This book is an indirect sequel to Ender’s Game, taking place 3000 years after the destruction of the buggers; Ender Wiggin is 35 years old in practical terms, but he and his sister have lived hugely extended lives through interstellar travel, when Ender is called to speak for a man who has died in the process of trying to understand the only other alien civilisation humans have encountered since the xenocide.

Speaker for the Dead is one of the few Hugo Award winning novels that I’ve read (although I’ve read a lot of the winning author’s works, I seem to have missed their ‘crowning achievements’), and I can see why it is so roundly acclaimed; I found myself moved to tears at several points throughout this book… this isn’t just a science fiction gem, it’s the best of what we expect from literature of any genre. It has a moral (more than one) and doesn’t need to preach it to deliver it; it explains the best and worst of humanity to us. While Ender’s Game was about the savagery of the individual and the group, Speaker for the Dead focuses on our biological instincts as a species, our struggle to acquire and apply tolerance and wisdom.

Orson Scott Card has a sly and ruthless knack of treating his characters as though they were metal in need of forging – a painful, but ultimately rewarding process for the reader. It’s one gift among many; easier to say he is as near-flawless a writer as I’ve read, rather than pick apart what makes the book work. Imagination, empathy, true storytelling instinct, scope, pace… if you like sci-fi, and you like books that make you think and feel, you’ll consider this one of the best books you’ve read. ( )

Author: Orson Scott Card
Review: December 15, 2009
Edition: 1994 printing (0-812-55075-7)
Pages: 382
Overall Rating: 3/5 [Average-Good]
Synopsis: Three thousand years after a war between two intelligent races, Ender searches for an appropriate world to give life once more to the very ones he destroyed while navigating the relationships of humans with humans and humans with a new and strange alien intelligence.
Further Review: I have a difficult time classifying this as "young adult" literature due to its frequently gruesome and heavy nature. Because it's more exact and the gory events more specific, this book is often frightening in a way that Ender's Game is not. A lot of the themes of this book I'm sure I myself wouldn't have been able to properly understand or handle until my later teenage years. This is the second time I've attempted this book, as a matter of fact. I did try to read it when I was younger, shortly after I read Ender's Game. Although I vividly remembered the events that I had actually encountered (I stopped early on in the book as Ender leaves Valentine), as a young teenager I just couldn't get into it despite the impact it obviously had on me.

Where Ender's Game is a book about Ender in relation to himself primarily, Speaker for the Dead is about Ender in relation to others: his ability to relate with other humans as well as with other forms of sentience. In some ways, I've found Speaker to actually be superior to Ender's Game. The pacing is better executed here, there is a bit more mystery throughout the story (as opposed to just having one surprising twist), and other characters actually have relatable traits (again, because this book is more about Ender and his ability to relate to others). On the other hand, some emotional themes are given a weight that seems almost inappropriate and disruptive to the story, especially given the repetitive nature. Ender is frequently over-praised and his actual "speaking" for the dead is lacking.

As for the originality of the book, it follows a slightly different vein than Ender's Game. Instead of focusing on scientific concepts (although these are still extremely pivotal to the plot), philosophical concepts are explored. While these were important in both books, it's sort of as if Ender's Game is more about the science with the plot propelled by the philosophical and Speaker is the other way around---philosophy and religion are the big theme, while the plot uses scientific speculation to explore that theme. The end result is that Ender's Game feels a little more technical and a little more military while Speaker feels a little more thoughtful. The over-arching theme here, of course, is the speculation of how humans ought to relate with each other (members of communities, members of outside communities) as well as with other intelligences (members of non-human communities). ( )

I read this first as an 11-year-old and was disappointed it wasn't very similar to Ender's Game, though I still went on to read the other two books in the saga before writing off this and the other later novels as "boring." Rereading this today, 10 years later, I have to say I just wasn't ready to read this then. I was blown away by the further development of Ender as a character, and the attention Card pays to detail and nuance. Once I started reading, I couldn't put this down, and ended up finishing it tonight.

I know Ender's Game was Card's foray into YA lit, but I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone too young to appreciate it (for me personally, at least 15). ( )

The sequel to Ender's Game certainly doesn't disappoint. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed EG. The author writes that he intended for the book to work on its own (whether or not the reader had read EG), and I am pretty sure it fails on that count, because so much of the hero's history (and that of auxiliary characters) is required knowledge.

The structure is a little disjointed, and feels like something is slightly off. This is distracting - and I feel that development of some of the main points of interest are sacrificed to this odd background noise (the introduction, development, and relevance/importance of the character Jane, for instance).

This is a point I'll return to momentarily - - in the meantime, I'm rating it a 4 because I did like the book - and I was satisfied with the plot and pacing and resolution. The mystery at the heart of the tale felt like it was telegraphed too early - - but perhaps this was necessary because it was a rather complex bit of alien circumstance.

As for the weird vibe - the author is a peculiar person and a controversial figure.( http://entertheoctopus.wordpress.com/... )
There is a theory that Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead are allegory for the life of Adolf Hitler that include 'tells' from that historical figure's biography - even into the speculative legends of his having survived to live on in Brazil and continue a legacy that his followers find compelling and honorable. There is even a theory that Card didn't actually write the books. A controversial whistle was blown following the publication of Speaker - and is said to account for the long hiatus between Speaker and Xenocide, a very peculiar circumstance considering the acclaim, attention and awards heaped upon EG and SftD.

Regardless of whatever odd goings on did or did not spawn these books - I did enjoy them. If, someday, it turns out that they were considered a surprise to spring on an accepting audience (ha ha - I made you like Hitler!), or something darker (ripening a broad audience to be receptive to a neo-nazi renaissance?) - I'll discard them. For now - I find the accusations more fascinating than compelling or dangerous, and can give a 4 star rating to the work itself without reservation.

I also suggest that readers who enjoyed these check out the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. ( )

This book is just as good as Ender's Game. It is one of the greatest examples of alien creation in science fiction. Yet it could almost work as a mystery novel. It has all the emotion of Ender's Game, but just like Ender, it has grown up. ( )