Like near everyone who’s read it, I loved Ender’s Game. (1985)

Orson Scott Card’s follow-up — Speaker for the Dead (1986) — was good, but different. As a result, I gave up on the Ender’s Game (series), eleven novels, twelve short stories, and 47 comic issues.

But Warren recommend I try Book #5 — Ender’s Shadow — a retelling of the original story, from the perspective of another character — Bean.

… In fact, the two books tell an almost identical story of brilliant children being trained in the orbiting Battle School to lead humanity’s fleets in the final war against alien invaders known as the Buggers. The most brilliant of these young recruits is Ender Wiggin, an unparalleled commander and tactician who can surely defeat the Buggers if only he can overcome his own inner turmoil.

Second among the children is Bean, who becomes Ender’s lieutenant despite the fact that he is the smallest and youngest of the Battle School students.

Bean is the central character of Shadow, and we pick up his story when he is just a 2-year-old starving on the streets of a future Rotterdam that has become a hell on earth.

Bean is unnaturally intelligent for his age, which is the only thing that allows him to escape–though not unscathed–the streets and eventually end up in Battle School. Despite his brilliance, however, Bean is doomed to live his life as an also-ran to the more famous and in many ways more brilliant Ender. Nonetheless, Bean learns things that Ender cannot or will not understand, and it falls to this once pathetic street urchin to carry the weight of a terrible burden that Ender must not be allowed to know. …

Amazon

It is excellent, almost as good as the original.

Recommended. But not for kids. This is an adult book.

Ender’s Game — the film — is finally scheduled for release Nov. 2013.

… an ensemble cast that includes Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Aramis Knight, Hailee Steinfeld, Jimmy Pinchak, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin. In November 2010, Card stated that the film’s storyline would be a fusion of Ender’s Game and its parallel novel, Ender’s Shadow, focusing on the important elements of both.

The actor is agee-15, too old to play the part of Ender, actually. I hope Hollywood manages NOT to ruin the story.

I fear they’ll add a LOVE STORY to the plot.