Rockhurst Sentinel

Issue date: 2/5/07 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Katharine Agnew

Happy New Year and welcome back to the Rock! I hope everyone enjoyed their break. I did, but I've been in this weird mood. So, to begin the year, I need to say good-bye to some people I've known for a long time. This mood peaked last November when I learned that Jack Williamson, the oldest living science fiction Grandmaster, died at the age of 98. He had been writing and publishing science fiction and fantasy stories for over seven decades. His most recent novel, The Stonehenge Gate, came out in 2005. I miss him.

Dr. Williamson's death put into stark reality what I had been feeling for several months; the loss of close friends. However, since this is a literary column, I'm writing about literary characters. Last summer I read the final book in three different series, and I need to say good-bye to three of my favorite fictional characters. I miss'em.

This may seem strange to you, but I've been there before. Remember The Lord of the Rings? When Bilbo and Frodo leave for the Grey Havens it is the last time they will ever be seen. I can remember being furious with Tolkien for leaving me with Sam, his wife Rose, and his daughter Elanor. I wanted to know, needed to know, what happened to the rest of the company. It took me a while to work up the courage to read the appendices, but there I discovered that Tolkien provided a little more closure. I believe even Tolkien needed to say good-bye.

So, who are the three?

The first is Bean. He is the creation of the Hugo and Nebula winning author Orson Scott Card. Bean is better known as the Right-Hand Man of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin. Bean first appeared in the 1985 novel, Ender's Game (reviewed here two years ago). I think Card had a soft spot for Bean because in 1999 Card began a series of four novels focusing on Bean. The first, Ender's Shadow (reviewed here along with Ender's Game), tells virtually the same story as Ender's Game, but from Bean's point of view. He is a scrappy, highly intelligent, and most importantly, compassionate leader, who at one point in the series, prays for his men as they go into battle. It is a well-written, emotionally charged scene. The three novels completing the series are Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, and Shadow of the Giant. The series follows Bean as he tries to head off a sequence of events that will plunge the world into global conflict. The first two books in the series are excellent.

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