The novel that launched the bestselling Ender's Shadow series—available for the first time on unabridged cd The human race is at War with the "Buggers," an insect-like alien race. As Earth prepares to defend itself from total destruction at the hands of an inscrutable enemy, all focus is on the development of military geniuses who can fight such a war, and win. The long distances of interstellar space have given hope to the defenders of Earth--they have time to train these future commanders up from childhood, forging them into an irresistible force in the high orbital facility called the Battle School. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin was not the only child in the Battle School; he was just the best of the best. In Ender's Shadow, Card tells the story of another of those precocious generals, the one they called Bean--the one who became Ender's right hand, part of his team, in the final battle against the Buggers. Bean's past was a battle just to survive. His success brought him to the attention of the Battle School's recruiters, those people scouring the planet for leaders, tacticians, and generals to save Earth from the threat of alien invasion. Bean was sent into orbit, to the Battle School. And there he met Ender....
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"This book is probably just as good as "Ender's Game". I found Bean to be a more interesting character than Ender, so this book was one that I was looking forward to reading - and I was not disappointed. Card's parallel telling of the tale from a different perspective is quite fascinating and not redundant."
— Serge (5 out of 5 stars)
“You can't step into the same river twice, but Card has gracefully dipped twice into the same inkwell--once for Ender's Game, and again for his stand-alone ‘parallel novel.' As always, everyone will be struck by the power of Card's children, always more and less than human, perfect yet struggling, tragic, yet hopeful, wondrous and strange.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Ender's ShadowAn absorbing, near-flawless performance.
— KirkusThe wonders of Battleschool and flashsuits and children's armies should keep readers turning pages.
— Publisher's Weekly (starred review)An exceptional work.
— School Library JournalI've saved my favorite for last; if you loved Ender's Game, you will go nuts for these fantastic full-cast recordings.
— Examiner.com on Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow" Big fan of all the Ender's books. This one related to Bean is on par with all the rest. I go back every so often to the series and it does not disappoint. "
— JKinPA, 2/2/2017" A little bit simple and author can't decide if character was strangled or stabbed, but still interesting. Reminds me of Niven, giving interpretation of same events from different characters. "
— Andrey, 2/15/2014" FANTASTIC! I must admit, I'm VERY jealous of the ingeniousness that went into this story. Though of course there is always a flaw somewhere, Ender's Shadow will not be know for any flaw it MAY have, it will be known for its surprising insight into the workings of the world. "
— Shelly, 1/28/2014" I've enjoyed a lot. I've read it after "Ender's Game" and It's a very diferent point of view. "
— Paco, 1/25/2014" After being disappointed in the later books in the Ender series, I was pleasantly surprised with the Shadow series. "
— Laura, 1/21/2014" Similar to Ender's Game but from a different character's perspective. "
— Allan, 1/11/2014" Even better than the first one "
— Cameron, 1/9/2014" interesting concept and good read, the teacher interaction are probably my favourite parts... "
— lluke, 12/24/2013" An excellent complement to "Ender's Game." If you read one, you really ought to read the other. "
— Karl, 12/22/2013" Everybody thinks they're the smartest person in the room, which gets annoying quickly. But I'm still curious to know what happens. Dang it. "
— Matt, 11/30/2013" I may have liked this more than Ender's Game. This book proved to me that Orson Scott Card is one of the master science-fiction writers. "
— James, 11/12/2013" Love these books. Great characters, good storyline, well developed. "
— Mary, 11/6/2013" If you liked Ender's Game, you will most likely love Ender's Shadow. At least I did. "
— Jessi, 9/23/2013" Parallel to Ender's Game. "
— Telma, 6/22/2013" I liked this almost as much as I liked the first book in the series. Love Bean! "
— Jan, 6/15/2013" Fantastic. Not quite as great as Ender's Game, but just as entertaining, and possibly more emotionally satisfying. Bean is a fantastic character, tragic, yet an incredible person. Definitely someone I can't wait to follow into the next stage of his life - his 7-year old life "
— Graham, 5/22/2013" Ender's Game really isn't complete without this one! "
— Eleanor, 4/3/2013" Good, but doesn't live up to the original. "
— Cody, 7/27/2012" Great retelling of the same events from Ender's Game. Loved meeting Bean and seeing more of his genius. Can't decide who I'm more interested in reading about next. Ender or Bean. Already ordered Shadow of the Hegemon. So I guess I've already decided. How do you pronounce "hegemony?" "
— Eric, 1/24/2012" Brent and Joe loved it "
— Kristin, 12/2/2011" This is a perfect book to follow a reading of Enders Game. At first, I was skeptical, but the "same" story from a different perspective was even more compelling. "
— Jess, 8/9/2011" Should've probably been two stars but I added one for a very entertaining and well-paced beginning and the book's general idea itself - which I find to be very cool. Other than that, the Christian overtones were so unnecessary and Bean's character inconsistent and not very likable. "
— mochicake, 8/8/2011" It keeps the quality of the game! "
— Sandra, 7/8/2011" I liked that this book focused mainly on the development of one character. While the plot was interesting, it definitely wasn't the highlight of the book. That came as Ender's character was molded and changed through the challenges that he faced. Very intriguing. "
— Camille, 5/23/2011" I fell in love with Ender. Read all of the books about him & enjoyed all of them. "
— Crystal, 5/22/2011" enjoyable read, the writing was a little turgid at times but still fun. Looking forward to the rest of the series "
— Martinxo, 5/22/2011" I tried really hard to finish this book, but I just couldn't. Definitley not my style. "
— Sarah, 5/20/2011" Somehow I missed this book as a young adult and listened to it on CD over several long car trips with my husband. We were both enthralled and was glad to catch up on this one. "
— Abby, 5/20/2011" I tend to avoid sci-fi in general, because I find that I am seldom persuaded by it. Orson Scott Card is the exception. His grasp of detail and storytelling draw me in, almost despite myself. This book is a classic. "
— David, 5/20/2011" I really liked the first part of this book, but at the end I was sort of lost. "
— Annie, 5/19/2011" I was absolutely inspired by this book. As much as I love Anne of Green Gables, I love a good political story with interesting characters and events. Fortunately for me, I am fairly child-like, so I didn't expect the outcome that occurred. It made it even more thrilling! "
— Julia, 5/19/2011" one of my all time favorite sci fi type book....not thrilled with the rest, but love the paralel ones "
— Laura, 5/18/2011" I've always loved this book. First read it as a kid, recently started re-reading the whole series. "
— Ryan, 5/18/2011" This is one of my absolute favorite books of all time. Card creates such a terrifyingly realistic utopian society and uses children to reveal true humanity. Ender is one of the best characters ever written. A must read. "
— Shannon, 5/18/2011Orson Scott Card, the author of the New York Times bestseller Ender’s Game, has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his works of speculative fiction. His Ender novels 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, American-frontier fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, and scripts.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.
Gabrielle de Cuir, award-winning narrator, has narrated over three hundred titles and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. She was a cowinner of the Audie Award for best narration in 2011 and a three-time finalist for the Audie and has garnered six AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her “velvet touch” as an actor’s director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost producer for bestselling authors and celebrities.
Bleak December Inc. is a multimedia company founded by Canadian actor and filmmaker Anthony D.P. Mann.