Reviews

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

mgabrel's review

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

“Every person is defined by the communities she belongs to and the ones she doesn’t belong to. A person that believes they don’t belong to any community at all invariably kill themselves, either by killing her body or by giving up her identity and going mad.”

I loved it. I read Ender’s game first, and when I heard about this book, I disregarded it. I didn’t like the idea of a tonal shift. I’m glad I finally did read it though. I think it stands above Ender’s game.  

Ender is right that humans don’t have multiple physical transformations in life, but I think there are life transitions that partially simulate the piggies’ three lives (infant/teenager/adult/old age).

smtorres28's review

4.0

Nothing like Ender's Game but truly moving and touching. It gives a glimpse on the shreds of humanity and how it can only take a small group of people to shed light on a bigger picture. I will definitely finish the Ender's Quintet.

ir_sharp2's review

4.0

Definitely a slow one to get into, but worth it once you do. Ended is spookily eloquent.

ilariasroom's review against another edition

4.5

incredibly genius and i expected nothing less from my man orson scott card… the commentary on family, religion, self sabotage and forgiveness, on genocide and atonement, on the skill and patience and impossibility yet somehow learnt possibility of understanding… all of it was genius and an extremely fulfilling sequel to an already extremely insightful novel. the only reason i give it slightly less than 5 stars is because i do feel the approach to the ending fell a little flat, although it was still very much a suitable and meaningful conclusion for a powerful piece of work.

hakkun1's review

adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

frozn's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

wolfgold's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective 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

4.25

jareddelcamp's review

4.0

If I had gone into this book thinking murder-mystery/social dynamics rather than epic battle for survival against all odds with a hero shockingly overcoming the near impossible, I would have given 5 stars. Get in the right anticipatory state and it’s good.

blastoise's review

3.0

Very different from Ender's Game, it is less action and more philosophical. I think it's better to treat the sequels of Ender's Game as separate as the first book is a great stand-alone. This deals more with the implications set in motion by the events of the first book and sets the series up for an over-arcing story dealing with the philosophical nature of genocide.

robivy's review

5.0

Even better than Ender's Game. Would definitely recommend. Now on to the rest of the books in the series....