Ender's Shadow: Battle School (Ender's Game Gn) [Hardcover]

Mike Carey (Author), Sebastian Fiumara (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Ender's Game Gn | Publication Date: July 29, 2009

A mysterious orphan on the streets of Rotterdam, no bigger than a bean, will change the world. There's only one student at Battle School smarter than Ender Wiggin - Bean. Come join X-Men scribe Mike Carey (X-Men: Legacy, Ultimate Fantastic Four) and artist Sebastian Fiumara (Picture of Dorian Grey) for the adaptation of a Sci-fi classic. Collects Ender's Shadow: First Series #1-5.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Marvel has surpassed the dandy Ender’s Game: Battle School (2009) with this flawless, terrific graphic adaptation that expands the Ender Universe. The diminutive Bean grew up on the streets, where his keen, tactical intelligence help him survive and get him noticed by the insidious Hegemon, an organization charged with recruiting an army to combat the imminent invasion of insect-like aliens. Bean’s story can easily stand alone, though it runs concurrently with and reflects Ender’s rise through the rigors of Battle School and quest to escape the brutality of a vicious older-brother figure. While Ender was assailed by peer and psychological issues identifiable to childhood, Bean proves to be more of a fantasy figure; much of the enjoyment comes from the reaction his cold brilliance engenders in his peers and in adults, who begin to wonder who exactly is the puppet and who the masters. Fiumara contrasts the scruffiness of the streets and the cold technology of the school with sharp use of shadows and color, while Carey skillfully conveys sentiment and suspense in the search for Bean’s heritage and brings the mystery to a breathless and surprisingly emotional close. The book ends on a cliffhanger that demands its forthcoming follow-up or, better yet, a look at Card’s captivating source material. Grades 10-12. --Jesse Karp

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (July 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785135960
• ISBN-13: 978-0785135968
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Orson Scott Card is the bestselling author best known for the classic Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow and other novels in the Ender universe. Most recently, he was awarded the 2008 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in Young Adult literature, from the American Library Association. Card has written sixty-one books, assorted plays, comics, and essays and newspaper columns. His work has won multiple awards, including back-to-back wins of the Hugo and the Nebula Awards-the only author to have done so in consecutive years. His titles have also landed on 'best of' lists and been adopted by cities, universities and libraries for reading programs. The Ender novels have inspired a Marvel Comics series, a forthcoming video game from Chair Entertainment, and pre-production on a film version. A highly anticipated The Authorized Ender Companion, written by Jake Black, is also forthcoming.Card offers writing workshops from time to time and occasionally teaches writing and literature at universities.Orson Scott Card currently lives with his family in Greensboro, NC.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really well done, August 10, 2009

By 

R. Neal (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ender's Shadow: Battle School (Ender's Game Gn) (Hardcover)

I loved Enders Game and I thought that Enders Shadow was even better. I was very excited when I saw this book. The illustrations capture the feel of the story very well and I love how they tell the entire story with out leaving huge gaps. The only complaint (and it is a serious complaint) is that the illustrated book covers only half the original book. I was dying to finish the rest of the story! I hope it comes out soon.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good series!, August 11, 2009

By 

MindCreations (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ender's Shadow: Battle School (Ender's Game Gn) (Hardcover)

I am a big fan of the Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow series by Orson Scott Card so I was very interested when I discovered they were going to do a comic adaptation. I just received my copy in the mail and couldn't put it down, it was great! Illustrations are very interesting and it's cool to see someone else visualize the story. I hope they continue with this series and come out with more issues. I recommend!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars After the two Ender's Game graphic novels, this is a step up . . . by a little, May 19, 2011

By 

Braden E. Bost (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ender's Shadow: Battle School (Ender's Game Gn) (Hardcover)

I have a lot more praise for this than I did, or do, for "Battle School" and "Command School" for Ender's Game. I was much more engaged in the story here, as opposed to annoyed in the others. There are, though, a LOT of changes from the novel.

Some of them help tell the story in a better, visual way, as well as establishing relationships by using later-to-be-known faces and locations. That's good storytelling with a visual medium. I think most of the beginning of the story, where in the novel, Poke was keeping watch and spotted Bean, who sat nearby and watched her pay off a couple of 13-year-old-ish prostitutes--all the exposition we needed was in the narration, following her thoughts and observations. That crowds up a comic book, so here they showed her stealing bread from a bakery and the owner and a rich customer yell at her and talk down about her (established: poor, homeless kids fending for survival in the streets), then she runs into the bully Ulysses who demands the bread she stole--she gives it up, but once he leaves it's revealed that she has more stashed (established: we don't like Ulysses, and there's a system at work in the streets with these kids). There are a number of things changed in that fashion that I think worked very well.

There were a couple other things I think may cheapen the story, but I haven't seen them to their full fruition yet so it's hard to say. For one thing, Achilles is not hell-bent on killing Bean when he gets to Battle School . . . that comes later when he feels disrespected. However, here, it seems like he's relishing the opportunity to do him in. Also, it felt like they rushed him to Battle school too early. But like I said, it may be too early to call it on those things.

It's real weak points come from the same sources as the other two I've read so far. For one, it loses a lot by not letting us follow Bean's thoughts. This is especially crucial in the earlier parts of the story. We don't really get a sense that so much of what changes in the streets is from Bean's doing. Another thing is that it rushes from point to point and never lets you feel established. It's so short, and I'm not clear why. I've read graphic novels that are 10x this length and didn't feel long, but they make this series short and it feels rushed.

So as I read each of these, they're getting a little better each time. Maybe "Ender's Shadow: Command School" will be the best one yet (I already know it has some of the best scenes in it) . . . but we'll see.