** 3.5/5 stars **
Was a really interesting book, great story, great character development.

It's the kind of book that makes you stop and think hmmm is this moral? ethical? realistic? What would I do in this situation?

You can tell that Orson Scott Card (through The Speaker) really knows and understands people, and what it means to be human.

There were just some parts in the book that was really boring... and just dragged on. But then it would pick right back up again and be interesting again.

I enjoyed this book even better than Ender's Game actually. Speaker of the Dead takes place thousands of years after Ender's Game.

Anthropology on the study of piggies was interesting as they're so different than humans yet similar in some ways too. The fear that goes on between races is realistic.

I really liked Jane and wished there was more of her but maybe in the other books.

Speaker for the Dead was originally suppose to be the standalone book Orson Scott Card wrote. And it was the first book in the series that he wrote. The beginning of the book had a interesting introduction where Card spoke about writing the series.

Ps. Why does the cover have nothing to do with the story??? lol random...

A radical turn from Ender's Game this was! Where the predecessor was entertaining, this one provided more depth and more room for thoughts and philosophical ideas, essentially making it the more important book.



Speaker for the Dead still centres around Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, who spent the years following the events of the last novel traveling through galaxy with his sister Valentine. While three-thousand years have passed, it's only been a few decades for them, meaning our protagonist is now 35 years old. He is now the Speaker for the Dead, so when a second alien race is discovered, it is up to him to unveils the truth about why humans are dying once again.

The last novel left Ender with an interesting set-up. How do you cope with having extinguished an entire race? How do you cope with being celebrated as a hero first, but then being known as the one having committed a xenocide (as in, genocide, but with alien)? Ender is out for redemption, and Card has put im in a situation, where he can prove that he's as sensible and emotionally intelligent as he wants to be.



For all its ideas, it's a chunk of talking heads. Fascinating knowing that Card basically just wrote Ender's Game as an intro for this novel, which he personally considers his main piece of writing. Nonetheless, you certainly have to know what you're in for – there's none of the fast-paced action that the first book provided; instead you're confronted with a bunch of people that do nothing but talk. I enjoyed it for different reasons, but found the messages conveyed more fascinating than the actual plot. One will have to decide for their own what they're seeking in science fiction in general, I reckon.

This novel is here to teach you a thing or two about humanity. While the novel essentially focusses on cultural differences between humans and the new-found alien race, which are unfortunately nicknamed piggies, it's influential on how we're living on our dear planet Earth as well – with the main message being that we can't impose our belief-system onto another culture, thinking that what's best for us is necessary for everyone else, too.

If you really know a person, you'll end up loving them. At least that's the idea behind the Speaker for the Dead – Card further explores a theme that he's already tackled in the first novel through the relationship of Ender, Valentine and Peter. He claims that if you truly understand a person, you will end up seeing them for all they are; both the good and bad. It might not excuse anything, but if you face them for all their facet, you will come to accepting them. It's a kind message, one that promotes empathy and care. It's certainly a message to take to heart.

Una excelente continuación más humano, aprender de los errores, de segundas oportunidades y no volver a viejos paradigmas. Todo a través del viaje de Ender a Lusitania, conocer los cerdis, los pequeninos, el amor y un nuevo hogar para todos. Algunos dirán que es muy rosa, yo digo que es la evolución de un niño a hombre. Recomendado y buscare el tercer libro.

This is my favorite novel. It's a ringing declaration of empathy, reconciliation, and hope that our world desperately needs to hear. Re-reading it can't quite capture the mysteries (as you already know the twists) but the emotional resonance remains. I'm excited to write my thesis on this book.

Just finished it again in 2021. It continues to challenge me and resonate with the themes I see at work in our culture. We need truth telling and reconciliation and we need it badly.

Despite being a longtime fan of sci-fi and fantasy, I was never big on Ender's Game. The book had too much bullying and name-calling, while the movie's conclusion had me in a rage; I couldn't believe the horrible trick they played on the main character. Still, I had some other books by Orson Scott Card on my shelf, so, I decided to pick this one up...and, boy, was I in for a surprise! I definitely didn't expect a sci-fi novel dealing with religion, even knowing that the author is a Mormon. Fans of the first book may be disappointed; though this is nowhere near the best book in the genre I've read, I have to give it credit for being a serious improvement over its predecessor.

'Speaker for the Dead' is a grown ups' book, a literary science fiction that has a lot of Big Questions, and by the end Ender answers the best he can by his understanding of what's needed.

Perhaps this novel, book two in the Ender series, may not satisfy those who want a comic book hero. Ender is the kind of hero that has more living man as part of his character than a storybook person. He wants to be a husband, father, and someone who is building a home, not a military genius, not an adventurer, explorer or even a businessman.

The title and job he takes on, Speaker for the Dead, is a penance for his perceived sin of genocide (Ender's Game) which almost crushes his ability to survive. Being Speaker for the Dead is how he maintains self-respect, and at the same time, he hopes to evolve the human intellect past its instinct to murder the different. He preaches walking in the Other's shoes as the way to understand, but in a holistic way of seeing. If aliens have sentience, then they can maybe see how the Other may have the same aspirations all living intelligences must have. The Buggers (an alien race discovered in space), by this definition, were not only ahead of humans scientifically but also morally, but Ender destroyed them in the previous book before understanding could be shared between races. Jane (a wonderful character) is a proof flesh isn't necessary for an evolved intelligence. She is a powerful metaphor for what is possible and a god icon at the same time. Lack of flesh leads her initially to being heartless, as all superior gods are, however Jane' mature evolution begins when she falls in love with a man.  

Biblical references much! Maybe Ender is Jesus, and maybe his brother Peter and sister Valentine could be representing...Biblical disciples? Guessing is part of the joy of reading. Some of my musings: the alien planet, which this book is about - maybe a metaphoric Garden of Eden? The Piggies (a new, recently discovered, alien race) are a symbol for who we humans are today, and they have a literal Tree of Life? Or not - you decide...

People have been arguing for decades about what is Literature and what is simple entertainment. I think Literature has become too solipsistic and it needs to admit new genres like Speakers of the Dead. This is a beautiful read.

I’m currently reading Characters & Viewpoints by Orson Scott Card, it’s a book about writing and so far I like it and agree with the things he is saying. But it’s really funny because before starting Speaker for the Dead I read something in his Characters book that said that every author has to answer three questions every reader asks automatically, and the author has to do it within the first 2 or 3 pages of his book or the reader will naturally lose interest in the book. The three questions that needed answering were, “So what?” (Meaning why should I care) “Oh really?” (Meaning is there too much coincidence to believe) and “Huh?” (Meaning what is going on, can I understand what’s happening) Well, the last question was answered, his writing made sense, I understood what was going on and to whom. The second question was kind of answered but there were some coincidences that were pretty amazing but I guess they weren’t so unbelievable that I would stop reading. It wasn’t until I tried to answer the first question that I got stumped. Most readers will probably read Ender’s Game and love it, then when they go to read Speaker for the Dead they would inevitably expect the same type of story, interesting, exciting, emotional, with twists that make you go ohhh. WRONG!! If you expect the same story as Ender’s Game you will be bored to tears very very quickly. The book for me never answered that first question, SO WHAT? Card just kept droning on and on about things I really didn’t care about, I’m not saying that they weren’t dealing with real life dramas, but I wasn’t planning on reading a full blown soap opera. I understand what he was trying to do, I also read his explanation for Speaker and why it was the book he really wanted to write, and Ender’s Game was just meant to be an intro to Speaker. Card admitted that Ender’s game has done so much better than Speaker, but that Speaker was still his book (masterpiece) because it teaches a principle more important than anything Ender’s Game does. I agree that Speaker has a great message to it, but honestly think about other authors and other books that you have read, if you have read any good books then you know that it is possible to have an intriguing story with twists and excitement, AND have good morals being taught at the same time. Card in Speaker for the Dead did not have (in my opinion) an interesting, exciting, or unpredictable story. He basically tells you the insights to all the characters at the beginning of the book, which means that there isn’t anything new or surprising to learn about the characters at the end of the book, like you do in most other books. And finally, I know that Card speaks Portuguese but, for the love, give it a rest!!! Talk about adding salt to the wound, besides being boring he has to make it annoying. Not all of us speak Portuguese, so when phrases and sentences aren’t being translated completely and some not at all, it really does get annoying.
I almost gave this book one star because I felt like it was a waste of time, I didn’t though because it was understandable and it did try and teach a good principle.

Que delicia de libro la verdad, con este segundo volumen la saga de Ender se consagra como una de las mejores historia de la ciencia ficción del siglo XX.

A pesar de ser tan diferente al primero, el cual se basaba en estrategias de guerra y simulaciones con entrenamiento militar, este libro se basa en lo sucedido después del genocidio. Ender se convierte en una persona adulta enseñando en una universidad y esperando la oportunidad de redimirse de todas sus culpas, esta oportunidad llega pero sin antes traer un sin fin de problemas consecuentes.

Los dramas de la nueva familia brasilera tal vez sea lo único que me impida colocar 5 estrellas, me pareció bastante telenovelesco. Pero al fin y al cabo necesario para el desarrollo de la historia.

Otra cosa que no me encanta es el tono bastante juvenil que tiene el autor para escribir. Por mas serias y fuertes que sean las tramas su narración tan simple termina por simplificar en demasía las cosas.

El clímax fue tan intenso que decidí comenzar el tercero de la saga inmediatamente, lo cual no supone mucho esfuerzo puesto que los libros no son largos.

Lo mejor del libro es el dilema moral al que se enfrentan los humanos al encontrarse con una especie alienigena inferior tecnológicamente a ellos pero bastante mejor culturalmente con el aliciente de no querer destruirlos pero con la necesidad humana de supervivencia como prioridad. La verdad pienso que semejante premisa tan excitante seria suficiente para haber un escrito un libro mucho mas épico, pero no es mi labor juzgar eso.

Lo recomiendo, léanlo.

Such a beautiful book. Seriously, this made me sit down and think so much about the universe and the threads of human and alien life, and how even if we haven't met other species from the other parts of the cosmos yet, we are all still somehow connected. If there's one thing that I thought of upon finish this book, it's that one day, humanity will progress so much that we can travel the stars, find other creatures, and learn from them and then have them learn from us. There is so much to learn about all of us, which can only be discovered if we have otherworldy beings to point them out to us.

Blah. After Ender's Game, I was all excited to read this one, and it . . . was pretty boring. It wasn't TERRIBLE -- I finished it, but it was mostly boring.

The only really interesting things about it were a) biological concepts that are totally different from what we have here on earth, which, after watching a lot of "forehead aliens" on Star Trek is a nice change, and b) the impact of the whole you-don't-age-when-you're-travelling-close-to-the-speed-of-light thing (i.e. relativity and whatnot.) Besides that . . . eh. Jane could have been interesting, but she wasn't. And I missed Valentine. And all of the Portuguese Brazilian names were too similar and therefore confusing.

Ero un pò titubante a leggere questo libro, perchè temevo di imbattermi nelle solite problematiche delle seconde opere e di leggere una nuova versione di quanto già scritto. Invece mi devo ricredere e, alla fine, questo libro mi è piaciuto più del primo. La storia è completamente diversa, anche temporalmente, pur riproponendo i due protagonisti principali (Ender e la sorella). L'ambientazione è notevole e i personaggi sono ben caratterizzati. C'è meno azione, ma forse più profondità nei temi affrontati. La trama è molto lineare, senza grandi sorprese, ma resta sempre interessante. Un bel libro!

Mind blowing. I felt absolutely compelled to keep reading this book, picking it up at odd hours day and night. I adore Speaker for the Dead for the great novel that it really is.

My favorite uncle got me to read Ender's Game when I was in 5th grade. It was my first "grown up" novel and it hooked me forever and ever on reading, especially Sci-Fi (thank you, Uncle Ricky). When I told him how much I'd loved it, he warned me off of Speaker for the Dead, explaining that the author had gone in a totally different direction with it, and it contained none of the action that he thought I loved so much about Ender's Game.

With maturity and a better understanding of what motivates people, I see now that Card's depiction of The Church played no small part in why my extremely religious uncle steered me away from the sequel. Catholicism is portrayed as rigid, blind, forbidding; more concerned about doctrine than the negative consequences its discipline brings. In some ways, Speaker for the Dead is the age-old story of the hubris of man thinking he knows God's intentions.

But I digress. The story of Speaker for the Dead IS absolutely, completely different from Ender's Game, but it is not less than. It's the story of a small colony of Catholic Portuguese settlers studying the only known sentient species in the universe since the Buggers. The Catholic governing body overseeing the work on the planet Lusitania only allows for "watch and listen" type observation, with as little interaction in order to prevent any interference with the natural development of the native species (think Star Trek's Prime Directive.) It looks good on paper, but the reality is that humans have sympathy, love... and each successive xenologer breaks more and more rules to not only increase our understanding (poor as it is until Ender arrives), but also to (gasp) actually help the Piggies survive. Ender's quote from Matthew 7:9, "What man among you, if his son asks for bread, gives him a stone?" is especially apt, since one of the most interactive events springs from a period of food scarcity where the Piggy babies weren't going to survive without the xenologers' intervention.

Although I suspect my very religious uncle may have been shielding me from anti-church sentiments during my impressionable youth, things have a funny way of turning out. If I'd read this right after Ender's Game, I think I would have hated it. There are some lofty, philosophical ideas here that would have been lost on my 11-year-old self. Although I think I waited too long to finally get around to Speaker for the Dead, I'm certainly glad I did it when I was an adult.

And now, I simply must: Buggers... Piggies... Trondheim... Lusitania... what's up with all these ridiculous and/or unimaginative names?

If you loved Ender's Game, don't be afraid to read Speaker for the Dead just because you've heard these books are nothing alike. It's true, but it's also wonderful, insightful, and provides redemption and closure for Ender and many other characters in this wonderful and amazing novel.