After finding a cure for giantism, the descendants of Julian (Bean) Delphiki were recruited by Jane, Ender’s evolved computer intelligence. They are tasked to conduct research to uncover the origins of the descolada virus. Believing that it was sent from another planet, the Ribeira family continue their ongoing battle with the descolada virus with the aid of Jane, Peter Wiggin, and Si Wang-Mu. The combined research team of the Delphikis and the Ribeiras have traced what they believe to be the descolada’s origins to a planet of Nest, the home of descendants of the Huapaya who escaped during the first Formic war.
Orson Scott Card’s The Last Shadow is the much-anticipated conclusion of both the Ender series and Ender’s Shadow series. Both series begin with Ender’s Game and follow the same timeline, combining the characters and plots works smoothly. As in the previous novels in both series, Card tackles the issues and ethics of xenocide (the genocide of an entire alien species), colonization, genetic engineering, and the struggles of dealing with an ever-evolving deadly virus. Card also continues to develop many of his more beloved characters as well as the introduction of many new personalities. If you are a fan of both of Card’s Ender series, this is a bittersweet ending, but one could hope he expand on the adventures of the descendants of Bean.

Like every OS Card book, this was an amazing story. Card paints every blade of grass in the worlds he creates, and even when the novel is made more clear by reading the others in the series, they survive on their own to give you a wonderful reading experience.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Concluding both the Ender and the Ender's Shadow series, this story centers on Lusitania's incurable and deadly virus descolada, which would eradicate human if it escapes the planet.

Bean's genius grandchildren are assigned the task of saving humanity from descolada, interacting with many alien races along the way.

The Last Shadow by Orson Scott Card, is by his own admission best listened to rather than read. It was an enthralling story and despite the fact I hadn't read the first five in the series, he made it plain what was going on. I jumped at the chance to listen to this book as I had read the first couple in the original series and was enamored by them. Card has a wondrous imagination and is a gifted storyteller. There are a lot of characters, not all of whom are still living, and it takes a little bit to sort them all out. Then it is clear sailing to a totally satisfying listening experience.

If one didn't realize this was the end of a six-book series, one might think it was political commentary as much of the story was woven around a pandemic. Was it generated to wipe out civilizations or was it an anomaly? A question answered before the end of the book. The pandemic is not political, however, the introduction of different species, the advances of science which may not fit all ethics, and coming to understand those who were previously enemies, may all be more so. The main characters are children, at least by appearance and experience, certainly not by intellect, which proves to enhance the story greatly since they tend to be more mature than some of the "adults."

Multiple readers who provide the multitude of voices necessary and keep it from becoming tiresome present the book. They include Emily Rankin, Gabrielle de Cur, John Rubenstein, Judy Young, Justine Eyre, Kirby Heyborne, Orson Scott Card, Scott Brick, and Stefan Rudnicki. This was a wonderful book and an excellent audio interpretation of it.

I was invited to listen to a free audio of The Last Shadow by Macmillan Audio, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #macmillanaudio #orsonscottcard #thelastshadow

I grew up on Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow and loved them both in spite of the author's homophobic, sexist, and generally bigoted views. And despite these views, I've still read some of the sequels that Card has written because I love that world, though none have been particularly good. This sequel, though, takes the cake for being the absolute worst of the bunch (or maybe I'm just in a place in my life where I have less tolerance for awfulness. And if that's the case, I only wish I'd gotten here sooner). I got less than a quarter of the way through and then just couldn't bear to finish it. Enough was enough when some of the characters described their surroundings as the "Delphiki Concentration Camp." No. Just No. I have better things to do than read and support this author. I'm done.

This was a nice addition to the Ender series. There was a lot going on in the book but was never confusing. It did take me a bit to remember what was going on as it has been so long since the last book. I liked most of the characters (some of the others we aren't meant to like I'm sure).

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Shadow is a keenly fascinating continuation of the saga started with Ender's Game and Speaker of the Dead. The grand children of Bean are featured as they become center figures in the mystery of origin and spread of the Descolada virus. Card introduces an interesting twist with a new planet of human colonists previously unknown. A very good read on the series that continues fleshing out the new Peter Wiggin character. New readers to the saga may well want to read the previous novels in the series to fully understand the storyline.

3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews

Summary
Bean's grandchildren are super-intelligent, but their flawed parents have twisted their development. When they're brought to Lusitania to meet Jane the ex-AI and a reconstructed Peter Wiggin, they quickly dive into research to determine the source of the deadly descolada virus, and find more than they expected.

Review
I grew up with Andrew Wiggin. Allowing for time dilation, he and I are about the same age. Of course, he's fictional, dead, and only semi-resurrected, but I have my bad days too. "Ender's Game" was one of the stories to draw me into SFF when I read it in Analog in the late 70s. It was a story that really brought home to me the possibilities of SFF and the power of a talented writer.

Some years later, I started to discover Card's other work, and was equally enthralled with Songmaster, A Planet Called Treason, Hot Sleep, and other books. I think Card is (or can be) a phenomenal writer, matched only by George R.R. Martin in short stories (but better at novels). Still, I was dubious when he turned Ender into a novel. I bought it anyway, and it was fine - a very good story written by an expert, but, for all its length, not better than the short story. I was brought around, though, by the sequels, Speaker for the Dead and (somewhat less so) Xenocide. Here, Card was doing something genuinely new with the story.

I like Card's writing so much that I bought into the whole Shadow series, which says something - a writer so good I was willing to read the same story again from a different perspective. I was less interested by the Shadow sequels, to the extent that I missed one, Shadows in Flight (the prequel to Last Shadow) entirely. I was confused, in part, by the proliferation of spinoffs, only part written by Card, that I didn't bother with at all.

Still, it's fair to say that I've delved moderately far into the Enderverse (as Card calls it), and that the first story was very important to me. So I was interested, if no longer really keen, to read this final chapter. And it was ... fine.

I think I could boil this book - and some of its predecessors; maybe the entire series - down to: super-intelligent people experiencing regular emotions. Just because you're a genius doesn't mean you can't be nervous, shy, jealous, angry, etc. Only Ender and his brother Peter (the original, not the copy this book is about) really come across as unknowable geniuses, beyond mortal comprehension.

Is that a failure? I suspect Card might say so - much of the series has been about getting to know Ender, after all - but I don't think so. I feel we got to know Ender's shell and his intent pretty well, but his powers just leave him beyond true comprehension. Peter never really got much of a look in - more plot mechanism than true character, and the same, to a lesser extent, with sister Valentine.

In any case, this book continues an exploration of the emotional lives of hyper-intelligent people. It's readable and relatable, and mildly interesting. It wraps up - loosely - the lives of the principal characters of the whole series: Ender, Jane, Valentine, Bean's children, the Hive Queen, the pequeninos, the descolada virus, etc. It just doesn't do it in a very interesting way. This is an endpoint, not a culmination. It's, frankly, an overextended series petering out. It's not terrible, but a story that started so strong and had such memorable characters deserved better.

There's a lot of the Enderverse that I haven't read and don't expect to. Maybe those books wrap things up even more. Maybe not. I'm satisfied to let it end this way. Not what I hoped for, but acceptable. In part that's because of length and time - somewhat akin to my feeling about The Song of Ice and Fire, should it ever end, but with better characters. In part, it's because Card seems to have lost quite a bit of the flame that burned so bright in the early days. He's had a lot more misses these days, and a lot more [shrug]. It's all still written well, but it lacks magic. If you're a devoted Enderite, read this; tie things off. If you're new to the whole series, I think you'll get a lot more mileage for your time from just reading the 1977 short story.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Full disclosure: I am a huge fan of the Enderverse, with Ender’s Game sitting on my top 10 shelf. The Enderverse is basically divided into two parts: Ender’s Saga which of course follows Ender’s life … and the Shadow Series which follows the lives of his supporting cast. However, the style of the books after Ender’s Game were markedly different, taking are more thought provoking or philosophical approach that I found interesting, but not all that exciting. Generally the Shadow Series was a return the the original style of that first book, retelling the same story from a different perspective and I really enjoyed them. The Last Shadow is much more like Speaker and Xenocide … and I highly recommend that you read through at least that far before reading this book, which actually picks up sometime after Child of the Mind and tones down the weirdness a little.

Ender is Dead … Long Live Ender.

Basic Premise
… you got an apocalyptic virus with a team trying to save humanity
… you got crazy genius kids (vaguely connected to Ender) straight from the Big Bang Theory that can help
… you got space travel with time dilation (so 1000s of years in the future) with super secret blink tech to give you a “first contact” situation without the centuries of waiting.
… despite all the bickering, all the kool kids are way civilized and rarely challenged much … it was amusing in a Calvin and Hobbes sort of way.

Despite all of that silliness … I really enjoyed the book … reading it in just under two days, so it does pull you along nicely. Parts can come across as a tad preachy, but not too bad or over the top … and it does get you thinking about “things.” I would say it is not his best work, but it was better than Children of the Mind, so in that respect I am rounding up to four (4) stars.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheLastShadow #NetGalley

This is the final book that ties together the Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow series. It does not stand on its own, and is a direct sequel in characters and events to Children of the Mind and Shadows in Flight. For those who want to do a minimalist reread in anticipation of the release of The Last Shadow, I recommend from the Ender's Game series: Xenocide, and Children of the Mind; and from the Ender's Shadow Series: Shadow of the Giant, and Shadows in Flight. If this is your first time with the Enderverse, I'd recommend reading all of the original titles from both series, because everything builds on what came before.. The Formic Wars prequel books are not needed to appreciate this book. "The Investment Counselor" in First Meetings would be a bonus for an important character's history.

The Last Shadow is primarily recommended for series completists. I am one of those. After so many years of waiting for this book, I'm mostly glad that it's finally releasing. The earlier works in each series are still the strongest entries, but for series fans it won't matter. We want to know how the plot threads resolve and to have an idea of the future of the characters we care about most. This book mostly delivers on those hopes. To those looking for a dramatic finish, this final entry may be a bit quiet for their tastes, but overall it's a worthwhile read.