benwillie 's review for:

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card

4.0

---

A continuation of Ender's Saga, this book starts (give or take a few hundred pages) where the other does in Battle School with Ender and his jeesh, particularly with the incredibly young child protege Bean, who escaped his captors before he was two by hiding in a toilet bowl and is capable of incredible mental feats from birth. (Spoilers) Turns out he has a genetic switch turned which lets his mind continue to grow and make connections throughout his life, but the downside is that life is unusually short as his body also continues to grow until he'll die from a heart attack. The series covers all that Bean accomplishes in his nearly two decades of life, and it's a lot. There are a fascinating amount of politics discussed as Bean assists Peter Wiggin (Ender's brother) with his...conquest? of the world, and in so doing achieves many military feats. I found all the mental games and military strategy and socio-political dance fascinating, even as Bean's character grows significantly as he forms relationships with others and learns what it means to be human, or as close as he can be. I appreciate the discussion of deeper ideas in this series, the same level of deep character development present in Ender's Game, memorable wordsmithing, and exceptional plot. But again, as I wrote about Ender's Game, I don't entirely agree with the author so take the series with a grain of salt. That said, it generally has excellent writing, intriguing plot, endearing characters. If you liked Ender's Game, maybe give it a read. (Or listen, the audiobooks are some of the best I've ever heard narrated.)