I just finished Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card. If you haven't read Ender's Game, you should. It's about, in simplest terms, a brilliant child who is used by the world government to defeat an alien race. Sounds silly, but it was actually pretty good, as such books go. Ender's Shadow is a retelling of the story of one of the side characters of the first book, an orphan named Bean. Many of the same events occur, but we follow Bean's story and perspective through them. It was an interesting idea, and worth trying. Card didn't fail, but that's because his sights weren't set high enough. There was a certain something about the first book that put it a cut above this one. Or maybe it is because the idea is no longer new, and I was younger and less discriminating when I first read Ender's Game. If I read one more time how smart Bean is... Let's face it. Writers like Orson Scott Card just aren't that great. They're entertaining, somewhat interesting, and every now and then will make you think, but not too hard. It's not his fault; he's probably a pretty smart and interesting guy. It's just that his prose doesn't evoke much. It's a story, albeit an interesting one, but that's about it.