Orson Scott Card

Bean and other members of Ender's Dragon Army return to Earth after their victory in the Formic War. All but Bean are soon mysteriously kidnapped; Bean turns to Ender's brother Peter for help.

Shadow of the Hegemon

Omar Fernandez

Petra, fearing Achilles, submitting to his power, had to watch him closely just to stay alive. And, watching him, she would come to admire him. It's a common trait of primates to become submissive and even worshipful toward one who has the power to kill them. Even if she fought off those feelings, they would still be there.

At the crest of one of Araraquara's many hills there was a sorvet shop run by a Japanese-Brazilian family. The family had been in business there for centuries, as their sign proclaimed, and Bean was both amused and moved by this, in light of what Carlotta had said. For this family, making flavored frozen desserts to eat from a cone or cup was the great cause that gave them continuity through the ages. What could be more trivial than that? And yet Bean came here, again and again, because their recipes were, in fact, delicious, and when he thought about how many other people for these past two or three hundred years must have paused and taken a moment's pleasure in the sweet and delicate flavors, in the feel of the smooth sorvete in their mouth, he could not disdain that cause. They offered something that was gemainely good, and people's lives were better because they offered it. It was not a noble cause that would get written up in the histories. But it was not nothing, either. A person could do worse than spend some large percentage of his life in a cause like that.

While this may bore those looking into just sci fi fun, I love these philosophical parts of the book, which there are many. Carlotta here is Sister Carlotta, a nun. And the joke, exquisite. 

To his surprise, Bean was stung by this. He understood enough of what Carlotta believed that he could have predicted this attitude, but the fact that she put it into words still hurt. "I'm not going to repent and get baptized, so I'm bound to go to hell, therefore no matter when I die I'm doomed," he said.

"Nonsense. Our understanding of doctrine is not perfect, and no matter what the popes have said, I don't believe for a moment that God is going to damn for eternity the billions of children he allowed to be born and die without baptism. No, I think you're likely to go to hell because, despite all your brilliance, you are still quite amoral. Sometime before you die, I pray most earnestly that you will lear that there are higher laws that transcend mere survival, and higher causes to serve. When you give yourself to such a great cause, my dear boy, then I will not fear your death, because I know that a just God will forgive you for the oversight of not having recognized the truth of Christianity during your lifetime." 

"You really are a heretic," said Bean. "None of those doctrines would pass muster with any priest."

"They don't even pass muster with me," said Carlotta. "But I don't know a soul who doesn't maintain two separate lists of doctrines-the ones that they believe that they believe; and the ones that they actually try to live by. I'm simply one of the rare ones who knows the difference. You, my boy, are not."

"That," said Carlotta with exaggerated smugness, "is proof positive of my assertion. You are so convinced that you believe only what you believe that you believe, that you remain utterly blind to what you really believe without believing you believe it."

"You were born in the wrong century," said Bean. "You could make Thomas Aquinas tear out his hair. Nietzsche and Derrida would accuse you of obfuscation. Only the Inquisition would know what to do with you toast you nice and brown."

Orson Scott Card finally explores what happened on earth after the war with the Buggers in the sixth book of his Ender series, Shadow of the Hegemon. This novel is the continuation of the story of Bean, which began with Ender's Shadow, a parallel novel to Card's Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender's Game. While Ender heads off to a faraway planet, Bean and the other brilliant children who helped Ender save the earth from alien invaders have become war heroes and have finally been sent home to live with their parents. While the children try to fit back in with the family and friends they haven't known for nearly a decade, someone's worried about their safety. Peter Wiggins, Ender's brother, has foreseen that the talented children are in danger of being killed or kidnapped. His fears are quickly realized, and only Bean manages to escape. Bean knows he must save the others and protect humanity from a new evil that has arisen, an evil from his past. But just as he played second to Ender during the Bugger war, Bean must again step into the shadow of another, the one who will be Hegemon.In Shadow of the Hegemon, Card can't help but fall back into old patterns. But while the theme is the same as in previous books--brilliant, tragic children with the fate of the human race resting on their shoulders--Shadow of the Hegemon does a wonderful job of continuing Bean's tale against a backdrop of the politics and intrigue of a fragile earth. While the novel is accessible, new readers to the series would be wise to begin with Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow. --Kathie Huddleston

Mostly just scenes of people explaining things to each other 

Andrew Ireland

I really enjoy the Ender's Series and the Shadow Series. Every book just explores different faces of human behavior, society, politics, religion, and more. This was no exception. I also just really like the characters - both Bean and Petra grew so much during this book, our favorite nun, etc. I will continue reading the Shadow series. 

Luca Masters

Hegemon leaves the confines of Battle School to enter a world of international politics, and as much as I love international politics, I was glad Card didn't abandon the characters and character-level plot. Bean grows, Petra grows, Peter grows (though he's relatively ancillary--he's neither protagonist nor antagonist), Achilles...doesn't really grow. In Ender's Shadow, for a few paragraphs, we actually saw into Achilles' mind. In this book, we see him act and others' evaluations of his behavior, but they add nothing new to his personality--in fact they fail to draw on the peak we got in the previous book.

Over all, this book is similar in style to the previous two and added an aspect I very much enjoy (high-level politics, not just individuals bickering and seeking power), but I didn't enjoy it quite as much. Achilles did not interest me, and the genius of Bean, Peter, etc. occasionally felt unbelievable to me when applied to human behavior rather than strategy. There's a point where Bean insists Achilles would have at least three back-ups--why at least three? I don't care how smart Achilles is or how well Bean knows him. Humans make decisions far too arbitrarily and options are far too varied to be predicted with that degree of specificity. Attempts to display the intelligence of the characters ranged from really good to kind of terrible.

Though not as good as Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow, this is definitely worth reading if you loved the previous two in this thread.

Todd Luallen

A very well written book in the series, but not nearly as exciting as Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow. This book, by Card's own admission, is setting up "the big game" of world domination played by the countries of the world. In the audiobook he has a short postscript at the end of the novel in which he talks about his love for the game "Risk" in his youth, and his sleepless nights of thinking of various countries expanding their borders through conquest and war. His description helps the reader understand why he wrote the book the way he did, but it doesn't make it more exciting. I definitely prefer hearing the personal stories about Bean, Petra, and the other Battle School grads. 

Card does weave the stories of the kids from Battle School into "the big game" but I still was left wanting a bit more. I wanted more mini-conflicts between the Bean and his nemesis. In the end I felt a little let down. Having said that I will say that the book is a page turner and I enjoyed the story, it just wasn't on the same level as the previous two books in the series...not by a long shot.

'The characterizations are first class, and the fast-paced action features one hair-raising episode after another....Shadow of the Hegemon is so nicely integrated into the rest of the Ender canon that readers will be completely enthralled.' - Booklist 'Shadow of the Hegemon is an ideal book with which to start your science fiction year.' - Rocky Mountain News Orson Scott Card's award-winning Ender series is a genuine classic of science fiction. With ENDER'S SHADOW, the first book in the Shadow Saga, he took the series into fascinating new territory. For Ender Wiggin was not the only young recruit to be trained at Battle School. Ender Wiggin and his fellow pupils at Battle School have defeated the alien forces in an extraordinary military operation. Ender's destiny among the stars awaits him, but for his young army it is time to return to earth. One by one, however, they are disappearing. Earth faces a new danger, only this time the enemy is much closer to home. The second book in the new Ender series by bestselling author Orson Scott Card. Books by Orson Scott Card: Alvin Maker novels Seventh Son Red Prophet Prentice Alvin Alvin Journeyman Heartfire The Crystal City Ender Wiggin Saga Ender's Game Speaker for the Dead Xenocide Children of the Mind Ender in Exile Homecoming The Memory of the Earth The Call of the Earth The Ships of the Earth Earthfall Earthborn First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) Earth Unaware Earth Afire Earth Awakens

Book 2 of The Shadow Saga

Shadow Of The Hegemon

Lucia 

Great way to continue with the Shadow Series, beautiful ending which invites the reader to continue with it. A little dense through the book but enough to be satisfied with it in the end. 

Ben Nathan

Very good. Enjoyed Greatly. Looking forward to more in this part of the series. It got a little "religion makes people great" preachy in the middle chapters, but otherwise was just good.

Kireth Sandhu

Shadow of the Hegemon was undoubtedly entertaining, but I felt there was something missing from the book when it stands alone. Key events for the overall story occur, such as Petra's kidnapping, Achilles' accension to power and the first interactions between Peter Wiggin and Bean. But everything seems to move so slowly, and is long foreshadowed/signalled/repeated thus reducing its impact. 

Alternatively, the new setting of futuristic Earth after multiple Ender books and this novel's predecessor set in space is refreshing, and credit to Card for the international conflicts which occur in a logical and well-researched manner. Hopefully the sequel propels the story forward.

Erik Horton

Shadow of the Hegemon (Ender's Shadow)

Ruby Long

Jem Sugnet

Sofia Kim

Sherry

Hannah DCamp

Cody Degen

Hobbes

Max L

Asher Black

The War is over, won by Ender Wiggin and his team of brilliant child-warriors. The enemy is destroyed, the human race is saved. Ender himself refuses to return to the planet, but his crew has gone home to their families, scattered across the globe. The battle school is no more. But with the external threat gone, the Earth has become a battlefield once more. The children of the Battle School are more than heroes; they are potential weapons that can bring power to the countries that control them. One by one, all of Ender's Dragon Army are kidnapped. Only Bean escapes; and he turns for help to Ender's brother Peter. Peter Wiggin, Ender's older brother, has already been manipulating the politics of Earth from behind the scenes. With Bean's help, he will eventually rule the world. Shadow of the Hegemon is the second novel in Orson Scott Card's Shadow Series. THE ENDER UNIVERSE Ender series Ender’s Game / Ender in Exile / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind Ender’s Shadow series Ender’s Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight Children of the Fleet The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens The Second Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) The Swarm /The Hive Ender novellas A War of Gifts /First Meetings At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Shadow of the Hegemon

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