Shadow of the Giant was released in the United Kingdom on August 4 and, like the devoted fan of OSC that I am, I went out and brought it even though it was dearer that Amazon.com told me it would be. Never mind because the book's brilliant and is an excellent conclusion to the Shadow Saga.
So, Mr. Card, I just wanted to congratulate you on another amazing piece of fiction in which the emotional punch is as powerful as ever. Also, I wanted to thank you for the book and ask this question: Why did it take so long to come out? It was years between the release of Shadow Puppets and this one.
Once again, never mind because the book's great and I look forward to the next set of Ender novels.
[ August 13, 2005, 12:59 AM: Message edited by: Orson Scott Card ]
Posted by Shawshank (Member # 8453) on :
Well- he does have other novels and other projects he's been working on. Advent Rising, starting his new webzine- writing Magic Street.
Don't forget- he's not author first. He's a family man first.
But I must agree with you about SotG- what really did it for me was near the end when *spoiler* Peter finally talks to Ender- that nearly brought me to tears- and I don't cry much over fictional anything. That conversation was the most moving to me of any in most of his books- probably because it hit close to home.
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
If I recall correctly, the time between ES and SotH was just about the same, as well as the time between SotH and SP.
Posted by Daric (Member # 8402) on :
Wow, ya'll just got it? It came out in the US several months ago. I bought it the first day it came out and finished it that day. *SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!* My favorite part is when Bean leaves to go into space and leaves Petra behind. It made me sad but it was a great moment. *SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!*
[ August 07, 2005, 12:30 AM: Message edited by: Daric ]
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
Whoa, Daric! You might want to avoid posting major spoilers without a warning! Not everyone has read it yet. Some people wait for the paperback, or just haven't gotten around to it yet.
Posted by Daric (Member # 8402) on :
Sorry! I thought this was a thread for people who have already read it. Why is there no post edit on this site?
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
It's okay. Chances are, anyone who hasn't read it yet will avoid any thread which is specifically referring to it. Just to be on the safe side though, threads that are meant to contain spoilers usually have the word "spoiler" in the title, and if not, posts which contain spoilers usually have some similar warning. Anyway, there is an edit function. Just click on the pencil and paper icon above your post.
Posted by Gosu (Member # 5783) on :
My favorite part is when Dink makes a gesture.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
I just added a spoiler warning to the topic header. sometimes you don't know, going in, that a thread will evolve to have spoilers in it.
Thanks for the kind words about Giant. I'm glad it's finally out in the UK and Commonwealth! Not their fault - I delivered it just under the wire to meet a Barnes & Noble promotion date in the US, but my British publisher was not prepared to rush it as radically as TOR did.
Generally, my series are spaced reasonably widely. Some, like Alvin, are sometimes ludicrously long between installments. But I have to wait until the book is ready for me to write it. A forced book is a dead book, in my experience.
I have been coming out with two books a year almost every year for decades. Sometimes three, sometimes one. Just because you're following one series it might feel like i'm slacking, but look at how the poor readers of the Women of Genesis are having to wait because i did Magic Street and Shadow of the Giant first!
These things take time. Especially when the publishers send me out signing books. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not writing during those events - or during the travel associated with them. Bummer, huh?
Posted by Beanny (Member # 7109) on :
Just read it...what a great book! But what a sad ending.
Bean and his children, doomed to die young. Peter and Ender didn't become friends, Petra is widowed, and Graff and Rackham are dead. Of course, everyone dies at some point or another, I just hoped that this book would end happily...who am I kidding?
My consollation: Xenocide and CoM are yet to be read...
I think my favorite part was the reunion of the old Battle Schoolers. I missed those guys!
[childish]
Oh, and may I add that I sooo KNEW (really!) that Petra would end up with Peter, and WAY before the first three chapters of SotG were published on the site. I even said it somewhere here....it just HAD to be.
[/childish]
Now, the truth: OSC told my cousin in Israel in the 1999 book signing (I think that's the correct date) that they would be together, and when he was shocked, OSC said "what?? I've known it all along!"
So we didn't know if we should believe him or not, but after SotH it was obvious. Mr. Card: Thanks for giving me the right to so "la la la, I told you so!" to anyone I know who reads OSC...
![[Smile]](smile.gif)