Ender's Shadow

Ender's Shadow (1999) is a parallel science fiction novel by the American author Orson Scott Card, taking place at the same time as the novel Ender's Game and depicting some of the same events from the point of view of Bean, a supporting character in the original novel. It was originally to be titled Urchin, but it was retitled Ender's Shadow prior to release.[1] Ender's Shadow was shortlisted for a Locus Award in 2000.[2]

Ender's Shadow
FIrst edition
AuthorOrson Scott Card
Cover artistLisa Falkenstern
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesEnder's Game series
GenreScience fiction
PublisherTor Books
Publication date
September 1999
Media typePrint (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages379 (Hardcover)
480 (Paperback)
ISBN0-312-86860-X
OCLC41565235
813/.54 21
LC ClassPS3553.A655 E58 1999
Followed byShadow of the Hegemon 

Plot summary
Ender's Game series
Chronology

Bean is a homeless child living on the hellish streets of Rotterdam roughly around 2170 after escaping as an infant from an illegal genetic engineering laboratory. Highly intelligent and extremely young, he is on the brink of dying from starvation, but manages to convince a nine-year-old girl named Poke to let him join her band of children by offering her an idea. He tells Poke she should recruit a bully to help fend off other bullies who prevent them from eating at a local soup kitchen. She chooses Achilles; Bean realizes that Achilles is too dangerous a choice, but is unable to change Poke's mind.

Bean's incredible intelligence, creativity and determination bring him to the attention of Sister Carlotta, a nun who is recruiting children for the International Fleet (IF) for a war of survival against the alien Buggers. She gets him admitted to Battle School, despite official resistance and skepticism (they cannot believe that Bean scored the highest in all the tests).

Bean has to overcome being so much younger and smaller than the other child recruits. Eventually, after the others see how well he performs, they begin to compare him to Ender Wiggin, another prodigy who preceded him. Bean begins to ferret out secrets and truths about the school. Meanwhile, Sister Carlotta uncovers Bean's past.

Ender has been chosen as the best chance to save humanity from the Buggers; Bean is the backup in case Ender breaks down. Bean is assigned to draw up the roster for Ender's army. At first, Ender does not appear to recognize Bean's brilliance, but time shows that he was grooming Bean. He finally puts Bean in charge of a special new platoon to handle extraordinary missions. Ender wins combat games against the other, more established school armies; as time goes on, the other side is given more and more unfair advantages, but Ender never loses.

Eventually, Ender commands one side in electronically simulated battles; he is told that his foe is Mazer Rackham, the legendary hero who saved humanity from the Second Invasion. However, Bean deduces from various clues that the "simulations" are in fact real battles. Ender and his subordinates command (via the ansible, an instantaneous communications device) human fleets attacking Bugger planets. The pace increases and the enemy forces become stronger and stronger; through it all, Ender keeps on winning, but he begins to break down under the pressure. In the final battle at the Buggers' home planet, Ender faces seemingly impossible odds: his antiquated twenty ships and eighty fighters against thousands of enemy vessels. His only edge is a weapon - "Dr Device" - that can start a chain reaction that destroys matter, but only if the matter is concentrated enough. Ender freezes, unable to come up with a plan, until Bean's prompt (inadvertently) shows him how they can win. With the victory, the alien threat is ended.

Throughout the book, the main theme rests on Bean's struggle against the IF administration, which seems bent on breaking Ender, even if it means murder. Throughout all of this, Bean has to contend with the reappearance of Achilles and his own struggle to understand what makes Ender human.

He also makes friends with an older boy named Nikolai who is drawn to Bean because of their similar looks. It is soon discovered, through Sister Carlotta's research, that the two boys are genetic twins, except for Bean's genetic enhancements. Back in the lab, the scientist Volescu had turned Anton's Key, which meant that Bean's body would never stop growing - including his brain - until a premature death between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. Sister Carlotta ensures that Bean will get to live with Nikolai and his parents after the war. In addition, the book depicts the first of Bean's encounters with Achilles. At the end of the story, after they defeat the buggers, Bean is united with his real parents and Nikolai.[1]

Ender's Shadow is the first of a series that includes Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant, Shadows in Flight, and Shadows Alive.

Comics

A five-issue comic book limited series based on Ender's Shadow, called Ender's Shadow: Battle School. was released on December 3, 2008. It was written by Mike Carey, with art by Sebastian Fiumara.[3]

Awards

The novel has received numerous awards, including:

Translations
  • Chinese: "安德的影子" ("Ender's Shadow").
  • Czech: "Enderův stín" ("Ender's Shadow").
  • Hebrew: "הצל של אנדר" ("Ender's Shadow").
  • Dutch: "Enders Schaduw" ("Ender's Shadow").
  • Polish: "Cień Endera" ("Ender's Shadow").
  • Russian: "Тень Эндера" ("Ender's Shadow").
  • Spanish: "La sombra de Ender" ("Ender's Shadow").
  • Romanian: "Umbra lui Ender" ("Ender's Shadow").
  • French: "La Stratégie de l'Ombre" ("The Shadow's Strategy")
  • German: "Enders Schatten" ("Ender's Shadow")
  • Hungarian: "Ender árnyéka" ("Ender's Shadow")
  • Korean: "엔더의 그림자" ("Ender's Shadow")
  • Bulgarian: "Сянката на Ендър" ("Ender's Shadow")

See also

References
  1. Card, Orson (1999). Ender's Shadow. Tor Books. pp. 379. ISBN 0-312-86860-X.
  2. "2000 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  3. Enrolling in School: Carey on Ender's Shadow: Battle School, Newsarama, December 2, 2008
  4. "Ender's Shadow". Retrieved 2009-09-19.
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