Reviews

Mowca umarlych by Orson Scott Card

rachelcdm's review against another edition

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3.0

Spoiler

3.5? Maybe?

I don't know, I think I preferred this book over Ender's Game but only slightly.

Many people have said that they didn't like the pacing of the book, I didn't mind it so much. What I can't get over is how much Orson Scott Card preached tolerance and understanding in his book yet is such an arse-face in real life.

Moving on....This book was different from Ender's Game both in setting and characters and pace.

PROS:

- I liked the mystery that surrounded the "piggies."
- Jane, she was pretty cool.
- I liked some of the dram with the Ribeira family but thought it dragged out
- The idea behind a Speaker was nice if slightly over-simplified
- The idea of space travel and the time difference between worlds was really good
- I like that people thought that Ender the Xenocide was a different person to Speaker for the Dead

CONS:

- Some of the characters just didn't seem real, Novhina being the one I had most touble with
- Ender was almost too infallible at points
- Why the hell was Ender celibate? What reason was there?
- Bit preachy at points
- They got married with little to no chemistry between them not long after the love of her life died...WTF?
- I struggle to believe that the Catholic church stays so similar to how it is now in thousands of years time

Does anyone else think that Card has a weird thing with incest? Ender and Valentine describe themselves almost as soul mates but without the physical element, and in this book a brother and sister unknowingly almost got married....just food for thought.

Overall, I did enjoy the book and I do still have the last two to read but don't think I will for a few weeks, this book took a lot out of me. There was a lot I liked, the general message of speaking the truth and tolerance and understanding is a message I love and identify with despite the authors personal views outside his books. I also do generally love Ender's character, but I can't tell if that's more because of the first book than this one...either way I did enjoy this book although the ending was bittersweet. Poor Miro!




vmacalinao's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

rainbyrd's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Orson Scott Card will really make you care about aliens. 

muji89's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

billymac1962's review against another edition

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3.0

I read this sequel because Ender's Game was so good. It was alright, but quite different from Ender's Game.

eschnitger's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

sarahgudeman's review against another edition

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5.0

I recently told a friend that I like this book more than Ender's Game, so other rating can I give it besides five stars?

Even though the end of Speaker maybe wasn't quite the climatic conclusion I expected, the story took some interesting turns and at no point was I less than excited to see what would happen next.

The concept of speaking for the dead was interesting and reading the new introduction by the author made the idea more tangible right from the start.

Also, reading this right on the heels of Ender was an advantage as well, but I probably wouldn't have appreciated it as much if this reading had come at an earlier stage in my life.

When people say they love Ender because the story is about children... This is almost the opposite. Lots of concepts and issues to deal with for these characters and the history of what happened in Book #1 is not easily forgotten for anyone either.

sydmidd's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.0

kamkanga's review against another edition

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4.0

Although cut off halfway through the story, still a great read.

wenxinqi's review against another edition

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3.0

Ok I need to rant about this book. I loved it and hated it at the same time. One reviewer said that it is like following up Star Wars with Mary Poppins and that is completely true. This book has a very different tone from Ender's Game. Speaker of the Dead is more of a space opera because all of all the juicy drama going on with the characters. Sometimes it felt like I was reading a korean drama

Here are the cons for me:
- I did not not the incest that was going on with a brother and sister in the book. It wasn't full blown incest but it was still disturbing. The only romantic scene in this book is between the brother and the sister! Ender got married and everything, but he did not get any any romantic scenes with his wife. We got to read about two siblings kissing each other instead. I really felt uncomfortable with this part of the book, and it felt like it was never properly resolved. I also hated that the brother still wanted to be with his sister even after he found out they were related. Gross

- I hate Novinha. I'm sorry but I couldn't emphathize with her at all. Sure, she went through a lot of pain, but she knowingly hurt others in return. Ender said he didn't judge her for what she had done, because he had done worse, but in Ender's defense he did not know he was destroying a whole planet. This lady knew she was doing wrong and she knew all the pain that her wrongdoing was bringing her children and loved ones. There is a noble idoicy moment where Novinha promises to herself not to be with someone because she didn't want him to get killed. I understand that she was trying to save this person the best way she knew how, but she caused him so much pain already that death to him was like nothing. She commited a lot of sins. That is fine, because I love when a character changes and grow as a person after coming to the realization they were wrong. It just that I didn't see remorse or repentance from her after everything was exposed. She really needed to apologize to all her children, especially Miro, and I didn't get to see that. It like there was no real punishment for what she did except embarrassment.

Here are my pros:
- The piggies are an alien species on their planet. I love the piggies. I also love the messages that OSC was trying to bring out through them. I like how they also committed wrong, and they had no idea it was wrong, and when they found out the truth they were so upset. The humans are living on their planet, and I like how Ender emphasizes that throughout the novel and constantly reminds the humans that they need to learn about the piggies and their culture, because this was the piggies home first. Also I love when the piggies and humans came to peace, all the misunderstanding was cleared up, and the humans taught them new technology to help them, and I thought that was very sweet. The culture of the piggies is also fascinating. I love when Ender tells the humans not to mess with or judge the piggies culture, if they want to change they will decide between themselves, the humans should not force them to change. I really like Ender's relationship with the piggies, he was very respectful but also very firm.

- I love Elanora. She is my favorite character in the book. I loved reading about her, she was interesting. Even though she had to step into the role of a mother for her younger siblings because of her own absentee mother, she never was bitter against her, and I thought that was great

The story is great, the drama between the characters is a little too much. I felt like it took away from the story with the piggies, and the end of the book did not come together well because of it. I feel so bad for Miro.