toggle_fow 's review for:

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

4.0

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I went into this book expecting it to vivisect, destroy, and dishonor my love for Ender's Game because everything I've heard about it sounds so excessively weird. Actually, yes, it is weird. HOWEVER, one of my most adored things is still present: Ender being omniscient and perfect. Given this central, all-important fact, I am very okay with Speaker for the Dead and will absolutely go on to finish out the rest of the series.

A breakdown of my concerns and how they turned out:

Piggies: Yes, this is very weird.

Love interests: Not as bad as I feared. Jane and Ender's relationship is odd. They are referred to as "lovers" but this seems to be in a weirdly spiritual, metaphorical sense. Still very weird since Jane is pictured and represents herself as a youth. Novinha and Ender don't really have a relationship yet, which is also weird because everyone is somehow aware that they are in love with each other and will inevitably get married. I'm not necessarily against this, except for the fact that I don't really like Novinha very much.

Besmirching of Ender's Character: No worries here. Ender is as perfect as ever -- a snarky, soulful, genius empath wandering the stars, burdened by his own destiny and past in a way that's not quite self pity. I did not anticipate that he would start a revolution and I can't WAIT to see him lead Lusitania in a conflict against the rest of the entire galaxy?!? Can you imagine him taking back up the mantle of general? Can you imagine Starways Congress realizing they have to fight Ender Wiggin over this one stupid planet? I'm literally salivating in anticipation. Don't let me down, Orson Scott Card. In addition, while I am conflicted/undecided about Ender's non-relationship-relationship with Novinha, I am wholly one hundred percent in favor of Ender adopting 12 children. This is perfect and beautiful. Thank you.

Treatment of Women: *so-so hand motion* Valentine barely features here. Jane goes silent for most of the book after throwing a hissy fit over Ender turning off her omniscient live feed access to his brain for two seconds. This effectively makes her a bratty sort of deus ex machina. Novinha carries most of the weight of the book, second only to Ender, and she cheats on her husband, neglects all her children, gets Libo killed by keeping him in ignorance, and causes everyone's pain and suffering through her own stubborn stupidity. Novinha is a problem to be solved and saved by Ender. (To be fair, everyone in the whole galaxy, in this book -- in every Ender book -- is a problem to be solved and saved by Ender.) I'm undecided about whether Novinha is unlikable and complex, but a good character, or whether she's just a "broken girl" damsel fantasy made to be rescued and healed by a white knight's love. Hopefully the subsequent books will make her more of the former and less of the latter.

Breeding Kink Content: Minimal. There are only two or three offhanded comments about Valentine passing on the Wiggin genes, and Ender fulfilling some base instinct by adopting all of Novinha's children as his own. This barely registers on the scale of OSC breeding kink weirdness, and I trust the rest of the series will continue this trend.