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A review by jayseejewel
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
5.0
9/10 ⭐s
An excellent story to read alongside Ender's Game. Not as great as the first one but still a thrilling read that made me want to read Ender's Game again.
✔ Pros
- We get to see a more fleshed-out character that was largely overlooked in the original book. He is still a genius like Ender but still has his own personality, flaws, and issues he has to work through.
- The pacing was good, just like the first. I found myself not wanting to read the adult sections as much but they were still interesting.
- The same sense of progression and watching the character learn over time.
- The villain was interesting. I liked how his character was so good at fooling people, then gets upended afterward while also unknowingly contributing to the MC's arc.
- It's cool to see everything from a new POV and I liked that this character got his own villains/arc rather than just tagging along with Ender's story.
❌Cons
- I didn't like the additions of bible verses throughout the story. They felt a little clunky and contrived, as well as being used out of context. It also made the religious characters feel a little stereotyped/hypocritical.
- There are sections that feel a little condescending and one-sided. For example, Bean makes assumptions about world politics that feel a little strange, stereotyped, or unrealistic (since it's talking about real world countries) but because the author deems it so, he is considered correct by everyone in the story. It took me out of the story a little bit and I may have preferred this story take place in a more fictional/withdrawn setting that's different from Earth in that respect.
Overall:
An enjoyable read. I finished it in about three days and considered rereading Ender's game again.
An excellent story to read alongside Ender's Game. Not as great as the first one but still a thrilling read that made me want to read Ender's Game again.
✔ Pros
- We get to see a more fleshed-out character that was largely overlooked in the original book. He is still a genius like Ender but still has his own personality, flaws, and issues he has to work through.
- The pacing was good, just like the first. I found myself not wanting to read the adult sections as much but they were still interesting.
- The same sense of progression and watching the character learn over time.
- The villain was interesting. I liked how his character was so good at fooling people, then gets upended afterward while also unknowingly contributing to the MC's arc.
- It's cool to see everything from a new POV and I liked that this character got his own villains/arc rather than just tagging along with Ender's story.
❌Cons
- I didn't like the additions of bible verses throughout the story. They felt a little clunky and contrived, as well as being used out of context. It also made the religious characters feel a little stereotyped/hypocritical.
- There are sections that feel a little condescending and one-sided. For example, Bean makes assumptions about world politics that feel a little strange, stereotyped, or unrealistic (since it's talking about real world countries) but because the author deems it so, he is considered correct by everyone in the story. It took me out of the story a little bit and I may have preferred this story take place in a more fictional/withdrawn setting that's different from Earth in that respect.
Overall:
An enjoyable read. I finished it in about three days and considered rereading Ender's game again.