Shadow of the Giant (Shadow Saga) Mass Market Paperback – March 7, 2006

I love Card as a writer but his series have a habit of falling apart at the end. They usually start out full of action and with great characters but by the end of the series the action has mostly disappeared and you have lost interest in the characters and have problems reconciling them with the characters you grew to love at first. This didn't happen here.Bean has stayed interesting and true to his roots. The action has also kept up a steady pace. I loved the amount and type of action in the other Shadow books and this book consistently delivered what I had grown to like in the first books. There are also many emotional moments as Bean must face his impending doom. Unlike many of the other Card series this emotional crisis doesn't take over the story but is a very enjoyable element.The multiple story lines are also concluded in a very satisfactory manner. I especially like the fact that Peter Wiggins stops being portrayed as an inept, whiney idiot. That was not the character I had liked in "Ender's Game." After many dissapointing series endings lately I'm happy that one of the great series in Sci-Fi, which I always compare to the Harry Potter books in enjoyment and readability, has ended on such an up beat note.

The book came in perfect shape but the best part, the seller left me a post it on the front saying "Surprise, it's signed". It was indeed signed and the autograph looks legit from what I can find online. Either way, there was no extra charge for it and it came as a complete surprise that made my day. Love the book, like the author, and love the seller.. can't complain at all.

Perhaps it's because Card knew exactly where he needed to be at the end of this book, but it just worked for me better than the last two. There's less outright war, and more political manuveuring than the last two books. The political machinations are more complex, yet somehow more believable this time around.That plausibility might be a result of seeing the Battle School characters as human and therefore potentially flawed. In previous "Shadow" series books, the Battle School kids were all good guys, except for the cardboard cutout villian of Achilles. It fell to the other characters, mostly politicians, to display human fallibility.This time, the Battle School grads have serious character flaws of their own, and these flaws lead them into big mistakes. They also get into more and better conflicts with each other, which enriches the dynamic of the book.Characters are nicely done - a particular strength throughout Card's books. The tragic Bean, the acerbic Petra, the enigmatic Alai, the dashing Han Tzu - all are crisply drawn. I never, ever get characters confused with one another in Card's books, and certainly not in this one.The character development of Peter Wiggin is especially well handled. We already know from the very first Ender book (Ender's Game) that Peter becomes a beloved leader, and that Ender writes Peter's "obituary" as the second part of the his book The Hive Queen and the Hegemon. Now we get to see the other side of that story, including what Peter did to arrive at that point and how he was induced to get Ender (of all people!) to write his unvarnished life story.Not everything is tied up into a neat little package. The matter of Bean and Petra's children is handled well, but I wouldn't call the end result "neat".The open-ended matter of Bean's children leaves enough room for a sequel, I suppose, if Card decides to go that way. But I'd be happy to just leave the story here. The adventure of the Battle School grads is pretty much resolved, and we are caught up to events mentioned at the end of Ender's Game.If you've read the other three "Shadow" books, then you absolutely owe it to yourself to get the full end of the story by reading this one. If you liked "Ender's Shadow", but got bogged down in the other two sequels, I'd recommend giving the series another go just to finish off with this very satisfying completion.

This book puts a period/exclamation point on the saga of the Battle School kids; Ender's Jeesh; the war of 2 worlds & the history of one; and the young love between a "normal" genius and a super genius giant, who had been genetically altered as an embryo to turnon his super intellect.Superbly written. Edge of the seat action, yet also contained parts that were necessary to development of the story but were incredibly boring and put me to sleep. For me, the journey started with Ender's Game and ends with the Shadow of the Giant. But that's because I already know what happens to Bean and the babies that have Anton's Key turned.

Shadow of the Giant picks up where Shadow Puppets (Book 3 in the series and 7th overall) left off. Bean and Petra are still racing to find a cure for Bean , but with the added sub-plot of finding all of their babies before they fall into the wrong hands because of Volescu's. Peter is still trying to unite the world under one complete government/ruling-body, which is named the Free People of Earth (F.P.E).All of the Battle School graduates are still are war with each other and this presents a problem that eventually Bean, Graff, and Rackham must figure out the solution to.Overall, this book was a very fitting conclusion to the series (and there's not all that much to really write about in a 5th book in the Shadow series, so I believe it's the last). The ending like all endings to a series was fairly depressing due to just the ending alone and the fact that we will no longer see the character's we've come to know and love throughout the series. However, the ending does wrap up all the main plot twists and there are only a few minor ones that are left behind.If there's one thing though that always bothered me in the Shadow Series was the military planning by all the Battle School Graduates. It was difficult to keep track of what nation would be attacking who and how each nation would defend themselves while attacking another nation that was distracting them, etc etc.However, I felt that this book was a significant step above Shadow Puppets and anyone with a bitter taste after Shadow Puppets should stick it out to the end and pick up Shadow of the Giant immediately.You won't regret it.-Travis S.

Great book

All tied up like a bow. It is a lovely story and a great way to finish the joining of earth's countries into a united front for future tails.

As I've said before. Really enjoying this series. Has been brilliant throughout.

Another great book from Card, with excellent characterization and a thrilling story line.

去年、この本が出版されてすぐにハードカバー版を買って持っていたのですが、ようやく読み終え、このブログを書くためにアマゾンをチェックしてみると、今年の３月にすでに３分の１の値段のペーパーバック版が出ていました。ちょっと悔しい。ともあれ、今に至るまで僕が一番好きなＳＦ「エンダーのゲーム」シリーズの、謎や伏線がほぼすべて収束し、主要登場人物達がそれぞれの道を見つけ、歩み出したこの巻は、読んでおいて本当に正解だったと思いました。まだ、ビーンの最後の子どもの行方とか、ビーン自身の今後の運命とか、エンダーの仲間達の植民星での活動が「スターウェイズ議会」の成立にどうつながるのかなど、いろいろな含みもあるので、ここからまだまだ話をふくらませる余地はありそうですが、それは、このシリーズとは別の系列の話といった感じで、「エンダーのゲーム」からの一連の歴史の流れについては、この本で完結したと思いました。この本は、題名こそビーンを暗示させるものですが、全体としてみると、むしろピーターの方に焦点が当てられて、ストーリーが進んでいきます。ビーンは、まさに「Shadow」として存在し、消えていくキャラクタで、この巻では、比較的印象の薄い存在でした。ただ、終わり間際の、ペトラへの手紙のシーンには、ものすごく感動しましたが。いずれ邦訳も出ることでしょうが、「エンダーのゲーム」、「エンダーズ・シャドウ」、「シャドウ・オブ・ヘゲモン」、「シャドウ・パペット」と途中かなりの間を置いて続いてきた、このすばらしいシリーズの最後を飾るにふさわしい名作でした。