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A review by wenxinqi
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
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.
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.