Wow, what a powerful story! Seriously, you have no idea what's going on until near to the end and even then it punches you in the stomach with a big, "oomph." Fantastic book! Would read it over and over if I could.

I read Card's Ender's Game and was amazed and excited about the Universe Card had created and the many future story possibilities (and the number of additional books already published on the Ender and Bean characters).

Speaker for the Dead occurs 3000 years in the future from Ender's Game. Ender is not only still alive, but since he's been star hopping and due to the relativistic effects of near light-speed travel, he has only aged about 15 years. He is now an official "Speaker for the Dead", a sort of official researcher/death recorder held in almost mystical esteem by the Human race, and of which there are very few. Nobody knows that he is the original Speaker who wrote "The Hemegon and the Hive Queen."

The story centers around a religious (Portuguese Catholic) colony on one of the "100 planets" colonized by humans. The colonists call the planet Lusitania. The human race has sadly up to this point not found any additional advanced life forms, and therefore greatly regrets their destruction of the 'Buggers' in their war 3000 years ago, to the point of demonizing "The Xenocide" Ender. They also don't realize that he or his sister are still alive, as timelines, facts and myths have somewhat blurred in perception over the thousands of years.

All this changes when the colony discovers a primitive though highly intelligent form of beings who resemble small earth pigs, which they call "the piggies." Official earth policy is to strictly minimize contact with these beings so not to contaminate them ( .. which to me sounds a lot like the Star Trek "Prime Directive"). Only a few humans are allowed to communicate with the piggies, and the pigs quickly learn to speak both Portuguese and Stark (a dialect of English).

Ender eventually comes into play on Lusitania when he arrives to research and speak on a death of one of the colonists. Things get complicated, and Card creates multiple mysteries and sub plots that keep you guessing until the very end.

So why only 3 stars out of 5? Card's writing style. Though Ender's Game had this problem in a few spots also, so much of 'Speaker for the Dead' is over-described and emotion almost roboticly added that you start to ask yourself "Why is this stuff in here?" The story painfully over-indulges on the religious customs of Lusitania's Catholic leaders.. I almost get the feeling that Card is both simultaneously fascinated and contemptuous of Catholic religious ritual. To each their own you could say, but it's you who has to read it, and read it, and read it.. I got to the point where I was just reading the first and last sentence of each paragraph and moving on. I'm guessing 20% of this book - easily - could have been edited out. That would have made it about the same size as Ender's Game.

Another odd thing that Card does - though quite understandably - is to completely avoid describing technical advances made in this era. There's very little description of advanced vehicles, dwellings and medicine. I guess he figured that's a game you can't win.

So was it any good? It did keep me reading. And I also went out and bought the next two books in the series. I just hope Card could bear chopping out the fluff on these two.

Ender's Game (1985) is one of the all-time best SF books. It deservedly won the Hugo and Nebula awards. It's routinely read in schools and is a genuine classic. It's also a crowd pleaser- a book that nearly everyone likes.

Speaker for the Dead (1987) is the direct sequel and also won the same awards. However, in tone and plot, it's a VERY different book. For the right reader, who likes thoughtful, slow-paced stories about culture and alien/human interaction (think Ursula LeGuin), this book is a gem. For everyone else, this book will be a huge disappointment. If you fall into the latter category, and haven't read Ender's Game yet, then don't let this (or Card's other work) discourage you at all from checking out Ender's Game.

Which book is "better" is definitely debatable- but there's ZERO doubt that Ender's Game is the far more popular work.

Not that it should be a surprise but despite Amazon saying this is a first edition it is in no way close to a first. It came out 20 years ago, it would be a miracle if they had a new first edition for so cheap. Great book however. I highly recommend the series.

One of the best sci-fi books I've ever read.

This book is the second of six in the 'Ender' series by Orsen Scott Card. It continues on with Ender's story, albeit some 3000 years after the first book. And although there is barely any resemblance between book 1 and book 2, you won't be able to make much sense of book 2 without having read and understood the ramification of book 1.

The setting for this book is a far off distant planet; the tale is one of emerging discovery not only between individuals but also between species. i.e. humans and a new alien life form found there. I found that Card has done much more with his character development of people (and aliens as well) in this book, giving them a much broader depth of character, moral fiber and some individual weaknesses and shortcomings. This tale seemed to be more about the 'people' in the book, rather than solely about the circumstances they find themselves in (well, this statement is not completely accurate, but you'll understand what I mean once you begin reading).

On the broader scale this book could be view as a microcosm of life on earth; replete with different groups, different races; all with their own unique and different agendas, encompassed within a sphere of distrust and misunderstanding. Card does a masterful job of drawing the characters and story together to make one very satisfying, magnificent read.

I do have some minor concerns for this book, but I'll comment in a P.S. As this may constitute a spoiler to some.

Conclusion:
O.S. Card has written a sci-fi novel for the ages and although different from 'Ender's Game' as it can possible be, was better in many regards. I found the story and writing...addictive!. The book itself was almost impossible to put down; I always had to read one more chapter. And despite my minor protestations below, this book easily rates 5 Stars.

Ray Nicholson

P.S.
My concerns *** possible SPOILER ***

1.)The alien race that was discovered on this new planet were referred to as 'piggies' because their physical features had pig-like characteristics. Somehow the manner and tone with which this obviously very intelligent race of aliens was continually referred to, seemed almost racist and somewhat condescending. Let me state that this was different than book 1 (Ender's Game) where the aliens were called 'buggers' (because they looked like insect) but 'buggers' didn't seem to have the same 'off' connotation as 'piggies' because there was no actual personal contact with these aliens, to give them any real endearing identity.

2.) The only real flaw I found in the concept and the telling of this story was towards the end, with the 'treaty' drawn up between the 'Piggies' and the humans. The concepts of this 'treaty' were hastily drawn up and even more hastily agreed to than seemed realistically wise; one wonders if the lack of a 'due diligence' process was for the sake of novel brevity. Some of the items within the 'contract' had me thinking..."hmmm, I can see that part of the agreement causing problems a few years into the future."

3.)And finally, a real picky point, I can't for the life of me understand reason for the cover on this book; it appears to have nothing to do with the geographic locale where the story occurs, or for that matter, with the story itself...Strange!

P.P.S. many thanks to my friend 'Critical Mind' a.k.a. 'the other Ray' for pointing me towards this wonderful set of books.

I was enthralled with Card's Ender's Game and was wondering where he would go with Ender and whether the sequel would be anywhere near as good as the first one. To my surprise and amazement Speaker For The Dead was not only just as good but quite possibly better than Ender's Game. What is even more amazing is to find that this was a much different style of science fiction, altogether different in everything but the writing style.

It was great to see the dichotomy of Ender the Xenocide and the Speaker For The Dead. We were also treated to a wonderfully dysfunctional family stuck on a planet with no room to grow beyond the fence of their town under a Catholic Charter. Novinha, Pipo and Libo all deep and honorable characters, each with their own flaws. The realistic depiction of an alien race in the Piggies, who each have their own great characters such as Rooter, Leaf-Eater and Human.

All of this is within the colorful interaction between alien races, between religion and town, Speaker For The Dead and citizens, Novinha's family and the town. Card's ability to paint a vivid picture couched in strong emotions within a powerful plot and you have an acclaimed Hugo and Nebula Award winning book. A definite recommend.

5 stars.

Full of intelligence. Ender and Novinha are so convincing and sometimes I feel myself crying for them.... Anndddd Ender is my lover.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It is very Sci-fi and deals with things from a VERY political view at the same time. It's not a space action novel, but that doesn't make it bad! It was very difficult for me to put down.

All I can say is Card must have really needed the money, or this subpar attempt to cash in on the popularity of "Ender Wiggin" would never have been written.

I enjoyed this book more than Ender's Game, which is the first book in the Ender series. I really like the concept of 'speaking for the dead' as a way of remembering some one's life. This is the best book in the Ender series, the last two of the original series are readable, but did not excite me and kind of tore the whole series down.

Even better than EG...it's more powerful and I don't know of anything better.

Before I read this book, I prepared myself to be let down. I thought that there was no way that Speaker for the Dead would measure up to Ender's Game. Not only did it measure up, but in my opinion this book slightly surpassed its predecessor. Once again, OSC proves himself the master of articulating what motivates people to act the way they do. The multicultural aspect of the book is fascinating, as are the federalism overtones, and the touches of religion. All that being said, I do not recommend this book until you have read Ender's Game - the character development of Ender is critical to understand the character of the Speaker.