Shadows in Flight

I'm a huge fan of OSC and most especially of the Enderverse novels however that last two full length novels he has written in this series, A War of Gifts and Ender in Exile felt a bit like fluff. Sure if you are a Card junkie like me then you'll want to read them but they are only adding a little icing to a story to was finished long ago. Shadows in Flight finally gets back to the story fans like me have been waiting for years. What happens to Bean and his children after they leave earth. Even though its a shorter book, it didn't seem like filler between novels but a new story that needed telling and OSC does it with his usual finesse.
It was a great listen with such an amazing cast of narrators. I don't know what I'm going to when the movie comes out and I hear voices other than Stephen Rudniki or Scott Brick. It just won't seem right after so long of listening to them do it so well.
Can't wait for Shadows Alive.

I have never disliked any book/story from Mr Card before the one. The story felt forced and I did not really connect to the characters , except for Bean and only due to the other books in the series. I found the afterword more interesting then the story. To readers new to the enderverse start with the beginning on the shadow series or Ender's Game. I think that only real enderverse fans will appreciate this book and even then will not be high on the reread list.

I have loved all the Ender and Shadow series book so far. I'm reading (listening) to them in chronological order and I have thoroughly enjoying them. When I came up to this story, I was very excited to see what happened to Bean and his three children after they entered the spaceship. I think that this story allowed us to see exactly that. We got to meet his children, all grown up and brilliant and immature. The performance by all the readers is amazing and had me engulfed in the story.

As the story progressed, I loved every minute of it: the relationship between Bean and his children, the relationships between each of the children, the power struggle between the two boys, and the exploration of the ship. When the end neared, I could not sense it, which I am usually able to do. Then it ended and I was left hanging, waiting for the second half of the book to begin.

As Card explained in the author's note, this was an experiment of a half-novel to see if there was a market for such a length. Honestly, I think that this was not long enough to stand on its own as a book, especially when one compares it to the lengths of his other Ender and Shadow novels. I would declare this experiment a failure. It was too short. This could have worked if this was the first book in a series or a stand-alone book. However, to introduce a half-novel in the middle of a series of full length novels was not the smartest of ideas.

Yes, it is chock full of nuances, information and mysteries that I love about this series.

The discovery of the mystery ship, and the processes Bean and the kids go through to determine what they should do.

The narrators are the same as previous Shadow and Ender books, and I love that they have kept it consistent over the years. I also love that the author has personal involvement in the production of the audiobooks.
Seperate voices for each character helps distinguish each point of view (since they are often so different) is great, the personality each voice lends to the characters is important, and a great decision made by the producers.

The end, I wont spoil it, but I shed a couple tears.

This is a short novel, according to Card, he felt he had to tell this story before telling another story (coming soon I presume) and the length is just right. If you have listened to and enjoyed previous Shadow or Ender stories, you will love this one, and I think it is as good as the best of these series. Even though it is shorter than most novels of Cards, I did not feel cheated or that the length was not worth my purchase, I might suggest just paying the purchase price, rather than your monthly credit, if you want to maximize your value.
I love the fact that Orson Scott Card has little "commentaries" at the end of his books, its like getting a short "Bonus feature" like you get on DVD's. I wish more authors did this (I think Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter did this as well). This bonus adds even more value to my purchase, thank you Mr. Card!

Great continuation of the story....

Would like to have seen a way for Bean to continue.

Some of the reviews indicate that this novel was awful but I respectively disagree. While it wasn't as good as Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow, it was a lot better than some of the other books in the series. This novel draws a connection between the Ender and Bean storyliness. It might be confusing if you haven't read those books.

I enjoyed the novel. It was quite short, so it wasn't a huge investment of time like some of the others. However, I was left wandering about the new characters and would be interested in reading more about them.

The narration was great. Each character had a unique narrator. My favourite was Scott Brick as Bean.

I am a long time fan of this series and enjoyed the read. If you are new to the series go back and start with Ender's Game first. If you have already read the series up to this point why are you wasting time reading my review? Not the best in the series, but good. If you've read everything so far this one is a must. For me the best narration is the type that becomes a transparent vehicle for the story. My highest praise for narration is that I didn't notice it. I didn't notice it here. If you love the Ender series definitely read this book. If you are new go to the beginning as this story really depends on you having a history with the character Bean. I have loved this series since beginning it in high school. If you've some how missed the series you have to go and read it from the beginning.

The Cast was Amazing

Yes, this is the first one, i didn't enjoy of the 20+ i have read.

Voice and emotion of the reading

none

I hope he gives up on this Short Book experiment. Its fine for new stories, but not on sequel

After listening to most of the other stories in the Andrew "Ender" Wiggin universe I found this book fell flat. Mr. Card said it best in the post-book interview: he and Tor were testing the idea of a half-sized book.
In my opinion it did not work, I would say calling this is sequel is generous; it does come off as a short story. To me it feels rushed at the end which is ironic because much of the time I was listening I had to ask myself "why does this matter in the big picture?"
The performance was ok, not because of the actors themselves... Scott Brick has always been a favorite of mine from the Dune series; and the other actors did equally well. But there did seem to be some, shall we say quirks from production that prevented me from getting utterly absorbed.
Ultimately, this was the first book of many I every went to the trouble of returning. However, I am ready to move on to the next in hopes of a better listening experience.

I have read many of Orson Scott Cards books and all of the shadow series. I am used to a fairly consistent level of detail in the stories but I felt like this one was an outlier. At the end of the book Orson talks about the shorter format and states it was somewhat of an experiment to see if a story could fit into a cheaper book but I would say the results are negative.
It was difficult to connect with the story in such a short time frame and I am quite certain that it could have been a meaningful book had it been developed deeply.