| Title | : | Shadow of the Giant (The Shadow Series, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1841492051 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781841492056 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 388 |
| Publication | : | First published March 1, 2005 |
| Awards | : | Locus Award Best SF Novel (2006) |
Shadow of the Giant (The Shadow Series, #4) Reviews
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4.0 stars. And so we arrive at the finale to the wonderful Shadow series on the heals of the tumultuous events of the previous three books,
Ender's Shadow,
Shadow of the Hegemon and
Shadow Puppets. For those that have not read the previous installments, there will be some spoilers below as the plot summary alludes to events that have occurred in the previous books. However, I will avoid spoilers for this book and will try and be as general as possible in the synopsis.
This book concludes shortly after the conclusion of
Shadow Puppets with the fall out from the momentous events of that story being felt around the world. Peter Wiggin, Hegemon of Earth, is trying to strengthen his fledgling “Free People of Earth (FPE)” and turn his figurehead title into a reality. Like the previous two novels, the central plot plays out like an enormous version of the boardgame “Risk” with Peter’s FBE competing and maneuvering against China, India, a revived Russia and a newly organized Moslem Empire. Each of these powers is being ruled or controlled by a former member of Ender’s Battles School “jeesh” and it makes for some fascinating move/countermove scenarios.
In addition to the main story, a significant subplot is Bean trying to find a cure for his condition, known as Anton’s Key, which continues to make him smarter and larger to the point where his size will soon kill him. In addition, Bean is frantically searching for his missing “children,” the fertilized embryos previously stolen.
While I did not like this as much as the previous books in the series, I still thought it was very good. The geo-political landscape of the future Earth of this series is such a fascinating place full of subtle intrigue and shifting alliances that it makes a great backdrop for the stories. I think Card did terrific job setting up this credible alternative future.
Through all 8 novels in the Ender/Bean series, Card, in my opinion, has not written one below “very good” and this installment is no exception. The writing is excellent, the tactical/strategic plot elements are very well done and the dialogue between the "gifted" characters is terrific. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
One final comment I thought would share. I find it interesting that both the Ender series and the Shadow (or Bean) series have followed the EXACT same pattern as far as my level of enjoyment. I loved the first books (Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow). I loved the second books substantially MORE (Speaker for the Dead and Shadow of the Hegemon). I then loved the third books of both series more than the first but not as much as the second (Xenocide and Shadow Puppets). Finally, I really liked but didn’t love the fourth (Children of the Mind and this book). If nothing else, OSC is consistent.
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. -
Who the hell decides to randomly re-read book 4 in a series that they haven't touched in YEARS? Umm. . . me? I guess?
I first read these books a really long time ago. Ender's Game had been one my favorite sci-fi books ever back in the day (I will never forget how I felt when I read the "twist" at the end of that book. It was one of those moments that literally put goosebumps on my arms. SO GOOD.)
I ended up reading most of the Enderverse books and liking them. I remembered that this was my least favorite of the series, but not why. I think I just thought it was the most boring one? I remembered there was a lot of politics in this one. I wondered if I'd be able to pick this back up with my older, more patient (and more mature? lol) self and be able to appreciate this more and look back at this series as a whole as an old favorite?
Um, NO. Jesus, no. This was so bad.
And no, my big criticism isn't that it's so unrealistic that teenagers are able to control and lead countries. I mean, we're all here at this point cuz we loved Ender's Shadow/Ender's Game, right? The book that had alien buggers in space? Sooo, I mean. . . I don't think "realism" is one of standards that I really need to hold the rest of these books up to lol.
I actually LOVE that part of the whole thing. Following the members of Ender's jeesh, these genius kids who have had elite training and lived through a nightmare together, going back to regular life on Earth. How Battle School was a veritable melting pot, but leaving and going back home meant testing your former loyalties and friendships cuz "home" was a country that wanted to use you to wage war against each other. It was fun and it was cool.
What I didn't like was how Card completely shits on all the female characters here. Doodoo, all over them. It stinks and it's bullshit.
If you've read enough of his books, you know this author can get preachy. His personal beliefs bleed into the pages every once in awhile, and the fact that he did this to all his female characters kinda gives me an indication as to how this dude must really feel about women in general.
Overly emotional. Irrational. Crazy.
That's what he turned his 2 main female characters into. Wtf?
Look, I have always loved Petra. You remember the first scene we get from her in Ender's Game, right?
"Petra Arkanian. The only girl in Salamander Army. With more balls than anybody else in the room."
How do you go from that badassery to this emotional baby-obsessed mess?? Card ends up destroying her character and using her for the sole purpose of being a mouthpiece for his condescension and utter disdain for anyone who doesn't think that making babies is the end all and be all of everything, and if you don't do that with your body then you might as well just go die or live in a cave somewhere cuz you don't matter in life.
And don't get me started on Virlomi.
Virlomi's the only female character at this point who is actively on the world stage with the boys. She got there by being smart, and strategic, and kickass. Just like the other Battle School guys.
And Card decides to turn her into a crazy person. Not only that, he decides to suddenly make her become stupid (the latter being the bigger offense in my opinion).
It's such bullshit the way he makes a point of having all his female characters fail at the things that the male characters ultimately end up succeeding in.
Not only that, he makes us actively dislike them (hey, he does the same thing in the other Ender books with Novinha and Quara). He makes sure to let us see them being completely fucking irrational and controlled by their emotions.
He doesn't do that with the male characters.
Again, it's bullshit.
And I won't even comment on how Card portrays Islam here.
This was a shitty book. The "fun" stuff can only get you so far. I wish I hadn't picked this book up again. It was definitely better being left in my memories as "the dull one in the series" rather than what it is now. -
După dispariția lui Ahile, ambiția foștilor membrii ai armatei lui Ender amenință să înghită și să sfâșie Pământul în lupte fără sfârșit. Cu un rol mai mult simbolic și fără o putere reală, Peter Wiggin, Hegemonul Pământului, încearcă să-și exploateze puțina influență politică pentru a pune bazele Alianței Popoarelor Libere și a unifica întreaga planetă sub un singur conducător, evitând astfel războiul.
Pe celălalt plan, Bean își împarte puținul timp rămas între Petra, căutarea embrionilor pierduți și consolidarea puterii lui Peter. Folosindu-se de prestigiul, instruirea și extraordinarele sale capacități intelectuale, el reușește să încline balanța în favoarea Alianței Popoarelor Libere, căreia încep să i le alăture din ce în ce mai multe națiuni.
Cu toate că are lipsurile ei (), Umbra Uriașului are farmecul ei - tensiunea care se acumulează treptat, mișcările politice care se aseamănă unui joc de șah, Peter Wiggin care se străduiește să mențină pacea lumii, Flota Internațională care visează să împrăștie Omenirea printre stele - toate se împletesc și conturează un deznodământ acceptabil al întregii aventuri (PS: știu că mai exista un volum al seriei, dar prefer să păstrez în minte acest final, cu Bean călătorind printre stele 😊). -
This is the fourth of the Shadow books, and in it, Card picks up the question of what happens to a lot of young people who have never known anything but war, as Ender's Jeesh and other key Battle School graduates take their places among the heads of state. It's thoughtfully done, if not carried to great personal depths in every case; so much happens in this story that a lot of the political maneuvers simply have to be summed up, and some of the important character development happens in just one or two scenes. Card has quite the knack for doing great things with lone scenes, however.
Of those great lone scenes, I was surprised at which characters' big moments affected me the most. This was Bean's book, and Petra's, and yet I have loved Bean and Petra for five books. I did not expect to love Peter. That astonishing little delight provided for a hefty share of the sweetness in the bittersweet ending, and in some ways, this was his book as well. The narrative hops perspective a lot, giving the reader sight into the various Battle Schoolers' struggles to shape the world and their own lives; it focuses on Bean and Petra, but Peter's genius and his motivations, his hard work and his healing are the central tale.
As for the Battle Schoolers' struggles, Card structures the military movements with outstanding logic, best as I can tell; he appears to have done his research thoroughly on the various countries involved, and everything from motive for action to the playing out of battle upon available terrain seemed thought-through and believable to me. Someone more knowledgeable of strategy than myself may catch mistakes, but the only thing I saw that resembled a flaw was in how briefly big events had to be summarized—probably a consequence both of word count limits and the fact that not every active country had a Battle School graduate to follow around.
But that abbreviating of key events was well made up for by the thoughtfully optimistic perspective on life and humanity that carries Card's work. If Shadow Puppets came off slightly moralistic, Shadow of the Giant reverted to true Orson Scott Card empathy and brilliance. The comprehension of human nature and culture, the compassionate philosophy, and the powerful, ever-hopeful drive toward light and redemption are overwhelmingly beautiful even amid grief.
And there is grief in this book. This is a tale of hope and happiness and suffering together, and it was both the sorrow and the beauty of it—and the truth of it, for that matter—that had me in tears for the last thirty pages this morning. Card shows redemption working in the most unexpected characters, of which Peter is only the most central, and his latter scenes allow for the existence and goodness of a God who has, as in Psalm 18, 'made darkness his hiding place.' It was those things, even more than the sorrow, that put my eyeliner to the test. (Both eyeliner and mascara survived the meltdown. I'm impressed.)
Card sold me on the ending, but I can imagine some readers being a touch less satisfied. A handful of threads are left unresolved for sequels' sake, and the heartache and sweetness are pretty inextricable. I'll recommend the entire Shadow series wholeheartedly to anyone who has read much of the Ender saga and loved it.
For anyone who has not read the Ender saga: if I taught writing, Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead would be required reading for an understanding of how to write humanity; but even for those only looking for some good reading, I recommend those two books almost without reserve. They are some of the best modern fiction I've ever come across. -
Things this books taught me:
Even if you save a planet by fighting an intergalactic war before you hit puberty, your life will be meaningless unless you have biological children. Also, the Islamic region exists only to take over the entire world and is more evil than the other people who want to take over the entire world, even though everyone else is also killing and fighting people because they think their way is better.
Things I wanted to learn in this book:
How Peter Wiggins was able to take over the world through clever manipulation and political tactics with the help of Ender's old war friends. -
Adam C. Zern offers his thoughts . . .
"When I completed Shadow Puppets I was as hesitant as I’ve ever been to continue reading the Shadow series, which is an extension of the Ender series. I felt the book was extremely weak in both story and character. It made me feel as if Orson Scott Card was wandering helplessly in the desert of his own imagination and never finding an oasis of meaningful creativity. Happily, Shadow of the Giant, the 4th book in the Shadow series, is a solid return to the character-driven, emotional core that made Card’s other Ender and Shadow books so good.
The best part of Shadow of the Giant is that one of the main conflicts and with it the main antagonist—Achilles—is gone. Bean’s personal war with Achilles was overwrought and its subsequent resolution was surprisingly weak. Now that it’s over it feels as if Card doesn’t have to slavishly return to the conflict as he repeatedly did in the last book. The meat of this book is the confrontations between a variety of characters and countries, which allows for more diverse and interesting scenarios. In other words, Shadow of the Giant is a whole lot more entertaining than Card’s last entry in the series.
Anyone familiar with any of the books in the Ender or Shadow series knows that they’re based on psychology as well as science fiction. Card sometimes meanders into too much psychoanalysis of his characters, which he accomplishes through stilted dialogue, but the characters remain fascinating. As I have said before, I am invested in these characters and will continue reading what Card has to offer in this universe even after the Ender and Shadow series are over.
By reading in their entirety the Ender and Shadow series in the Ender’s Game universe, I can honestly and confidently say that there are two books which are must-reads—Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow. The other books in the two sagas or worthwhile but only after deciding if the characters deserve your time."
http://thethousanderclub.blogspot.com/ -
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Going to have to reiterate my wish that these four books had been combined, heavily pruned, and polished a little, I'm afraid... I concur with
this review on most points... the endless geopolitical stuff got very tired early on in this book, and while it was good to see a little more on Alai and Virlomi (I really liked her story), the whole point of this set of things is Peter's rise, and the constant bogging-down of what could have been a really interesting, succinct examination of the powerplays in the ongoing Bean'n'Petra soapie story is just plain annoying at this point.
Haven't said this before but I'm going to have to, at this point: the enjoyment I *did* get out of the book is undermined considerably by the constant harping on about family and babies and marriage and babies and the point of life for women (and men, but mostly women) being babies... jfc. Can't fault the "active, intelligent and independent" female characters, but to have them all (pretty much) decide that family life was their one-true-calling and everything else is subsidiary, and that somehow Petra is the bad guy for following her intelligence rather than her womb until the Very Last Minute is just... ugh. And puhleeze - all that "Redeem the battle children with family life" stuff... pretty much everything in this quartet loses a star for that. But this book in particular. Alienating, distasteful, and an unpleasant surprise after the robust females elsewhere in the Ender saga. -
Wonderful!
This is the fourth book in the Ender’s Shadow series – and once again, is a book that can be read as a standalone novel.
This book in many ways continues the story of Ender’s older brother, Peter, attempting to (and getting closer to success) unite the world in peace – with Bean’s and Petra’s help of course. For me, this is also a much more personal story of Bean and Petra.
While the world politics continues in the background, Bean and Petra have found love, and – more amazing still – have decided to have children of their own. For understandable reasons, they opt for in vitro fertilization and end up with nine viable embryos. Bean and Petra immediately implant one and become excited (and terrified) at the prospect of being parents, especially as their child is likely to be a genius in its own right. Unfortunately, they discover soon after implanting the first embryo that their other embryos have been stolen. When no ransom is demanded, they realize the awful truth: Someone has stolen the embryos in the hopes of raising their own small army of indoctrinated geniuses that can be raised to become the new child-warriors the world is demanding. They must get their children back…
As always, Orson Scott Card’s writing is impeccable as is his characterization. And yep, I cried my eyes out at the end. Sigh. Great stuff! -
I couldn't be happier with how this series ended.
I feel like this book was just OSC showing off. It was as if he were attempting to write a book to show other authors how to develop characters. OSC took characters that the reader previously held in high regard and easily made them a villain as well as took previously, unlikeable characters and turned them to into charismatic heroes. It was a real treat to see these kids grow up and find out what happens to every story line.
While I don't want to give anything away, the end of this book is basically a dream for any fan of the series. Ever since I started the Shadow series, I've wanted one conversation to happen, and OSC does not fail in the powerful and moving dialogue which closes the final chapter of this series.
I'm a little torn about having Ender in Exile to follow up this book as I feel like I don't need anything else from these characters...however, as I said above, I feel like I've seen all these kids grow up and thus, I want to know as much as I can about their lives. I certainly do not expect EiE to compare to this final installment, but I am excited about it, nevertheless -
Here I am, yet again, drinking up page after page of vague, over-generalized international conflict talk like it is the sweetest ambrosia.
Card writes this series specifically for me, honestly. There is a part where Peter Wiggin and Graff talk about "if Russia does this, then China will do that" "if India does that, I will do this" in massively nonspecific and omniscient terms for a whole entire chapter. I love it. Talk to me about ten all-powerful genius kids playing war games with the whole world forever, please. A too-steady diet of this stuff is why fluffy, unrealistic fantasy world politics was all I could write about as a teenager.
This meat of this book is focused on the process of Peter conquering the world through diplomacy. The last few chapters jump and take us up to the coda of Ender's Game, where Ender talks to elder statesman Peter by ansible and writes his biography. The whole thing is chock full of little moments I gleefully enjoy: Petra and Dink finally talking, Virlomi throwing the former Prime Minister of India out on his ear, the email exchange between Carn Carby and Dumper, the jeesh reunion meeting, etc.
Unfortunately, it was also full of trash.
Xenocide Law Rating: Low-moderate. Most of the breeding kink stuff is over.
Treatment of Women Rating: TERRIBLE.
This book explains away Petra as having redirected all her ambition and hunger for power toward being a mother. That's why she isn't busy dividing up the world. That's why she doesn't come to the jeesh reunion meeting. That's why she's the only jeesh member safe enough to allow to remain on Earth. That's why she spent all of the last book begging and pleading and coercing Bean into giving her his babies. She finally gets to run a mini-war at the end, but even the narrative admits the campaign is "just cosmetic," and it's not enough to rehabilitate the last MANY books painting her with a massively different brush than was used for literally any other jeesh member.
Petra, though, is shafted only minorly compared to how Virlomi is treated. Virlomi is the only other really prominent female we have. She is the only one actually playing the game of world affairs with the boys. She is the only non-jeesh member allowed to take a starring role. She spent the last two books being wise and compassionate and singlehandedly liberating India. In this book, because all of the Battle School kids can't be omnipotent and omniscient, because ONE of them has to lose in order to resolve the pan-Asian conflict and it can't be one of Ender's jeesh, Virlomi takes the fall.
This still would have been bad, because we have only two centrally located female game pieces and that would have made BOTH of them the ONLY ones we have seen to genuinely fail. The way Virlomi fails, though, makes it even worse. She somehow loses her entire mind and abandons all strategy, reason, and tactics -- the very things that have allowed her to succeed thus far -- and ends up marching straight towards the enemy convinced that she is God. This, after throwing herself at Peter and then throwing herself (naked) at Alai.
What the hell? Couldn't she have kept some dignity? Couldn't she have tried something smart, and still failed? They go on and on in this book about how, if two equally brilliant minds are pitted against each other, the contest comes down to resources and circumstances. Couldn't Virlomi have lost because of this, without going straight up hysterically nuts? Without taking up Petra's line and demanding that Alai put a baby in her? But no. Apparently it is only male Battle Schoolers who are all-powerful and perfect, obsessed with changing the world. Female battle schoolers obsess over carrying children, and when they reach a certain point they "break." -
This was an almost completely satisfying conclusion for the Shadow series. I just wish that girl, Randi, would have gotten smacked around a bit.
But I really enjoyed that this addition to the series had more of the war games than the last. Shadow of the Hegemon and Shadow of the Giant are my favourites of the Shadow series for that reason. I also enjoyed having some sort of conclusion for all of the other characters, such as Alai. Especially Peter. I really enjoyed his character. Being a very different kind of brilliance from the other characters really made him stand out. And of course his accomplishments were the most impressive. This book made me cry alot, which is a good thing. Even when it was because of sadness it was done well, otherwise I wouldnt cry, I would just be frustrated. I was left feeling very satisfied. -
This absolutely made up for Shadow Puppets.
This is Peter's story. And Bean's. And Petra's. And Alai's. And Virlomi's. And Han Tzu's. And even Vlad's and Suri's. And you know what? OSC has finally spoken for them. And I know them, and care for them. And it isn't even about Ender anymore. In my review of Shadow Puppets, I declared that the jeesh members were only interesting to us in that they were related still to Ender. In a way, in Shadow of the Giant, it was another Wiggin that they revolved around- these characters did serve to reflect Peter and build his story, but they each also took on their own distinct character and value. Again I say, OSC finally spoke their stories. And, most importantly, he finally gave us Peter the Hegemon. A Wiggin as worthy of admiration as Ender.
A very satisfying end to this companion series. -
I am SO done with the series of sermons about biological determinism that these books have become. I will probably just keep going in the hope that’s I eventually like another as much as the first few. Peter is still good in this one, but only really in the last fifth of the book. And that’s the only good thing I can say. Card is of course great at writing political machinations, but that’s not enough for me to ignore everything like the heterosexism and pretty blatant Islamophobia.
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Wraps up so many things from so many other books, and so beautifully done. The moment I learned what volescu was doing I couldn't stop reading and it didn't let up. I didn't know if I was going to read shadows in flight after this but now I have no choice. Loved all the character development. Just overall great book.
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I read a lot of the negative reviews for Shadow of the Giant because about halfway through I kept thinking, "Am I the only one that thinks this is pretty much garbage?"
Card built his Ender empire both through Ender Wiggin and Bean/Julian Delficki, but in my opinion starting with Shadow of the Hegemon slowly flushes his universe and characters down the toilet. I was really impressed with Ender's Game even though I got tired of hearing, "Fart knockers" all the time. Ender's Shadow is the book that really made me a fan of Card's writing. The thing that killed it was how in Shadow of the Hegemon through Shadow of the Giant, Card began to interject his useless ideology into his writing. It felt like he was policing himself and not letting his full potential come out. I know that Card is Mormon, so I am not sure (but I heavily suspect) that one of his church leaders warned him that he was treading in dangerous waters with all the violence and profanity in his books. He mentions this in his afterward in one of his audiobooks. Honestly, there really isn't any violence or profanity. I think that the conversation spooked him and he began to police himself in his writing and began to interject his beliefs into his writing. The character that I have come to loathe is Teresa Wiggin and all her babies, babies, babies talk – then with Petra talking about the same thing. I feel like he went down an unrealistic path with pretty much everything. Why didn't he just let Anton be a homosexual? Again, it mind-boggled me that he put things in there that could have been left well-enough alone. I also hated the ending. I thought Bean came off as a whiner. Card tried to write him as some sort of altruistic individual, but from me, he came off and the ultimate "woe is me" person. I feel like this could have been one of the greatest novel series ever with just a few tweakings. It would have been nice to have it end on a happy note or at least a bittersweet one, but it was almost a joke.
The one thing Card has taught me as a reader and an author is to never censor yourself; never be afraid to allow the characters to be who they were meant to be. If the characters swear – let them swear 0r at least be a good enough writer to creatively pass it off in a way that doesn't come off as fake. That is why Stephen King is my favorite author. In his writing book "On Writing," he talks about how he never censors himself, and he doesn't let other people including publishers censor him either. I didn't understand the full power of what that means until I read Card's Ender series. It is such a letdown to realize that an author has let other people's opinions and beliefs get to him in his writing. It is sad, because Orson Scott Card is a damn good writer and he basically sells himself out to himself and the people that he fears, which is pretty unfortunate. The one good thing to come out of this is that I promise that I will never do that. I have no desire to be an Orson Scott Card. This will be the last Card novel that I will read for a long time. -
Orson Scott Card concludes his shadow series brilliantly in this novel, which details the search for Bean and Petra’s missing children and the onset of world peace under the Hegemon’s rule. Card takes us into the heart of Ender’s jeesh and the ambition that drives them. At the same time, he makes Peter somewhat more likeable as his true motives emerge.
The novel begins with a Chinese coup led by “Hot Soup,” resulting in him being crowned Emperor. Three key jeesh members now lead countries in rather close proximity, and all have aspersions of growth. Throughout the novel, Graff, Rackham, and Peter all encourage Ender’s army to abandon Earth and colonize other planets, pointing out the fact that if they do not, millions of soldiers will die in the scramble for supremacy.
At the same time, Bean and Petra are searching for the embryos stolen by Achilles and implanted in wombs throughout the world. We get only two glimpses into the mind of the woman who birthed the only unfound child. And, while the world domination comes to an end, the saga of these nonhuman children is left open, which will surely lead to another novel. I’ve found myself speculating just how far into the future space travel will make this confrontation; could it, perhaps, involve the great Ender himself? I am also interested in seeing what happens to Bean’s “alien” offspring. In short, as soon as the next novel comes out, Card has at least one buyer.
The story is fast paced and detailed. I love the fact that the solution to the problem of the Buggers has led to another problem on Earth. In short, the Battle School children, bred for a hunger to lead and an ambition for power, return to their homes and destabilize the world. But I also love the fact that the intelligence and ability to reason ultimately leads them all to the same conclusion.
Fast paced, powerful, and with a great story to tell, Shadow of the Giant keeps readers locked to its pages. The focus here is more on overall objectives and less on individual battles. Card has told yet another masterful tale. This story wraps up the life of the Hegemon, Peter Wiggin, and has humanized him. I have to wonder if it was the same story Ender might have written…but Ender’s tale was far shorter, as I recall. Either way, I look forward to learning what happens to Bean and his children, and whether young Achilles is ever found. -
I've enjoyed Bean's story, even more than Ender's, but there are a couple of things that have been nagging me throughout this entire series. Bean is supposed to be the most intelligent human being alive. I can't help but feel that Card can't even come close to properly portraying the smartest man alive.
First of all, it's ridiculous that Bean should spend any brainpower at all thinking about religion and God. Countless studies show a clear inclination towards atheism in people with high IQs. This is purely an artifact of the religious beliefs of the author, and I suppose I can understand why he would like to believe that a super-intelligent person would end up clearly admitting belief in some sort of God. I mean, if the smartest of us is willing to have faith, shouldn't the rest of us take a hint? Unfortunately, Card missed the memo: the smartest of us have already had their say, and the overwhelming majority of smart people have come to the conclusion that religious belief/purposeful ignorance is foolish and a waste of time. And I really don't care that he was raised by a nun. He's too intelligent for that and the sappy ending that his "hidden faith" allows for just makes him seem weak and pathetic.
Secondly, the reason Bean is the biggest brainiac of all is actually because his brain is supposedly still growing, still forming new neural pathways. Why is it, then, that he's only really good at military strategy? Why is it that he has so much trouble empathizing with and understanding the people around him? Empathy and intra-personal skills are just pathways in the brain as well, and he is able to practice nearly every waking moment! Bean should have grown into a genius in every right, not just in one area like a kid with Asperger's. You can tell when Card is having trouble writing about someone smarter than him; most of the time, Bean's "genius" only shows in some random intuitive leap or other. At least he was actually devising new, never-before-thought-of techniques back in the Battle Room. Now he's just an overgrown bag of hormones and awkwardness and grey matter. Literally.
For what it's worth, after all that, the rest of the book was entertaining. The semi-normal Battle School Brats kept things moving. And I would definitely like to see how Bean's last child gets resolved if any more books are written in the Ender Universe. -
Shadow of the Giant was much better than Shadow Puppets, but still not close to the first two books of the series. The basic plot of the last three books has been Battle School grads treating the world as their own personal game of Risk, which is so cool. But for whatever reason, some of the subplots just aren’t drawing me in as much, and some of the characters are getting really annoying. The Bean and Petra relationship felt kind of forced a few books ago, but just as I was starting to get used to it she tells Dink Meeker of all people that she’s still in love with him in an email, but not as much as Bean. Then after Bean goes off world to find a cure for his gigantism, she falls in love with Peter almost instantly, which is just ridiculous. And then at the end she says she loved him but never stopped loving Bean either, and I can’t keep up with all of it. There was Alai marrying Virlomi for reasons and then leaving in the night like three chapters later because he realized she’s actually crazy. Moral of the story, I don’t need the romantic subplots in this story (not that I don’t love them in other stories, because I really do) just give me the military genius of the greatest minds this world has to offer.
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От дребосък до гигант, засенчващ дори Ендър:
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/s...
Когато през 2012 г. изчетох всички издадени на български книги от серията за Ендър, си обещах да намеря и останалите неиздавани и да си ги прочета в оригинал, толкова бях зашеметен от поредицата, всяка от книгите в която има собствен чар и стойност. Но животът си течеше, нови книги се сипеха непрестанно и така и не се заех сериозно с това ми намерение. Докато преди известно време съвсем случайно в една книжарница в куп книги втора ръка не открих “Shadow of the Giant”, която е точно следващата неиздадена след трите от линията за Бийн – “Сянката на Ендър”, “Сянката на Хегемона” и “Сянката на марионетките”. При това не просто следващата, а завършващата тази серия. Купих си я веднага, разбира се, но чак сега, отпускно, намерих време за нея.
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It seems that as Card writes these series and drags them into four and five books or more, they degrade in quality. I’m not sure what about this novel made it less interesting than the rest, but it certainly was. I liked it, but not nearly as much as some of the others. I know some people steer clear of this or Card’s work entirely based on disagreements they have with his portrayal of homosexuality, but I don’t think it makes sense to judge a book solely based on that. Often I will read things simply because I know I will disagree with them, and I learn from them still. Taking this book as is, without the added layer of personal belief of the author, it still isn’t as great as some of the others.
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The ending of this book was actually very sweet, and . But overall, this part of the story still lacked the really compelling plot that I wanted. It was a very long conclusion. And the fact that feels like an unfair and unnecessary loose end.
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Fantastic just fantastic. I miss the characters already ;((( but still I feel they will be forever in my heart.
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I did not enjoy this book.
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A fun ending to my Ender bender.
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It's hard to write a review for a book like Shadow of the Giant, because it's really just the last chapter of a much larger story. I give 5 stars on this review not only because Giant was a great book by itself, but it also ends the series with the greatness it deserves.
Here is the order you should read the Ender books by Orson Scott Card:
1) Ender's Game
2) Ender's Shadow (The same story as Ender's Game, but from Bean's pov.)
3) Shadow of the Hegemon
4) Shadow Puppets
5) Shadow of the Giant
You might speak to others who would add the direct sequals to Ender's Game: Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. While the Shadow books follow Bean and the other Battle School Children back to Earth, the other books follow Ender on his journey through space. I left these books from my list intentionally. I started Speaker for the Dead and found it horribly boring, so I returned it to Amazon. The reviews I've read of the other books don't inspire me to pick them up at all. I read the books in this order, and I feel extremely satisfied with the result.
Shadow of the Giant has put a perfect little bow around the events that happened on Earth after Ender and friends saved us all from the Buggers. Over the course of the Shadow series, I completely enjoyed bonding with so many great characters. At the beginning they are small children in Battle School, and by the end they are young adults who have done great things with thier lives. The only thing I love more than a great story are great characters, and Shadow series gave me both.
I also enjoyed the political and military strategy discussed and analyzed throughout the series. I know, that sounds so boring--but the great thing is that it's not! There are long stretches where the characters talk to themselves, going over the different pieces that together make up the situation, and as the reader we follow their path of logic to its always satisfying conclusion. The politics of future Earth imagined in the series is one where actual current events might possibly lead to, and the fact that I could imagine it all happening just as described was part of the fun.
Now that I've finished, I might go back and try again with Speaker of the Dead. There are people that love it, so maybe I put it down too soon. OSC has also, just this year, published another sequal to the Shadow series, Shadow's in Flight. I won't even mention the premise of that book--just by saying what it is about would spoil some elements of the existing books. But I will say that I have strong hesitations about reading it. I feel satisfied with the way the series has alread ended, and the reviews of Shadow's in Flight have not been kind. I've got a lot of book on my reading list, so I'll probably wait. Maybe one day I'll get the itch to revisit this great story and what else Orson Scott Card can dream up--while the story ended well, there could still be much, much more story to tell. To me, that's a testament to the depth of the characters in the stories.
Goodbye Ender. Goodbye Bean. Goodbye Petra. Goodbye Peter. Thanks for such a meaningful experience.
If you can't tell, I give Shadow of the Giant and the entire Ender Saga as I've outlined it above my full recomendation. -
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Reread 10/17/21
This one is god-tier. OSC knows how to conclude a series. The emotions I felt while reading this one do not come often or easy. By the end of this book, my love for the characters have blossomed to new heights. We get a satisfying conclusion and know where each of the major players end up. All of Ender's jeesh, after being used and abused (and in some cases they are the ones doing the using and abusing) by their respective countries, find their rest. The Petra and Bean arc gets wrapped up satisfactorily (for now at least). And the world finds some kind of peace, or is at least on its way there thanks to the Hegemon.
This book really is a conclusion. It's certainly not a standalone story, but it was never meant to be. It's an extension of the three books that came before it and it serves that role beautifully.
Shadow of the Giant is certainly in my Top Three when it comes to the Ender's Saga. I love this book.
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Reread 2018 - 5 Stars
I honestly think that I like the final Shadow entry best in the series. Again, I'm not sure if this is because it is the best book, or that by this time, I have a deep love for the characters.
I will say, I think that Card does a great job at wrapping up plot lines. By the end of Giant, we know where each member of the jeesh is, we find the lost children, we see Peter's success, Bean's resolution, and finally, Petra's peace.
It must be very difficult to write a book that concludes a series well. Orson Scott Card did just that with Shadow of the Giant.
