We've been extremely busy lately, so my movie watching has taken a dive. However, given that I haven't been watching any movies, I have had time to read for an hour or so each night. My most recent reading is "Ender's Shadow". "Ender's Shadow" is a parallel book to "Ender's Game", both of which were written by Orson Scott Card.
"Ender's Shadow" follows the story of Bean, Ender's right hand man. Bean is another brilliant child who comes to battle school via a much different route. We first meet the diminutive Bean at age 4, living on the streets of Rotterdam. Through a set of circumstances, Bean meets a kind nun who recognizes brilliance in him, and eventually gets him sent to Battle School. Though Bean is easily smarter than everyone at Battle School (including Ender), he struggles to find his way, but eventually reaches prominence as a member of Ender's Dragon Army. In the end, Bean ends up being an invaluable aid to Ender in the battle against the bugger's.
Although I really liked "Ender's Shadow", I liked "Ender's Game" more. To me, Ender is the more compelling character. Ender is brilliant by any stretch, except when compared to Bean. However, Ender seems to be a much deeper character, with far more internal struggle than Bean. I believe this is why Ender is more likable, and why Ender was a better commander than Bean.
What concerned me most about "Ender's Shadow" was that, for a long time, it appeared that the brilliance of Bean, would diminish Ender, who I really liked from Ender's Game. However, Mr. Card does a beautiful job demonstrating how these 2 young geniuses compliment and enhance each other's natural gifts (Bean's a super genius, Ender is a super leader). Ender needs Bean's ingenuity throughout the book, and Bean needs Ender to figure out how to lead and best apply that ingenuity to specific scenarios.
While I really enjoyed both books, I would recommend reading "Ender's Game" first, and then "Ender's Shadow" if you have time.
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