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kamkanga's review against another edition
4.0
This book took a different approach than the rest of the series and it was nice. Card is clearly better at writing about children. There were no really boring or useless parts, and although the character development was rapid, the intelligence of the children mad it excusable. I enjoyed this book.
kitsuneheart's review against another edition
3.0
So, it's a satisfying end to Bean's story. But it is such an unsatisfying end to all the drama about Anton's Key. Unless Card comes back in the final book and makes it all relevant again, this book pretty much just becomes about Bean's children becoming super-smart and also long-lived. Basically, they're sort of getting set up as supermen.
The children all feel a bit flat. We have the leader, the semi-sociopath, and the nurturer. Basically...they're the Wiggins kids, watered down a bit. In fact, the leader son is named after Ender. Perhaps this is a setup to have them face off against the strange Peter II/Ender and Valentine II/Jane things running about in space. Rather than give everyone their own personalities, Card just recycled. And this is a bad time to practice conservation.
Also, making the daughter aware of her place as the nurturer and making her wonder if her awareness subverts the trope...does not subvert it. It just makes us aware that you're aware of how bad it is to put her in that role, and that you decided not to find some other way.
Overall, a book typical of the decline of the series, but at least it stuck closer to science fiction, instead of the weird fantasy populating Ender's plotline.
The children all feel a bit flat. We have the leader, the semi-sociopath, and the nurturer. Basically...they're the Wiggins kids, watered down a bit. In fact, the leader son is named after Ender. Perhaps this is a setup to have them face off against the strange Peter II/Ender and Valentine II/Jane things running about in space. Rather than give everyone their own personalities, Card just recycled. And this is a bad time to practice conservation.
Also, making the daughter aware of her place as the nurturer and making her wonder if her awareness subverts the trope...does not subvert it. It just makes us aware that you're aware of how bad it is to put her in that role, and that you decided not to find some other way.
Overall, a book typical of the decline of the series, but at least it stuck closer to science fiction, instead of the weird fantasy populating Ender's plotline.
supaflyballa's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book with mixed feelings knowing that Bean probably wasn't a big focal point in the book as all the rumours have pointed to, and of course I can't say the ending was entirely unexpected either with Bean's condition progressing the way it did.
As for the book, I felt like it was a very incomplete story. It felt like there was just a sharp end that didn't quite sit well with me. If I recall, OSC chopped the originally planned Shadows in Flight into the book we have now and also into Shadows Alive, so that might be why. But when you're looking at it all in all, it didn't felt like a lot was going on as a whole.
But of course, being the avid Ender's fan that I am, the character development more than made up for it. I'm just sad that I won't be reading any more about Bean.
As for the book, I felt like it was a very incomplete story. It felt like there was just a sharp end that didn't quite sit well with me. If I recall, OSC chopped the originally planned Shadows in Flight into the book we have now and also into Shadows Alive, so that might be why. But when you're looking at it all in all, it didn't felt like a lot was going on as a whole.
But of course, being the avid Ender's fan that I am, the character development more than made up for it. I'm just sad that I won't be reading any more about Bean.
rockingseahorse's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
3.0
I hate Orson Scott Card so much because his latest book about former Battle School students is clearly designed more to make money than to tell an essential story to the series, but I still read and enjoyed it.
This time around we finally get to hear what happened to Bean and the children sent out into space with him. It's five years after they set out on their voyage and the Antonines (or Leguminotes, as the children prefer to be called) come across what appears to be an ancient Formic colony ship. Could this ship hold the secrets to their survival or spell their doom?
To be honest, the book starts out a little too precious with the three children, Ender, Carlotta, and Cincinnatus, fitting their given names too well and basically being obnoxious child geniuses. Luckily, the action of discovering the ship propels the story along and things quickly get better. Still, this felt like a short story that was stretched into a novel. And while this one could have had repercussions on the events of other books in the series, Card wisely chose to keep it as a relatively small self-contained story. Which makes me wonder why the artistic choice was to turn this into a novel instead of release another bunch of stories like First Meetings.
The answer probably has to do with the fact that there's already another book following the action of this one set to come out this summer, and while I kind of hate myself for it, I will definitely want to read it. If you are similarly addicted, you know you're going to check it out, too.
This time around we finally get to hear what happened to Bean and the children sent out into space with him. It's five years after they set out on their voyage and the Antonines (or Leguminotes, as the children prefer to be called) come across what appears to be an ancient Formic colony ship. Could this ship hold the secrets to their survival or spell their doom?
To be honest, the book starts out a little too precious with the three children, Ender, Carlotta, and Cincinnatus, fitting their given names too well and basically being obnoxious child geniuses. Luckily, the action of discovering the ship propels the story along and things quickly get better. Still, this felt like a short story that was stretched into a novel. And while this one could have had repercussions on the events of other books in the series, Card wisely chose to keep it as a relatively small self-contained story. Which makes me wonder why the artistic choice was to turn this into a novel instead of release another bunch of stories like First Meetings.
The answer probably has to do with the fact that there's already another book following the action of this one set to come out this summer, and while I kind of hate myself for it, I will definitely want to read it. If you are similarly addicted, you know you're going to check it out, too.
rpych2's review against another edition
1.0
The Shadow series started off so well with the the first two books. The first was a retelling of Ender’s Game from Bean’s perspective, and the second was a political drama where Battle School’s most brilliant minds treated the world as their own personal game of Risk. But the third and fourth were pretty bad, there were unnecessary love stories that changed characters in the worst ways and the plots went way off the rails, and I had hoped that this would be a return to the first two. But man, was this one bad.
It was super short, and I guess that’s a positive. But the story moved along at such a slow pace, and the “danger” of the life support systems failing happened so early on in the story. The real main plot line of the story completely changed everything we knew about the Formics from the other books, and it ruined the story to a point. I also didn’t like how Bean’s children were basically direct ripoffs of Ender and his siblings from the original series, even down to one of them being named Ender.
Since the apparent last book is going to be a crossover between the Speaker and Shadow series, I’ll probably wind up reading it. But I wasn’t a fan of this one at all, and I wish this series had kept up with the quality of the first two books.
It was super short, and I guess that’s a positive. But the story moved along at such a slow pace, and the “danger” of the life support systems failing happened so early on in the story. The real main plot line of the story completely changed everything we knew about the Formics from the other books, and it ruined the story to a point. I also didn’t like how Bean’s children were basically direct ripoffs of Ender and his siblings from the original series, even down to one of them being named Ender.
Since the apparent last book is going to be a crossover between the Speaker and Shadow series, I’ll probably wind up reading it. But I wasn’t a fan of this one at all, and I wish this series had kept up with the quality of the first two books.
psydneigh's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
This one is about Bean and his 3 children with Anton’s key. Loved the drones storyline. Absolutely hated Bean’s suggestion of incest for his grandchildren.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, and Incest
humanignorance's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars. This serves as a fitting end to Bean’s story. The dialogue was generally entertaining and the plot held my interest, though I was hoping for more. There was a tad too much description and the middle felt a little slow.
rust_and_sunset's review against another edition
1.0
Bereft of character, life, wonder, creativity, and humanity. An emotional void. Made bearable solely by virtue of its almost insulting brevity.
An embarrassment. Card's better than this.
An embarrassment. Card's better than this.
mxmlln's review against another edition
4.0
Probably the most recently published book I ever read, only 6 months old. It was good. Not necessary at all for the Shadow series. Nevertheless, it was nice to be reading scientific fiction again. The family dynamic was very interesting and all the deaths poetic.