This, the immediate sequel to Ender’s Shadow, continues the story of Bean and the other Battle School graduates in the world that follows after the end of the Formic War. In the former book, Bean has a vision of a world in turmoil as all of the political ambitions which were held in check by the need to present a united front are suddenly cut loose. In this book, the turmoil begins as all of Ender’s top commanders, his “jeesh”, are kidnapped as precious military resources. Bean manages to stay free, and sets out to free his comrades as the world situation spirals into war.

On the whole, this isn’t quite as good a book as Ender’s Shadow. Bean spends a lot more time reacting than acting (though to be fair he has to rely on adults to get anything done, and they usually have their own ideas). It isn’t nearly as moving, either. That said, it’s still quite an enjoyable ride, with plenty of action and intrigue, and of course it’s the second volume of a four volume set. Middle volumes are by their nature less interesting than either the first of the last volume in the set. Further, according to the afterword the material in this book and its successor were originally intended to be covered in a single volume. So all things consideredShadow of the Hegemon succeeds pretty well.

I’ll definitely be getting the third and fourth books in the series.