Amph Shadow of the Giant (by Orson Scott Card)

I just finished reading the paperback of Card's latest (and last) Shadow series (I barely ever buy Hardback because they cost too much and are too clunky). Been a long time reader of Card's, and I thought Shadow of the Giant was just pretty good. I enjoyed it, to say the least.

He also seemed to leave considerable loose ends that not only will allow him to continue the series, but also perhaps someday combine the Bean and Ender series. I hope he does!

Anyone else read this one?

 

I haven't read this one yet, but I've read the prior couple Shadow Books. I must say though, that I liked Ender's Game the best.

 

Shadow of the Giant was a fantastic novel. I finished it a while back, and it is no longer with me, which is frustrating as it has made me want to reread the last three Shadow books (nothing against Ender's Shadow, it's just not quite connected to the other three enough to warrant a reread for this purpose)

Anyway, I loved the way that Card handled Peter's ascention and the unification of the nations. Even though some of his ideas were a bit far-fetched at times (a hundred thousand Indians suddenly picking up guns and marching on China, and the entire Russian army moving in a single mass through the Yangtzee Valley, for example) but this was certainly forgivable given the story that he was telling. Again, Card has a fine grasp of the complex interelationship between geopolitical actors, which makes for a stimulating read. It has also been fascinating to watch how Card changes and develops his stories based upon events which are happening in the present day (9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, the ascendancy of China, the Indian outsourcing craze, Russia's swing back to authoritarianism...)

The last few pages were real tear-jerkers of the first order. Even though the constant reinforcement of his big-family-values message sometimes got a bit stuffy, it really made the tragic ending all the more potent and resonant when the final chapters came.

I asked Card if there would be more in the series, and he said that there would be. There are several books planned, including a bridge story connecting the Shadow series to the Ender Quartet (likely has something to do with the last unreclaimed child and his psychotic mother) and he also mentioned a fifth book that would cap off the Ender quartet and discuss what happened after Ender's death. I'm really looking forward to this one myself.

 

Card left it open ended because there will be another book called Shadows in Flight, I beleive. It is supposed to take place after Children of the Mind, and include characters from both the shadow and Ender series.

 

I haven't picked this one up yet, I was waiting for it to come out in paperback. Sounds good though, I'll have to go look for it. And it's nice to hear about other future books that might tie in the Ender/Shadow series. I'll pretty much read anything he comes out with, especially in this series.

 

I didn't realize he was planning on writing more (beyond SotG), but I really hope he does.

Its been a while since I read it (have it in hardback) but as I recall it was just as good as the rest of the series, which is to say, excellent.

I need to go back and reread that series now.