Ender's Shadow | ||||||||||
Orson Scott Card | ||||||||||
Tor Books, 380 pages | ||||||||||
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A review by Steven H Silver
Just as Ender's Game focused so tightly on Ender, Ender's Shadow focuses on
Bean. Card begins with Bean's childhood as a street urchin in Rotterdam, giving a clear
understanding of the survival odds which Bean overcame before he was discovered by Sister
Carlotta and sent to the Battle School. At the same time, Card manages to define Bean as
an underdog. Brilliant, but undersized, Bean never understands how other people view
him and always assumes he'll be overlooked due to his size.
At the same time he craves recognition, Bean realizes that going unnoticed is a survival trait for him.
Perhaps the biggest problem in the novel is Bean's intelligence and abilities. When
the reader is first introduced to Bean, the character is a 4-year-old boy living on
the streets of Rotterdam. Although Card eventually gives an explanation for Bean's heightened
intelligence, it doesn't really explain how he has managed to acquire so much knowledge
in such a short time living in the conditions he does.
Card gives Bean a chance to establish himself as a major character before he reintroduces
Ender to the action halfway through the novel.
Even then, while Ender's effect on Bean and the surrounding events is strongly felt,
Ender remains more an influence than a character. The decision to keep Ender in the
background is wise. Card has already demonstrated that Ender is strong enough to carry
four novels and a novella. Allowing him to intrude too much on Bean's story would have
decreased Bean's own stature in the book.
Another wise decision Card made in writing Ender's Shadow is the fact that the novel
stands entirely on its own. Although the reader will gain additional depth from having
read Ender's Game, knowledge of the earlier book is in no way necessary (and in some
ways detrimental) to the enjoyment of Ender's Shadow. That said, many of the themes
which were first addressed in Ender's Game are carried over into
Ender's Shadow, most notably xenophobia and child abuse.
The issue of child abuse is stronger in Ender's Shadow than in Ender's Game
partly due to Bean's circumstances. Rather than coming from a middle class family, as most
of the children at the Battle School do, Bean comes from the streets of Rotterdam. His
earliest memories are of fear rather than love and even when he manages to hook up with a
group of children on the streets, he still does so on their sufferance and continues to fear for his life.
The differences between Bean and Ender are important because they are the things which make
Ender's Shadow a novel in its own right, rather than simply a re-telling of
Ender's Game. Card has been able to write a novel which adds to his universe
rather than simply publish a book which trades on his earlier successes. Ender's Shadow
serves as a welcome return to this world to those already familiar with it and also can serve
as an introduction for people who have yet to make the acquaintance of Ender Wiggin.
Steven H Silver is one of the founders and judges for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. He sits on concoms for Windycon, Chicon 2000 and Clavius in 2001 and is co-chair of Picnicon 1998. Steven will be serving as the Programming Chairman for Chicon 2000. In addition to maintaining several bibliographies and the Harry Turtledove website, Steven is trying to get his short stories published and has recently finished his first novel. He lives at home with his wife and 3200 books. He is available for convention panels. |
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