Shadow of the Hegemon

Shadow of the Hegemon picks up directly after the events of Ender's Shadow and Ender's Game. The Formics have been vanquished, but the nations of Earth have been thrust into political turmoil. As powerful countries grapple for dominance, the brilliant strategic minds of the Battle School children are priceless to world leaders. Bean, Petra, and the rest of Ender's team are torn between personal ties, national allegiances, and enemies that want them killed. Achilles--the psychopathic killer from the first novels--is also out to seize power for himself, using his political clout as a Battle School student to insert himself in the inner circles of global leaders. As the story unfolds, the reader is caught up in a grand saga of international intrigue, personal passions and friendships, and Bean's own search for truth.Granted, your suspension of disbelief may be sorely tried in some sections (a 14 year old negotiating a non-aggression pact between India and Pakistan, for instance), but most of the action is believable and real. Some of the characters--Petra and Bean specifically--come across as rather bratty and arrogant early on, but it soon becomes evident that the book is about their own maturing and coming-of-age as much as it is about international warfare and politics.By the end of the novel, you will have fallen in love with the characters from Ender's Shadow all over again. Bean's search for his own humanity and religious struggling are heartfelt and true. Achilles' twisted machinations are as frighteningly real as ever. And the friendship, love, and compassion that binds Bean and his 'crew' together, through thick and thin, resonates long after the reader has closed the book.Some say the book lacks the action and originality of Ender's Shadow and Ender's Game. This may be true; it is more stereotypical sci-fi/historical fiction than its predecessors. But the core of the story is gold. The writing is impeccable, the characters are truly brilliant, and the experience is unforgettable.

This is a good continuations of Ender's Shadow, but not quite at the same level as Ender's Shadow. A major annoyance throughout is every time one of the voice actors says the word "Hegemon" it is dubbed over with some other person's voice saying the word, which kills the flow of the story. The dubbed voice is not even close to whichever voice actor is speaking. At first I believed that it was momentary glitch in the media. until it repeated again, and again throughout the story. Also, someone should really have rethought the music to this as well.In the above I have hit all of the bad points of the audio book that I notice. It is still well worth the money, a good story, and I don't regret buying it.

Great story. Can't get enough. I enjoy every word. Bean's story couldn't be left out of the complete work. Excellent!

The Shadow Series is such a satisfying companion to those who have read through Ender's story (and those who haven't), and seeing the evolution of Peter as he seeks to unite the earth under one banner begins in Shadow of the Hegemon. The war is over and the Battle School children all return home but it isn't long before they find that what little chance they might have at a normal life is already gone. The tipping loyalties of kids who have fought an alien threat together plays a tight balancing game with their desire to prove earth bound nationality, culminating with an unexpected betrayal from a Battle School student. I can't say enough about the story Card weaves and this novel kicks everything off.For those who have read the Ender Quartet, don't be surprised when you find the writing style different. The higher philosophical nature and slower story pace have been replaced with a style more reminiscent of the original Ender's Game book. That's not to say that there isn't deeper meaning, but the writing is definitely far more accessible.

I finally got around to reading this book, and I was not disappointed. As is usual for Card, both the plot and the characters are exceptionally well developed, and he provides plenty of places where the reader is forced to actually think and/or confront his own preconceptions on an idea. All in all, this is almost always an excellent book. Why the almost? It seemed as if Card sometimes felt the urge to get a little bit too preachy. Near the beginning of the book, a paragraph was included almost at random about how JFK wasn't really as good of a president as people thought he was. Why? It didn't seem particularly relevant to the situation at hand, so it seems likely Card just wanted to mention that idea and work it in to the book some way, any way he possibly could. Also, there was one particular plot "mystery" that Card kept building up to, only to reveal that it was one he already revealed in Ender's Shadow. It might have been necessary to the plot, but Card could have worked it in a little better and given less emphasis to the surprise factor.

Great book. Though almost dull in some rare moments, this great novel certainly made up for it with the incredible plot that manages to mix geopolitics with enough Scifi to make it feel like a true clash of future technology and ancient human impulses that still plague this fictional world. The dialogue is alos well written, so much so that you can tell a character from another just by the way they talk, something that not many authors seem capable of these days. But even with all that, I believe that it was the moral standings of this book and what it wanted to say, that truly sold it for me. The moral at the end is definetly something to think about as our own real world eerily marches in that direction.

Another great story with good ideas. I'm glad I read this one, too, as Card has gotten better over the 30 years ago that I started reading his work.

I had my doubts about this set of books -- didn't think they could possibly measure up to Ender's Game, but they do.

Pushes the limits of credibility until they break down and just becomes silly. This is why you shouldn't write about regions whose geopolitics and culture you only have a cursory understanding about. Two rivals make a non aggression pact to invade otherwise friendly countries, and are later betrayed by an obvious power monger and the whole thing is orchestrated by a kid.

Amazing

Libro bellissimo. Orson Scott Card si conferma uno degli scrittori che amo di più! Una capacità incredibile nel descrivere i personaggi, dialoghi acuti e una storia avvincente. Grande!