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stephandless 's review for:
Speaker for the Dead
by Orson Scott Card
I'm so glad I decided to continue on with this series as I enjoyed this book so much more than Ender's Game. Military stuff, especially strategy, is just not my jam. This one focus a lot more on biology, anthropology, religion, trauma and family dynamics. I also found adult Ender a much more enjoyable and relatable character than kid Ender. I thought the new world and aliens introduced in this book were really great and the story really hooked me, especially the second half.
I did still have some issues with it. The first is something not to do with the novel itself but with the introduction included in the author's definitive edition. THERE IS A FREAKING HUGE SPOILER IN IT!!!! I was spoiled for the twist in Ender's Game having watched the film adaptation when it came out and then the introduction spoiled the twist for this one..... So maybe for book 3, I'll get to experience a Card ending without being spoiled.
I also still have some issues with the world building in this book. For a society that regularly has young genius (and not very child like) children and lets kids apprentice (or occasionally work) as biologists and geneticists as young as 13, why do they have to give such childish names to sentient alien species. First, we had buggers and now piggies. Such an odd choice! I also wish there had been more physical descriptions of the piggies. I never felt like I quite knew what they looked like.
There's also a lot of religious digs in this book about actual real world religions. Normally, I like when sci-fi and fantasy novels explore religious ideas, but this book felt more like the author just wanted a chance to insult real world religions that he disagreed with. I much prefer made up religions rather than just plopping in our own with no real evolution (even though 3000 years had passed since book 1 and we know from history how much Christianity has evolved and splintered over the last 2000 years.)
I also wish there had been more discussion about the sort of "time travel" involved with space travel at near light speed. Granted, I think the concept is much more well known now but I can't imagine reading this when the book first came out and being able to make sense of what was going on. The idea that traveling near light speed means that time passes much more slowly for you so that what may be years/decades for the rest of the universe may be only days/weeks for you is just sort of thrown out there without much explanation. Just a few sentences would have really helped out here.
I did still have some issues with it. The first is something not to do with the novel itself but with the introduction included in the author's definitive edition. THERE IS A FREAKING HUGE SPOILER IN IT!!!!
Spoiler
Card just casually mentions that he had always wanted to write a book about an alien species that killed each other to reproduce. We aren't supposed to find this out until the end of the book. Why didn't the someone involved with publishing this book think to turn the introduction into an afterward?!?!I also still have some issues with the world building in this book. For a society that regularly has young genius (and not very child like) children and lets kids apprentice (or occasionally work) as biologists and geneticists as young as 13, why do they have to give such childish names to sentient alien species. First, we had buggers and now piggies. Such an odd choice! I also wish there had been more physical descriptions of the piggies. I never felt like I quite knew what they looked like.
There's also a lot of religious digs in this book about actual real world religions. Normally, I like when sci-fi and fantasy novels explore religious ideas, but this book felt more like the author just wanted a chance to insult real world religions that he disagreed with. I much prefer made up religions rather than just plopping in our own with no real evolution (even though 3000 years had passed since book 1 and we know from history how much Christianity has evolved and splintered over the last 2000 years.)
I also wish there had been more discussion about the sort of "time travel" involved with space travel at near light speed. Granted, I think the concept is much more well known now but I can't imagine reading this when the book first came out and being able to make sense of what was going on. The idea that traveling near light speed means that time passes much more slowly for you so that what may be years/decades for the rest of the universe may be only days/weeks for you is just sort of thrown out there without much explanation. Just a few sentences would have really helped out here.