Shadow of the Hegemon

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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.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
One of the more pleasant literary surprises of 1999 was Orson Scott Card's Ender's Shadow, a self-styled "parallel novel" that recapitulates the central events of Ender's Game from the perspective of Bean, the child genius -- and genetic wild card -- who served as Ender's second-in-command during the genocidal war with the Formics. Bean's story now continues in Shadow of the Hegemon, a moving, richly imagined sequel that is clearly one of the major science fiction novels of the season.

Shadow of the Hegemon begins in the turbulent aftermath of the Formic War. The nations of Earth, no longer united by a common enemy, have grown both fearful and aggressive. Deeply entrenched rivalries -- cultural, religious, ethnic -- proliferate, and the world stands on the brink of geopolitical chaos. Against this backdrop of mounting political tension, a singular event occurs: Most of the surviving members of Ender Wiggin's victorious platoon are kidnapped. The motive behind that kidnapping is immediately clear. Some unidentified power hopes either to utilize this concentration of strategic genius or keep that genius out of the hands of political rivals.

In Shadow of the Hegemon, Card once again addresses large, fundamental questions: Who will govern in the problematic future that is coming? Will that future be dominated by humane moral imperatives or by heedless, expedient ambition? As the novel winds its way toward a provisional answer, three brilliant -- and very different -- figures rapidly dominate the narrative. The first is Achilles, a teenaged psychopath with a gift for manipulation and an indomitable will to power. The second is Peter Wiggin, older brother of the absent, legendary Ender. Peter has spent many years influencing events behind the scenes and faces the prospect of stepping onto the political stage without the aid of an elaborately constructed mask. The third figure, of course, is Julian Delphicki, a.k.a. Bean.

Bean, like most of the characters, is little more than a child. But he is a fiercely brilliant child, the unexpected product of an illegal genetic experiment that will end, inevitably, in tragedy. Three elements dominate Bean's life: his relentless opposition to Achilles and his designs, his love for his mentor and de facto mother, Sister Carlotta, and his determination to save the life of his friend and former platoon mate, Petra Arkanian.

Shadow of the Hegemon explores complex questions of faith, loyalty, and ethical responsibility without becoming dry, boring, pompous, or didactic. On the contrary, it is a thoughtful, thoroughly entertaining novel that asks hard questions and never settles for easy answers. It is one of Orson Scott Card's most impressive achievements and deserves the attention of a large, appreciative audience.

--Bill Sheehan

Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is one of the most popular science fiction novels ever written. Ender's Game won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel when it was published. The book has gone on to sell well over a million copies. It tells the story of the boy "Ender" Wiggin and his hard-won victory over an alien race that would have destroyed the Earth and all of humanity.

But Ender was not the only child in the Battle School; he was just the best of the best. In Ender's Shadow, Card told the story of another of those precocious generals, the one they called Bean—the one who became Ender's right hand, his strategist, and his friend.

And now Card continues Bean's story, and finally tells a tale long-awaited by his millions of fans. At last we learn what happened on Earth after the destruction of the Hive Queen's worlds; after humanity no longer had a single enemy to unify the warring nations. This is the story of how Bean turned away from his first friend, Ender, and became the tactical genius who won the Earth for Ender's brother, Peter, who became the Hegemon.

Author Biography: Orson Scott Card is the author of the national bestseller, Ender's Shadow, and of the beloved classic of science fiction, Ender's Game. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.

FROM THE CRITICS

Elizabeth Weise - USA Today

In Shadow of the Hegemon, the abilities of Bean and the others to outthink their captors and undermine their plans make for a page-turning read.

Publishers Weekly

This fine follow-up to Ender's Shadow features that novel's hero, Bean (now a young man), wrestling with Card's trademark: superbly real moral and ethical dilemmas. In a world between wars, filled with ambitious countries jockeying to carve up their neighbors, the children of Battle School are the strongest asset a nation can possess. The greatest of the children, "Ender" Wiggin, has gone off to colonize a new world. The second best, Bean, is hunted by a young psychopathic genius, Achilles, who schemes to conquer Earth with the aid of Ender's soldiers. Peter, Ender's brother, who was too ruthless to make it to Battle School, also works to rule the planet, but through more peaceful, political means. Bean must decide if becoming Peter's shadow and guiding him to become Hegemon will help defeat Achilles, and if one boy's megalomania will make a better world than another's. Children playing at war as if it were a game recalls Card's most famous work, Ender's Game, which won both a Hugo and a Nebula award. The complexity and serious treatment of the book's young protagonists will attract many sophisticated YA readers, while Card's impeccable prose, fast pacing and political intrigue will appeal to adult fans of spy novels, thrillers and science fiction. (Jan. 2) Forecast: Card is immensely popular; this is one of his best novels. Like Ender's Game, it will soar on genre lists and should flirt with, and perhaps woo, regular lists. Tor will ensure this through a $300,000 ad/promo campaign including a nine-city author tour. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA

This sequel to Ender's Shadow (Tor, 1999/VOYA Voyages, February 2000) continues the story from Bean's viewpoint and takes place in roughly the same time period as the beginning of Speaker for the Dead (Tor, 1986/VOYA August/October 1986). Ender has left the planet, but Bean and the other members of Ender's Dragon Army are suddenly the targets of kidnappers. Bean barely escapes being blown up—twice—but Petra Arkanian, another of Ender's "jeesh," is not so lucky. She is captured by the psychopathic Achilles, Bean's enemy from his days in the streets of Rotterdam. Achilles is using Petra and other Battle School alumni to help him determine how to take over the world militarily. Meanwhile, Locke, also known as Peter Wiggin, Ender's brother, is working on his own plan to control the world by more peaceful means and become Hegemon, with Bean as his shadow, or background aide. As always with Card, brilliant young people face deadly peril, participate in fast-paced action and heroic deeds, and deal with genuine moral dilemmas with intelligence and thoughtfulness. Some issues are left unresolved, paving the way for another sequel, which no doubt will be welcomed warmly by the many fans of Card and of this series. VOYA CODES: 5Q 5P J S A/YA (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2000, Tor, 363p, . Ages 14 to Adult. Reviewer: Sarah Flowers SOURCE: VOYA, June 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 2)

KLIATT

The sixth in the Ender series, this takes up Bean's story where Ender's Shadow left off. Achilles has kidnapped all of Ender's jeesh except Bean and is planning to use them to conquer the Earth. He has repeatedly tried to kill Bean. In an eerily plausible scenario, Achilles will begin his war in India and Pakistan. Bean goes to Thailand to try to stop Achilles and to mount Petra's rescue. By the conclusion, Petra is rescued, Achilles is dead, Bean knows that genetic factors limit the length of this life, and Peter Wiggin is the new Hegemon. As stated in the afterword, there are two more sequels planned for this story line alone. Must reading for those who follow the series. Reading at least Ender's Game and a few of the others will be necessary to understand the character interactions here. (Ender series) Category: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror. KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Tor, 452p., $6.99. Ages 13 to adult. Reviewer: Sherry S. Hoy; Libn., Tuscarora Jr. H.S., Mifflintown, PA SOURCE: KLIATT, March 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 2)

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