The Shadow Saga from Orson Scott Card
Book series review
I had previously covered Orson Scott Card’s philosophical Science-Fiction series starting with Ender’s Game and extending to 5 books. Orson Scott Card also wrote other books in the same universe, sometimes telling stories that went in parallel to the main series, covering other protagonists. The Shadow series consists of 5 books narrating stories around the main Ender saga.
Ender’s Shadow
This is not really a sequel to the 4 books in the Ender Saga. The series is a companion to the original series where Ender Wiggins is a child prodigy who joins a group of highly skilled children who are used against the "Bugger" alien army aiming to destroy the Earth. The original series covered several thousand years and followed Ender, his sister and various other protagonists in a series of philosophical/theological discussions which can sometimes be overwhelming. The "Shadow" series is happening in the same time frame as the Ender series, but the first book told Ender's story from the perspective of Bean, a prodigious child who had served with Ender in the War against the Buggers.
Mildly interesting, but I think it does not really add much value to the overall story, although Bean as a character has some importance to Ender’s Game. Bit of a disappointment.
Shadow of the Hegemon
The second book follows the story of Bean and other children from the original group who beat the aliens. It is filling a big gap, since the original trilogy jumped several thousand years to the future and skipped the story of how Peter Wiggin, Ender's brother, uniified the post-war Earth under his Hegemony. This followed from a brief period where all the child soldiers are being exploited by their respective governments to gain military advantage. As usual in Card's books, it is a bit verbose, but I would certainly advise this book to fans of the Ender trilogy, since it provides so much additional coverage for the events that were totally skipped in that trilogy.
Shadow Puppets
The third book is sort of a spillover from the previous one, with Petra and Bean trying to take their place in the new World governing structure after Peter Wiggin is trying to keep the delicate balance between the different nations trying to exploit the gifted child warriors after the enemy has all but disappeared.
Advisable for the fans of the Ender books, but could be difficult to follow if read independently.
Shadow of the Giant
The fourth book continues the story, but also delves into the past of Bean, a lovable character in Ender’s entourage. We see more into Bean’s past and also his efforts with Petra to move away from the Earth to make sure old enemies do not catch up with them.
Again, all of the books in this series is strictly tied to the original Ender books (mainly the first one) and such should be read after the original saga and in sequence.
Shadows in Flight
The fifth book in this series has events taking place a long time after the end of the fourth book, given that the protagonists travel at near-speed-of-light speeds and there is a time dilution effect. Somewhat independent from the previous ones, the book tries to make sure Bean’s story approaches its end gracefully. In general I liked the series, complementing gaps in our knowledge of some of the characters in the original Ender’s Game book.
The Last Shadow
This is the final book of the series where Bean and his companions are going to try to solve the problem of the deadly descolada virus (which was mainly the topic of the 2nd book of the original saga). I have yet to read the book and will be looking forward to it.