Card, Orson Scott. The Shadow of the Hegemon. MacMillan Audio, 2006.
Reason read: to continue the series started in October in honor of Science Fiction month.
Ender Wiggin won the war against the Buggers with his elite group of child-warriors; none more brilliant than little pint-sized Bean. Only now in the 31st century, Ender’s Dragon Army is in danger as people now see these same children as weapons.
Shadow of the Hegemon is considered by some to be the fifth book in the Enderverse series. Others see it as the second book in the “Shadow” series; a parallel novel to Ender’s Game because we return to the character of Bean, Petra, and Peter Wiggin.
I enjoyed Shadow of the Hegemon the best because families of characters were more involved than in other installments of the series. I also appreciated that the ending to Shadow of the Hegemon was left open for a variety of plot twists in the next book.
As an aside, I cannot help but be reminded of “Stranger Things” when I read Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow. Children are going to save the world from aliens.
As another aside, every time someone said Achilles wants to rule the world I would hear the synth-heavy Tears for Fears song of the same name from 1985.
Quote to quote, “There’s nothing like casual murder to turn onlookers into vegetables” (p 326).
Author fact: Orson Scott Card also writes plays and musical.
Audio trivia: a great cast of actors narrate The Shadow of the Hegemon: David Birney, Scott Brick, and Gabrielle de Cuir.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror” (p 213).
~*LunaSea*~ 