Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

19 reviews

kat_ml's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Incest, Infertility, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Pregnancy

im_basil's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

kinda wild that this guy writes about seeing past blind intolerance and hate and is a proud homophobe 0-0 like ok we can build understanding with alien pigs and bugs, but not with men who kiss other men? wild.

unfortunately i really like the ender series, but i will be borrowing copies from my local library or buying books secondhand so card earns not even a cent from me :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, and Infidelity

neonskylite's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Cannot understand anyone who says that Ender's Game is better than this book. My feelings about Ender's Game is very complicated and ambivalent, but Speaker for the Dead embodies the love and empathy that Card tries to assign Ender in Ender's Game. Will forever confuse me how someone who wrote such a beautifully empathetic novel relating to

aliens that perform vivisections as part of their life cycle

is a Mormon who draws the line at gay humans in the real world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gore and Incest

livelaughlesbian99's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this book. Ender’s Game was way better. Most of what I didn’t like was the characters. Most of the cast just didn’t interest me, which wasn’t the case in Ender’s Game. Aliens were cool, colony not as much.

So, is this book too dated to be read in modern day? I would say not necessarily. It has its issues; Ender is kind of a white saviour in an explicitly majority black Brazilian colony. Lusitania is portrayed as a little static, although I find humanity itself is portrayed as static in the Ender Saga. There is a character who experiences years of domestic abuse as ‘repentance’ for something they did and I found that a bit disrespectful to abuse survivors.

There is some ableist vibes near the end when a character sees their life as pretty much over and thinks they’re unlovable because they have become disabled.

My issue is more just that it kind of drags. The aliens are what’s interesting to me, and we spend all this time on drama in Lusitania. Ender’s tendency to walk in and just solve years of trauma and everyone’s issues is just kind of weird?

But if you like the series, press on. There is a certain vibe to the world of the Ender Saga which I will always love. Also, I love Valentine. Will probably continue reading just for Valentine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

aylasultana's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Infidelity, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Genocide, Incest, and Terminal illness

psydneigh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I feel like this book perfectly describes the human condition. Only thing I dont buy is Ender and Novinha’s relationship. I don’t feel the love.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Colonisation

lebolt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ok, look. I know the author is a Mormon and that's problematic to a lot of people. But the whole point of this book is to connect with other sentient beings in a compassionate way, no matter how inconceivable their morality is to you. It's supposed to be hard to read, because it challenges you to accept people as human despite their atrocities. If that's not something you agree with, then this book definitely isn't for you.

Ok, begin actual review:

Why do we suffer? What does it mean to be human? Who deserves love? This book asks big questions; this book gives sincere answers.

I think this book Speaks into the part of me that wants to know redemption. I think this book lets me see a little bit of an author who, in a story about the stars, is himself sharing a bit of heartfelt humanity despite the divisions of the world - both around us and inside us.

Also, super rad sci fi concepts like relativistic interstellar travel, instantaneous communication, AI, genetic modification, terraforming, etc etc. Good stuff.

Beware: this sequel is a strong departure from the child-focused and relatively childish Ender's Game. As the author says in his foreword, this book was originally meant to be a standalone, and it shows. Ender's Game is basically (very well executed) exposition and backstory for this more profound work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

bits_and_pieces_odds_and_ends's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse

juliatsang's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

uhtceara's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Too many scientific incongruities to be enjoyable. The plot felt very railroaded and character development and change was too instantaneous and in keeping with the desired result to be plausible. The vernacular and legacy of Enders  game were the only thing that compelled me to finish this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia