Talk:The Last Shadow

Cure for and survival of Bean

It could be posible that Bean's "problem" is resolved by the Descoladores, as they d seem to be able to change the gentic makeup of adult organisms.

I didn't read the second 2 bean books but... didn't 3000 years pass? did Bean travel at near lightspeed in the later books or what? Ooh, I know! Ender's kids'll invent time travel using Jane and go back in time! </goofy speculation> Kuronue 23:29, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Bean travelled at near lightspeed...

Another possibility is that the abilities Ender's kid's/Jane have of creating matter, like the piggie's cure, will allow them to create a cure for him and his children or maybe just the children.

Ender survived the 3,000 years through relativistic effects of lightspeed travel. The "shadow" series ends with Bean doing the same thing, only explicitly for the purpose of survival. And as the Descolada was cured, so too could Bean be cured (virus that works via genetic manipulation...). Little logical bits, really.

But how many years will it had been, even at Relativistic speeds on Bean's ship, and how big will he have grown, even if he is still alive, maybe its only his children

Presumably much less subjective time will pass for Bean than Ender; Ender & Val travel plans involved staying at a planet for a few months and then moving on. I think the ships in this series typically traveled between .95C & .99C in interstellar space, and there is a forumla that can be used determine the minimum subjective time that could have passed. Jon 18:21, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

For those that read all the Shadow books (5) know that the discussion about survival is answered (and thus became irrelevant). About the cure, we'll have to wait for Orson Scott Card to start writing (finishing) the novel (for the matter of completeness: he did manage to write Children of the Fleet in the mean time, who know we'll even see a new film before the conclusion of the series is published?)Clockworkske (talk) 18:24, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

"Bean Quartet"?

" ...which will link the Bean quartet back to the Ender novels."

I believe a better word would be "quadrilogy" or "Tetrology". When using the word "quartet" I at first thought you were referring to characters in the series.

While those might be more accurate words, this is the commonly accepted (and used by the author in interviews) term for the 4 books of the Bean saga, and thus should be kept Astoken (talk) 08:04, 5 February 2017 (UTC)

Further more, it has become a Quintet since, and as of when the conclusion is published, it will be a Sextet, not?Clockworkske (talk) 18:24, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

"Q&A Session"

Unfortunately, I don't have the link to a transcript of the Q&A session, but I was at Brigham Young University, and Orson Scott Card was speaking, and answered some questions regarding this book. Apparently, it's confirmed that Bean's children 'deal' with the Descoladores. Serpent_Guard 19:59, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

Cool to know, I doubt you'll find a referencable source.--FUNKAMATIC (talk) 05:07, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

"OSC: As I developed the Shadow series and made decisions about how the books would end, it became clear that there was a wonderful story to tell at the very end of the series, after Children of the Mind, that would bind the two storylines together. And just yesterday (7 March), I realized that Shadow of the Giant leaves a tantalizing thread involving a woman and her son who are on a colony planet, and their story opens up wonderfully well if Ender himself goes to that world upon leaving his first colony planet. So there'll be another book between Shadow of the Giant and Speaker for the Dead. However, that doesn't change the fact that the storyline of the four Shadow books is closed with Shadow of the Giant. What I hadn't realized until I was well along in the series was that it would really be as much Peter's story as Bean's. And it's Peter's story that ends the Shadow series at four." So maybe Ender meets up with Bean's descendants? --Maccam94 (talk) 08:28, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

Ender might still meet up with Bean's descendants, but I assume it will be both's descendants that will meet up.Clockworkske (talk) 18:24, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

References

Children of the Mind Audiobook Afterword

I can't find a source anywhere online, but in Orson Scott Card's afterword to the Children of the Mind audiobook, he specifically says something to the effect of, "I know why the Descoladores are the way they are, I just haven't told that story yet. I'll eventually write a novel that ties in that story with the Shadow series, and then you'll get to know what's up." (That's not a quote, just the gist.) I don't have the audiobook (got from the library), so I can't type up a transcript. But it's cool that in 2006 (when the audiobook was published), he already had this plan in mind. I'm pretty new at Wikipedia, but I think I ought not to post this on the Shadows Alive page until I can corroborate it...? Basementwall (talk) 15:20, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

I think this is important information that would be on the page, maybe in a section called "OSC's quotes on the book" so that a record can be made of what he has said over time relating to the work Astoken (talk) 08:07, 5 February 2017 (UTC)

No sources available to create/validate such a section, not for this bit of information at least (afaik)Clockworkske (talk) 18:24, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

Book title

All of the sources being used in this article are still referring to it as "Shadows in Flight." I found this [2], are there any other sources out there that specifically talk about "Shadows Alive"? -Ferahgo the Assassin (talk) 20:31, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

Ok, I see you updated the article with this source as I was typing this. :p Still, seems a bit odd to use as references sources that still call it "Shadows in Flight." Not quite synth, but kinda synth, never really seen this situation at Wikipedia before... either way, more sources would be good. -Ferahgo the Assassin (talk) 20:33, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

The sources use the old title of the book which has been used for the intermediary (5th) novel in the Shadow series (Shadow Saga). Combined with that information, the sources remain valid.Clockworkske (talk) 18:24, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

Expected Publication date?

Does anyone have an info on an expected or proposed publication date? Alex.rosenheim (talk) 19:36, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

This info is quite out of date and should be updated with a reliable source if possible. On that note, maybe a note about the last time that the author spoke about the novel would also be appropriate informationAstoken (talk) 08:08, 5 February 2017 (UTC)

There has been no confirmation about the fact that Orson Scott Card started writing the novel, so an expected publication date is irrelevant.Clockworkske (talk) 18:24, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

Publication Date

7th November 2012 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.6.169.163 (talk) 19:48, 23 July 2011 (UTC)

Do you have a source on that? A quick Google search didn't yield anything definitive for me. -Ferahgo the Assassin (talk) 20:03, 23 July 2011 (UTC)

The Last Shadow

Is The Last Shadow an alternate title to Shadows Alive or are they different planned novels? Thmazing (talk) 07:34, 7 June 2020 (UTC)