Ender's Shadow

Description Orson Scott Card brings us back to the very beginning of his brilliant Ender Quartet, with the novel that begins The Shadow Series and allows us to reenter Enders world anew. With all the power of his original creation, Enders Shadow is Cards parallel volume to Enders Game, a book that expands and complements the first, enhancing its power, illuminating its events and its powerful conclusion. The human race is at War with the "Buggers", an insect-like alien race. The first battles went badly, and now as Earth prepares to defend itself against the imminent threat of total destruction at the hands of an inscrutable alien enemy, all focus is on the development and training 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 then 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 this new book, card tells the story of another of those precocious generals, the one they called Bean--the one who became Enders right hand, part of his team, in the final battle against the Buggers. Beans past was a battle just to survive. He first appeared on the streets of Rotterdam, a tiny child with a mind leagues beyond anyone elses. He knew he could not survive through strength; he used his tactical genius to gain acceptance into a childrens gang, and then to help make that gang a template for success for all the others. He civilized them, and lived to grow older. Beans desperate struggle to live, and his success, brought him to the attention of the Battle Schools 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.... THE ENDER UNIVERSE Ender series Enders Game / Ender in Exile / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind Enders Shadow series Enders Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight Children of the Fleet The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens The Second Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) The Swarm /The Hive Ender novellas A War of Gifts /First Meetings