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Books by tom A. Wright
| | | | | | PWP Member Book Reviews Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card
Review by Tom A. Wright  I've been a fan of Mr. Card's works since a friend recommended Ender's Game. and have read every book in the Ender's series, as well as the spin-off Shadow series. Shadow Puppet concludes the Shadow series, and isn't the book to start off with. To fully understand what is happening in this novel, you should read the series in order: Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Shadow of the Hegemon.
Shadow Puppets continues to follow the extremely smart children of Battle School as they reshape the governments of the world and fight to save it from others. Bean, a genetically modified human, continues to stay one step ahead of his archrival Achilles, who wants him dead. This quest becomes even more difficult because Peter Wiggin, the leader of an internationally sponsored organization striving for world peace, rescues Achilles from China, bringing the viper into the nest. Bean once again finds himself on the run, this time accompanied by Petra, his Battle School ally and the girl he loves. There are many strengths in this book. Mr. Card's geo-political research shows very clearly, and his tactics for stirring up discontent in the Chinese-occupied Indians are simple but inspired. The characters, though, are what will hold readers' interest. I kept turning the page to follow Bean and Petra's relationship, and to see how Peter Wiggin would deal with his first major failure. As with many books, the climax is the weakest point. I'd hoped for more when Bean faced off against Achilles. Despite the lukewarm ending, this was still a great edition in the series. 
Tom A. Wright was the first PWP Webmaster (1998-2005) and served as PWP President in 2004. He and his family now make their home in Arkansas. In addition to writing, he and his wife Annette also raise pygmy goats. Tom is the author of two sci-fi novels, Distant Ties and Broken Ties.
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