This cycle starts with the same period the Dender cycle but it relates the adventures of the young Bean we experienced the Dender sides in the battle against the formic.
As Orson Scott Card says in his preface, he wanted to rewrite the Ender's Game from a different perspective and he chose to do it from of a colorful character; Bean. A he achieved his goal of telling the same story while allowing the reader to read a completely different adventure without ever having the impression of redundancy; yes I think so.
In passing, I find that the character of Bean has far more "relief" quEnder he released the slums of Amsterdam or its (over) life was more tortured than Dender, making the most complex character and history more psychological than the Ender's Game. However, if many people say that this little book be read without reading the Ender strategy and I think that is indeed the case, I still recommend to have read Ender strategy before, because the background of the story and the elements that determine certain passages this book direct result of the experience Dender. It is also nice to find the characters of Ender strategy in this novel are not described as they have summers in Ender's Game. So this is a real plus to have read the first book before this one.
In this novel, the story semballe again. We are caught in the downward spiral that takes our heroes to the largest space battle that Earth ever born sassurer known for its survival. And more than ever Bean, also played a major role in Dender side. One could even say that his contribution was equally crucial that Dender.
For those who have enjoyed the Ender's Game, I strongly recommend reading this wonderful "parallel adventure"