Review: Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card

Another masterful installment of the fantastic Ender/Bean series. I find it maddening that an author whose creative work I respond to with such favor can be so repellent to me on a personal/political/religious level. It is easy to see some of Card’s political leanings and social beliefs in his works, once one is made aware of them; still, the Ender novels as well as other independent works – like Songmaster – seem somewhat liberal and inclusive, which would be opposed to Card’s ultra-conservatism. Luckily, the writing is so wonderful and the stories so magical that it isn’t too difficult to put aside my feelings for the author and simply enjoy the work (though I can’t see myself buying copies of his books – I’ll have to continue to borrow them from friends/libraries). I finished Shadow Puppets in one day, though it’s about 350 pages, and I’ll be cracking open the next in the series – Shadow of the Giant – tomorrow. Still such an incredible sci-fi fantasy series, though, perhaps not surprisingly, some of the magic of Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow has been lost. Well worth the read.