Shadow of the Hegemon, Orson Scott Card
Shadow of the Hegemon, Orson Scott Card
96 Rating(s)
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Shadow of the Hegemon

Author: Orson Scott Card

Narrator: David Birney, Scott Brick, Gabrielle de Cuir

Unabridged: 12 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/05/2006


Synopsis

The War is over, won by Ender Wiggin and his team of brilliant child-warriors. The enemy is destroyed, the human race is saved. Ender himself refuses to return to the planet, but his crew has gone home to their families, scattered across the globe. The battle school is no more.

But with the external threat gone, the Earth has become a battlefield once more. The children of the Battle School are more than heroes; they are potential weapons that can bring power to the countries that control them. One by one, all of Ender's Dragon Army are kidnapped. Only Bean escapes; and he turns for help to Ender's brother Peter.

Peter Wiggin, Ender's older brother, has already been manipulating the politics of Earth from behind the scenes. With Bean's help, he will eventually rule the world.

Shadow of the Hegemon is the second novel in Orson Scott Card's Shadow Series.

About Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is best known for his science fiction novel Ender's Game and its many sequels that expand the Ender Universe into the far future and the near past. Those books are organized into the Ender Saga, which chronicles the life of Ender Wiggin; the Shadow Series, which follows on the novel Ender's Shadow and is set on Earth; and the Formic Wars series, written with co-author Aaron Johnston, which tells of the terrible first contact between humans and the alien "Buggers." Card has been a working writer since the 1970s. Beginning with dozens of plays and musical comedies produced in the 1960s and 70s, Card's first published fiction appeared in 1977--the short story "Gert Fram" in the July issue of The Ensign, and the novelette version of "Ender's Game" in the August issue of Analog. The novel-length version of Ender's Game, published in 1984 and continuously in print since then, became the basis of the 2013 film, starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin. Card was born in Washington state, and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he runs occasional writers' workshops and directs plays. He frequently teaches writing and literature courses at Southern Virginia University.He is the author many science fiction and fantasy novels, including the American frontier fantasy series "The Tales of Alvin Maker" (beginning with Seventh Son), and stand-alone novels like Pastwatch and Hart's Hope. He has collaborated with his daughter Emily Card on a manga series, Laddertop. He has also written contemporary thrillers like Empire and historical novels like the monumental Saints and the religious novels Sarah and Rachel and Leah. Card's work also includes the Mithermages books (Lost Gate, Gate Thief), contemporary magical fantasy for readers both young and old. Card lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card. He and Kristine are the parents of five children and several grandchildren.

About David Birney

David Birney has read a number of works for Theatreworks, NPR Playhouse and BBC dramatic recordings, including The Diary of Anne Frank, Star Wars, and Julius Caesar. His audiobook credits include narrating several Orson Scott Card books as well as reading for many AudioFile Earphones Award winning titles. Birney is also an award-winning actor and director. He has starred in many television films, among them Love and Betrayal, Long Journey Home, The Deadly Game, High Midnight, and The Champions. His extensive stage credits include starring roles on Broadway and major roles at the American Shakespeare Festival, New York's Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, the New York Shakespeare Festival, Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre and numerous regional theatres.

About Scott Brick

Scott Brick first began narrating audiobooks in 2000, and after recording almost 400 titles in five years, AudioFile magazine named Brick a Golden Voice and “one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy.” He has read a number of titles in Frank Herbert’s bestselling Dune series, and he won the 2003 Science Fiction Audie Award for Dune: The Butlerian Jihad. Brick has narrated for many popular authors, including Michael Pollan, Joseph Finder, Tom Clancy, and Ayn Rand. He has also won over 40 AudioFile Earphones Awards and the AudioFile award for Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense 2011. In 2007, Brick was named Publishers Weekly’s Narrator of the Year. Brick has performed on film, television and radio. He appeared on stage throughout the United States in productions of Cyrano, Hamlet, Macbeth and other plays. In addition to his acting work, Brick choreographs fight sequences, and was a combatant in films including Romeo and Juliet, The Fantasticks and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He has also been hired by Morgan Freeman to write the screenplay adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama.

About Gabrielle de Cuir

Gabrielle de Cuir is a Grammy-nominated and Audie Award-winning producer whose narration credits include the voice of Valentine in Orson Scott Card’s Ender novels, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Tombs of Atuan, and Natalie Angier’s Woman, for which she was awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Earphones Award.  She lives in Los Angeles where she also directs theatre and presently has several projects in various stages of development for film.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Alexander on 2008-08-27 09:57:24

Take away that this is narrated by the worst narrator in the business, this book is still horrible. With the end of the amazing Ender series you can actually witness OSC's sink into new depths of whining that is ever present in all of his newer material. This book is melodramatic drivel all the way to the end...my wife liked it though.

Goodreads review by Nicholas on February 22, 2009

I'm tired of you Orson Scott Card. Ender's Game was fun. Ender's Shadow was a similar kind of fun in the same setting. I had hoped Shadow of the Hegemon would follow the nifty character of Bean back to Earth. It does.... sort of. Have you ever met one of those nerds who owns multiple editions of Risk?......more

Goodreads review by Maria on March 28, 2017

Plasată după încheierea luptei dintre omenire și "furnici", acțiunea din Umbra Hegemonului urmărește luptele și intrigile politice ce sfâșie Pământul după desființarea Școlii de luptă. Odată ajunși pe Pământ, foștii membrii ai armatei lui Ender sunt răpiți și folosiți pentru a planifica strategi......more

Goodreads review by Michael on January 22, 2024

An enraged and brilliant Achilles kidnaps Petra, and Bean must find her. This Shadow episode takes place entirely on Earth (a first for the series) and is a nail-biter from start to finish. Bean finally learns about his real origins at a high personal cost. Peter finally becomes Hegemon, but we only......more

Goodreads review by Niki Hawkes on August 30, 2023

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would! Starting the next one.........more

Goodreads review by Kim on February 21, 2018

Shadow of the Hegemon follows the brilliant battle school children from the exciting space-centered, alien-fighting novel Ender's Game into a new political thriller. Full disclaimer: In general, I do not like thrillers and I don't like heavy politics in books. However, since I already know and care a......more


Quotes

“The professional cast of narrators gives a spirited and dynamic reading of this science fiction series. Their individual styles are complementary, and the story passes among them seamlessly. They quickly become associated with the main characters, aiding the listener in following the threads of the plot.” —AudioFile on Shadow of the Giant


Awards

  • NYPL Books for the Teen Age
  • ALA Best Books for Young Adults