Shadow Puppets has been discussed before, but I didn’t want to revive a year old thread. This thread contains a big spoiler - one that will ruin the book if you haven’t read it, so read no further if so!
So I finally got around to reading Shadow Puppets. I’ve read every other “Ender” book, and really enjoyed the Shadow/Bean spinoff - I thought Ender’s Shadow was an amazing way to present the same story twice. I liked Shadows of the Hegemon and while I share many sentiments with the posters in the other thread, I still somewhat enjoyed Shadow Puppets because I love the characters so much. Well, up until the last few chapters - I thought something big would happen, something to tie everything together, but it was a weak ending in my opinion. These characters have so much potential, and I was let down - Peter seemed unintelligent and we barely saw Achilles, and I expected a little more from Bean and Petra based on past novels. I must say though that Achilles’ escape (and Suriwong’s handling of it) was one of the best parts of the story - if the whole book was written in this manner it would have been up there with the first books. Of course maybe this book was there just for character development (albeit not very good character development), or it was intened to be a downer of sorts, like “The Empire Strikes Back” was to the first Star Wars.
My major question/problem - why kill Achilles?!?! He was an excellent villian, and was the ‘opposite’ to Bean in the first two books - how can you kill a main character and expect to write a good 4th book? Continue the story of Peter/Bean vs Alai? That makes no sense. Vs Han Tzu? This character is hardly developed. Bean vs. Peter? I really wish Card hadn’t ended this book with Achilles’ death, I see nowhere for him to go from here.
The next book will be called Shadow of the Giant which could refer to someone being Bean’s shadow since he should be huge by then?
And just incase people from the previous thread search for their username I’ll include them here, because I’d like to get responses from somebody hopefully! Enderw24, Qadgop the Mercotan, Lsura, The Great Zamboni, Rabid Child, king of spain, smiling bandit, robertliguori, anya marie, & NoClueBoy.
I suspect Card is going to pull off the final book with a Bean vs. Himself routine. Bean and Petra will race to find the empryos and more international intrigue will pop up. It’s going to be so sad to see Bean die, but that won’t be the end of the book. Peter still has to prove himself to be The Great Hegemon. I think the Shadow series will end much better than the Ender series did because the characters are still likeable and realistic. I have high expectations for the final book.
This book did not meet up with my expectations and I think part of it has to do with an overwhelming need to put religion into his books. On past books and series, like the Alvin Maker saga, the Mormon religion plays heavily in the character’s lives. I accept this because it’s built in from the start and it helps to further the story.
With the Homecoming series, religion isn’t right there at the forefront and yet it weaves its way into the story as it tells the Book of Mormon. It’s religious, yes, but it’s based upon symbolism and the subtext drives the characters. You really don’t realize you’re reading a religious text in science fiction form. It’s just a good story.
But in Shadow Puppets, the religion isn’t just out in the forefront, it alters characters in such a way that they act in an unbelievable manner. Ender’s parents, heretofore unnamed, are suddenly named after religious icons and have a deep religious background? Petra is reduced to the woman who just wants children? Bean, who’s a foot smarter than the rest of the class, knows he can’t trust the guy and yet goes ahead and produces the embryos, thus setting up an entirely preventable sequel situation. Why? I dunno, because he liked Sister Carlotta and I guess found God or something and God said “thou shalt have children, so let it be written so let it be done.”
The religious nature of this book warps the characters and makes the story unbelievable. That’s my main problem with it.
If you remember, in Ender’s Game it was mentioned that the Wiggin parents were secretly religious, and it was hinted that they highly resented hiding their beliefs and would have broken the tabu of non-religion had they not been submissive to the government.
The religion of Bean and Petra wasn’t necessary in Puppets. That’s just not like those two. Then again, how could Bean not become a little religious after his relationship with Sister Carlotta?
I hope these muddied waters will be cleared in the final book.
I haven’t read the previous thread, so forgive me if this is all repetitious.
I was hugely irritated by the fact that they don’t even acknowlege the existence of birth control during the whole “We love each other but can’t get married because I can’t let myself have kids” thing. I know Card’s devoutly Mormon, and probably opposed to birth control, but it’s downright silly to impose those views on two irreligious characters. I mean, the world’s just come out of a long period of two-children-per-family laws, it’s not possible for people to be unaware of methods that let them have sex without having kids. It’d be one thing if they discussed it and rejected the option for some reason, but the refusal to deal with the issue at all rings very wrong to me.
I think the series has grown progressively weaker, and has reached the point that when Card doesn’t know what to do in a given situation, he introduces a new former Battle School student from a new country and hops us over there.
I think Card backed himself into a corner with this series. In each trilogy #1 is fantastic, #2 is painful, and #3 doesn’t seem to make much sense. Any fourth book should serve as a 7th to the entire Ender saga, either tying up all the loose ends, or opening the way for a whole new set of characters, kind of like how Herbert et al did with Dune.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are some plusses in all the books. Like the New Peter / Jane relationship in Children of the Mind, or the super twisted genius of Achille.
And, Card can still write. Pastwatch proves that, as I probably droned on about in the other thread.
Bean’s gigantism is disturbing, too. Makes it hard to read, becuase we knew and accepted Bean as a tiny but powerful force. His quoting Scripture to the heros in Ender’s Shadow literally had me in tears. Card can write superbly, but I think he lost it in the sequels. For the most part.
I’ll still read the next Ender/Bean/Peter book, tho…
