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A review by storyorc
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
5.0
As with Paul Atreides, you haven't done Ender justice until you've read his sequel. Speaker for the Dead differs in setting, cast, and pace, but it retains the human heart and takes its time to reckon with a version of humanity that survived - thrived - off of technology won from xenocide. The narrative doesn't pull punches or excuse Ender, despite how he was manipulated, but nor does it leave him to wriggle on the hook of his own guilt. This reckoning is mournful, but productive, much like the duties of a Speaker.
Over everything, Speaker is an ode to empathy. It stands unashamed in its endorsement of the Saturday morning cartoon friendship-is-magic style of empathy, but also extends and deepens that to acknowledge how painful and difficult it can be to reveal truth and still choose understanding over hatred. Perhaps it's not realistic, but it's optimistic enough to suggest it could be. If nothing else, every chapter makes it more irreconcilable that this attitude of relentless, courageous kindness was penned by someone who campaigned against gay marriage.
The appetite for sci-fi is also well and truly filled by the mystery of a new alien species, the 'piggies', who kick off the plot with ritualistic murder of a human, putting humanity's lofty ideas of remorse for their xenocide to the test as well as calling into question how moral a Prime Directive-esque policy of non-intervention actually is. Card has obviously devoted great thought to their species and culture, and doles out hints as well as any murder-mystery author.
Of course, none of us are perfect. Orson Scott Card remains one of the worst namers in SFF, adding "piggy" and "ramen" aliens to a lexicon already burdened with "bugger".
Over everything, Speaker is an ode to empathy. It stands unashamed in its endorsement of the Saturday morning cartoon friendship-is-magic style of empathy, but also extends and deepens that to acknowledge how painful and difficult it can be to reveal truth and still choose understanding over hatred. Perhaps it's not realistic, but it's optimistic enough to suggest it could be. If nothing else, every chapter makes it more irreconcilable that this attitude of relentless, courageous kindness was penned by someone who campaigned against gay marriage.
The appetite for sci-fi is also well and truly filled by the mystery of a new alien species, the 'piggies', who kick off the plot with ritualistic murder of a human, putting humanity's lofty ideas of remorse for their xenocide to the test as well as calling into question how moral a Prime Directive-esque policy of non-intervention actually is. Card has obviously devoted great thought to their species and culture, and doles out hints as well as any murder-mystery author.
Of course, none of us are perfect. Orson Scott Card remains one of the worst namers in SFF, adding "piggy" and "ramen" aliens to a lexicon already burdened with "bugger".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Homophobia and Religious bigotry
Outside the general theme of love, Christian doctrine is very prevalent - the setting is a Catholic colony - and many Christians are shown to be wise or correct, but equally they have faults and there are upstanding atheists too. || At one point homosexuality is dismissed uncritically as ridiculous. || Plenty of strong women characters but also yet another classic sci-fi book where the females of the alien race are non-sentient (at least the breeding ones). Their plight is complicated but it could be argued that it is not taken as seriously as male concerns like war. Also, Ender suggests their lives are pointless if they can't bear children, though, in fairness, he is very concerned with his own opportunity to parent as well. || Incestuous sex acts are not actually committed, just some close-calls and odd sibling dynamics.