Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card was the first in a new series of novels in the Ender’s Game universe. The original short story turned book had made a hero out of a small boy who was a better tactical leader then anyone before him. The story then followed Ender as he spread out through the universe and did good deeds and wrote books and I lost interest somewhere in the 3rd book. Card then decided to write more about Ender’s time in Battle School, so he picked a character that was familiar to Ender fans, but hadn’t been developed much, Bean. So Ender’s Shadow follows Bean from his early days until the events at the end of the original Ender’s Game. Card sets Bean up as smarter and better than Ender, but without Ender’s leadership charisma. So how does the book fit into the Ender Universe? NOTE: Spoilers within

Bean is a small, physically helpless child in Rotterdam, but one who has an amazing intelligence. He uses his intelligence to make life better for him (which in turn helps out a lot of other kids). The intelligence helps him pick his way through life avoiding dangers. He accidentally lets a nun discover his intelligence and she takes him in and gets him ready for and accepted into Battle School. While in Battle School, the teachers see Bean as a backup plan for Ender, in case Ender can’t handle the stress of command. We find out that a lot of the things in Battle School that Ender attributed to dumb luck or his talent were actually setup by Bean. But this also lead to my biggest criticism of Bean.

He’s too smart and too analytic. Describing this book to a friend, I mentioned that a lot of the story was Bean taking a step and then spending two pages describing why he took the step, how the step would impact his plan and what step he would take next. The story spends too much time inside Bean’s head. The other problem I had was in the portrayal of the leaders of the Battle School. Two issues really bothered me.

First, there would be no way that the leaders would allow Bean to stay at the school without playing the simulation game. The military loves brilliant leaders, but they hate uncertainty. Without the personality and psychological information they would get from the simulation game, there is no way they would allow Bean anywhere near the plan. It’s too easy for a brilliant military leader to turn on their leader.

Second,  is Achilles. I know what Card was trying to do by bringing Achilles to the Battle School. He needed a villain big enough that Bean couldn’t handle on his own and would require help to dispatch. Since Bean’s biggest issue was always with that he was a loner, Card needed to show him engaging with other people. But Achilles, while a charismatic and street smart leader, is not nearly as smart as any of the other people in Battle School. He simply doesn’t belong (Not to mention that by the rules set up for Battle School, he is too old to start). When we get to later books, we end up with Achilles winning tactical battles against Battle School graduates, it get ridiculous. A charismatic person even with the street smarts that Achilles has, would never be able to match up with people who have spend years training in tactical and strategic battles when he was in Battle School for only a short time. He’s a cartoon villain who gets randomly powered up to whatever skill level is needed solely to present a big enough obstacle for the hero.

Overall the book is well written and a quick read. But the book has a few flaws which hamper the enjoyment of the book. Mildly recommended.