This boxed set contains "Ender's Shadow," "Shadow of the Hegemon," "Shadow Puppets," and "Shadow of the Giant."
"Ender's Shadow"
Welcome to Battle School.
Growing up is never easy. But try living on the mean streets as a child begging for food and fighting like a dog with ruthless gangs of starving kids who wouldn't hesitate to pound your skull into pulp for a scrap of apple. If Bean has learned anything on the streets, it's how to survive. And not with fists. He is way too small for that. But with brains.
Bean is a genius with a magician's ability to zero in on his enemy and exploit his weakness.
What better quality for a future general to lead the Earth in a final climactic battle against a hostile alien race, known as Buggers. At Battle School Bean meets and befriends another future commander - Ender Wiggin - perhaps his only true rival.
Only one problem: for Bean and Ender, the future is now.
"Shadow of the Hegemon"
The War is over, won by Ender Wiggin and his team of brilliant child-warriors. The enemy is destroyed, the human race is saved. Ender himself refuses to return to the planet, but his crew has gone home to their families, scattered across the globe. The Battle School is no more.
But with the external threat gone, the Earth has become a battlefield once more. The children of the Battle School are more than heroes; they are potential weapons that can bring power to the countries that control them. One by one, all of Ender's Dragon Army are kidnapped. Only Bean escapes; and he turns for help to Ender's brother Peter.
Peter Wiggin, Ender's older brother, has already been manipulating the politics of Earth from behind the scenes. With Bean's help, he will eventually rule the world.
"Shadow Puppets"
Earth and its society has been changed irrevocably in the aftermath of Ender Wiggin's victory over the Formics--the unity enforced upon the warring nations by an alien enemy has shattered. Nations are rising again, seeking territory and influence, and most of all, seeking to control the skills and loyalty of the children from the Battle School.
But one person has a better idea. Peter Wiggin, Ender's older, more ruthless, brother, sees that any hope for the future of Earth lies in restoring a sense of unity and purpose. And he has an irresistible call on the loyalty of Earth's young warriors. With Bean at his side, the two will reshape our future.
Here is the continuing story of Bean and Petra, and the rest of Ender's Dragon Army, as they take their places in the new government of Earth.
"Shadow of the Giant"
Bean, once the smallest student at the Battle School, and Ender Wiggin's right hand, has grown to be a power on Earth. He served the Hegemon as strategist and general in the terrible wars that followed Ender's defeat of the alien empire attacking Earth. Now he wishes for a safe place to build a family--something he has never known--but there is nowhere on Earth that does not harbor his enemies--old enemies from the days in Ender's Jeesh, new enemies from the wars on Earth. To find security, Bean and Petra must once again follow in Ender's footsteps. They must leave Earth behind, in the control of the Hegemon, and look to the stars.
Industry Reviews
"This fine follow-up to Ender's Shadow features that novel's hero, Bean (now a young man), wrestling with Card's trademark: superbly real moral and ethical dilemmas....The complexity and serious treatment of the book's young protagonists will attract many sophisticated YA readers, while Card's impeccable prose, fast pacing and political intrigue will appeal to adult fans of spy novels, thrillers, and science fiction." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Shadow of the Hegemon
"The novels of Orson Scott Card's Ender series are an intriguing combination of action, military and political strategy, elaborate war games and psychology." --USA Today
"You can't step into the same river twice, but Card has gracefully dipped twice into the same inkwell--once for Ender's Game, and again for his stand-alone 'parallel novel'. As always, everyone will be struck by the power of Card's children, always more and less than human, perfect yet struggling, tragic yet hopeful, wondrous and strange." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Ender's Shadow
"The publishing equivalent of a Star Wars blockbuster." --New York Daily News on Ender's Shadow
"The author's superb storytelling and his genuine insight into the moral dilemmas that lead good people to commit questionable actions make this title a priority purchase for most libraries." --Library Journal on Ender's Shadow This fine follow-up to "Ender's Shadow" features that novel's hero, Bean (now a young man), wrestling with Card's trademark: superbly real moral and ethical dilemmas....The complexity and serious treatment of the book's young protagonists will attract many sophisticated YA readers, while Card's impeccable prose, fast pacing and political intrigue will appeal to adult fans of spy novels, thrillers, and science fiction. "Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Shadow of the Hegemon"
The novels of Orson Scott Card's Ender series are an intriguing combination of action, military and political strategy, elaborate war games and psychology. "USA Today"
You can't step into the same river twice, but Card has gracefully dipped twice into the same inkwell--once for "Ender's Game," and again for his stand-alone 'parallel novel'. As always, everyone will be struck by the power of Card's children, always more and less than human, perfect yet struggling, tragic yet hopeful, wondrous and strange. "Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Ender's Shadow"
The publishing equivalent of a Star Wars blockbuster. "New York Daily News on Ender's Shadow"
The author's superb storytelling and his genuine insight into the moral dilemmas that lead good people to commit questionable actions make this title a priority purchase for most libraries. "Library Journal on Ender's Shadow"" "This fine follow-up to "Ender's Shadow" features that novel's hero, Bean (now a young man), wrestling with Card's trademark: superbly real moral and ethical dilemmas....The complexity and serious treatment of the book's young protagonists will attract many sophisticated YA readers, while Card's impeccable prose, fast pacing and political intrigue will appeal to adult fans of spy novels, thrillers, and science fiction."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review) on "Shadow of the Hegemon"
"The novels of Orson Scott Card's Ender series are an intriguing combination of action, military and political strategy, elaborate war games and psychology." --"USA Today"
"You can't step into the same river twice, but Card has gracefully dipped twice into the same inkwell--once for "Ender's Game," and again for his stand-alone 'parallel novel'. As always, everyone will be struck by the power of Card's children, always more and less than human, perfect yet struggling, tragic yet hopeful, wondrous and strange."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review) on "Ender's Shadow
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"The publishing equivalent of a Star Wars blockbuster." --"New York Daily News" on "Ender's Shadow
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"The author's superb storytelling and his genuine insight into the moral dilemmas that lead good people to commit questionable actions make this title a priority purchase for most libraries." --"Library Journal" on "Ender's Shadow"
