Shadows in Flight

De: Orson Scott Card

Narrado por: Stefan Rudnicki, Emily Janice Card, Scott Brick

Ender's Shadow explores the stars in this all-new novel...

At the end of Shadow of the Giant, Bean flees to the stars with three of his children--the three who share the engineered genes that gave him both hyper-intelligence and a short, cruel physical life. The time dilation granted by the speed of their travel gives Earth's scientists generations to seek a cure, to no avail. In time, they are forgotten--a fading ansible signal speaking of events lost to Earth's history. But the Delphikis are about to make a discovery that will let them save themselves, and perhaps all of humanity in days to come.

For there in space before them lies a derelict Formic colony ship. Aboard it, they will find both death and wonders--the life support that is failing on their own ship, room to grow, and labs in which to explore their own genetic anomaly and the mysterious disease that killed the ship's colony.

Shadows in Flight is the fifth novel in Orson Scott Card's Shadow Series.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Card's latest installment in his Shadow subseries…does a superlative job of dramatically portraying the maturing process of child into adult…. Card makes the important point that there's always more than one side to every issue. Fans will marvel at how subtly he has prepared for the clever resolution.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Shadow of the Giant

“Shadow of the Giant is a fitting and satisfying continuation to the Ender series, although it is not a conclusion. Card...seems to indicate that he will at some point return to follow Bean's family and the other Battle School Children as they expand throughout the galaxy.” —SF Site.com

“Once again, Card keeps the action, danger, and intrigue levels high...paves the way for further Ender-Bean developments; and leaves his readers eagerly awaiting them.” —Booklist on Shadow Puppets

Great Build Up, and then Just Ends

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.

Excellent addition to the "Enderverse"

Would you listen to Shadows in Flight again? Why?

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

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shadows in Flight?

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

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

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.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

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

Any additional comments?

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!

Definitely a novelette

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to all who have been waiting for a "conclusion" to Bean's story.

What did you like best about this story?

It was an interesting concept. I do not want to ruin the plot for anyone. It had me wanting to listen continuously.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is on par with all other books produced by Blackstone Audio. I haven't heard one of their narrators I did not like.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely... and with this book length I could.

Any additional comments?

I wish it was a full novel.

A Sentinental Man

Any additional comments?

It is obvious that Orson Scott Card loves his characters, and what is not to love and respect about Bean? He grew up as a feral child and without his own abilities and the love of a few he would have died as an infant. While I loved Enders Game and the subsequent books in that series Enders Shadow was equal in the quality of story telling and the quality of the characters. Bean, Petra, Peter, and the others of Ender's tribe that are portrayed in the Shadow series are complex and interesting people. There is not always a happy ending,
no spoiler here with this book by the way. Ender has his struggles as does Bean, but this is life. I liked this book, it continued the story, a little short for sure. I love nothing more than a good 20 hour audible listen ! and I have bought enough of Card's books to realize that he is as prolific as they get. I think it is a combination of his obvious bottomless well of story's to tell mixed with some business. lets not forget Orson Scott Card's forerunners like Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein and the like cranked out some short books and some of dubious quality to pay the mortgage. So I took this as it was, a nice continuation of the Bean saga with interesting characters, a good solid story that lives in and expands the Ender universe. I will certainly buy the next book in this series which will apparently connect the two threads, that of the Ender's Game story line and the Ender's Shadow..

Could have been so much more

Would you listen to Shadows in Flight again? Why?

Possibly because I am a huge fan of the whole Enderverse and even though this seems uncomplete to me it is stll apart of that.

Any additional comments?

I went in thinking this would be an answer or completion of Bean's and Petra's story but was left with even more questions at the end then when I had started with, different question now but more. I don't know if there will be a sequel to this but if so, I think it should have been part of this book. The ending for me was too abrupt.

Having said that.... The performance was excellent and true to form for the series and was enjoyable just the same.