Speaker for the Dead

Ender returns here as Speaker for the Dead, a profession rather like that of a priest, but of a godless religion. He speaks for a dead person, so that the living can better understand him/ her. This novel also contains fascinating aliens called "Piggies" who are as strange as (if not stranger than) the "Buggers". It is strange to think that a person who can view truly alien cultures in such favourable light can be a declared homophobe.

A quintessentially perfect science fiction story about cultural supremacy. I loved every minute of it, and it was every bit as surprising as Ender’s Game. A real treat of a story.

So much better than Ender's Game. I wish I could say more, but having just finished it there's nothing coherent I can think of to say right now.

Direktan nastavak Endera no vodi nas u sasvim druge vode.

Nema više živopisne akcije no nastavak je apsolutno zasluženo pokupio još više nagrada.

Ne znam ni kako bih pokušao opisati radnju.

Očajnički pokušaji uvida u potpuno stranu inteligenciju i velike žrtve koje to traži?

Sukobi civilizacija često imaju jako neugodne, nenamjerne, posljedice. Katastrofalne čak.


Ako vas je Igra oduševila pokušajte se spojiti i s ovim drugim dijelom vage.

Ako vam uspije silno će te uživati, ovo je fenomenalno djelo.

Początek bym dość nużący, ale potem akcja nabiera tempa. Bardzo interesujące rozważania filozoficzne.

A very good science-fiction book. I could not put it down for a while! I wanted to know of course what the 'Little Ones' 's secret was, but there is more than that in the book. There is an attempt to give a spiritual dimension to the story. However, the conflict resolution feels a bit too pat for me. The Utopian reality that the characters all embrace at the end of the book seems forced. A good ending is not always what is needed. I would have liked to see a more nuanced reality emerging from this alien world.

Good, complex sci-fi, the second after Ender's Game. More of a religious aspect than EG but that fits the plot.

The use of Portugese (always translated) is a welcome touch.

Card's imagination of the "third life" and the different piggy anthropology is innovative, as is his explanation for Lusitania's limited biological diversity.

Readers who like Ender will like The Sparrow & Children of God by Mary Doria Russell.

I've read this book several times since I first read Ender's Game back in 2001.
The problem with this book is everything could have been solved by simply asking the aliens how they reproduce from the start instead of assuming they reproduce like humans do. That kind of story almost always annoys the beejeesus out of me.


No, I'm sorry, Orson Scott Card is NOT a good writer. Why doesn't anyone else NOTICE this? It drives me nuts. Maybe I should read this again, but I don't want to. I just seems like this one simple little thing would have changed everything. But OSC has to make things SEEM complicated. Like Novinha can't marry the man she wants to marry because he'll learn everything because she will be one person with him.
Why? For what reason do married people have to be the SAME PERSON? So, if you have some secret account, your husband gets to share it suddenly? This makes no sense. There's no real reason for it. I have got to get these OSC books out of my house. Anyone want them?


Edit-I am sorry, but no real actual scientist would ever, ever encounter aliens and assume they reproduced the same way humans do! This is just so deeply dippy. Couldn't Libo or that other fellow simply have said, we can't turn into trees, don't cut us? And you get 2 people in which this happens to. How are we supposed to believe that two people could not have said, don't do this, our bodies don't work like that. SEE? Simple! I'm sorry, OSC is overrated!

Another Edit

Now, you have to understand that I was a fan of OSC since Jr. High school when I read Seventh Son for the first time.But he's been driving me crazy. There's the homophobia to consider, the constant nagging in his stories and SWITCHING FROM THIRD PERSON TO FIRST PERSON! It's extremely irritating. You are not SAYING something silently but THINKING it and there's no reason to switch from third person to first person every few paragraphs.

I'm skimming through this book and I still can't believe that characters would actually be this stupid in the sense of letting themselves be killed by the piggies when they didn't have to be. This doesn't make them look noble or self sacrificing but really, really dumb and lacking in respect for another being's culture and way of life.

Also, the romance between Ender and Novinhua is not believable. Perhaps from Ender's side, but not from her.

On the bright side, at least Jane is AWESOME. I love her. I do find her whole part very satisfying and I hate when Ender turns her off and she becomes lost.

12/18/12 Edit-

Why did I read this book again? I think I need to just not read OSC the way I should NOT watch Anti-christ by Lars von Trier because I don't even want to SEE all of that genital mutilation.

I will hurt.

OSC just isn't a good writer. It seems like he is but he isn't. He nags and lectures. He tells when he should show you. He has no subtlety. His bad guys are too evil and his good guys are too good. He's terrible at character development. You're better off reading Wraethlu or something like that. Especially if you are keen on gay rights. That serious has fantastic character development, interesting beings going from being human to something else dealing with that. It's also very gay friendly too, unlike OSC who will never be gay friendly and will always think homosexuality will destroy society if you just allow people to openly be themselves.