Shadow of the Hegemon

Quote of the book:
"'Are you so determined to believe in your own lack of virtue?"'
Bean, the main character of the story is a unique human being that doesn't have the normal ethics and morals that most humans do, he was asked this question because Bean does actions that a normal human not do and thus will sometimes trick himself.

Connections:

I immediately connected this book to Ender's Game and the other Orson Scott Card books, the writing style is all similar due to their Universe but you can also see the progress Bean has made from being a teenager to becoming an adult.

I also connected this book to Batman and the Joker, Achilles and Bean are arch enemies that continue to fail killing each other because Bean is too smart and Achilles continues to hide. This is similar to the relationship that Batman and Joker have because Bean had a chance to kill Achilles but refused and sent him to a mental institution similar to how Batman will not kill the Joker.

Another connection that I had was between Achilles and Sister Carlotta, Sister Carlotta had brought Bean into a school away from the streets similar to the movie, The Karate Kid starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Bean is taught to be a commander of an elite group of troops while Jaden is taught martial arts to defend himself.


This is my visual representation of what Bean may look like, in the book he has grown exceptionally fast due to his DNA, Bean had no idea that the genes that he possessed would make him grow exponentially.

Discussion Questions
If Ender had stayed on earth, what differences would it have made on Earth?

If Bean had made the decision to kill Achilles in the original novel, what would have happened to Achilles' captives?

Does Bean have a sense of humor?

Does this book simulate real political science?

Has Bean's learning ability changed since he was a kid at all?

Reflection:

The change between The first book and this book and to the fourth book is crazy. At first the problems are located in small areas but quickly spread to world events in the second book and was even crazier in the 4th book. My greatest dislike about the book's change is that it felt more emotional when the characters were still in school and there was that one leader of the group and the powerful second in command that backed him up, I also don't feel as though the political and global events that happened in the second and fourth book were realistic or even plausible in their universe.