Rating: 
Summary: Zzzzzzzzzz...
Review: As lackluster and uninvolving as any fifties B-movie, "Speaker for the Dead" is yet another testament to Card's impotence as a writer. As always in his fiction, this book is tedious, flat, emotionally barren, and ultimately uninteresting. I was so bored reading this that I eventually gave up on it, tossing it aside with less than thirty pages to go (though I did satisfy what little curiosity I had by reading why the piggies killed Pipo and Libo, which was a very poor payoff). The characters are completely unlikable, and quite underdeveloped. Ender should have monumental inner turmoil, but Card never gives it much thought. Novinha is a cold, abrasive woman who's abusive to her children and never really understands the pain she causes with her secrets and actions. And we're supposed to root for her. Worse yet, the emotional factor is nonexistent. Card tries to pull at your heartstrings, but it never works, especially in Ender's final farewell to Valentine, which should be tearful but is just as tedious and boring as the rest of this garbage. If you're an avid sci-fi fan, you should go instead with the complex, utterly involving works of Philip K. Dick, or the thrilling, intriguing and detailed fiction of Michael Crichton. Trust me, Orson Scott Card is no writer. You'll find more exciting storytelling in any dime novel at your local Walgreens. Avoid.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good
Review: Though not as appealing as Ender's Game, it is still a very good book, very suspensful as well.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, but still great.
Review: After reading 3 novels in the Ender Saga, I jumped onto this one. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed in it. The storyline is pretty weak, the beginning is boring, and it just isn't as riveting and compelling as the other novels. But this is of course in comparison to other novels in teh Ender Saga. When comparing to other unrelated Science Fiction novels, it shines. Card just has that great talent of writing. Don't be intimidated by my review to purchase this book. I really did enjoy it, it was a great read, just not as great as perhaps Ender's Shadow or Shadow of the Hegemon. If you read Ender's Game and absolutely loved it, I recommend getting those two books before getting this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of the series - so far
Review: I've read the first three books in this series, Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide. I thought Ender's Game was a surprisingly good book with an amazing twist at the end. Speaker demonstrates Card's ability to really delve into the depths not only of interesting characters but societal interactions as well. This is the kind of book that SciFi is all about - not shooting up aliens in fancy spaceships - but a sociological study of human interaction with unknown intelligence.
Rating: 
Summary: Wincing in pain
Review: If you can wade through all of the painfully cheesy heartstring pulling and redundancy/bad writing then you'll find a couple really cool ideas, the coolest of which is Jane, a sentient computer program which teams up to help Ender tackle his problems. The overall plot of the story adds to the scope of Card's universe, however I found myself literally wincing in pain throughout the book, eventually just skimming the last 100 pages just to find out the plot resolution so that I could put the book back on the shelf where it belongs. All said, you'd do better to get the Cliffs notes rather than damage your opinion of Ender/Card.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Sci-Fi, but not JUST Sci-Fi
Review: I read Ender's Game and loved it, so I decided to try this book. It is very possibly better than Ender's Game, althought it is decidedly different. And it is (unfortunately) much better than it's successor - Xenocide. Orson Scott Card has written much more than sci-fi with this book, it also contains an impressive amount of interesting philosophical ponderings. My advice: read it, but AFTER you read Ender's Game. (The author claims that you don't have to read them in order, but it spoils "Ender" if you read "Speaker" first.) Don't read the intro or even the back, just pick it up and read. You won't be able to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Card does it again
Review: In this sequel to "Ender's Game," Card does what few thought possible. He has made a sequel that rivals even the original in splendor. After reading "Ender's Game," I decided that no book could even hold a candle to the obvious genius of it. It is in this book that I am proved wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Wow, great thought provoking story
Review: After Ender's Game I just had to continue reading more, so I got Speaker for the Dead. It is a wonderful, thought provoking book that I know I'll have to pick up again. It is a great story of humans relating to an alien culture. You can't help but wonder, should we have interfered? Should we share our knowledge with them? What will happen if we don't? Just speaking with them lets things slip out, and then more "contamination". That is just such an awsome line of thought to follow. Then you can look at the story as, perhaps, relating to different races, or perhaps religions, etc. It really makes you think with all the "what-ifs" that come up. I want to read this book again in the future and see what else I can get out of it. Of course, now I have to read the next book to see where this series goes from here. Mr. Card has written a wonderful series for anyone to read, whether you like sci-fi, or just good, thought provoking reading.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Ender's Game?
Review: Maybe not. But different enough that the comparison is probably unneccessary. I enjoyed this book as much as any that I have read in the past 12 months, and found the concept of "speaking for the dead" to be entirely fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: A fair sequel, worthy successor
Review: Ender's Game was one of the best books I have ever read. This book doesn't tell the same kind of story, it is a nicer story, fucosing more on redemption than the first book. In Ender's Game, the story is of a boy who was raised by the military to become a super soldier, and is responsible for the worst act mankind has ever done. In this book, Ender has become Speaker for The Dead, condemning his actions in the first book. Now faced with another chance, he attempts to atone his actions by saving the life of another race. Not as powerful a story, but an enjoying sci-fi epic.
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