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Shadow of the Giant | 
 enlarge | Author: Orson Scott Card
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
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Rating:  98 reviews
Sales Rank: 172666
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 367
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 1.2
ASIN: B000JMK8Y2
Publication Date: March 30, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 93 more reviews...
 AMAZING June 5, 2008
Caleb F. Price (WA)
This book is absolutely amazing, there are several unanticipated twists and Bean's impending doom is a theme throughout the book.
10 out of 10
a great book
I couldn't put it down
Hope of a Sequel overshadows "Giant" February 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I recently read the book, Shadow of the Giant, by Orson Scott Card and thought it was a very good conclusion to the parallel series to the Ender quartet. I find its main downfall is that it doesn't wrap up the plot successfully. Fortunately for me, Card is writing a semi-sequel, called Shadow Flight to draw together the final Ender book, Children of the Mind, and Shadow of the Giant. The plot of this book shows Peter Wiggin's rise to power and how Bean, the giant of the title helps him while searching for his children. He is worried that his children will have the genetic problem that made him so large. This story details the ending of the war in the previous book in the Bean Quartet, Shadow Puppets. It is well written and explains almost everything well. In Shadow of the Giant and the other novels in this series the author almost never shows the passage of time. I was under the impression that all the main characters were between 14 and 16 at the start of the book but from out of nowhere you hear they are between 16 and 20. It is a very interesting book to read and keeps your attention until the last page and beyond. It leaves you wondering two questions, will they find Bean's last child and will they find the solution to Anton's Key? Finally I would like to say that I would not recommend this book to anyone who has not read the rest of the Quartet, and I would not recommend the Bean Quartet to anyone who has not read the Ender Quartet. However I would recommend both series to everyone in order.
Casting Light on the Shadow Series February 22, 2008
I recently read the book, "Shadow of the Giant", by Orson Scott Card and thought it was a very good conclusion to the parallel series to the Ender quartet. I find its main downfall is that it doesn't wrap up the plot successfully. Fortunately for me, Card is writing a semi-sequel to draw together the final Ender book, "Children of the Mind", and "Shadow of the Giant". The plot of this book shows Peter Wiggin's rise to power and how Bean, the giant of the title helps him while searching for his children. He is worried that his children will have the genetic problem that made him so large. This story details the ending of the war in the previous book in the Bean Quartet, "Shadow Puppets". It is well written and explains almost everything well. In "Shadow of the Giant" and the other novels in this series the author almost never shows the passage of time. I was under the impression that all the main characters were between 14 and 16 at the start of the book but from out of nowhere you hear they are between 16 and 20. It is a very interesting book to read and keeps your attention until the last page and beyond. It leaves you wondering two questions, will they find Bean's last child and will they find the solution to Anton's Key? Finally I would like to say that I would not recommend this book to anyone who has not read the rest of the Quartet, and I would not recommend the Bean Quartet to anyone who has not read the Ender Quartet. I would recommend both series to everyone in order.
 Recommend if you're a Shadow fan February 21, 2008
Jared M. (AB, Canada)
I loved the Ender's Series and also the Shadow series, Giant was stronger than Hegemon in my opinion but it wasn't nearly as good as Ender's Shadow. This book is a must for the collection if you're a fan though. It has a few twists that really make you think about the humanity of Bean.
Hegemon February 13, 2008
Golden Lion (North Ogden, Ut United States)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
1. Peter Wiggin will create a world government through his Free People of the Earth (FPE) alliance. Peter admires Alexander the Great believing that Alexander almost unified the world and established lasting peace. Peter ambition was to unify the world under the direction of a constitution he wrote.
2. Ender's gish member, Han Tzu receives the title of "Mandate of Heavan" and becomes the new emperor of China; others in Ender's Gish included Petra, Bean, Virlomi, Alai, and Ender. Mazer Rackham interacts with Han Tzu, but his action do not contribute, since Han Tzu men have already demonstrated loyalty too him by killing his enemy generals. Mazer used Enders Gish on the Astroid school too destroy the Buggers and annihilate the hive gueen. Ender laments not having understood the enemy and communicated for understanding. Ender teaches the student to learn so much about the enemy that it is impossible not to love him.
3. Petra Arkanian will divorce Bean. Bean engineered the divorce after being forced to travel through space with his three children, hoping for a cure to giantism. If Bean had stayed on earth, he would have died within 6 months because his heart would have given out. However, in space Bean stood the chance of a cure. Bean told Petra to remarry, drew up divorce papers, put his pension in her name, and left a hidden letter. Petra eventually remarried Peter and they have five children together. Petra is a key play in Peter rise to power. Mazer deceives the world into thinking Bean has been killed in an explosion in Armenia. Mazer does not want the people of the earth to think Bean overshadows Peter; Peter must be given 100 percent credit for uniting the earth.
4. Peter forms an alliance with Caliph Alai of the Muslim League. Peter tells Alai that together they will rule the world peacefully and all nations will have the opportunity to vote for admission to the FPE. Eventually, Alai and his true followers of Islam will be sent off to a colony world where they can live peacefully. Mazer and Peter will convince the Battle School not to fight and move them off the earth. Peter and Petra convince Caliph Alai that he is not ruling Islam. Ivan of Russia assassinates one of Alai bodyguards and Alai knowing that Ivan is 100 percent loyal realizes that his security men are all traitors and kills them. Alai must separate the true believers of Islam from the traitors.
5. Islam has conquered India and China. The US maintains its strict policy of neutrality and many die in the war. China and India are major economic players with the US. The US must be in an economic, political, or health crisis, in such a degree the country cannot act militarily or economically.
6. Virlomi represents the India insurgency group of inexperience warrior, who begin worshipping her because her ability to predict battle strategy outcomes. Virlomi, a virtual goddess of India offers herself to Peter as a wife, but is rejected. Virlomi does not want India to be ruled by Islam. Interestingly, Virlomi decides that Islam is not the enemy but Peter Wiggins and blackmails Caliph Alai into marrying her.
7. Islam has gained control of parts of China. Caliph Alai decides to treat the people of China as humans. Alai realizes that the Chinese have strong capitalistic tendencies and has a propensity towards economic prosperity.
8. Ender has departed earth for a colony planet. Ender is the 12 year-old hero of the war against the buggers. Ender communicates with his father and mother, but not Peter. Eventually, Ender anonymously writes a number of books on the war and the "hive queen" destruction. Peter contacts Ender and requests that Ender write his autobiography. Ender writes a short book called the "Hegemon" which Petra reads at Peters grave after he dies from a weak heart.
9. Bean has been genetically altered with Anton's key which makes him grow fast and give him incredible intellectual capacity. Mazer and Graft tell Bean and Petra that he scored higher on the intelligence test than any human could and that he even examined questions that were not asked that should have been. A world of Bean descendants would mean bigger humans, shorter lives, and compressed intellectual contributions. Bean and Peter find 8 out 9 of their genetically altered children and 3 display Bean's syndrome.
10. Peter, Graft, Mazer, Alai, Petra, and Bean collaborate together. Bean helps Peter militarily gain support for the Hegimon. FPE initially starts with five countries but spreads quickly as the other countries join to avoid conflict with Bean's army. Bean military genius cannot be defeated. Battle School believed Bean a genius but not an aggressive dictator like Ghanis Khan and for this reason the group did not support Bean as their supreme leader. However, Peter seems to have the competitive ambition of a Ghanis Khan but initially was rejected from Battle School because he lacked ambition.
11. The nine baby is born, but Randi is determined to leave earth and live in a colony.
12. Peter uses Beans supreme intelligence to unit the world; Peter uses Enders Military victory and pension to build his Hegemony office into one of political power and prestige; Peter's marriage to Petra gives him political insight, as she helps him strategically achieve goals and credibility; Peter creates a single world army that ensures his hegemony will remain uncontested; Peter is unable to convince the United States to join the Hegemony. If the US does not join the Hegemony than Israel will not either, so most likely Israel is not part of the Hegemon.
13. I think Peter is a Tyrant. Mazer and Grapht are evil generals help Peter gain world domination. Peter is a liar, a murder, a thief, and secret conspires to deceive for gain. I even doubt that Peter died. It was probably setup with Petra to make it look like he died. Petra is the great play actress, play grieving for Beans death; Petra goes along with the plot like a good soldier for which Peter called her, as such. Petra is not hero; she is a harlot. Bean never verbally told Petra, he love her; it was Peter, who inserted those words. Bean escaped Petra in space because he abhorred her and left her for Peter to salvage.
14. The sequence to this story will be the terrible convergence of war and carnage, as earth becomes a final battleground and Peter Wiggins returns.
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