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Shadow
Puppets
Written
by Orson Scott Card
Reviewed
by Tom A. Wright
I've
been a fan of Mr. Card's works since a friend recommended Ender's
Game. I've 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 be certain you read these
books, in order: Ender's
Game, Ender's
Shadow, and Shadow
of the Hegemon.
Shadow Puppets
continues following the extremely smart children of Battle School
as they reshape the governments of the world, or 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 becomes even more difficult, since 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 was so simple, but inspired. The
characters, though, are what hold the readers interest the most.
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 part. I'd hoped
for more when Bean faced off against Achilles. Despite the luke-warm
ending, this was still a great edition to the series.
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