Ender's Shadow is a science fiction novel written by Orson Scott Card and published by Tor Books in 1999.http://us.macmillan.com/author/orsonscottcard It is a sequel to Card's 1985 work, Ender's Game, which won both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards. However, according to the author it “strictly speaking, is not a sequel” because, although it takes place in the same fictional universe, it tells much of the same story, in roughly the same time frame as Ender's Game, only through the eyes of a different character. For this type of follow up novel Card co-opted the term “parallax”.http://www.hatrack.com/osc/books/endersshadow/endersshadow.shtml Three sequels follow Ender's Shadow. They are Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, and Shadow of the Giant. Also in 2009 Marvel Comics began producing comic books adapted from both Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow.http://marvel.com/comics/Enders_Game Card has stated that a movie combining both books is in the pre-production stage.http://www.hatrack.com/osc/books/endersshadow/endersshadow.shtml

Ender's Shadow provides the back story of Bean, who in many ways mirrors Ender, the protagonist from the first book. Both characters are highly intelligent, and use that brilliance to rise to the top of their respective classes. Both characters are plagued by the memory and lingering fear of a bully type from their early childhood. For Ender it is his older brother, Peter, while Bean fears Achilles, the leader of the group of street urchin's who'd adopted him. Ender and Bean are also alike in that their motives throughout the story are generally altruistic, though Bean rarely admits to this aspect of his personality, even to himself. http://www.scificincinnati.com/enders_shadow_page.htm

Ender's Shadow tells the story of Bean, a very young orphan barely existing on the streets of the Dutch city, Rotterdam. Through shrewd maneuvering he is adopted by a”crew” of other street urchins in much the same situation. They follow Bean's advice to draft a bully that will both protect them and advocate for them in one of the city's soup kitchens. The plan works in that the bully they choose, Achilles is able to get them more food as well as a favored position on the streets. On the other hand Achilles is also very devious, with plans to exact revenge on Bean and the former leader of the crew, Poke. In order to escape Achilles' wrath Bean accepts the offer of Sister Carlotta, a none whose calling it is to find suitable candidates among the street kids for Battle School.http://www.curledup.com/endersh.htm

Battle school is actually a space station used as a military training facility for young children. The best and brightest kids are chosen to go there to prepare to stave off another invasion by the Formics, a bug-like, space-faring race of aliens commonly known as “Buggers”. With no fear of bullies on the level of Achille and the gnawing ache of hunger gone, Bean excels in Battle School. He finds very quickly that people compare him to Ender Wiggin, and he goes about studying this other brilliant student from afar. Through this study Bean comes to deeply admire Ender, because he recognizes that even though Bean, himself, is smarter, Ender possesses a noble quality that men would willingly follow, even to their own deaths. Eventually Bean is placed in Ender's army, and Bean supports his commander in ways no other soldier would be capable able. This support continues throughout their tenure in Battle School and culminates in the war with the Buggers.http://www.curledup.com/endersh.htm

• Bean(protagonist): A street urchin from the streets of Rotterdam who is also highly intelligent and observant. He overcomes his humble beginnings to become one of the top students of Battle School. He always knows more about a situation than he tells, but he longs to know more about himself.

• Achilles(antagonist): Also a Rotterdam orphan with a keen mind. He's bigger than Bean but has a bad leg and a ruthless nature. He eventually makes it out of the streets and into Battle School as well. Sparks fly when he is reunited with Bean as his commanding officer.

• Sister Carlotta: A nun who comes to love Bean as the child she could never have. She is the first person to recognize his utter brilliance. After Bean leaves for Battle School she continues to delve into his murky past. She eventually is able to piece together his amazing story which includes what his real name should be.

• Poke: Bean's first real friend, though neither of admit to the relationship. Even as a child she exhibits a motherly attitude toward the smaller kids in the crew. Her tragic life experiences even more tragedy after Achilles joins the crew, though Bean never forgets.

• Petra Arkanian: A rare female in Battle School, she first sees Bean as someone to mentor as she did Ender. Later the two are at odds over an incident with Ender. In the end they become close friends. This friendship becomes the basis for several sequels.

• Nikolai Delphiki: The only kid from Bean's Battle School launch group who befriends Bean. Nikolai is fiercely loyal and sees Bean as being as close as a brother. While he doesn't have Bean's superior intelligence he is often able to contribute insights that don't occur to Bean.

• Colonel Graff: Bean is often a source of irritation to this commander of Battle School. Graff clearly has Ender pegged as a key figure in the war against the Formics, while he sometimes sees Bean as being in the way. He eventually realizes he'll need both the boys to claim the victory that is his ultimate goal.