Ender's Shadow

infobox Book |
name = Ender's Shadow
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Front cover.
author = Orson Scott Card
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Ender's Game series
genre = Science fiction
publisher = Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
release_date = 1999
media_type = Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
pages = 480 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-312-86860-X
preceded_by =
followed_by = Shadow of the Hegemon

"Ender's Shadow" (1999) is a parallel science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card with a plot covering some of the events in "Ender's Game" from the point of view of a supporting character named Bean. This book was originally titled "Urchin", prior to release.

Plot summary

Bean, the main character in the book, is an orphan living in the hellish streets of a future (roughly 2170 A.D.) Rotterdam, after escaping as an infant from an illegal genetic engineering laboratory. Being hyper-intelligent but extremely young, Bean's experiences all center around his need for food. He joins a small gang of children led by Poke and sets up a system in which they can all receive nourishment at a local soup kitchen. His incredible mind, creativity, and determination bring him to the attention of Sister Carlotta, a nun recruiting children to fight a war against the Buggers. At the training facility, Battle School, Bean meets Ender Wiggin, upon whom the fate of the world has been rested. From hacking through the system's computers, to drafting Ender's famous Dragon Army, Bean becomes Ender's friend.

He also makes friends with an older boy named Nikolai Delphiki who is drawn to Bean because of their similar looks. It is soon discovered, through Sister Carlotta's research, that the two boys are actually genetic twins, except for Bean's genetic enhancements. Back in the lab, the scientist Volescu had turned Anton's Key, which means Bean's body will never stop growing - including his brain - until a premature death between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. Sister Carlotta manages to ensure that Bean will get to live with Nikolai and his parents after the war.

This story takes the reader through Bean's experiences in Battle School and shows how Bean, though apparently peripheral in "Ender's Game", is much more important to the fate of Earth than he originally seemed. In addition, the book depicts the first of Bean's encounters with Achilles. At the very end of the story, Ender leaves on a colonization ship and never returns to Earth as part of a treaty. (After the war with the buggers, there is a war between several nations on earth. In the Locke Proposal, Peter Wiggin writes terms for a treaty, including that Ender will never be allowed on earth, as everyone fears he will become a general and other nations can use him to take over the world.)

"Ender's Shadow" is the first of a series that includes "Shadow of the Hegemon", "Shadow Puppets", and "Shadow of the Giant".

Graphic Novel

A graphic novel series based on "Ender's Shadow" is in development and its first issue titled "Ender's Shadow: Battle School" will release on December 3, 2008. [cite web|url=http://www.tfaw.com/Search?quick_sstring=battle+school&_results_sstype_search=|title=Things From Another World pre-sale listing|accessdate=2008-10-09]

Translations

* Chinese: " _cn. 安德的影子" ("Ender's Shadow").
* Czech: " _cs. Enderův stín" ("Ender's Shadow").
* Hebrew: " _he. הצל של אנדר" ("Ender's Shadow").
* Dutch: " _nl. ender's schaduw" ("Ender's Shadow").
* Polish: " _pl. Cień Endera" ("Ender's Shadow").
* Spanish: " _nl. La sombra de Ender" ("Ender's Shadow").

ee also

*List of characters in the Ender's Game series
*Concepts in the Ender's Game series
*List of works by Orson Scott Card

External links

* [http://www.hatrack.com/osc/books/endersshadow/endersshadow.shtml About the novel "Ender's Shadow" from Card's website]