Speaker for the Dead
discussion
Why did I read this
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Rooster Teeth #1 Fan
(new)
-
rated it 1 star
Oct 20, 2014 03:23PM
This book is so insipid that I will most likely die before I finish it. And to shed some light on this topic, I CHOSE this book for a class report. That's right, I CHOSE this fate. UHHHHHHH! I thought since Enders Game was possabily my FAVORITE book of all time this book would be pretty good. Instead, it is a stain on the whole world of litrature. DAMN IT CARD, I USED TO LIKE YOUR BOOKS. THAT IS... BEFORE I READ THIS SLOP!
reply
|
flag
SO TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get the audiobook and listen to it when you're doing chores or some menial task. The audiobook is great quality and it makes it easier to get through it without falling asleep every 5 pages.
Corey wrote: "Get the audiobook and listen to it when you're doing chores or some menial task. The audiobook is great quality and it makes it easier to get through it without falling asleep every 5 pages."Thats what I did with Enders Game... and I loved It. Thanks for the sugest. Going to library on Wednsday anywaay so why not!
Going to read earth unaware.
Oliver wrote: "This book is so insipid that I will most likely die before I finish it. And to shed some light on this topic, I CHOSE this book for a class report. That's right, I CHOSE this fate. UHHHHHHH! I thou..."Dude, this book and the following ones are so amazing. I don't get why u had/have that reaction >_>'
If you went into it expecting it to be like Ender's Game, I can certainly understand being startled or even disappointed. I prefer Ender's myself. But Speaker is certainly a very worthy book as well, it's just rather differently structured and very differently paced.
I hear "Xenocide" (book 3) is worse. Can anyone confirm this?
Yeah, the series gets worse as it goes.
No, it's not worse, just different than Ender's Game. The series gets more philosophical and less action oriented as it goes. If you're into that then great, if not then it may not be for you.
In my opinion it gets rather intriguing. Plot twists, weird stuff happen, Ender-drama, that kinda stuff. And it's so awesome! Books aren't all about action. You want that, watch new movies.
If you prefer action to philosophical discussion then you're going to HATE Xenocide and Speaker For The Dead. I really enjoyed the whole series. If you're a slow reader Xenocide just isn't all that worth it. Unless you actually LIKE thought provoking VERY slow paced discussion.
I got it as a gift. I didn't read it right away, but when I finally got to it, I couldn't leave it alone. It was a different view on an alien world. Loved it, got whatever Ender material I could get my hands on... and then got hooked on Bean!
Speaker is quite different from Ender's Game, but quite brilliant in its own right.
It goes from bad to worse imo. Children was unreadable rubbish. Describing a Chinese woman doing her OCD/psycho tracing lines on the floor in excruciating detail, almost like Card wants to punish the reader. Speaker and Xenocide are unrelated novels, and Card unabashedly stuffed Ender in as the protagonist to help with sales. Otherwise, it's completely unrelated. And to prove the point, he also added a scene at the end--the END--with the alien egg. Bunch of baloney as my mom used to say.
Its a fantastic book its just not the same as Enders Game
Jon wrote: "It goes from bad to worse imo. Children was unreadable rubbish. Describing a Chinese woman doing her OCD/psycho tracing lines on the floor in excruciating detail, almost like Card wants to punish t..."Enders Game is a prequel rather than the first book in the series. OSC has said that he was writing this book first but needed to explain the back story so he came up with Enders Game
"Prequal": a story or movie containing events that precede those of an existing work. (Taken from Google.) Ender's Game isn't technically a prequel, as Speaker for the Dead hadn't been published yet.It's a really poor way to start a series, if you think about it. Card really wanted to write this great (in his eyes) book, but for people to understand it, he had to write a mediocre (in his eyes) book to explain how it came to be. It's almost hilarious (okay, it is hilarious) how the scheme blew up in his face, because Ender's Game is loved by more people than Speaker for the Dead.
Sic Transit Gloria wrote: ""Prequal": a story or movie containing events that precede those of an existing work. (Taken from Google.) Ender's Game isn't technically a prequel, as Speaker for the Dead hadn't been published ye..."It doesnt have to be published for it to be a prequel the story already existed it just hadnt been released
Speaker for the Dead is the better book in my opinion so i dont think it was that much of blow up. People would like Enders game more as it was more accessible than Speakerfor the Dead
Corey wrote: "If you prefer action to philosophical discussion then you're going to HATE Xenocide and Speaker For The Dead. I really enjoyed the whole series. If you're a slow reader Xenocide just isn't all that..."I agree with this pretty strongly. I liked Ender's Game, but I'd honestly have rated speaker for the dead a half star above it if I could. It's just different, not bad. If you are looking for a clever action story with a protagonist that starts as an underdog and against all odds uses his wits to win through to the end, Ender's game is for you, Speaker for the Dead is more about culture clash and philosophy and shit like that. No worse. Just different.
Tana wrote: "Sic Transit Gloria wrote: ""Prequal": a story or movie containing events that precede those of an existing work. (Taken from Google.) Ender's Game isn't technically a prequel, as Speaker for the De..."Yes actually it does have to be published or it isn't a prequel. It would be the first in the series.
I am surprised so many hate this book. It won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. It certainly is not Ender's Game II and maybe that was what is bothering everyone. I thought it was an excellent read.
Papaphilly wrote: "Tana wrote: "Sic Transit Gloria wrote: ""Prequal": a story or movie containing events that precede those of an existing work. (Taken from Google.) Ender's Game isn't technically a prequel, as Speak..."Actually where does it state that? The dictionary definition merely states an existing work it did exsist it just wasnt published
Tana wrote: Actually where does it state that? The dictionary definition merely states an existing work it did exsist it just wasnt published I don't know what dictionary you're using, but I prefer Merriam-Webster.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio...
"A movie, book, etc., that tells the part of a story that happened before the story in another movie, book, etc."
The definition clearly states "before the story in another...book", thus, an unfinished, unpublished idea does not count towards making Ender's Game a prequel to something.
Tana wrote: "Papaphilly wrote: "Tana wrote: "Sic Transit Gloria wrote: ""Prequal": a story or movie containing events that precede those of an existing work. (Taken from Google.) Ender's Game isn't technically ..."How can you have a prequel if the original book does not exist? C'mon this is just common sense. but, since you asked:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
pre·quel
noun \ˈprē-kwəl\
: a movie, book, etc., that tells the part of a story that happened before the story in another movie, book, etc.
Full Definition of PREQUEL
: a work (as a novel or a play) whose story precedes that of an earlier work
See prequel defined for English-language learners »
Examples of PREQUEL
His next film will be a prequel to last year's hit movie.
Origin of PREQUEL
pre- + -quel (as in sequel)
First Known Use: 1972
Yeah, that's my point. In message 18, you stated that Ender's Game was a prequel, and I said that it couldn't be a prequel because Speaker for the Dead wasn't a book yet. So...what is your point? In order for Ender's Game to be a prequel, you would have to count Speaker for the Dead as a work before it was even published.
I didn't mind Speaker or any of the rest of the series, for that matter, but Ender's Game was always my favorite. And it's true that it's a completely different kind of book than the rest of the series. So, if you liked Ender's Game, and want to read more in that vein, try reading Ender's Shadow (also by Orson Scott Card). It tells the story of the same events but from the perspective of one of the other battle school students. I don't want to give anything away, but it opens up the world of Ender's Game in really fascinating ways.
I have read (actually, listened to, and I agree that the audio books are awesome) the entire first series, and Speaker for the Dead was my favorite. Card actually mentions that it was the book he initially intended to write but needed Ender's Game as a prequel to set it up. I agree. But then again, I love philosophical stuff. The only one I really didn't like much was Children of the Mind... too out there for me.
Rooster Teeth #1 Fan wrote: "This book is so insipid that I will most likely die before I finish it. And to shed some light on this topic, I CHOSE this book for a class report. That's right, I CHOSE this fate. UHHHHHHH! I thou..."Hyperbole and YELLING in book reviews is just plain boring... trying saying something useful.
And I enjoyed the series very much especially as it got More philosophical.
They are NOT unrelated novels!Card wrote them as one story (Speaker, xenocide, children). The books became too long because he had so much to tell.
I like these even better than Enders game. And they are far better than the Shadow series. If you like Action and James Bond, stick with Shadow-series.
I agree this book is a bit preachy and not in the same vein as the Game series. If you are looking for more like the original, try the Shadow series. Also, the newest series, which sets up the discovery of the aliens and the development of the battle school, is very good.
I thought Speaker was better than Ender's Game. They are both very different stories so it is like comparing Apples and Oranges. However, I really liked Speaker and how it dealt with the difficulties of communication between cultures. Just my two cents.
I loved Ender's Game, it's one of my favorite Science Fiction books. Then I read Speaker For The Dead and I was like, what happened? I'm not saying Speaker is a bad book, per se, but it's stinks compared to Ender's Game. It's like the two books don't even belong together.
Its nowhere near as good as Enders Game, its starts with a little promise, but soon fades to mediocrity.
I read the entire Ender's quartet. Speaker for the Dead IMHO was the weakest of the 4 books. Ender's Game obviously the best. A few things people may not be aware of. Speaker for the Dead was Card's origional vision for the stories. Ender's Game came about to give Ender the back story for the rest of the books. Or so Card said in an interview. One other thing, Xenocider and Childer of the Mind were originall meant to be one book so don't go on to Xenocider unless you feel like going through 2 books. Xenocider and Childern of the Mind carry on directly from Speaker for the Dead but spend more time focusing on different characters and places.
I found Ender's Game, Speaker, and Xenocide all to interesting and good stories. True, I was mostly interested in the human/alien interactions more than the human/human interactions which could be underwhelming or odd at times.
I thought Speaker for the Dead was alright, had some interesting bits, but I really didn't like Xenocide, and if you don't like Speaker you aren't going to like it. Xenocide, I hated that it felt like struggling against everything was pointless, it was inevitably doomed. And I really didn't like most of the characters. Maybe the next book changes that but I really hate when books do that
Just listened to Speaker again and still really enjoyed it. The Piggies and Buggers are still really interesting creature/cultures. Like the Speaker concept and I continue to find Ender's speaking to be favorite scene. Didn't dislike the human characters as much as I remember doing but they were still annoying in Xenocide. More than strange to have the children who are now 30-40 to still argue like children. I was far more interested in the events on Path and what the Hive Queen and Piggies were up to.
I read this book (after reading and loving Ender's Game) by the side of a pool in glorious sunshine and had to constantly fight the urge to throw the damn thing into the water. While the last section of the book certainly picks up the opening 200 pages I found to be mind-numbing and really quite badly written.
all discussions on this book
|
post a new topic
