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Speaker for the Dead (Ender's Saga (Publication Order) #2)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 84,089 ratings · 3,219 reviews

In the aftermath of his terrible war, Ender Wiggin disappeared, and a powerful voice arose: The Speaker for the Dead, who told the true story of the Bugger War.

Now, long years later, a second alien race has been discovered, but again the aliens' ways are strange and frightening...again, humans die. And it is only the Speaker for the Dead, who is also Ender Wiggin the Xenoc...more

ebook, 432 pages

Published November 30th 2009 by Tor Books (first published 1986)

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May 04, 2013 Clouds - (¿head-in-the?) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: locus-sci-fi, hugo, science-fiction, reviewed, 5-star, science-fiction-series

Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.

On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me.

While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became...more

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Aug 16, 2007 Keely rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, reviewed, space-opera

While Ender's Game is a solid piece of modern sci fi, the sequel falls all too short. 'Speaker' is preachy and allegorical, and the characters often devolve into simple mouthpieces for the author's opinions, which are numerous, long, and not particularly original.

While I do respect that every author has his own point of view, and that one should be able to glean some understanding from their books, such a heavy-handed case detracts from the story and characters as a whole. The suspension of disb...more

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Jan 20, 2010 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: award-nominee-campbell, award-nominee-hugo, award-winner-hugo, award-nominee-nebula, award-winner-nebula, multiple-award-nominee, multiple-award-winners, all-time-favorites, 6-star-books, easton-press, signed-first-or-limited-edition, audiobook, award-nominee-locus, award-winner-locus, favorite-ideas, science-fiction, 1980-1989, love-those-words, good-guys

One of my ALL Time Favorites. I loved Ender's Game, but I think that this novel surpasses it on just about every level. Writing, emotional resonance, characterization and depth. This novel is a much more "adult" read than Ender's Game. It impacted me greatly and I found that it stayed with me long after I finished reading it.

6.0 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!

Winner: Hugo Award Best Novel.
Winner: Nebula Award Best Novel.
Winner: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
Nominee: Cam...more

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Jul 16, 2007 Lacey Louwagie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: sociology / anthropology types

Orson Scott Card has said that Speaker for the Dead is the book he always "meant to write" and that the only reason he wrote Ender's Game was as a "prequel," so he felt a little baffled when Ender's Game ended up becoming his most famous and most read work. After reading Speaker for the Dead, I understand where he's coming from. The complexity of issues tackled in Speaker for the Dead are much deeper than those in Ender; likewise, the cultures and worlds explored through Speaker are much more in...more Orson Scott Card has said that Speaker for the Dead is the book he always "meant to write" and that the only reason he wrote Ender's Game was as a "prequel," so he felt a little baffled when Ender's Game ended up becoming his most famous and most read work. After reading Speaker for the Dead, I understand where he's coming from. The complexity of issues tackled in Speaker for the Dead are much deeper than those in Ender; likewise, the cultures and worlds explored through Speaker are much more intricate. One thing I love about Orson Scott Card -- which I somehow always end up forgetting when I'm not reading him -- is that, despite the fact that he writes fairly "hard science fiction," his stories are still completely character driven. Unlike many SF writers, he spends as much time developing his characters as he spends developing his society, and the result is a compelling book regardless of the plot. (Heck, I even enjoyed Ender's Shadow, which basically had the same plot as Ender's Game except told from a different character's perspective.)

Despite my enjoyment of the book, there were a few things that annoyed me. Although Orson Scott Card's characters are well-developed, the female characters seemed to have less complexity; in particular, the principle female character spent about 3/4 of the book wallowing in her own self-pity. This may endear her to male readers with a knight-in-shining-armor complex (as, indeed, it endeared her to Ender), but as a female reader I wanted her to just get over it already. Orson Scott Card seems to play the female moral superiority card even as he grapples with some real ambivalence about female leadership -- the female leaders in this book were either veiled tyrants (whom Ender felt compelled to put in their place) or rendered ineffective as leaders the moment Ender burst on the scene. Finally, Ender himself is a main character in this book whom you're almost tempted to despise just because the author is so clearly in love with him. But truth be told, that didn't keep me from being a little enamored with him, myself -- although the "piggies," an alien race introduced in this book -- held my heart and my attention most completely.(less)

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Jun 01, 2007 Tony rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: you

My favorite book of all time, if only because it brings back sentimental memories. More than simply a sci-fi page turner, it deals with non-trivial matters such as guilt and love. In a whole different league than the rest of the Ender series, not to mention the rest of Scott Card's works. A must read for anyone who was ever interested in sci-fi.

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Aug 03, 2008 Brian rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Masochists

Shelves: r_fiction

Calling this book the sequel to Ender's Game is like calling Mary Poppins the sequel to Star Wars. It's boring, overly observational, and totally unrelated in style and setting to Ender's Game.

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Jun 19, 2009 Osho rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Speaker for the Dead is my favorite of the Ender books. It has a different tone from Ender's Game, with less action-adventure. I have read most of the Ender books (I may have missed one in the Shadow sequence) and Speaker for the Dead is the most emotionally mature and psychologically sophisticated of the bunch. Though it still uses SF conventions and symbols tell its story, it's really about memory, loss, grief, and making meaning out of these experiences. These are also connected to finding on...more

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Aug 18, 2007 W.C. added it · review of another edition

Card is wrong when he tells his readers that Speaker is a better book than Ender's Game. He says young readers don't like it as well because it doesn't feature kids. I don't like it as well as Ender's game because while Ender's game is a psychological epic, with all the heartfelt intensity of a writer's first real story, Speaker reads to me like just another science fiction novel. Some aliens, a superintelligent virus; snooooozer. Well depicted snoozer, but still. Ender spends his whole life in...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Synesthesia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've read this book several times since I first read Ender's Game back in 2001.
The problem with this book is everything could have been solved by simply asking the aliens how they reproduce from the start instead of assuming they reproduce like humans do. That kind of story almost always annoys the beejeesus out of me.

No, I'm sorry, Orson Scott Card is NOT a good writer. Why doesn't anyone else NOTICE this? It drives me nuts. Maybe I should read this again, but I don't want to. I just seems li...more

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Sep 05, 2007 Kerry rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fromthelibrary, scifi

Blah. After Ender's Game, I was all excited to read this one, and it . . . was pretty boring. It wasn't TERRIBLE -- I finished it, but it was mostly boring.

The only really interesting things about it were a) biological concepts that are totally different from what we have here on earth, which, after watching a lot of "forehead aliens" on Star Trek is a nice change, and b) the impact of the whole you-don't-age-when-you're-travelling-close-to-the-speed-of-light thing (i.e. relativity and whatnot....more

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Apr 29, 2007 Doc Opp rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

When I first read this book I was in middle school and I hated it. It was such a disappointment as a follow up to the brilliance of Ender's Game. I re-read it when in grad school, and it was an entirely different experience.

The book has elements of mystery, religion/mysticism, anthropology (albeit fictional anthropology), philosophy, politics, and intrigue. But its got a very slow start, and there isn't much in the way of action - its all about two cultures trying to understand each other. Its...more

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Feb 10, 2013 John Carncross rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My first confrontation with Christianity was the phrase, "Humans are not animals." OSC raises the possibility that another species could be, "like us," responsible for their actions. I have never considered this, but why not?

Is it intelligence that we are talking about? I don't think so, but that is how the question is sometimes framed--intelligent life on other worlds, etc. Look, some people are smarter than others, but that doesn't make them more human.

Could another species be "human?" Obvious...more

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Jun 22, 2008 Aerin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, well-that-was-awesome, first-contact

Just as good as - possibly better than - Ender's Game, although not at all similar to it.

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Aug 14, 2011 aPriL MEOWS often with scratching rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, science-fiction, metafiction

A grown ups' book, a literary science fiction that has a lot of the Big Questions, by the end answered by Ender the best he can by his understanding of what's needed. Perhaps not satisfying for those who want a comic book hero but instead the kind of hero that has more living man as part of his character than a storybook person. He wants to be a husband, father, and someone who is building a home, not a military genius, not an adventurer, explorer or even a businessman. The title and job he take...more A grown ups' book, a literary science fiction that has a lot of the Big Questions, by the end answered by Ender the best he can by his understanding of what's needed. Perhaps not satisfying for those who want a comic book hero but instead the kind of hero that has more living man as part of his character than a storybook person. He wants to be a husband, father, and someone who is building a home, not a military genius, not an adventurer, explorer or even a businessman. The title and job he takes on is penance for his perceived sin of genocide, which almost crushes his ability to survive. Being Speaker for the Dead is how he maintains self-respect and at the same time he hopes to evolve the human intellect past its instinct to murder the different. He preaches walking in the Other's shoes as the way to understand, but in a holistic way of seeing. If aliens have sentience, then they can maybe see how the Other may have the same aspirations all living intelligences must have. The Buggers, by this definition, were not only ahead of humans scientifically but also morally, but Ender destroyed them before understanding could be shared between races. Jane is proof flesh isn't necessary for evolved intelligence but she is metaphor for what is possible and a god icon at the same time. Lack of flesh means she can be as heartless as all superior gods are, but the key to growing a heart and caring is love for a man. Biblical references much! Ender is Jesus, his brother Peter and sister Valentine? Guessing is part of the joy of reading, so I leave that for rainy days. This book's planet, Garden of Eden? The Piggies are us, and they have a literal Tree of Life. If it wasn't classified as science fiction this book probably get more respect than it does, but it is late to the party to be part of official literature education. Nevertheless it's interesting and moving, even if the only new thing is being part of an unrecognized literature by the official literary establishment. People have been arguing for decades about what is Literature and what is simple entertainment. I think Literature has become too solipsistic and it needs to admit new genres as Speakers of the Dead. (less)

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Mar 07, 2008 Jeff Duarte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who like things

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Ender series is one of the more bizarre series that I've personally encountered. It is a trilogy made up of four books, none of which were originally supposed to be connected or, in some cases, novels at all. Ender's Game (the first in the series) was born out of a novella Card had written based around the idea of a Battle Room, where students fought in simulated war games. Out of that novella came a compelling story of an outcast, genetically enhanced child who is destined to be the savior...more The Ender series is one of the more bizarre series that I've personally encountered. It is a trilogy made up of four books, none of which were originally supposed to be connected or, in some cases, novels at all. Ender's Game (the first in the series) was born out of a novella Card had written based around the idea of a Battle Room, where students fought in simulated war games. Out of that novella came a compelling story of an outcast, genetically enhanced child who is destined to be the savior of humanity against a race of insectoid aliens who may or may not pose a threat to humanity. The last chapter of the novel, after the supposed Xenocide of the "buggers" (Ender finds a cocoon of a Hive Queen to save and eventually reinvigorate their civilization), sets up the concepts of the Speaker for the Dead, the Hive Queen and the Hegemony, and Ender's guilt of the destruction of an innocent race.

Speaker for the Dead, the sequel to Ender's Game, was not intended to be a sequel at all. The introduction to the novel, written by Card himself, states that this was a completely unrelated idea, revolving around someone singing for the dead. Apparently someone eventually went, "Why not just make this main character Ender?" And thus, a sequel was born.

Side note: the last two books in the series, Xenocide and Children of the Mind are completely unreadable pieces of garbage. They're boring, nonsensical novels that destroy everything about the main characters that we've grown to love from the first two novels. They're boring, trite, and to be avoided at all costs.

Speaker for the Dead starts on the Portugeuse colony of Lusitania and the relationship between Xenologists (scientists who study new, different, sentient species) and a possibly sentient species, the Pequininos (referred to as the piggies, mostly for their porcine facial features). When the lead Xenologist Pipo dies at the hands of the piggies, a call is made by the pre-teen, Xenobiologist trainee Novinha, who had become an adopted member of Pipo's family, along with Libo's assistant and son, Libo.

The culture of the Speaker for the Dead comes specifically from the original Speaker for the Dead, Ender Wiggin. In the five thousand years (yes that much) between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, it has become custom for Speakers to travel from planet to planet, from funeral to funeral. Their role is simply to tell the truth, to speak at length about the life of the man they are called to speak for. The Speaker who answers the call of Novinha is, of course, Ender Wiggin. Using his real name Andrew (since his nickname Ender has morphed into almost an insult, Ender the Xenocide has become the most despicable human to exist), he travels with his sister Valentine, who writes extensive histories of the prestigious figures he speaks for under the name Demosthenes.

He answers the call not only because of the piggies, not only to find a home for the buggers, but because of a fourth form of sentient life, known simply as "Jane."

I know I've spent a lot of time on exposition because it is a heavily expository book, and one that does lose a bit of its emotional impact with no knowledge of Ender's Game. However, behind the simple plot comes a deeply interesting anthropological and societal look at what happens when a "sophisticated" society encounters an alien society.

The deaths of Pipo and eventually Libo turn out to not be acts of violence or rage, but misinterpretations stemming entirely from societal and biological differences. The piggies were bestowing upon the two Xenologists their greatest gift. However, the fundamental biological differences between piggies and Humans prevents the gift from being realized, thus turning a great service in the minds of the piggies into what the humans see as murder.

All in all, Speaker for the Dead is a great companion to Ender's Game and a seemingly fantastic conclusion to the story of Ender Wiggin. Just don't read the next two books. (less)

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Feb 15, 2013 Mandie Mc rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Humanists, seekers, philosophers, fans of Orson Scott card

Shelves: read-in-2009, ya, fiction, read-in-2010, read-in-2011, read-in-2012, reviewed, read-in-2013

Update: After my third (or was it fourth?) read/listen-through, I'm officially calling it - this is my favorite book.

The audiobook is wonderful. The voices are excellent and powerful.

I just really love this book. I enjoy the entire Ender series, as a whole, but I could read this book, on its own, again and again. I love the theology, philosophy, and human spirit in it. It moves me.

I'm pretty sure I would be a Speaker for the Dead, if I could. :)

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Apr 26, 2013 Iulia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

În Vorbitor în Numele Morților, complexele sociale și de salvator al lumii ale lui Ender își găsesc rezolvarea într-o comunitate catolică, caracterizată de simplism și păcate biblice, pe care doar câteva elemente de tehnologie o separă de o mentalitate rurală. Romanul conține mai multă religie decât science-fiction și e dezamăgitor, după Jocul lui Ender. E o carte plină de idei interesante, dar țesute într-un mod nefericit și încărcate cu detalii puse doar de dragul de a crea o atmosferă tradiți...more

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Dec 28, 2008 Britney rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

UGGHHH! I figured since some of my all-time favorite books are Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, that Speaker for the Dead - another installment of Ender's life - was going knock my socks off too...I was SO disappointed. This book won the Hugo and Nebula awards - and one critic even said this was Card's best work. I have to assume that they weren't reading the same novel I was. They just couldn't have been. It was awful. This book was such a let down, I wish I never would have read it. It complet...more

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Apr 29, 2008 Davie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished

Made me question what I thought I liked about Ender's Game. Like a Dan Brown book, it manipulates you into reading onwards in order to find out what the hell was going on in the first chapters -- even as you suspect more and more strongly that it's not going to be worth it in the end. Hokey space soap opera.

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Jul 05, 2007 Leighton rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What's a hero to do once he's accomplished his heroic deed? Ender doesn't quite know--and unfortunately, Card doesn't quite seem to know either. Ender decays into something of a pathetic and self-pitying figure who wanders about uttering platitudes and aphorisms. It's Card at his preachiest, and thus at his worst.

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Dec 15, 2008 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, ya

I didn’t find this as enjoyable as Enders Game. While it deals with a lot of issues that I usually enjoy in a story (religion, technology, sociology), I felt like the story took a back seat to the writers agenda. It is still a well written book as far as I’m concerned, however, and if I had not read Enders Game first, I probably would have rated it higher. It’s amazing how the controversies that Orson Scott Card raises in this series are still relevant today. My husband listened to the book as w...more

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Mar 21, 2011 Rollie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

In an amazing movie or show, sometimes, it makes us silent and open mouthed in astonishment and explode all the praises until we have calmed and the hype have been subsided. In relation with this book, I would not have made a review of this book due to the same reason I mentioned above. Even if I have calmed, I didn’t think of reviewing this book because I rather think and dream the story instead. Thanks to my reading buddy Kwesi for asking me million of questions. Read his review.

Ender the Xeno...more In an amazing movie or show, sometimes, it makes us silent and open mouthed in astonishment and explode all the praises until we have calmed and the hype have been subsided. In relation with this book, I would not have made a review of this book due to the same reason I mentioned above. Even if I have calmed, I didn’t think of reviewing this book because I rather think and dream the story instead. Thanks to my reading buddy Kwesi for asking me million of questions. Read his review.

Ender the Xenocide; Andrew Wiggin the speaker for the dead; same person—the one is history and the other is still known at present. 3000 years has passed since Ender killed all the buggers, except the Hive Queen. No one forgets what happened because even at the present, the evil Ender the Xenocide is still known. Through ansible, world to another world as weeks to decades, he travels to undo his past mistakes and continue the travel to spread the truth.

Many have called for the Speaker but they were all refused to be granted until one day he receives a call from a girl he immediately fall in love with. Andrew Wiggin decided to grant the call even if it means leaving his beloved sister, Valentine. He leaves Trondheim for Lusitania even though already know how Lusitanians’ loathed him and how it will be hard for him to adopt a new species of ramen—Piggies. Would he be accepted at Lusitania, by Piggies and Lusitanians, despite of his being Speaker for the Dead?

This book is absolutely a wow! My recommendation is so far effective as what I’ve noticed. I don’t know if those people who listened and followed my recommendations do have same taste of books as I have or they just hitching my like even deep inside they don’t actually. Well, even if Card has written on the cover or personally shout at you that this book is a stand alone, I still highly suggest you all to read the Ender’s Game, except for those who’ve read it already. But if you’ve read already the Ender’s Game and haven’t yet this book, don’t just sit there while heating your butt, read this IMMEDIATELY.

Let me start it first with confusion: I don’t know at first who was Jane. Card put her in this book without being introduced first in the story. I tried to reread the Ender’s Game final chapter but I haven’t found even shadow of Jane in the book. Boohooo if you say she was in the introduction because I didn’t finish reading Card’s introduction. It was good that Card introduced the Piggies in the first, long chapter but it was really boring chapter that I even thought Ender wouldn’t show anymore. It could have been nice if they were introduced through Ender and Jane.

If you don’t like this book, there’s nothing I can do about it. Either you got the wrong book for you or the book got the wrong reader for itself. I found out the story to have just a simple mystery but I don’t know what Card has with him or what he did that this book really got boomed me; maybe because of my admiration to his characters and how they are all interesting to me.

This book has showed a different Ender but gives an exact reason of the transition from the Ender’s Game. I didn’t imagine that Ender would be what he is on this book—matured and still soft-hearted. I can’t also imagine a karate kid turns into a tamed professor.

The characters of this books shows different personalities, based from what I observed. List them down along with their personality and you’ll find out what I mean. Got it! I think what makes this book likable because of the different characters with the different personalities. At least in that way I was able to differentiate themselves from one another. Card made Ender still a hero in a very different way.

Well I don’t want to discuss it anymore. Just try to imagine how a man tamed a forest of wild lions.
The setting and the world is quite fantastically created. The time, forget about it because we’re just part of past on this book. The foundation of Card’s made-up theories are strong that makes you think a believable one. The new creature was built firmly inside and out that even the attitude, habits and language seem very convincing that you won’t think this is just a sci-fi novel. I was pretty amazed at his ansible theory and still am, fortunately.

If I were to compare this book to Ender’s Game, I think I liked this book more because of my, you know, Ender’s Shadow issue. But I’m sure Ender just need a little more push and he’ll match up Bean in my field of best characters. Goodbye to pitiful Ender and welcome the new and intelligent Andrew Wiggin. Stay put Xenocide (third book) for here comes your daddy.
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Oct 16, 2009 Mark rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’m currently reading Characters & Viewpoints by Orson Scott Card, it’s a book about writing and so far I like it and agree with the things he is saying. But it’s really funny because before starting Speaker for the Dead I read something in his Characters book that said that every author has to answer three questions every reader asks automatically, and the author has to do it within the first 2 or 3 pages of his book or the reader will naturally lose interest in the book. The three question...more I’m currently reading Characters & Viewpoints by Orson Scott Card, it’s a book about writing and so far I like it and agree with the things he is saying. But it’s really funny because before starting Speaker for the Dead I read something in his Characters book that said that every author has to answer three questions every reader asks automatically, and the author has to do it within the first 2 or 3 pages of his book or the reader will naturally lose interest in the book. The three questions that needed answering were, “So what?” (Meaning why should I care) “Oh really?” (Meaning is there too much coincidence to believe) and “Huh?” (Meaning what is going on, can I understand what’s happening) Well, the last question was answered, his writing made sense, I understood what was going on and to whom. The second question was kind of answered but there were some coincidences that were pretty amazing but I guess they weren’t so unbelievable that I would stop reading. It wasn’t until I tried to answer the first question that I got stumped. Most readers will probably read Ender’s Game and love it, then when they go to read Speaker for the Dead they would inevitably expect the same type of story, interesting, exciting, emotional, with twists that make you go ohhh. WRONG!! If you expect the same story as Ender’s Game you will be bored to tears very very quickly. The book for me never answered that first question, SO WHAT? Card just kept droning on and on about things I really didn’t care about, I’m not saying that they weren’t dealing with real life dramas, but I wasn’t planning on reading a full blown soap opera. I understand what he was trying to do, I also read his explanation for Speaker and why it was the book he really wanted to write, and Ender’s Game was just meant to be an intro to Speaker. Card admitted that Ender’s game has done so much better than Speaker, but that Speaker was still his book (masterpiece) because it teaches a principle more important than anything Ender’s Game does. I agree that Speaker has a great message to it, but honestly think about other authors and other books that you have read, if you have read any good books then you know that it is possible to have an intriguing story with twists and excitement, AND have good morals being taught at the same time. Card in Speaker for the Dead did not have (in my opinion) an interesting, exciting, or unpredictable story. He basically tells you the insights to all the characters at the beginning of the book, which means that there isn’t anything new or surprising to learn about the characters at the end of the book, like you do in most other books. And finally, I know that Card speaks Portuguese but, for the love, give it a rest!!! Talk about adding salt to the wound, besides being boring he has to make it annoying. Not all of us speak Portuguese, so when phrases and sentences aren’t being translated completely and some not at all, it really does get annoying.
I almost gave this book one star because I felt like it was a waste of time, I didn’t though because it was understandable and it did try and teach a good principle.
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Aug 25, 2009 Jacob rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, 2008-2009, sci-fi-fantasy-etc, card

August 2009
Previously: Ender's Game

Millennia after Earth's victory in the Bugger Wars, humanity has spread out and colonized all the former worlds of the enemy. United under the Starways Congress, the human race is powerful--and alone. But now, on the planet Lusitania, another alien race has been discovered, and the encounters are not all peaceful. It is up to Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, Speaker for the Dead--the Speaker for the Dead--to make things right.

I've always given high reviews to Ender's Gam...more

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Jan 08, 2010 Carolyn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-time-favorites, favorites

I can understand why this book might not enthrall all of its readers but for me, it was brilliant. The anthropological framework certainly entertained me and the deeper themes hooked me.
The concept of a Speaker for the Dead and the healing properties of truth make the book a self-searching read. Perhaps the book does not glorify the catholic concept of confession, but it certainly values repentance and forgiveness while acknowledging the absurdity of the act of forgiveness. Above all, it reminds...more

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Jul 06, 2009 Enrique rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. After reading Ender's Game, I was hungry for more..Now I am reading the sequel and 30 pages in, I have found that the book takes place 3,000 years after the events of the first book and Ender is only mentioned once..but WOW! what a 30 pages so far.
Earth's first Alien Encounter with the Formic race ( Buggers) that leads to Earth's first two intergalactic war, in which the Earth is almost destroyed, ends with an Earth Victory. Ender Wiggin is a small child that is taught from birth to become a le...more After reading Ender's Game, I was hungry for more..Now I am reading the sequel and 30 pages in, I have found that the book takes place 3,000 years after the events of the first book and Ender is only mentioned once..but WOW! what a 30 pages so far.
Earth's first Alien Encounter with the Formic race ( Buggers) that leads to Earth's first two intergalactic war, in which the Earth is almost destroyed, ends with an Earth Victory. Ender Wiggin is a small child that is taught from birth to become a leader that leads the earth to it's victory in the 3rd and Final war.
This first book really does a great job telling how a leader is made through isolation, indoctrination and sometimes harsh conditions in Which Ender is the sad victim and yet strongest, believable Hero I have read about in any science fiction/Fantasy novel.
I know that it sounds like typical Sci-Fi fare, but trust me when I say that there is so much substance and exploration into the Human character that makes the first book a wonderful read. It was also a head of it's time in 1984, that within book the prominence of the Internet and it's power over politics and Nations Via blogs and forums discussion was predicted to eerie preciseness.
Well, the sequel - Speaker of the Dead, deals with the human race 3,000 years after the first book were Manifest Destiny is alive and well. The humans have spread throughout the galaxy colonizing planets that were once held by the formics. Here the Humans come into contact with a new race which are named "Pequeninos" by the discoveres and the human race sees this as an opportunity to make up for the first failed attempt at first contact with the Formic race from the first book.
So far I have met a father and Son Xenologist team (anthropologist) as they are attempting to understand and learn from this new race without revealing too much information about the human race, as the fear is that any information given to this new and young race would advance them farther than they be at this stage in their evolution. What makes that premise so believable is that it takes modern anthropological thought and practices on learning from Apes and other such animals that makes the illusion so much more perfect and this book easy to get into...
It appears that the 'Pequeninos' have snouts for noses that they are called 'Piggies" by the common people. They show a great intelligence that they have already learned the basic English language after 15 years of study and interaction with the humans, and live a tribal life. There is a mystery as to how they reproduce, as no female species so far, have been encountered. Now the current character that we have been following has had a Revelation and he steps out to discuss with the pequeninos at which he is not heard from for 4 hours.
Needless to say, tragedy and misunderstanding is headed my way..and I cannot wait to get to it in this book
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Aug 16, 2012 Chad Warner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction

After reading Ender's Game (my review), I had to find out what happened in Ender's future. At first I was disappointed to find out that so much time had passed between Ender's Game and this book; at the end of Ender's Game, he was 9 years old, but in Speaker, he starts in his 20s. However, I found that this allowed Ender to face more complex issues than he had as a boy. Religion especially is featured much more prominently in Speaker and the other 2 books of Ender's Saga than in Ender's Game.

Sti...more After reading Ender's Game (my review), I had to find out what happened in Ender's future. At first I was disappointed to find out that so much time had passed between Ender's Game and this book; at the end of Ender's Game, he was 9 years old, but in Speaker, he starts in his 20s. However, I found that this allowed Ender to face more complex issues than he had as a boy. Religion especially is featured much more prominently in Speaker and the other 2 books of Ender's Saga than in Ender's Game.

Still, I didn't like this book as much as Ender's Game. One of the major reasons I liked Ender’s Game is because I enjoyed seeing Ender’s thought process; watching him think his way out of problematic situations. There’s not as much of that in Speaker because he's more in control than he was in Ender's Game. Also, I didn't care about most of the characters; not Novinha, her family, or the other Lusitanians. Ender, Jane, and to a lesser extent, Valentine, were the only characters I was really interested in. I found the story overly emotional (there's too much crying), and I wasn't a fan of the Pequeninos (piggies).

Speaker for the Dead is the same type of sci-fi as Ender's Game; the technology only plays a supporting role in the story, and the focus is actually on the people and the challenges they face in their relationships and religion.

After reading Xenocide (my review) and Children of the Mind (my review), I appreciate Speaker much more. All 3 tell a much more complete story of Ender and the important people in his life than Ender's Game alone did. Although Ender's Game is still my favorite, all the books in Ender's Saga complement each other to form an excellent series.

At the end of the audiobook, Card explains that Speaker was the real story he wanted to tell, and that Ender’s Game was simply background information. He thought the message of Speaker was more important; that when you truly understand someone, you can empathize with them, no matter how horrible they were and what atrocities they committed. I disagree with that premise, and that Speaker is a better story than Ender's Game.

The Macmillan Audio audiobook is excellent.(less)

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Sep 01, 2008 Brian Hodges rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

After reading and thoroughly loving "Ender's Game", I had really high expectations for its sequel, "Speaker for the Dead." Especially after I read that this was the book the author always wanted to write--apparently "Ender" was conceived as an elaborate "preface" to this, the real story. With all that buildup, I was slightly underwhelmed by "Speaker" Not disappointed per se, but not nearly as blown away as I was by the first book in the series.

"Speaker" picks up about 3000 years from where "Ende...more

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Feb 24, 2008 Danny rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ender's Game is a classic sci-fi book to which this is a disappointing sequel.

Card's gift as an author is in his storytelling and his bend for the magical/fantastic. In Ender's Game, Enchantment and a few of his other works, we are drawn into a different universe and captured by the drama that unfolds around us. However, Card uses Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide and the Homecoming series as a soap box for his moral values. While there are certainly worse role models out there (and there are bett...more

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May 08, 2007 Joey rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

I mean, its interesting how he sets up his plots with time : Characters use light speed to bump around, and while for people on planets time ages 50 years, the people on the ship don't age more then a couple of days. THIS I like.

But I'm sick of his subtle racism; I'm a bit sick of how Card pretends to be able to view people like an open book - his characters can PREDICT exactly how other characters will act, due to their personality type etc.

And we'll see if the plot has a pay-off, Its just a bi...more

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About Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series Th...more

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Quotes from Speaker for the Dead

“This is how humans are: We question all our beliefs, except for the ones that we really believe in, and those we never think to question.” — 415 people liked it

“No human being, when you understand his desires, is worthless. No one's life is nothing. Even the most evil of men and women, if you understand their hearts, had some generous act that redeems them, at least a little, from their sins.” — 335 people liked it

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