Shadow Puppets: Book 3 of the Shadow Saga

I enjoyed the books secondary character developments from the Ender Series.
Peter does seem almost too child like in his character for someone who was Locke and Demosthenes in his writings and influence.

I have loved the Ender's Game Book Collection for as long as I can remember, I have read every book in the series so many times that my paperback books are worn out and I have purchased replacement books a few times. I was happy when my husband got me a Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 for Christmas so I could purchase a copy of the books in a format that I can read over and over that won't wear out. I Love Ender's Game and every book related to it, especially the Shadow Series. Awesome read!

After the third or fourth installment of a story, things can get kind of stale. The "Speaker for The Dead" branch of the story degenerated into almost laughable science fantasy by the end of "The Children of The Mind". Bean's saga has yet to disappoint and he remains a compelling character.

After the third or fourth installment of a story, things can get kind of stale. The "Speaker for The Dead" branch of the story degenerated into almost laughable science fantasy by the end of "The Children of The Mind". Bean's saga has yet to disappoint and he remains a compelling character.

At this point the series has slowed down and become very preachy, and the amount of character regression is endlessly frustrating. Finishing the quartet is now feeling more like a chore than a pleasure.

Petra, one of the far too few strong female characters in all of the Ender series thus far, does nothing in this book beyond pining for the chance to marry Bean and bear his children. The author makes it very difficult to look past his real-life Mormon, far-right, and bigoted political views when that kind of regression dominates the narrative, when the book constantly hits you over the head with its insistence that embryos are people too, when our heroes muse about the nefarious long-term intentions of the Muslim world, and when one of the preachiest morals of the story is that nobody on Earth is satisfied unless they pair up with a member of the opposite sex and reproduce. There is a very long-winded diatribe about the latter philosophy that leaves absolutely no room for disagreement, and the specter of Card's well-publicized views on same-sex marriage looms very large.

As far as the form and the writing style go, the sarcastic, snappy, quick-fire conversations between characters have gotten very old and tiresome. The pacing is poor, as the first half of the novel is mostly just one of those conversations after another, and the second half is dominated by military strategy and actual plot progression. The war in the Eastern World wraps up awfully quickly and in a very neat little package with nearly all of the action happening off-page, and when you finish the book you wonder what's actually happened and why Shadow of the Hegemon had to be split into two books at all.

There are some highlights --- the military strategy IS interesting, even if it takes a while to get there. Ender's parents blossom into well-constructed characters with their own agency and motivation. But other characters, like Peter, are written as frustratingly incompetent, and Bean continues to be worshiped by the author as a God among people. In these ways its pays disservice to the original 'Ender's Game' and feels like it's fan-fiction written by someone else entirely.

Despite my better judgment, I'll continue to read the series, if only because Ender in Exile seems like it'll be a good one and I was told not to read it before the Shadow series. I also want to read that final Shadow novel that hasn't been written yet because it promises to tie the Shadow series and the Ender quartet together and dammit I want to know more about the Descolada.

Card's next installment of the Ender's Shadows series is an improvement from Shadow of the Hegemon. While some may disagree with me, I enjoyed the new and interesting insights of Peter Wiggin and his brilliant, yet witty parents. Card gets the story rolling with introducing some of Ender and Bean's acquaintance like Hyrum Graff, Alai, Han Tzu and Dimak. The greatest strength of Puppets is that it's not all about Achilles and his mysterious assassins, who fail miserably at killing anyone. He's just an unconvincing villain. Do you think Crazy Tom and others of Ender's Jeesh forgot about him? The audiobook narrators can't even consistently pronounce his name correct. At this point, everyone knows that Archilles is a psychopath kidnapper. Remember, he was removed from Battle School within days and dispatched to a mental health facility. Throughout Earth, there are hundreds of Battle School graduates, who are just as brilliant, properly trained and loyal to their respective countries. Nevertheless, Russia, India, China and eventually Peter Wiggin ignores all common sense and brings him into their camp. The best part of Shadow Puppets is that the story of Archilles is over.

In the aftermath of Achilles’ failed heist for world peace through domination, Peter Wiggins treks forward to forge bridges of diplomacy between nations. Perhaps business was booming or perhaps the Hegemon’s head was expanding, whatever the case, the dragon was invited into headquarters to be tamed–Achilles became hired hand for Peter. Foolishness, who could ever tame a dragon? Seeing the inevitable doom, Bean and Petra take flight before they too become puppets to the dragon’s deadly claws. Yet, even the dragon hungers and craves for even the smallest of foods: Bean.

To be honest, the third installment of Card’s Shadow series was disappointing. Petra’s personality morphed into a baby-crazed teenage girl that flushed her stubborn brilliance. Was this Card’s Mormonism’s influence to send a subliminal message? I can only hypothesize that this was the case.
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It's hard to believe that Shadow Puppets came from the same author as two of my favorite books, Ender's Game and Pastwatch. Card's characters behave so oddly that I was frequently jolted out of the story. Bean and Petra fawning over each other? Petra desiring Bean's babies? The latter is somewhat touching if shown as an internal monologue, but no, she can't stop saying it to his face. WTF? How old are they? I don't care how intellectually gifted you are. Nobody sane acts like this. Orson Scott Card's was not on his game this time around, and I think the major culprit is that he let his conservative Mormon beliefs slip through the cracks too much. Was it intentional? Card is a brilliant writer and a huge contributor to the annals of science fiction lore, but if you pull back the curtain too far, reveal the storyteller too much as what happened in Shadow Puppets, you risk plainly seeing a man with unsettling views on abortion, marriage and homosexuality.

Side note: The audiobook performers have been mostly the same since the start of the Shadow series, but their pompous tones have never been more off-putting than now. I fault the writing over the recitation. Everyone sounds so smug it's irritating. Since I am determined to finish this series, the best I could manage was to grit my teeth and power through.

Shadow Puppets (2002) is the third SF novel in the Shadow subseries of the Ender-verse. It follows Shadow of the Hegemon. The initial work in this subseries is Ender's Shadow.

In the previous volume, Peter sent an email to Chamrajnagar saying that the International Fleet should protect Battle School graduates. Petra was abducted by Russian agents working for Achilles. Everyone else of Ender's jeesh -- except Ender and Bean -- was captured.

Bean and his family leave their beach house, which was blown up shortly afterward. A Greek helicopter picked them up at the beach and took then to a safehouse. Graff and Carlotta come for Bean.

In this novel, Julian Delphiki is growing taller and his brain is getting larger. Bean has a genetic defect that makes his body continue to grows. His larger brain increases his intelligence; he had been a very smart child and is developing into a supergenius. Now he is the Strategos of the Hegemony.

Petra Arkanian was a member of Ender's jeesh. After the Bugger War, she returned to Armenia.

Peter Wiggin is still a college student posting anonymous essays on the web. He has developed a strong reputation as Locke.

Suriyawong was a member of Ender's army. After the Bugger War, Suri returned to Thailand. Now he is second-in-command of Hegemony forces.

Han Tzu was a member of Ender's jeesh. After the Bugger War, Hot Soup returned to China.

Alai was a member of Ender's jeesh. After the Bugger War, he returned to Syria.

Virlomi is a Battle School graduate, but not a member of Ender's army. After the Bugger War, she returned to India.

Ambul was a member of Bean's army. After the Bugger War, he returned to Thailand. Then he and his family moved to London.

Achilles de Flandres had been a street bully in Rotterdam. He spent a few days at Battle School, but washed out.

Hyram Graff is the former head of Battle School. Now he is Minister of Colonization.

Anton was a geneticist who identified Anton's Key. He was convicted for illegal research and gene modification. His mind was conditioned with an aversion against biological science of any kind.

Constantine Volescu is a mad genius specializing in human genetics. He had modified Bean and his sibling in vitro. When Bean escaped from his crib, Volescu destroyed all the other children.

In this story, Bean is still growing. Now he is taller than Petra. Of course, the uncontrolled growth is going to kill him in a few years.

Peter gets an email describing the transfer of Achilles to another prison. He has Suri lead the raiders to capture the man. When Bean and Petra realize that Achilles will be brought back to headquarters, they try to talk Peter out of the plan and then leave his service.

Suri has no problems taking Achilles. He warns Virlomi as the group is flying back to the compound. Suri presents Achilles to the Hegemon and Peter gives Achilles a job as his assistant. He also monitors his computer usage and blocks all radio waves in and out of the compound.

Graff offers to take Theresa and John Paul off Earth, but they refuse to go. Theresa ponders the things Graff had to say and concludes that Achilles will be a constant threat to Peter. She decides to kill the man.

Theresa tries to steal a key to Achilles's room, but is caught in the act. Peter watches the video of her unsuccessful attempt and cannot figure out her motives. He asks his father and John Paul states that she was trying to kill Achilles. Peter becomes even more confused after their talk.

Meanwhile, Bean and Petra are traveling together. Bean tries to talk Petra into splitting up, but Petra is determined to stay with Bean. She wants to marry him and have his children, but Bean doesn't want to have any children who inherit his genetic condition.

Bean and Petra meet Ambul in Warsaw. Petra doesn't recognize him, but Bean is half expecting him. Ambul is asked to contact Alai and get him to meet with Bean and Petra.

Then they contact Anton and discuss genes and marriage. Anton cannot think directly about the genetic condition named for him, but he can discuss the resulting condition. He says that Volescu probably has a harmless test for the genetic change. This convinces Bean to marry Petra and to have children by her.

Volescu had been released from prison, so they learn his current base. Bean and Petra get married and travel to Rotterdam. They confront Volescu at his office and ask whether a nondestructive test exists to identify embryos with Anton's Key.

Volescu confirms that such a test exists. Petra doesn't believe him, but she wants Beans's children even if they have Anton's Key. Bean lets Volescu surgically remove nine eggs from Petra and then fertilize them with Bean's sperm. They implant one embryo in Petra and have the others frozen.

This tale gets even more complicated when the other embryos are stolen. Peter revives Locke and Demosthenes to warn of the Chinese menace. Virlomi starts an insurgency in India. Bean and Petra convince Alai to oppose China.

The immediate crisis is solved, but tensions still run high. The next installment in this subseries is Shadow of the Giant.

Highly recommended for Card fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of international relations, political intrigue, and human stupidity. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

I can now OFFICIALLY classify the Enderverse etc. as dystopian fiction. The Shadow Saga is dystopian The Enderverse is dystopian and though technically space miner ships are not communitys they are still dystopian. Okay I got that out of the way. Bean is trying to create the new government of Earth with Peter. He is not working with Ender's jeesh anymore but still fights for their cause. Virlomi is gaining the alliance of India, while Alai hunts down political leaders and persuades them to join the Dragon Army's cause. Peter is still being Locke, Demosthenes and The Hegemon; meanwhile Bean is after Achilles with Peter.

This story was much better than I was expecting considering the reviews I was seeing. Dont let the baby issue bother you because honestly it is the natural progression of the story and the reaction of Bean is perfectly justified, and to be honest if anybody was in that position I believe they would behave exactly the same way. That being said, the story gets going with a idiotic decision by Peter, the world spiralling down into further chaos, and the end of an era (in what way I will leave for the reader to find out for themselves). I enjoyed the geopolitcal aspect of the book immensely. I honestly think that something of this sort could possibly happen but, who knows what will happen in reality. I am eager to read the next volume in the series for Beans character obviously doesnt have much more time left before his genetic defect takes its toll on him and am interested to see how the author handles that.

With Ender gone on a colony ship, the survivors of the battle school have returned to their native countries--and plunged the world into war. Peter Wiggins, the Hegemon and Ender's brother, wages a small-scale battle against the Chinese who have swallowed India and IndoChina and are now preparing for their next conquest. When he decides to rescue the brilliant murderer, Achilles, from the Chinese, though, Peter throws his own forces into confusion. Bean, the one child/man who most closely resembles Ender, together with his friend Petra, flee from both Peter and Achilles--they of all people know that Achilles hates most those who rescue him.
While Bean and Petra flee through Europe and the middle east, their feelings for one another, together with their hormonal attraction, escalate. Bean fears to bring into the world anyone cursed with the strange mutation that gives him both his genius and the continued growth that will kill him before thirty, yet even he cannot resist the power of a determined woman. And Petra is fully determined to marry Bean and bear his children, no matter what the cost to herself.
Although the Chinese seem dominant, with Europe and America cowed and Russia unwilling to rekindle the ancient rivalry, battle school graduates work to begin a resistance movement within India, and hope to strike back into China itself. Yet, with the Hegemon distracted and perhaps destroyed by Achilles, can the world find a force behind which oppostion can combine?
Orson Scott Card is one of best Science Fiction writers ever, and SHADOW PUPPETS demonstrates the power of his writing. Although Bean's story is clearly secondary to the upcoming global battle, I was still compelled through the narative, unable to put the book down until I'd finished every page. The romance between Bean and Petra felt real, and Peter the Hegemon's gradual maturing was certainly gratifying.
Fans of the post-Ender series will definitely want to read this one. China finally faces a unified opposition that threatens to give it a run for the money. Yet Card also plants the seeds for future trouble. Without an external enemy to unite around, can Earth avoid destroying itself in pointless war?

The original Ender series, the one that followed the journey of Ender Wiggin, a child prodigy trained from his early years to lead a war against an alien invasion, was breathtaking. It was filled with action, psychodrama, speculative fiction, and imagination. At points in the later books, there was a tendency to spin off into pontification and meandering "philosophizing". By and large, the books were rich and captivating. I cared about Card's characters even after Ender had left them.
"Shadow of the Hegemon", the first of the "Shadow" series showed some real promise. It was basically a book about the development of a minor character from "Ender's Game", Bean, a runt who also happened to be the smartest human being ever born. The first book follows Bean from his earliest moments as a street urchin in Rotterdam to his days with Ender at Battle School. He is a fully human character, even if the fact that he is also a genetic experiment renders him not quite so human in genotype.
By the time we meet Bean in the seventh book, it is evident that the "genre" of child geniuses fighting with and against each other to rule the world, has a limited shelf life. Bean is still a wunderkind who is now afflicted with a self-abusive personality that is so petulant and repetitive I could barely stand to read the dialogue.
Orson Scott Card's early books are among my absolute favorites. The Ender series is wonderful. The Worthing Saga rivals Philip K. Dick for its predictive social sci-fi. Pastwatch, a fairly recent publication, is also an exercise in creativity and [...] romance novel with Petra begging Bean to have babies with her, other dyads of power and ambition vying for control of the world. None of it seems real. It reminds me of a pulp novel from the 1930's. At over 450 pages, it feels like Card wrote with no editor and no revisions. The writing is sloppy and boring. He dwells on themes and relationships the way one would expect from John Irving, but not as well, for that's not Card's strong suit.
This series is not indicative of Card's ability as a story teller. As a long time reader, I am not likely to give up on him, but if he continues to publish more Ender books, I won't read them. I just hope he moves on to something else sooner rather than later.

This was an unusually poor audio recording for an Orson Scott Card book. Surprising given how important audiobooks are for the author. There were frequent obvious re recordings of corrections that were not well done. All seemed to be dubbing over with the word Hegemon. They were disruptive to the flow and made the listener wonder what was done the first time that was so wrong that needed such a disruptive correction. Rather than re record a chapter, they dubbed in a word with a different sounding voice and volume, as if they did not have time to do it well. There were about 15-20 corrections through out the audiobook. I would steer clear of this audio producer in the future if you have a choice.

This third volume in the parallel series to "Ender's Game" (which began in "Ender's Shadow" and continued in "Shadow of the Hegemon") is an excellent showcase of Orson Scott Card's ability to weave remarkable character-driven storylines into intense geopolitical thrillers. Bean, once the smallest member of Ender Wiggin's world-saving jeesh, is rapidly growing -- not just into a man, but into a giant. When Ender's brother plots to free Achilles (the murderous genius who has schemed against Bean since they were children in the streets of Rotterdam), Bean and Petra Arkanian go into hiding, knowing that Peter Wiggin will never be able to control the evil genius they call "The Beast."
Much of Card's fiction is a combination of a compelling character study and a serious political drama, but this contrast is much more pronounced in the "Shadow" series than in anything else he has written. I suspect this is because the "Shadow" series is not as far removed from our real-world present day as much of his other work. This doesn't stop it from being well-planned, well-researched and extremely logical -- yet still surprising. (Where else in contemporary American fiction will you find a Muslim army portrayed as the good guys?)
With presumably one volume to go in this series, it feels as though poor Bean is headed for a tragic, heroic end. "Shadow Puppets" leaves one major plot thread dangling, and it's not at all the one you would suspect if you've read the first two novels. I am very much looking forward to the conclusion of Bean's adventures.

I have been reading science fiction since my youth in the sixties. Bob Heinien was one of the first authors I read in bulk. He was a libritarian style faceist. Isaac Isimov was chaseing Plato's society of extraordinary men (not women). Neither was much interested in democracy. Perhaps in their times, democracy seemed like a failed expiriment.
My point being science fiction has always been political and in the United States it is hard to think what is more emotionally charge than the political status of the fetus. OSC makes his case, which I do not agree with, but I did not agree with the two greats from the Golden Age.
And what are the "Brown Coats" of Serenity but Confederates of the far reaches of Space?

I put a question mark next to the word conclusion in the title of this review because it's not clear if "Shadow Puppets" is the final book in the entire 'Ender's Saga' ('Bean sub-saga'). A large number of issues are resolved in this book, but others are still left up in the air. At the present time, there is listing or information about any future episodes in this series. So, for the time being, I will assume this is the last book. If it is, despite seeming loose ends, it would make a satisfactory conclusion.

"Shadow Puppets" should probably be the end, though. Much like the last portion of "Xenocide" and all of "Children of the Mind" in the original 'Ender's Quartet', Orson Scott Card seems to be running out of steam with these characters. Card still displays his gifts of representing human interactions, but "Shadow Puppets" has less ability to stand on it's own. Unlike "Ender's Shadow" and, to a slightly lesser degree, "Shadow of the Hegemon", you absolutely have to have read the previous books in the series for "Shadow Puppets" to have any true meaning. Whereas "Ender's Shadow" and "Shadow of the Hegemon" were connected by similar characters, yet told different stories (much like "Ender's Game" and "Speaker for the Dead"), "Shadow Puppets" merely continues the storyline from "...Hegemon".

To summarize, Peter Wiggin has achieved his long sought after goal of becoming the Hegemon, but the title carries little power with it in the wake of a large Chinese invasion throughout southern Asia, and subsequent assumption of the position of Earth's premier military power. These actions were set in motion by the psychotic Achilles before his true nature came to light and he was placed under arrest by the Chinese government. Peter sees his only true way of thwarting the Chinese and restoring prestige to the office of the Hegemon is to rescue Achilles from prison and put him to work for the Hegemony. Think that, despite Achilles manipulative skills, he can control him, Peter mistakenly compromises his own security and drives away many of those who served him, including Bean and Petra.

During their self-imposed exile from Hegemon, Bean and Petra try to find ways to undermine the Chinese and Achilles while also dealing with a burgeoning romance and Petra's desire to have children by Bean before he dies of his genetic disorder. While it is somewhat interesting to read about Bean and Petra's romance, it is still somewhat dry. It's not impossible to conceive of this happening, as they are both probably 16 years old at this point and far older in many other ways, given what their early years consisted of. Yet, there's not really any spark to the relationship. It seems to the reader as if they are having this romance because they feel that it's something that they should do, not because there is any passionate romantic feelings sparking between them. It can't carry near the same weight as the personal interactions and tender romance that took place in "Speaker for the Dead". That example is just thrown in as a perfect representation of Card's ability to convey human emotion. It's not quite as well-crafted here. It's not bad, though, so the reader still has some emotional investment in these two.

There are other elements of "Shadow Puppets" that are quite interesting. For the first time in all seven of the "Ender's" novels, the reader gets a chance to truly see the personalities of Theresa and John Paul Wiggins, the parents of Peter, Ender and Valentine. A great deal of time is spent on Peter's reluctant interaction with his parents and his eventual acceptance of their advice as relevant and appreciated. They come across as so much more than the bland, inattentive parents that readers were first introduced to in "Ender's Game". In addition, there are interactions with many other former Battle School students. Alai and Han Tzu are just a few of the names who play major roles in the events that shape this novel.

On the whole "Shadow Puppets" was a good read. If there are more books on the horizon, then all the better. However, if this is where the series ends, then so be it. It's not a bad way to go out.

For Shadow Puppets, Card continues the storyline of where he left off in Shadow of the Hegemon. Achilles is back of course as a rival to Bean and Peter who attempts to wreak havoc between nations for his benefit.

I felt I could not give this book a full five stars simply because some of the military scenes where the countries and their leaders (Battle School students) often leave the reader slightly confused as to what is going on.

However, like all of Cards books, I have found it to be enjoyable no matter how big or small some of the flaws might be. Tor has occasionally let a few typos slip thru the cracks as well but that is not as big of a deal as the military operations are.

That aside though, Shadow Puppets is exactly what the fans of the Ender's Shadow Series expect to get when they purchase this book.

And that is a book that truly takes you into the fascinating aspects of war , politics, the traditional good versus evil, and kids that are wise beyond their years leading the charge while the adults must take a background seat to their Battle School Leaders.

Shadow Puppets is the third book in Orson Scott Card's 'Shadow' series, thus part of the Ender's Game world. Following on from Shadow of the Hegemon, this book continues to flog the dead donkey that was that novel. Full of long drawn out political and social commentary about the present day world, plot-wise this book finally gets us to the place we should have been at the beginning of the previous novel.

Having said that, Card does demonstrate his knowledge of and respect for different cultures and religions in this book. Even so, I found it hard going, with a large number of talking heads that reiterate views that have been discussed elsewhere in the series.

For my full review, please go to [...] or short link straight to this article at: [...]

Card has long advocated the idea that the heroes of the story need to be moral heroes for the reader to identify with them, which makes sense. But in the recent novels, Card seems to require that the heroes are not just moral, but that they are all good Mormons at heart, even though none of them are in fact (except Theresa). Specifically, the earlier installment presented us with a nun believing that the great goal in life is to get married and have lots of children - which we could buy because she was already established as an eccentric and highly unusual nun. But the same idea has spread throughout the main cast of Shadow Puppets, including not just the battle school grads from Thailand and Armenia, but even a gay convict. (Indeed, at least half the world might potentially be offended by this novel, with its combined polemic against gays, Muslims, and Chinese.) Not only has the line between good guys and bad been painted as vastly as possible - each character might as well wear a white or black cowboy hat - but with the character's motivations appearing so arbitrary, the plot their choices drive also becomes contrived. This is compounded by the impression that all these super-genius characters appear to have been taking stupid pills since the last installment; their actions are decidedly non-genius. Without spoiling the plot, Bean and Petra make some extremely questionable judgment calls in their newfound quest to ignore the war and instead start having children, leading them into a new crisis which was blatantly obvious from a mile away, even without superhuman intelligence. Arch-rivals Peter and Achilles, also supposed geniuses, also suddenly have very little to prove it. The novel begins with Peter bringing Achilles to become his "assistant" at the Hegemony, a move laden with promise for schemes within schemes as these two grandmasters vie both to use and eliminate each other along the way to capturing world power. Instead, it turns out neither of them has any plan at all, with Peter suddenly fleeing when everyone freaks out that Achilles anticipated being rescued. Meanwhile, Achilles does nothing more than gain shadow power by being buddies with everyone - it's a wonder Elizabeth Bennet didn't displace William Pitt - and subsequently try to seize the office of the Hegemon, which has been depicted at length as an almost powerless institution, and certainly a huge step further away from world dominion than when Achilles had the Chinese Empire under his thumb. Secondary characters also get left out to dry with unfortunate consistency. Suriyawong is set up early in the novel as if the expansion of his role from the previous novel will continue here, but then we never hear anything more than passing references to him again. Virlomi is likewise expanded into the most interesting she has been in the series, yet she feels totally disconnected because the plot ends up requiring her never to communicate with any of the other characters (coded emails notwithstanding). And Han Tsu is suddenly rolled out late in the novel to bare his perspective on working for the enemy.
Shadow Puppets brought too much to a conclusion for what is supposed to remain of the series. Suffice it to say that Bean, Petra, and Achilles have their future roles pretty tightly nailed down. Peter has inadvertently become the most interesting character, because he is the only one left whose motivation and choices as the story continues to progress are still enigmatic and conflicted. However, his rise to bring the entire Earth under his government, the only real pre-existing constraint on this series based on the earlier Ender novels, has never seemed as incidental or as unbelievable as at the hasty conclusion of Puppets.
Despite these let-downs, Puppets continues the Ender's Game / Shadow tradition of gripping adventure, devious schemes, and intriguing strategies.

Uncle Orson has managed to perpetuate Bean's gripping, heartfelt saga on Earth in Shadow Puppets, the third installment in Bean's tale. The book picks up directly after Shadow of the Hegemon, with China in control of most of the world, and Peter, Bean, and Petra attempting to pick up the pieces and fight back.

Card's stories draw their strength from his intensely personal and truly human depictions of his characters. Some readers were disappointed by the lack of hard sci-fi action (or even any action at all) in Shadow of the Hegemon. Unfortunately, Shadow Puppets continues the tradition of a relatively non-action oriented plot. However, this really is not a bad thing. The characters are so real, their problems and emotions so true, and Card's moral insights and tricky intellectual situations so enticing, that Shadow Puppets has a soul that most sci-fi books cannot hold a candle to.

Bean's search for truth and God, in the midst of global war and his impending mortality, struck a chord with me. His love for Petra and desire to have a family with her provide the moral and emotional backbone for the novel. His struggles, his triumphs, and his failures are masterfully told by Card. For me, Bean and Petra have certainly been some of the more human characters I have come across in my reading.

Peter Wiggin also plays a significantly more pronounced role in Shadow Puppets. Card fleshes out Peter in an intriguing manner--the young Hegemon is revealed as doubting, unsure, often arrogant, and generally humanly flawed. Personally, it was a rather refreshing break from the demi-god child-leaders who bestride Card's world. I really enjoyed Peter's anti-hero character, and was cheering for him the whole time.

The only real let-down in the book is Achilles. After striking so much fear into the hearts of mankind in the first two novels, displaying voracious intelligence, and nearly seducing Petra, I was ready to see him come face-to-face with Bean in a grand climax. Unfortunately, Shadow Puppets slightly drops the ball here. Achilles is agonizingly downplayed, to the point of obscurity. He shows up rarely, and becomes almost the cardboard nemesis that the Buggers were in previous books.

Still, Shadow Puppets is a great, well-told story of real characters with real emotions in gripping situations. Card's story-telling is masterful, and his world is superbly crafted.

The spectacular Ender's Game and its very good to excellent sequels established Card as a major SF writer. With Ender's Shadow, he came close to matching the brilliance of the original story. Then came Shadow of the Hegemon, with its focus on Peter Wiggin and Achilles, and it seemed like all the power, originality, and dramatic tension faded away, leaving only a shadow to lay across your mind. This latest work is neither as good as Ender's Shadow nor as mundane as Hegemon, but rather somewhere in-between.

Here we find Bean growing beyond the norm, symptomatic of his genetic flaw that will eventually kill him while still a young man. And growing in other ways, as his relationship with Petra finally flowers under her tenacious insistence. This is probably the best part of this novel, as we see sides of the two that have not been in great evidence in the prior works. And we get some small looks into the thoughts and characters of some of the other Battle School graduates, mainly Virlomi, Han Tzu and Alai, each of whom contribute some major items towards Peter and Bean winning their current battle with Achilles. The Wiggin parents emerge from obscurity and are revealed to be (unsurprisingly) very intelligent and (surprisingly) quite forceful. All good things...

So where does this book fail? The main failure is Peter Wiggin himself. For a man who could sway world opinion with his exacting, careful logic as Locke and browbeat everyone into emotional frenzy as Demosthenes, Peter is depicted here as a remarkably stupid, arrogant, and emotional teenager. Achilles, the demon, remains almost totally offstage, providing little room for dramatic confrontations, and what ones there are come off as almost anti-climatic. And finally, the circumstance that draws Bean back into the struggle between Peter and Achilles was totally preventable, a very sad and uncharacteristic lack of foresight by both Bean and Petra. These items do much to kill any major excitement in this work, even though the major (world) battle could have formed a taught political and military thriller.

Is this book readable? Certainly. Card is still an excellent writer. His prose, descriptions, and dialogue (especially the back-and-forth between Bean and Petra) are all well formed and his moral insights flow from the premise of the story. But this one just doesn't have the edge-of-the-seat tension, the incredible insight into human character that have been the hallmarks of his best work.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

SHADOW PUPPETS is one of things that you either REALLY like it or you REALLY don't. You can see that from the other reviews. The numbers are one, two, four, five. No three stars. If you need some explaining, here it is:
Shadow Puppets is about Bean and Petra all the way. Some people might find it kind of disturbing that two people of such different ages get married and so on.
Petra talks a little bit too much about forcing Bean into having kids. Some people probably think that part is a little weird.
Peter is the Hegemon, trying to find world peace. People might find that because China, Thailand, and many Asian and Middle Eastern countries have to do with this that the book is racist. Look, being Swedish, I don't think it is a problem. But if it was about Sweden being allies with a mass-murderer I would have been a little disappointed. It matters what view you have on the counties at hand.
But, as usual, OSC writes a great understanding of young geniuses. I think that his writing abilites, intelecual strengths, and vocabulary make this book and all the others awesome.
Also, Peter shows a soft spot in this book, which is a little refreshing. His new personality proves that he might actually be human.
And, as someone else mentioned, Bean gives Achilles some of his own medicine. That is REALLY refreshing.

If you were hoping that this book would be better than the second, it is just not by much. Much of the beginning is a real bore. OSC for some reason really started focusing on writing for teenage girls instead of the sci-fi/military strategy/psychology that made his first books popular. It starts to pop back up midway through but not on the level of his first book. I would recommend this book if you want to continue on with the story and don't mind if the isn't on par with the first book. If you are looking for and upgrade from book two you will not find it here.