Speaker for the Dead (Ender Wiggins Saga)

Ender Wiggin has been traveling the universe for 3,000 years, looking for a planet where he can make a good home for the bugger queen he rescued at the end of the first book in this series (Ender's Game). Thanks to light-speed travel, he has barely aged while time passed normally for everyone else. On a planet called Lusitania, Ender finds another alien race that are just as...more

Ender Wiggin has been traveling the universe for 3,000 years, looking for a planet where he can make a good home for the bugger queen he rescued at the end of the first book in this series (Ender's Game). Thanks to light-speed travel, he has barely aged while time passed normally for everyone else. On a planet called Lusitania, Ender finds another alien race that are just as misunderstood as the buggers had been 3,000 years before. Can Ender save the piggies and while also creating a safe home for the buggers? Card's Ender series would be great in a book club because the books raise so many interesting questions. The best characters are the aliens that Ender tries to help other humans understand. The Hive Queen and the pequeninos--sentient beings that humans fear simply because they aren't human. Recommended.   hide

Great book. Much better than Ender's Game. Plot was very will developed and unfolded at a great pace. Characters diverse and deep. Left me with a good feeling of anticipation. Can't wait to read the next one!

Another success for Orson Scott Card. I've come late to the party.

could not put it down, fantastic

Card writes at the beginning of the novel that Speaker for the Dead could be read without having the background from Ender's Game. This is very true, as it is a completely different story. Honestly, I loved this book, and I thought it was even better than Ender's Game. It brings up issues that humans may have to confront in the future; a characteristic of any good sci-fi novel. Not only...more

Card writes at the beginning of the novel that Speaker for the Dead could be read without having the background from Ender's Game. This is very true, as it is a completely different story. Honestly, I loved this book, and I thought it was even better than Ender's Game. It brings up issues that humans may have to confront in the future; a characteristic of any good sci-fi novel. Not only that, Card's character development is outstanding and fine-tuned, and the moral dilemmas are great. Not many people have read the sequel to Ender's Game, and I think the message needs to get out that there is much more to the Ender universe than just the first novel. This book was much different than Ender's Game, but nonetheless outstanding. Ender Wiggin has gone from brilliant military commander to wise man speaking for the dead throughout the Hundred Worlds. This book has touched on a lot of interesting issues such as humanity's outlook on other possible alien races. I recommend this book to any person who loved Ender's Game.   hide

The piggies are a little hokie but overall it's a great book. I'm not sure why Ender ends up with Novinha though. She really doesn't suit him. She's so annoying. Who would want to end up with her.

So you have read Card's classic 80's Sci Fi novel, "Ender's Game". This is the sequel. It's a bit of an unexpected and Portuguese sequel, nevertheless it's a good one. I like Card's idea of a "Speaker for the Dead", or one who goes to funerals and tells exactly what the person was like, no BS, hardcore facts. I must admit that I find the Alien race here--the "Piggies"--to be somewhat...more

So you have read Card's classic 80's Sci Fi novel, "Ender's Game". This is the sequel. It's a bit of an unexpected and Portuguese sequel, nevertheless it's a good one. I like Card's idea of a "Speaker for the Dead", or one who goes to funerals and tells exactly what the person was like, no BS, hardcore facts. I must admit that I find the Alien race here--the "Piggies"--to be somewhat disturbing. They remind me of the little people who are evil that the Native American's tell stories about. You will come to understand the mysteries of the Piggies, the Hive Queen, a family that Ender becomes involved with, and indeed some of the mysteries of Ender himself. Hurry up and read it so you can get started on the rest of the Ender series!   hide

Though this is a sequel to Ender's Game, it really has nothing to do with the first novel (except for the minor sub-plot involving the hive queen). If you are expecting the same sort of story, or even the same writing style - forget it. This book is a horse of an entirely different colour. Not that that is bad. In fact, it is good. This is very good story, exploring the nature of how...more

Though this is a sequel to Ender's Game, it really has nothing to do with the first novel (except for the minor sub-plot involving the hive queen). If you are expecting the same sort of story, or even the same writing style - forget it. This book is a horse of an entirely different colour. Not that that is bad. In fact, it is good. This is very good story, exploring the nature of how individuals fit into a family/society and how that family/society cares for and nurtures the individual. At least, that's what I got out of it. Others I've talked to have pulled different ideas from the book - and in the end, that is one of the things that make a book a great read. I say, read this as the good novel that it is, and not as the poor sequel to Ender's Game.   hide

It's good, although be prepared for a complete 180 from the type of story Ender's Game was. In the beginning, we're met with a "list of important people in the Lusitania colony", followed by a guide to name pronunciation, followed by an opening chapter of a man having a rather boring conversation with a pig. I almost thought it was some sort of cruel joke. Luckily, it gets a lot more involving...more

It's good, although be prepared for a complete 180 from the type of story Ender's Game was. In the beginning, we're met with a "list of important people in the Lusitania colony", followed by a guide to name pronunciation, followed by an opening chapter of a man having a rather boring conversation with a pig. I almost thought it was some sort of cruel joke. Luckily, it gets a lot more involving pretty quick, and turns out to be a pretty good read. Jane is a great character, while Novinha was a little hard to take sometimes. Fundamentally I just liked the themes of Ender's Game a lot more, although Card was definitely successful here in terms of what he was trying to do.   hide