From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Card's latest installment in his Shadow subseries (
Ender's Shadow, etc.), which parallels the overarching series that began with
Ender's Game (1985), does a superlative job of dramatically portraying the maturing process of child into adult. The imminent death of Bean, a superhuman 20-something Battle School graduate who suffers from uncontrolled growth due to a genetic disorder, leaves little time for Peter the Hegemon, Ender's older brother, to set up a single world government and for Bean and his wife and former classmate, Petra, to reclaim all their stolen children. When Card's focus strays from his characters into pure politics, the story loses power, but it's recharged as soon as he returns to the well-drawn interactions among Bean's Battle School classmates whose decisions will determine Earth's fate. They were trained to fight a (literally) single-minded alien enemy, but that war is over. Now, as young adults in command of human armies pitted against each other in messy conflicts with no clear solutions, Bean's old cohorts must help create a peaceful future for Earth after they're gone. Card makes the important point that there's always more than one side to every issue. Fans will marvel at how subtly he has prepared for the clever resolution.
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From AudioFile
Bean was essential to the success of Ender in ENDER'S GAME. Now he is one of the few who has not acquired a powerful position, and his job requires him to keep the greed and ambition of others in check. The professional cast of narrators gives a spirited and dynamic reading of this science fiction series. Their individual styles are complementary, and the story passes among them seamlessly. They quickly become associated with the main characters, aiding the listener in following the threads of the plot. The only cast members identified by name are David Birney and Scott Brick, although others will be familiar voices to audiobook aficionados. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
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