Take a photo of a barcode or cover
veronwe 's review for:
Speaker for the Dead
by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card thought that Speaker for the Dead would be his best and most famous book. Ender’s Game, to him, was just a way to introduce Ender’s character. Just a prequel. Imagine his surprise when basically a prequel became one of the most famous sci-fi novels of all time.
But… is Speaker for the Dead his actual magnum opus? Was he right in thinking it would be his best book?
When the idea of the sci-fi series came into his mind, he first imagined Speaker for the Dead. Ender’s Game was written because he realised he couldn’t fit so much backstory into a prologue or a first chapter.
The thing is… in some ways, it is better.
One thing is certain, though… it is very different from Ender’s Game, and the same people who enjoyed Ender’s Game might not enjoy it.
Hello there! I now have a YouTube channel, where I make videos out of these reviews and create essays about philosophy in storytelling, as well as post some short stories.
Read on!
Characters: 9/10
If you have watched my review of Ender’s Game, you know that I am a fan of Ender. He is in defiance of a trope that I strongly dislike.
But here, though… it is not as impactful as the first. While Ender is now not as much of a show stealer, he provides a great outlet for revealing every other character’s complexity.
When we are inside his head, we know almost everything happening inside other people's heads. This gives us an appreciation of every motive and every move they make.
Really, the family is amazing. I’ll avoid saying the names because of how ridiculously difficult it is to pronounce them correctly.
What makes the family so special is how real they feel. Despite how messed up they are, we can identify with them (which, honestly, terrifies me).
When I got introduced to them, I got very invested in them. The problem is… if you don’t get invested in them, the whole story will be boring, as it heavily relies on them to pull you along.
You want to see them be fixed, and you know that Ender can do it. Despite it seeming impossible.
The alien species I will include underneath worldbuilding, for they have something truly special going on about them, but now onto the worst of the aspects…
Plot: 6/10
This seems to be Orson Scott Card’s weakness as a writer. This time, instead of a plot twist destroying all our expectations, it meandered a bit.
The pace was also much slower, but that can be forgiven as the book has basically changed genres from Ender’s Game.
It never really hooked me. What got me was the character’s themselves, rather than the decisions of all the characters together (which is plot).
The plot did not drive together in a concerted push towards a singular goal. This caused the feelings of detachment.
What did make it interesting, though, was the tying of one alien race to the other through how their first impressions went.
Always somebody got killed in a misunderstanding, as both see death differently, compared to humans, which brings me to…
Worldbuilding: 8/10
I would have given this a higher rating if it had not encroached on the character’s rating. It might have been 9, but I knew that characters were better, so I give it an eight.
What immediately stands out is just how alien the aliens feel. No other book I have read has done this to this extent.
For writers, it is difficult to create alien species that are not similar to our own genus. The closest we have to an alien on earth is the octopus.
I mean, this thing has three hearts and, technically, eight brains! Now we, as writers, must somehow come up with something totally original which is just as strange as this marvellous creature.
And try to create a culture with their biological differences in mind.
What Speaker of the Dead has over Ender’s Game is a more original alien species. The concept of a bug like hive minded species was first written by H. G. Wells in 1901, when he wrote The First Men on the Moon.
But the pequeninos were entirely different in ways I can’t go into unless I do some spoiling.
Finally, we come to the Hundred Worlds. The regulations put in place seemed simply: don’t contaminate alien cultures.
Well, the reasoning behind this was not what we believed, and tied to the story in a satisfying way.
Overall: 7/10
The same as Ender’s Game, but their strengths and weaknesses were different. Ender’s Game absolutely excelled in some places, but badly fell short in others. Speaker for the Dead, though, did not excel as much as Ender’s Game, but no aspect fell badly.
Now, the thing is, lovers of the first are most likely lovers of the more action packed sci-fi.
Speaker for the Dead is not at all action packed as the first. All conflict, tension, and plot does not rely on some big military battle. Instead, it relies on a smaller scale, but perhaps as an equally impactful ending.
Also, it is much more philosophical.
In the end, if you wish for something more introspective and about a battle hero settling down with a family, this will be your cup of tea.
Until my review of the next instalment,
Veronwë
But… is Speaker for the Dead his actual magnum opus? Was he right in thinking it would be his best book?
When the idea of the sci-fi series came into his mind, he first imagined Speaker for the Dead. Ender’s Game was written because he realised he couldn’t fit so much backstory into a prologue or a first chapter.
The thing is… in some ways, it is better.
One thing is certain, though… it is very different from Ender’s Game, and the same people who enjoyed Ender’s Game might not enjoy it.
Hello there! I now have a YouTube channel, where I make videos out of these reviews and create essays about philosophy in storytelling, as well as post some short stories.
Read on!
Characters: 9/10
If you have watched my review of Ender’s Game, you know that I am a fan of Ender. He is in defiance of a trope that I strongly dislike.
But here, though… it is not as impactful as the first. While Ender is now not as much of a show stealer, he provides a great outlet for revealing every other character’s complexity.
When we are inside his head, we know almost everything happening inside other people's heads. This gives us an appreciation of every motive and every move they make.
Really, the family is amazing. I’ll avoid saying the names because of how ridiculously difficult it is to pronounce them correctly.
What makes the family so special is how real they feel. Despite how messed up they are, we can identify with them (which, honestly, terrifies me).
When I got introduced to them, I got very invested in them. The problem is… if you don’t get invested in them, the whole story will be boring, as it heavily relies on them to pull you along.
You want to see them be fixed, and you know that Ender can do it. Despite it seeming impossible.
The alien species I will include underneath worldbuilding, for they have something truly special going on about them, but now onto the worst of the aspects…
Plot: 6/10
This seems to be Orson Scott Card’s weakness as a writer. This time, instead of a plot twist destroying all our expectations, it meandered a bit.
The pace was also much slower, but that can be forgiven as the book has basically changed genres from Ender’s Game.
It never really hooked me. What got me was the character’s themselves, rather than the decisions of all the characters together (which is plot).
The plot did not drive together in a concerted push towards a singular goal. This caused the feelings of detachment.
What did make it interesting, though, was the tying of one alien race to the other through how their first impressions went.
Always somebody got killed in a misunderstanding, as both see death differently, compared to humans, which brings me to…
Worldbuilding: 8/10
I would have given this a higher rating if it had not encroached on the character’s rating. It might have been 9, but I knew that characters were better, so I give it an eight.
What immediately stands out is just how alien the aliens feel. No other book I have read has done this to this extent.
For writers, it is difficult to create alien species that are not similar to our own genus. The closest we have to an alien on earth is the octopus.
I mean, this thing has three hearts and, technically, eight brains! Now we, as writers, must somehow come up with something totally original which is just as strange as this marvellous creature.
And try to create a culture with their biological differences in mind.
What Speaker of the Dead has over Ender’s Game is a more original alien species. The concept of a bug like hive minded species was first written by H. G. Wells in 1901, when he wrote The First Men on the Moon.
But the pequeninos were entirely different in ways I can’t go into unless I do some spoiling.
Finally, we come to the Hundred Worlds. The regulations put in place seemed simply: don’t contaminate alien cultures.
Well, the reasoning behind this was not what we believed, and tied to the story in a satisfying way.
Overall: 7/10
The same as Ender’s Game, but their strengths and weaknesses were different. Ender’s Game absolutely excelled in some places, but badly fell short in others. Speaker for the Dead, though, did not excel as much as Ender’s Game, but no aspect fell badly.
Now, the thing is, lovers of the first are most likely lovers of the more action packed sci-fi.
Speaker for the Dead is not at all action packed as the first. All conflict, tension, and plot does not rely on some big military battle. Instead, it relies on a smaller scale, but perhaps as an equally impactful ending.
Also, it is much more philosophical.
In the end, if you wish for something more introspective and about a battle hero settling down with a family, this will be your cup of tea.
Until my review of the next instalment,
Veronwë