topics from time to time that I found quite interesting to ponder; notions such as, What is living without children? and, What does it really mean to live? Card makes some good arguments about our duty to the future.

One last thing regarding the audiobook - it's extremely well done, if you're into that sort of thing. The typical voice actors come back (like Stefan Rudnicki and Scott Brick) for another Ender installment and they're superb as always.

Why Read the Enders Shadow Series?

So far it's been a great series, on the same level as the original series (at least as much as I've read - to Speaker). The characters are extremely well drawn and easy to care about especially since they're so intelligent - you just feel smarter yourself. I'm looking forward to Shadow Puppets.

4 out of 5 Stars ...more

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Jul 14, 2011 K.D. Absolutely rated it liked it

Recommended to K.D. by: Rollie

Shelves: series, ya, sci-fi

This is my second book by Orson Scott Card (born 1951) and he is still to disappoint. I think he is a born-storyteller as I haven’t met anyone like him who wrote a book Ender’s Game in 1985 and after 25 years, it is now a full length series branching into several two excellent sagas, i.e., The Ender’s Saga (7 books, 9 short stories) and The Shadow Saga (4 books published called Bean Quartet, 2 forthcoming). So 11 books so far with related 9 short stories is something that I have not seen yet don ...more

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Aug 10, 2008 Eric rated it it was ok

I didn't enjoy this one as much as Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow. As in those two, the plot and action were just backdrop. The book was really about people deducing what other people were thinking. In the previous books, this was used for character development and I enjoyed it. In this one, it seemed like the author used it more as a gimmick. Rather than use it as a tool to accomplish something else, he just trotted it out to do tricks over and over. It accounted for most of the book and got ol ...more

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Feb 21, 2018 Kim M rated it liked it

Shelves: listened-to-audiobook, science-fiction

Shadow of the Hegemon follows the brilliant battle school children from the exciting space-centered, alien-fighting novel Ender's Game into a new political thriller.

Full disclaimer: In general, I do not like thrillers and I don't like heavy politics in books. However, since I already know and care about the battle school kids, I should have liked this book more. The book starts out with the kidnapping of all of Ender's friends except for Bean, who is instead nearly killed when his vacation home ...more

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Feb 20, 2012 John Strohm rated it it was ok

Listened to the audiobook. 2 stars for the book, one for the audio production.

First, the audio production: After the excellent production of Ender's Shadow, this book returns with the same actors, but gets everything wrong. The volume is too soft. Many of the actors mispronounce "hegemon" and in some places this is crudely dubbed over by a different actor! Achilles' name is pronounced inconsistently throughout. The music is terrible and too long. Overall, it sounds like a high school project and ...more

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Oct 06, 2020 Ivana Books Are Magic rated it it was ok

Shadow of The Hegemon is the second novel in the Shadow Series but my first book by this author. I picked it up from the library a while ago. I figured out that it didn't matter that I missed the first novel and that it won't be hard to follow the plot. It wasn't, but I ended up not enjoying the novel anyway. I don't think I will continue with this series. Maybe Shadow of the Hegemon is not the strongest book in the series, but from I read I doubt I would immensely enjoy any of it.

I found it ha Shadow of The Hegemon is the second novel in the Shadow Series but my first book by this author. I picked it up from the library a while ago. I figured out that it didn't matter that I missed the first novel and that it won't be hard to follow the plot. It wasn't, but I ended up not enjoying the novel anyway. I don't think I will continue with this series. Maybe Shadow of the Hegemon is not the strongest book in the series, but from I read I doubt I would immensely enjoy any of it.

I found it hard to relate to characters that are supposed to be teens and kids (brilliant, but still kids) because they sounded too much like adults most of the time. They did sound and behave like kids occasionally but not very often. Another thing that I didn't like was the cheesy writing. Petra lines are as cheesy as the cheesiest James Bond and action film blockbuster lines. Surely, a brilliant person like her could come up with something better. There were a lot of eye rollers in this one. I remember one of the kid character commenting how he will never fill out a uniform like some soldier but then going on how he is useful in his own ways. Eye roll.

There was a lot of repetition of ideas, especially in dialogues. For a while, I got my hopes up when the nun and Bean started discussing some ideas, but it amounted to nothing. Everything is so cliché in this book: the all powerful villain, the good guys, the kickass girl and so on. There is one line that says that Petra had so much testosterones the doctors didn't believe she is a girl. We are told that expecting to believe that she is a kick ass kind of girl. In fact, high levels of testosterones in young women can be due to various health problems and have nothing to do with one personality. Being a tomboy doesn't get you high on testosterone. I just found that line so off putting. I mean, does she have to be boyish in order to be a hero?

There were some good ideas in this book, but ultimately I didn't dig it. The concept is alright, but the book itself seems to be lacking in many ways. What can I say? This kind of science fiction doesn't appeal to me. This book reminds me of spy kids' genre and James Bond-like novels and that's just not my cup of tea. Besides, I'm not a fan of books targeted at young adults and kids that make them think the whole world is out to get them. Surely that is not the case? To conclude, this book was alright, had some interesting ideas and subplots, but for most part it lacks in the quality of its writing. ...more

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Jan 16, 2011 Leonid rated it did not like it

I hope I can finish this book. I liked the Ender quartet and Ender's Shadow too much not to try. Yet it is difficult to actually believe the same person wrote Shadow of the Hegemon and the others. Ender’s Game is a fun fast paced book of adventure while the other three books in the Ender quartet borderline on genius. The formulations of issues of xenophobia are uncanny in SFTD, Xenocide, COTM and integration of Christian beliefs into the mix yield an unparallel argument for empathy being central ...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Rollie rated it really liked it

Shelves: sff

God! I‘d been having an Orson Scott Card’s books marathon these last few weeks. So far, since there is nothing left of his books in my hand that I haven’t read yet, I’ll have to take a pause reading his books and resume till I find his other books then—especially the sequels of this book.

After checking the rating details of this book on Goodreads, I found out that I belong to those people who are twenty-two percent addicted at this. Unfortunately, since before reading a book, I always refer the God! I‘d been having an Orson Scott Card’s books marathon these last few weeks. So far, since there is nothing left of his books in my hand that I haven’t read yet, I’ll have to take a pause reading his books and resume till I find his other books then—especially the sequels of this book.

After checking the rating details of this book on Goodreads, I found out that I belong to those people who are twenty-two percent addicted at this. Unfortunately, since before reading a book, I always refer the rating detail before I read a book, this turned out a not-so-good logic to me. For this mean I shouldn't have rely my preference of picking a book at the rating detail nor should I be persuaded by the negative reviews of other readers.

After the successful battle of defeating the buggers, Ender’s Jeesh has been brought back to earth—to be with their respective families—except for Ender Wiggin who never has had the chance to be with his own family because his been exiled by Locke, who’s Peter Wiggin, his brother, behind the curtain. Contrary to what his brother has done to Ender, Peter Wiggin has a greater reason for him to do that, for he has foreseen what is coming to the lives of heroes who killed the buggers and sent down to Earth to join their family. Now, the beginning of what he saw is coming. The Ender’s Jeesh has been kidnapped, and
soon be doomed.

Bean has been in a trip with his family. After hearing the kidnapped of Petra Arkanian, he knows that the rest of Ender’s Jeesh will join her. For he knows and has foreseen it also what has to come, one reason could because on the current situation the most influential people are the heroes of the Earth. Because of Bean’s advance thinking, he has escaped from the people who want to kill him instead of kidnapping him. Now, the question that floats over the situation are: what nation is behind the kidnapping: Could it be the nation that offers to arbitrate and thinks they should rule the world, or those aggressive nations that think they have grievance, and also thinks they’re undervalued—belligerent and snappish?

For Bean, there is only one clue that serves right to conclude who’s the person behind it. Why would someone kill him instead of kidnapping him, like others? Unless, the person behind it is the person who hunts Bean since then—Achilles.

Again, Card impressed me with this book. I thought I could have thrown this away like his other book, Empire, but I was stunned at how my suspicion of inconsistency subsided. His latest characterization is fully equipped and tough. The development of the characters has obviously shown in this book, likewise the evolvement of the circumstances and emotion.

Card is at his best when Bean is at his peak. I deeply admire how Card created Bean and his personality—unruly, straightforward, brave, certain, genius, honest and sometimes innocent. I’m sure this is why I’ve fallen myself on this series. Bean becomes matured here and yet, he’s still the unbeatbale genius with the innocent looks I admire. His analogy of circumstances is quite exceptional. His weakness may be his physical features but his attitude and intellect make up for it. Add the innocence of his feelings and you can have the summation of a perfect hero.

I liked how Card expanded the personality of Petra Arkanian through giving her more exposure in this book. Her character as if hadn’t been valued well enough in Ender’s Shadow and Ender’s Game. But her existence here suggests how she’ll play the rest of the books of Shadow Series.

This book is majorly rotating on politics issue. But dare me, this book is different from other political books I’ve read and hated. I did find this book very much interesting in any form—politics, heroism and brain. The core of this book is how the kids managed to rule the world instead of grown-ups. The heroes have faced a harder problem here where they have to battle a war in a different field. It’s still admirable how the nations heed the plan to defeat another nation from the children who haven’t gotten their teenage years yet, except for Peter who’s thirteen.

In other way, I believe that those who hated this book are just being cynical for having Bean as the main character of this book instead of Ender. However, there are things I considered doing before I read and while reading this book. I had to lessen my interest due to some negative reviews. I had to be patient in order to catch up what they were talking about, and rereading the previous page is part of it. I had to search for political terms for me to understand the situation, otherwise I’d be lost. Lastly, I had to get into the characters and situation for me to never get bored. Overall, I did get into the story.

This may not be as page-turner as the Ender’s Shadow, but this is as interesting as its best. The complexity of the story aspect is not hindrance for a reader to like this book, unless since from the beginning he/she didn’t like this book. And yeah, that reason will really make sense even if you look at the rating details (again sorry, I shouldn’t have suggested that but it’s the only fact that I hold to convince you.) only one percent of readers dislike this book and some them are reasoned out the difference of Bean and Ender. The complexity of the aspects thus expands the learning of a reader on tactics and strategy—like playing chess. This book is also worth page-turning if you want to learn the histories of war. Another thing that makes this not-a-boring book I’ve read this year because of the witty shots of the characters.

This book is another reason for me to read the rest books of Card. And yes, rationally, it deserves my twinkling five stars. Watch out Card, for here I am to hunt down the rest of your best books.
...more

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Dec 12, 2010 Flannery rated it it was ok

Shelves: swords-and-lasers, i-want-to-go-to-there, audiobooks, kcls, read-in-2010, ya-space-quest-o-mine, series-enderverse

Honestly, if I hadn't read the third book in this series out of order and enjoyed it, I don't know that I would've continued the Shadow series. There were just so many things about this audiobook (and book) that annoyed me. Now, I know that a lot of OSC's religious views (and misogyny) come out in his books but this is the first one that has really annoyed me. A lot of his characters always "seem to know what is best" and it is frustrating to listen to. In addition, this particular audiobook is ...more

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Dec 20, 2007 ♥ Rebecca ♥ rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: fans of the Enderverse, war, and political intrigue.

Shelves: sci-fi, own-physical-copy, reviewed, favourites, enderverse

This was fascinating! As I am sure I have said in reviews for previous additions to the Ender series, I love seeing how the characters minds work. They are all so genius. This addition was a particular treat because the earthly war was something not previously visited in this series. So far, two books had been set in Battle School, and three had been regarding the planet Lusitania and saving the native species, the Pequeninos. I was surprised to see the characters caught in this new and exciting ...more

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Sep 25, 2010 Duffy Pratt rated it it was ok

Shelves: science-fiction

This book moved along at a pretty good clip. It was easy to read and kind of entertaining. I like Bean. So it was OK.

Except that it was really pretty terrible. All the Battle School kids are back on earth and they are basically shunted away as being "just" children. That means that all the kids who won the war for mankind's survival now have subordinate roles. And that's just fine.

But then there's Achilles. He got into Battle School, and was there for a couple of weeks. He got kicked out and sen This book moved along at a pretty good clip. It was easy to read and kind of entertaining. I like Bean. So it was OK.

Except that it was really pretty terrible. All the Battle School kids are back on earth and they are basically shunted away as being "just" children. That means that all the kids who won the war for mankind's survival now have subordinate roles. And that's just fine.

But then there's Achilles. He got into Battle School, and was there for a couple of weeks. He got kicked out and sent to a mental hospital because he has this slight problem that he's a sociopathic serial killer. So naturally, first Russia and then India and then presumably China put him near the top of their power structure and allow him to get them into major wars and to negotiate critical non-aggression treaties. The adults thus all trust the proven sociopathic killer with no track record of competence, while they all seem to mistrust the Battle School vets?

Somehow, in his incredibly annoying afterward, Card seems to justify all this by the examples of other great men like Alexander and Napoleon. (I may have Card's position wrong. I couldn't bear to do anything but slightly skim this afterward. It read sort of like the end of War and Peace. Mercifully not as long, but also seemingly devoid of content. For me, all it showed is that perhaps Card is even more arrogant than his main characters.) But Alexander was the son of Philip of Macedon, and the student of Aristotle. There's a reason he was leading armies. Napoleon may be a better example, but he at least proved himself in some engagements. By contrast, Achilles sole claim to fame was that he was thrown out of Battle School and into a mental hospital.

Finally, this thing takes place at least 100 years in the future. There's space travel, communication faster than the speed of light, etc... It's supposed to be science fiction. But for all practical purposes, there's no science fiction in it at all. Here, I give Card a pass, because it's pretty clear that he's just not interested. And yet, I still have a problem with it. The Battle School environment in Ender's Game and in Ender's Shadow is pretty cool. But in terms of how things work, it's really hard to square that environment with the state of technology here on Earth, which is pretty much straight from the mid-nineties. And it's also troublesome because they do have instant communication, not restricted by the speed of light. Thus, if Ender could command the fleet in the fight against the Formics, then he and Valentine could also at least have some contact or input into the Earth's events. Instead, its just ignored.

Yeah, this book was OK, but I'm no longer excited to continue the series. Maybe someday. ...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Sean Pagaduan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: scifi buffs, people who don't read too much but want to go through a decent book

Compared to other scifi/fantasy books, Orson Scott Card's Ender series is pretty good. I've read three of the four on the Ender series (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide), and two from the Shadow series (Ender's Shadow and this one). Shadow of the Hegemon doesn't totally ruin the series like Xenocide did, and the characters all seem true to themselves and are developed decently. Besides that, the book is marred with the usual flaws: unrealistic intelligence for young teenagers, writin Compared to other scifi/fantasy books, Orson Scott Card's Ender series is pretty good. I've read three of the four on the Ender series (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide), and two from the Shadow series (Ender's Shadow and this one). Shadow of the Hegemon doesn't totally ruin the series like Xenocide did, and the characters all seem true to themselves and are developed decently. Besides that, the book is marred with the usual flaws: unrealistic intelligence for young teenagers, writing that gets melodramatic at times. The book thankfully doesn't have the ridiculously long start-up time that Speaker for the Dead had, and it doesn't have the even more ridiculously tedious history of Xenocide.

Remember that throughout this story, Bean, Petra, Achilles, and Suriyawong are all supposed to be like, 14 or 15. Peter Wiggin is supposed to be 20. And throughout the story, they're taking over the world, outsmarting the highest officials, turning countries against one another for personal gain, etc. They're all supposed to be tactical geniuses who can almost perfectly predict their adversaries' and their friends' movements. The problems are obviously (1) that their ability to manipulate governments is just ridiculously unrealistic; and (2) their ability to understand each other on a quite frankly almost supernatural/telepathetic level is totally unrealistic.

It's unrealistic on a bad writing level. Everyone seems to have the same vocabulary ("matériel" is a surprisingly common word hundreds of years from now, I guess), the same sense of humor, the same pace of talking, etc. It's a problem that's characteristic of the rest of the series, but it's still a problem.

Orson Scott Card's also a huge fan of doing really dramatic paragraphs.

Like this.

These are just technical flaws, though. The story's character development is decent; the plot is decent; the themes developed are ok. It's a good book by scifi standards, but there isn't too much scifi going on, and there isn't really anything groundbreaking here. ...more

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May 12, 2009 Kevin Xu rated it liked it

Shelves: re-read

This book is terrible. It felt more like a Tom Clancy techno military thriller more than a SF book.

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Jan 11, 2020 Fonch rated it it was amazing

Dedicated with affection to Jorge Sáez Criado and an unimportant woman.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Ladies and gentlemen first of all I apologize for how dense my last criticism has been. I would have liked them to have been much shorter, but I tend to go too long. This book, which I'm going to comment on, also has history. Years ago in the happiest time of her life of 2006-2007 I met a person I loved her very much, and I spent nine wonderful months with her, and we talked about eve ...more

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Aug 17, 2015 Nick Dasher rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, owned-books, ya, 2015

Not nearly as ambitious as Ender's Game or Speaker for the Dead, or even Ender's Shadow, but just as well done. There's nothing Earth-shatteringly poetic or profound, it's just good clean fun. And what fun it is, featuring political intrigue, nonstop action, and always intelligent, occasionally hilarious dialogue. Needless to say, I enjoyed this entry in the Ender series immensely, and found myself wishing that I had found it years ago. Thirteen-year-old me would have eaten this up.

Despite what Not nearly as ambitious as Ender's Game or Speaker for the Dead, or even Ender's Shadow, but just as well done. There's nothing Earth-shatteringly poetic or profound, it's just good clean fun. And what fun it is, featuring political intrigue, nonstop action, and always intelligent, occasionally hilarious dialogue. Needless to say, I enjoyed this entry in the Ender series immensely, and found myself wishing that I had found it years ago. Thirteen-year-old me would have eaten this up.

Despite what I said about Hegemon being unambitious, it is in fact as important to the genre as it is enjoyable. Science fiction writers in the last decade or two have given up almost entirely on the idea of writing about the near future -- the premise upon which Sci-Fi was originally based. This is purportedly because modern technology is changing so quickly that attempting to make any predictions about what might happen in the near future seems futile -- by the time a book is published, it's ideas might already be obsolete. As such, Sci-Fi writers will either place their stories so far in the future that it doesn't matter if they're right (Ann Leckie, John Scalzi et. al.) or else remove all pretense of being realistic (China Mieville, steampunk etc.)

Viewed in that context, OSC's fearless attempt to write about world politics a few hundred years in the future suddenly appears very ambitious indeed. He has obviously taken some flak for this, as it is almost impossible to write about wars and diplomacy between different countries without somebody being offended, but personally I believe he deserves praise. He's pushing the boundaries of the genre forward by going where few writers dared to. Even more importantly, although admittedly not obvious from the novel itself, he made a concerted effort to not just make up some B.S. but to present a feasible picture of what the world might look like in the future, based on extensive research.

Not that I think he did a particularly good job of that. His understanding of the forces that drive history seem a bit naive and the idea of children leading entire nations - even genius children - is a bit of a hard sell that you just have to swallow to enjoy the book. Naturally, he will certainly be wrong in almost all of his predictions, but at least he's trying, and that's more than can be said of most. ...more

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May 17, 2013 Seth rated it it was ok

Orson Scott Card has a natural talent for stretching a novella into a novel. Pages and pages of dialogue simply regurgitate things we already know. Ideas and themes are thoroughly beat into your brain by sheer repitition. I find myself skipping entires pages without consequence because there is no content there. Between the fluff, however, is an engaging story. The consequences of sending all the student of Battle School back to Earth is fascinating and Card capitalizes on this. Poltiics and mil ...more

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May 30, 2011 Wendy, Lady Evelyn Quince rated it did not like it

Shelves: science-fiction, boring, series, read-in-2010s, own, fiction, speculative-fiction, suck-suckity-suck, reviewed, so-disappointed

I am sure that were I given an opportunity to converse with author Orson Scott Card regarding the vast empires, rulers/kings, and military leaders that the world has seen rise and fall, from Alexander the Great to the great Caesars, from Charlemagne to Charles V, from Napoleon to Hitler and Stalin and Churchill and Roosevelt, we’d have an engaging time. I’m boring that way (in fact that that’s how I once caught the attention of a former, handsome--yet equally boring--boyfriend, with a long conve ...more

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Sep 08, 2015 deilann rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Originally posted on SpecFic Junkie.

Ender's Shadow was fine, if not great. This book is bad and should feel wrong. Orson Scott Card decides to get weirdly preachy and weird moments, he keeps emphasizing how nothing but children matter, he's incredibly offensive to people with genetic disorders (cough ME), and he seriously says at the end that Guns, Germs, and Steel laid the ground rules for him. And everyone should read it. Oh, and he can't write women. Spoilers everywhere.

Wow! That was a lot to ...more

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Dec 28, 2010 Kate rated it liked it

Shelves: own, fiction

This actually deserves a 3.5 rather than a 4. Hello Goodreads! Give me half stars!

I'm tearing through this series at a rate of about one a day, which must mean something. I'm following the two storylines in parallel chronology (ish, as they move at different rates of speed), by which I mean that I've read Ender 1, Bean 1, Ender 2, and now Bean 2.

I like the Bean storyline because it deals with things that seem very real: the problems left behind on Earth after the globalizing external foe has be This actually deserves a 3.5 rather than a 4. Hello Goodreads! Give me half stars!

I'm tearing through this series at a rate of about one a day, which must mean something. I'm following the two storylines in parallel chronology (ish, as they move at different rates of speed), by which I mean that I've read Ender 1, Bean 1, Ender 2, and now Bean 2.

I like the Bean storyline because it deals with things that seem very real: the problems left behind on Earth after the globalizing external foe has been defeated. The politics are interesting, and I've enjoyed Card's handiwork in taking the far-seeing concept he used in the mid-80s (communication via "the nets") and carefully sculpting it into the real internet in these books, written in the 2000s. Bean is an interesting character to follow in his development, becoming almost likable in this book.

In SotH, Card gives us not one but three strong female characters. His lack of interest in female characters in Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow bugged me, but I knew that it wasn't a matter of discrimination - they just didn't fit in the Battle School world. (Although why NOT...?) Here, Petra gets her turn as an (admittedly largely passive) hero, as does another female Battle School graduate - and the meddling nun, Sister Carlotta, plays a central role in both the action and the emotional landscape. Strike that - there were FOUR strong women in this book. Mrs. Wiggin pleasantly surprised me here, although I found that Peter's character in this book was unconvincing as a future leader of the world.

Ender's Game, and to a lesser extent Ender's Shadow, was a blockbuster space opera movie. Speaker for the Dead was more like Medicine Man: quieter, contemplative, nature-y, with sparks of plot-driving action and intrigue to give Sean Connery a chance to act dramatic. (Although Ender isn't Connery at all. I actually keep picturing Card himself when I try to imagine an adult Ender; I wonder how much that corresponds to his relationship with his creation.) Shadow of the Hegemon is neither of those things; it's never going to win an Oscar. It's more of a Nicolas Cage political action-thriller with zooming helicopters and tense phone calls and ridiculous feats of computing derring-do. It's a James Bond movie with cartoonishly wicked bad guys and the femme fatales who betray them through seduction.

Is it as good as the books that came before it? Not at all. Is it entertaining? Definitely. ...more

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Aug 11, 2010 Lionel rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

The follow up to Ender's Shadow, this unfortunately showcases Card's tendency to write sequels for the sake of growing a successful franchise, even when the stories don't quite merit it. This is not a bad book, but it suffers in comparison to its predecessor.

Again, this book showcases many of Card's strengths: internal character monologoues reveal mostly well developed characters with psychological foibles; moral and religious discussions/debates; strong young adults. But, as with the first boo The follow up to Ender's Shadow, this unfortunately showcases Card's tendency to write sequels for the sake of growing a successful franchise, even when the stories don't quite merit it. This is not a bad book, but it suffers in comparison to its predecessor.

Again, this book showcases many of Card's strengths: internal character monologoues reveal mostly well developed characters with psychological foibles; moral and religious discussions/debates; strong young adults. But, as with the first book, Bean, by design, can't be as good a character as Ender (whose shadow does indeed hang over this and the following books, despite Ender himself being completely absent), and he just doesn't resonate with me as much as Ender did. Furthermore, the stage on these remaining Shadow novels has been expanded, and Card doesn't do as well on the large scale as he does with the small. The politics, intrigue, and wars just aren't as interesting as they would be in the hands of writers like le Carre, Ludlum, or Clancy. They just come off as a bit too pat. And the genius children card is just too overplayed. There was a good reason for it in Ender's Game, a reason that required the protagonists to be as young as they were. But now, back on Earth, we're in an environment where there should be several decades worth of Battle School grads on the world stage. Yes, Ender's jeesh had the benefit of working with Ender, and maybe that gives them an unexpected edge. But they shouldn't be *that* much smarter than everyone around them. Older Battle School grads do have more experience than they do, and at least some of them must be as smart as the lesser members of Ender's jeesh, and presumably the best of those former grads will be in positions of power at this point in time. And we shouldn't have to be reminded as often as we are that they're smart. And finally, Achilles just isn't that great a villain.

That all comes across as a bit harsh. The book *is* a page turner, and its entertaining enough. Its simply not up there with Card's best. ...more

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Nov 18, 2015 Davyne DeSye rated it it was amazing

Fantastic!

This sequel to Ender’s Shadow (also fantastic!) is a very different book from Ender’s Shadow, but wonderful just the same.

In Ender’s Shadow, we get a new look at Ender’s Game from the eyes of another of the genius children who have been trained in Battle School to save the Earth from the alien invaders.

In this sequel to Ender’s Shadow, the alien invaders are vanquished and humankind has been saved by these children. The children are sent back to Earth to their families after many years ...more

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Jun 04, 2011 John rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

A very smart, engaging read--though without the mass appeal of its predecessor, Ender's Shadow, mainly due to Card's decision to drop virtually all the sci-fi aspects, as well as to cut down on the amount of action contained in the story. What you end up getting is a lot of political intrigue and strategizing...like one of those alternate history novels, but taking place in the future. This would be a very difficult novel to pull off, seeing as how most of the characters in the story are geniuse ...more

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Jan 02, 2008 Missy Frederick rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Card fans, sci-fi readers, those who like books with moral complexity/well-developed characters

This is the second book I've read in the series in the same universe as the Ender Quartet. I read it basically in 24 hours, which speaks to its fast pace and readability. I'm starting to like this series possibly even more than the quartet. There are a lot of really interesting characters - the complex Bean, the ambiguous Peter, etc. Plus I really like the theme of genius kids who aren't cutely precocious, etc. This book deals a lot with military strategy, which doesn't tend to be my thing, but ...more

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Dec 13, 2013 Eric Lin rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Kind of similar to Robert Jordan's last few books in the Wheel of Time series, where he tries to write political intrigue, but doesn't do a great job. I think that real political intrigue doesn't get conveyed well in a page-turner format, since the only way to explain everything is through a ton of exposition.

We're constantly being told to appreciate how smart Bean and Petra are, with no real option other than taking the author's hand waving as evidence.

I think I'm slowly realizing that despite ...more

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Jul 24, 2013 Frank rated it it was amazing

Great Book!

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Aug 03, 2018 Cristina Petcu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fantastic, just fantastic. The first one was so emotional whereas this one was so political intriguing and complex.
P. S. I didn't expect that ending ❤ ...more

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Feb 17, 2019 Shane Ver Meer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I am really digging this series of books from the perspective of Bean, and I find him to be a more interesting and developed character than Ender. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the story advances. ...more

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Sep 06, 2009 Jacob rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2005-2010

March 2010
Previously: Ender's Shadow

With the ~~Bugger~~ Formic War over and humanity triumphant, the children of Battle School are no longer needed. Everyone gets sent home to their families in their respective countries which, due to the absense of any external enemy, maintain an uneasy truce. But hey, at least everyone’s united, right? The world is at peace, right? Everyone is going to live happily ever after and nothing will possibly go wrong...

...right?

Wrong! Remember the end of Ender’s Game, wh ...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Is this sci-fi?	2	4	Dec 17, 2017 09:40AM
Is it just me...	4	103	Dec 12, 2014 05:57PM
Brit. Lit.	1	12	Jun 02, 2014 07:54AM
Question about Achilles in the Shadow Series	6	68	May 30, 2014 03:37AM
Class of 2014: Shadow of the Hegemon	1	15	Mar 27, 2013 08:47PM

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About Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card

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Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.

Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series Th ...more

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The Shadow Series (6 books)

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Interview with Orson Scott Card

Mercurial gods are trapped on Earth in The Lost Gate, a new fantasy from a science fiction master.

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“Death is not a tragedy to the one who dies; to have wasted the life before that death, that is the tragedy.” — 45 likes

“What a laugh, though. To think that one human being could ever really know another. You could get used to each other, get so habituated that you could speak their words right along with them, but you never know why other people said what they said or did what they did, because they never even know themselves. Nobody understands anybody.” — 32 likes

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