Speaker for the Dead (1986)

Definitely not in the same league as Enders Game - different, but an enjoyable scifi sequel all the same. ( )

I enjoyed reading "Ender's Game" more than this, its sequel. I found most of "Speaker for the Dead" to be dull and slow. The last one hundred pages of the book, however, are completely worth the time it takes to slog through the beginning. They are definitely up to par with "Ender's Game." Too bad it took Card about three hundred pages to get there.

The main problem I had with the book was the Ribeira family. They are some of the most annoying, non-descript characters I have ever read in a book. None of the siblings have any defining personality traits, they all blend right into one another. They all whine, moan or cry throughout most of their scenes, enough so that most of the time I just wanted to slap them and tell them to get over themselves.

On the other hand, Card does a brilliant job with the character of Jane. A "virtual" person, she has been Ender's closest friend for a few thousand years, and she lives completely in the world of technology and computers. She truly is a fascinating creation. I wish Card spent more time with her in the book.

I also ended up really liking the tribe of pequeninos Card chose as the new "alien life forms" in contrast to the buggers in the first book. Card has a keen, inventive imagination when he describes how they are born, live and die. The most beautiful writing in the book is centered around them. My favorite part of the book, in fact, is the piggy called Human's monologue right before he is sacrificed in a covenant between Ender and the tribe. It is a lovely, stirring passage that would make a beautiful eulogy for anyone.

So, all-in-all, I don't think I'll be reading the rest of this series anytime soon, but I did enjoy the two installments I did read. Card is definitely worthy of all the praise and popularity he has received. If I had to choose between the two books, however, I would still pick "Ender's Game" as the better work. ( )

UPDATE: Dec. 2020
I just read it again and I've added a star. Truly a beautiful story with all kinds of insight on what it means to be human. I couldn't put it down!

If you are interested in exploring the power of truth-telling and naming, look no further. This is your book.

Here's one quote:
"Once you understand what people really want, you can't hate them any more. You can fear them, but you can't hate them because you can always find the same desires in your own heart." -Ender

----
FIRST REVIEW: SEPT 2014

Speaker is a much deeper story than Ender's Game. And I thought it was better. Card's insights into human nature are profound. In Speaker, his character development was more complex. While Ender's Game was driven by the story and intrigue, Speaker integrated a gripping story with mystery and profound compassion.

Speaker for the Dead was more sic-fi-ish than Ender's Game. He stretched typical scientific understandings of the universe and how the world works more here than in Ender's Game. Interaction with the alien piggie race is throughout the story along with smatterings of other "alien" interaction, while Ender's Game talked about the buggers much more than ever interacting with them.

All-in-all, a fantastic book. Highly recommended. ( )

Fantastic! ( )

This book continues the story of Ender Wiggin, began in Ender's Game. This was a really good story. The setting for this book is mainly on another planet, in a Brazilian/Portuguese colony called Lusitania. I was very interested in this group of people and how they deal with the fact that they discover another life form, similar to humans, on this planet. Following their own "prime directive", they attempt to leave these aliens alone so as not to contaminate their evolution with human ideas, but that doesn't really work out that well.

I was very interested in the religious aspect of this book. The colony is Catholic and they act according to the dictates of their religion, at least most of the time. Ender, the Speaker for the Dead, is considered the devil by some because of the pagan beliefs of the Speakers. Ender arrives on Lusitania to speak the death of several people who have died and he quickly becomes involved in the lives of the people on this planet. And it is quite a soap opera!

I believe I liked this better than Ender's Game. ( )