Great book!

I just love these books; the "Ender" series and now the "Shadow" series, with Bean and Petra and Peter...I devour them!

Don't read this book if you haven't read "Shadow of the Hegemon" (which is preceded by "Ender's Shadow"). And if you haven't read "Ender's Game" yet, stop here and buy that instead!

Two things to point out, though:
1) This book does not end the "Shadow" series, and so far as I can tell the next book hasn't been published yet! So, while this book doesn't exactly leave you hanging, it doesn't resolve the story, either.
2) My only real complaint with these books are the love stories. I bought into the concept of battle school kids easily enough, and if you forget how old the characters are the story moves along fine. But I found that every time I remembered they're not yet 15, I recoiled a wee bit. I also note, however, that Card seems to realize this, and doesn't remind the reader about age very often.

Definitely another great addition to the "Ender" series - I can't wait for the next one!

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24 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

I hate those little muscial interlueds

Great book, Great Story, Great Reading. Every time the story paused for a little music, I was pulled from my entrancement of the book, and brought back to reality. It doesn't fit, It doesn't work, I wish they would stop doing this in the Enders books.

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21 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Card - stick to the story and stop prosthelytizing

For much of my life I have liked Card's sci fi, but these will be the last of his books I read. I do not want to support the type of homophobic prosthelytizing present in this book. I have known for a number of years that Card was a Mormon and although I disagree with many teachings of that church, I do not mind having a difference of opinion with someone as long as they don't shove it down my throat. This book crosses the line. It's not just a distaste for same-sex attraction - he very clearly endorses the ex-gay movement wherein gay people are reformed to live a "normal" heterosexual lifestyle (a pseudo-therapy which has been proven to be extremely psychologically damaging). One male character even admits to having been attracted to men and then reveals that his life has been made worthwhile because he has turned away from his "perversion" and married a woman with whom he will try to have children to redeem his life. I'm not reading between the lines and this is not just the viewpoint of one character in the book - the message is presented as inescapable fact that all of the characters must embrace in order to have fulfilling lives. Again and again Card speaks of how every man should find a woman and life is without value unless you have children to pass on your genetic material. It is a major plot point. Meanwhile, two teenagers well below the age of consent (I believe they're 13 or 14) marry and have children, which seems to be not just fine, but desirable in Card's universe.

I can't believe that Card took a sci fi (not a religion) book in such a strongly religious direction, potentially alienating a large fan base. I can't believe that the publisher let him do it. If Card wants to write essays or novels on religious doctrine, by all means, he should do so, but he should not embed them in a totally unrelated book, one whose characters we've grown to care so he hopes we'll keep reading. It's akin to a friend suddenly asking if you have a moment to talk about Jesus Christ and when you say no he tells you anyway. The repeated assertions that gay is bad and only through heterosexual marriage and lots of kids can your life be worthwhile is offensive to me and even if it weren't, it is unnecessary and distracting to the story. I hope that potential readers notice, as I did not, the reviews discussing the strongly homophobic agenda in this book before buying it. (Incidentally, several reviews have referred to the book as anti-gay-marriage... Card's message is more encompassing than a discussion of equal rights, he preaches the perversion of any same-sex attraction, period.)

Potential readers - I understand the desire to know what happens to these characters you've come to know over the past several books and if you absolutely must find out what happens in the rest of the Ender series, I suggest you borrow the books or try to buy them somewhere used or even read a summary. Don't buy the books new or on audio and give more money directly to Card and this publisher because that implies we're okay with the prosthelytizing Card has taken to injecting where it does not belong.

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18 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Not Card's Best Work

Any additional comments?

Reviews for this installment of Card's Shadow series were all over the map, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I do not agree the book is a tome on anti-gay marriage, although there is a conservative bent on the topics of marriage and embryo versus baby. My issues with the book are less political. The story was not particularly engaging or cohesive, and the journey of Peter Wiggin becomes increasingly inconsistent as these books go on. I'm still invested in Bean, but dissappointed in how the author has chosen to develop the Wiggins overall.

Some of the narration was just plain painful and again, inconsistent with earlier installments despite being read by some of the same narrators. Peter Wiggin is supposed to be in his teens/20s and he sounded like a whiney old man devoid of the brains and deviousness his character should embody. Gabrielle du Cuir is back with her breathy, overly drawn out delivery and a new twist on Mrs. Wiggin's character who now sounds like an obnoxious, hispanic, old biddy. Strange.

I've listened to these books one after the other, and after this installment, I'm taking a break. Overall, a necessary piece of the Shadow Series, but not the most enjoyable.

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16 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

The usually exciting Enderverse gets tedious

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I would say that listening was time well spent. But not because the book was great or greatly interesting. I saw it as merely a stepping stone to get to the next book in the Ender's Shadow series. It was a HUGE stretch of my imagination to relate to the characters in this book. The obsession with procreation is thrown at the reader. It almost made me embarassed just to listen to the endless talk of babies. I understand that due to the nature of Bean's condition, his life is a bit rushed, however, I couldn't quite digest how quickly his and Petra's relationship progressed. It almost ruined the story for me. The only break from it is the political and military maneuvering, which bored me.

Would you ever listen to anything by Orson Scott Card again?

Yes, I would listen to Card again. I am very interested in the Enderverse and want to see how everything pans out. I hope my disinterest in this book doesn't interfere with the rest of the series.

Did David Birney and Stefan Rudnicki do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The narration is good and that's a welcome relief! The mispronunciations and crazy editing heard in the previous book, Shadow of the Hegemon, are absent in Shadow Puppets.

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15 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Vital part of the series - excellent.

I was really concerned by the customer reviews here, as I so enjoyed the other books. I must have different standards (different, not better) but this was an excellent book! All the questions rasied by the first books are answered and the story is "fleshed out". Any preaching was minimal, yet the moral aspects were very well presented. I don't enjoy having any sermon pushed at me - all the years of political correctness on TV and the media have made me a rebel - and yet the parts that touched on religon and morals were among the most interesting. This is a "must have" part of the series, in my opinion.

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15 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Card folded on this one!

I have enjoyed all of the previous books in this series, however this one seems like Card was phoning it in. Just when I thought it couldn?t get any worse, it did...he gets so preachy! One of the things I find interesting about all of Orson Scott Card's books (in addition to the usually great characters, plots...) is analyzing how his religious beliefs help shape his (usually) excellent science fiction. So much of this book however was an undisguised sermon! and a boring one at that.
If you already read all of the previous books in the Ender series, you will probably buy this one, and its not all bad. - but don't say I didn?t warn you.

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14 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Anti-Gay Marriage Propaganda

This is my seventh book in the Ender saga (Speaker for the Dead is my favorite) and although I haven't loved all of them, this book is by far the worst. I don't believe in judging works based on the author's belief but this book just seems like a platform for Orson Scott Card to advertise the Mormon Church. He so vehemently argues that marriage is only between a man and a women and that having children is the most important thing in life. Shadow Puppets does not fit gracefully into the series and this book is barely sci-fiction. Card is an activist for the prevention of same-sex marriage. There would be no reason for me to know that if his writing in this book didn't prompt me to look it up.

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13 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Very good completion to Shadow series...

Unlike what "kwimalar" and others wrote, this is a very good book. It does *not* recount events from the previous books, but brings them to the necessary conclusion. I almost didn't buy this book given these reviews, I'm so glad I did because the story would be incomplete without this book. PLEASE, if you like the Bean/Peter/Petra storyline, buy this book. You will *not* be disappointed.

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13 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Card's worst - dull, dull, dull

For a big fan of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, this book was a pretty miserable experience. Scott's typical supersmart kids just seem over the top here, and the plot is both maudlin and rather dull. The emotional scenes are unbelievable, and the action is awkward. I listened to half before I gave up, so I suppose it could have gotten better...

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13 personnes ont trouvé cela utile