stories in sequence
by Beckett B. of HIgh Tech High International '14
Stories capture us, but how can someone create multiple stories and keep the reader interested? It’s not only about new events and characters. The setup of the story itself has to change to keep things interesting. These books tell the tale of genius students who graduate from a military training school.
This series is a parallel to the widely renowned Ender’s Game series. After defeating a foreign enemy in space, these students must deal with power hungry countries on earth. Every nation wants their own empire. The series transforms from following just one of these students, to following all of them, and also follows additional key figures in the story. These books are great for those who enjoy a unique science fiction story. |
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Ender's Shadow
by Orson Scott Card - 469 pages Ender’s Shadow is the same story as Ender’s Game except that it’s narrated from a different perspective. Ender’s Shadow focuses on following a small and intelligent character, Bean. He survives starvation on his own as a young child. His great intelligence is recognized by many. He earns his way to Battle School, a renowned military training program in space. There he rises in ranks and takes on bigger and bigger challenges in hopes of defeating an alien race commonly known as the “Buggers.” Throughout the story, the author, Orson Scott Card, focuses on developing Bean as a character. He builds him by creating events for him to react to. After each major event, something major is learned about Bean. He transforms from a shell of a character to a unique individual by the end of the book. |
Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card - 451 pages The second book in this series is a continuation of the first. All of the genius students return to earth after graduating from the military school in space. Immediately countries try to kidnap them and use them as their own military leaders. This leads to a world war, everyone wants to conquer new lands and peoples. Instead of focusing on just Bean in this story, Orson Scott Card widens his focus and narrates from multiple characters’ perspectives. He follows characters as they either struggle to fight alongside their countries or prevent further chaos and destruction. In Shadow of the Hegemon, Scott Card forgoes new major character development to focus on increasing the complexity of the plot. He uses Ender’s Shadow as a base of knowledge so that readers can understand the chaotic plot in the second book. |
Shadow Puppets Orson Scott Card - 375 pages The third book in the series is similar to the second. It follows multiple characters rather than just one. Shadow Puppets develops mainly by the addition of new plot twists. The biggest villain throughout the series somehow claims the role of Hegemon (world leader). The book follows the Battle School students as they try to bring him down and save themselves from his wrath. This book’s focus is not on character development but simply on further plot development. New unexpected twists and turns in the story come up often, making Shadow Puppets a hard book to put down and a great third book in the series. |