Shadow of the Giant was extremely interesting. Bean never fails to amaze me through his impossibly genius mind. We also get to see new sides to Petra and Peter, as well as Bean, as they all face the new and improved challenges of the world and life itself. I was immediately taken in by the love and family essence that shows throughout the book that the others simply lacked. I also love how the characters take on their new roles and deal with their new issues. Each and every solution they come up with fascinates me. They seem to become more brilliant by the second, which really helps the characters in this particular book. There were definitely surprises in Shadow of the Giant. Many of the decisions made in the book were shocking, but flowed seamlessly through to the end. Thanks to the perfectly flowing storyline, the book flew by in a breeze and was over too quickly. I was not always pleased by the decisions of the characters, but I could always at least understand the purpose in the choice that was made. As always, there was plenty of action, written in such a way that Orson Scott Card made me feel like I was there. I was very glad that so many loose ends were tied up but not fully satisfied by the ending. It was not what I wanted, but I was okay with it. However, I feel as though the ending left room for another installment in the already amazing series and am eagerly awaiting it.

The child warriors of the Battle School are now adults and are rising to lead their home countries. This, however, might not be good news for the Earth, as their ambitions seem destined to plunge the world into devestating wars. Peter Wiggin, older brother of Ender and titular Hegemon of Earth, has another plan. He wants to use his office, originally nothing more than an honorary title, to unite the planet under a single government, bringing lasting peace. At his side is Julian Delphiki, better known as Bean. Bean was a key to Ender's victory over the aliens, saving the Earth. Now he and his wife Petra are searching for their children, stolen as embryos and secretly implanted in surrogate mothers, as well as helping Peter with his efforts to unite the people of the world.

This is a satisfying conclusion to the stories of both Bean and Peter Wiggin, and explains the origins of the Hegemony that becomes part of Ender's story as he voyages across space and time. How many more stories are left to be told? What about Valentine, sister to Ender and Peter? Might there be another parallel series in the works? Fans of the series can only hope...

This book ends the shadow series perfectly. I only wish there were more to read.

This book is absolutely amazing, there are several unanticipated twists and Bean's impending doom is a theme throughout the book.
10 out of 10
a great book
I couldn't put it down