Reviews

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

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neonskylite's review against another edition

medium-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

5.0

Cannot understand anyone who says that Ender's Game is better than this book. My feelings about Ender's Game is very complicated and ambivalent, but Speaker for the Dead embodies the love and empathy that Card tries to assign Ender in Ender's Game. Will forever confuse me how someone who wrote such a beautifully empathetic novel relating to

aliens that perform vivisections as part of their life cycle

is a Mormon who draws the line at gay humans in the real world.

Content Warnings

lbbelly's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-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

5.0

Read it years ago, it informed a lot of who I am, and holds up to a reread. One of my faves

trangmar's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-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? N/A

4.0

knuckledown's review against another edition

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3.0

Although I chose to follow Bean's series first, I was glad for the switch to Ender. Being on colonized planets with Ender certainly provided more escapism potential. On the other hand, perhaps the genius of Card is that he never escapes completely from the familiar structures of human society. In Lusitania, the home of a human settlement and the alien race of piggies, there is still the institution of the Catholic church. The ancient is set alongside the fantastical.

I find it brave that Card took on the character of adult Ender. What would the boy who massacred the race of buggers become? I suppose it's rather obvious that he would save the next alien race to be discovered. The Speaker for the Dead concept is more original: that he would tell the true story of a human life after the person is deceased. It can be an uncomfortable concept, but definitely a valuable one to get out of a book.