Rating: 
Summary: An amazing novel
Review: Speaker for the Dead is the second book Ihave read by Orson Scott Card, and I have to say I don't care much for his style. How he starts every chapter with something relevant, but from a different point of view is cool. But on the whole, he has much writing the bores me. The first novel was really good. This novel also had a really good plot. There were points where I could not put the book down. But then there were times I was wondering why I was reading. Then again, I am not the interested in science fiction novels, and look more for excitement. There were interesting topics that simply lacked excitement. What happens. Ender has survived many years by space travel. He leaves his sister Valentine to go to a new planet where they have discovered a new race of beings with intelligence similar to humans. He wants to keep the human race from destroying the pequennos and he wants to help a young girl whose role model was murdered by the piggies. He arrives twenty two years after the murder took place to discover another murder had taken place and that the people of Lusitania were breaking the rules. Rebellion or submission to the Starways council are the peoples choices. Ender is the Speaker for the Dead. An okay novel, but one I will probably never read again.
Rating: 
Summary: Not "Ender's Game", but an excellent story in its own right
Review: It has been three thousand years since Ender Wiggin defeated the buggers. Over time the name "Ender" has been transformed from one that was celebrated as a savior of humanity, to one that is universally reviled as responsible for the extermination of an innocent species. Relativity has left Ender a young 35 year old, wandering the known worlds seeking to release the Hive Queen from her cocoon prison, and with that act his own redemption. No longer practicing the ways of war which he learned in Battle School, he is now a "Speaker for the Dead", telling the stories of the deceased so that those left behind may truly understand the truth of the lives of the departed. As a "Speaker for the Dead", Ender is called to a distant outpost of humanity where he must solve the mystery of the only other sentient race that has been encountered since the Bugger War. Readers of "Ender's Game" expecting more of the same from "Speaker for the Dead" may be disappointed. Although "Speaker" is not the same style of story as "Ender's Game", it is nevertheless the natural sequel. What Card gives us is a wonderful story about an alien society. There is emphasis on the friction that naturally arises when different cultures interact, stemming from differing perceptions. This theme is played out throughout the book in the interactions between not only the humans and alien pequeninos, but amongst the other various characters as well. Card strives to show us that the we must seek to build relationships based on understanding in order to bridge our differences. While it is not militaristic sci-fi in the mold of "Ender's Game", "Speaker for the Dead" is an excellent story in its own right. If you just can't get enough of Ender, it's definitely worth checking out.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, but very different sequel to ENDER'S GAME
Review: This sequel to _Ender's Game_ is an entirely different kind of novel, although it follows directly from the conclusion of the first book. Ender Wiggin is now thirty-five, while three thousand years have passed in the universe during his light-speed sojourns. (Card very poignantly explorers the emotional consequences of space travel that keeps the journeyer young while everyone he knows ages decades. See Haledman;s _Forever War_ for a similar exploration of this idea.) The action occurs on the Portuguese colony planet Lusitania, where the humans struggle to understand the native race, the 'piggies,' without interfering with them. Ender arrives to investigate the deaths of two xenologists at the piggies' hands. The real concern of the book is a human confrontation with a completely alien society and ecosystem, which leads to a reevaluation of the assumptions of how we treat that which is different from us. In this way, the book has much in common with Le Guin's _The Left Hand of Darkness_, but has less of the book's subtlety. Nonetheless, Card makes the story effective through his focus on the family conflicts tied up in the Lusitania crisis, and his message against biological imperialism and genocide in the name of safety is a potent one today. A deserving, award winning novel. If you read _Ender's Game_, prepare to be surprised all over again.
Rating: 
Summary: Psychobabble of the Dead
Review: I really enjoyed Ender's Game, so when I picked up speaker of the dead, I expected it to be something along the same vein. Well, you can imagine my disappointment, when, instead of a military-themed story set in space, we get a 'murder mystery' and a 'Christ-like' Ender Wiggin out to redeem everyone whether they like it or not. Ech. The plot centers around the mysterious Piggies, and their strange habit of murdering people in a really gruesome manner. (I can't imagine how any true anthropologist could find this mystery all that surprising). Ender is called to witness the death of one of the science team, and finds himself embroiled in an almost ridiculously complicated melodrama involving a scientist, her deceased abusive hubbie and her bastard children. While I did enjoy Speaker of the dead, the psychobabble, self-loathing (on most most noticeably Ender and Noviniah), got tiresome. I also disliked that Ender Wiggin's transformed (in between books) into the Doctor Laura of the star waves. This was seriously annoying. Wiggin, the master of 'tough love' decides what's best for everyone, whether they like it or not. Erk. What if Ender is wrong? But of course he NEVER is. A good book, despite the flaws, I've mentioned. However, I personally could have done without the psychobabble and soapboxing.
Rating:
Summary: Slow start but well worth the read
Review: It is these kinds of books that really discourage me from becoming a writer, because I could never write something like Speaker for the Dead and make it as good. Sure, it was a little hard for me to get into at first, with the language pronunciation page and talking about an alien race to which I had no connections to and therefore thought it boring (at first I thought Pipo was an alien), but after reading it all I have to say it was brilliant. The dialouge was what impressed me the most. With a character like Ender, I would imagine that writing his lines would be insanely difficult, because everything out of his mouth has to be genius. Sometimes I wondered, though, if what he is saying at a certain point in the book was the smartest thing to say, but I couldn't think of anything better. It was always interesting hearing what he had to say. Another thing I wondered and am wondering is if people are as readable and as simple as in this book, where Pipo and Ender are able to look at Novinha and see how she feels (Pipo in the beginning, anyway). What she feels is not simple (there are many events and complications behind it), but it was simple ENOUGH that Ender could understand it all and make an accurate prediction about what she will do even though he had known her only a short period of time (though he DOES have a knack for that kind of thing). Maybe Card is an expert about how people behave and maybe he isn't, but I'M certainly not an expert. I can't tell if it's accurate or not; it makes sense but seems too easy. I hope this makes sense as it's hard to explain. Still, this deserves nothing less than five stars. It was hard to have to wait a while to find out why the piggies killed who they did, but worth it. The plot is creative and complex. Card does a good job of portraying three kinds of alien species in the piggies, the buggers, and Jane. It was different than Ender's Game, but just as worth reading, in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome story
Review: This was a great story. It kept me on the edge of my seat and had some great philosophical underpinnings as well. If you liked Ender's Game you will probably like this one - this one has less action and more philosophy but the story is much richer.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing story with a few flaws...
Review: For those familiar with Ender's Game, this is a must-read, though it is most certainly not the same high-action level. A quieter, even more subtle read than EG, with some plots choices I didn't favor. As a Speaker for the Dead, Ender is no longer known as "the" Ender, but as his true name, Andrew Wiggin. A new alien species has been discovered on another planet. The "piggies" are most likley intellegent, but due to government laws and clashing cultures, there is an enormous misunderstanding. Ender comes out to Lusitania to speak at the death of one of the researchers, but when he does, he uncovers much more than he could have anticipated...A slower story, with almost all new characters in a new world, this will definatly change your perspective. I would have appriciated some of the old gang back, and a more familiar world. I didn't feel the emotional attachment to these characters that I did in Ender's Game/Shadow, but it was still a well written book, and definatly worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: This is a very well written book which explores human social relationships with each other and with other cultures in depth. It begins a little slowly, having to establish the complex world within which everything takes place. This is not a simple book and not for kids. If you are young, read Ender's Game, not this. This book has nothing to do with Ender's Game except that the author felt he could make it a stronger book by using Ender. However, that does not make it a bad book. It is to be understood at a different level than Ender's Game was.... a higher level. Enjoy it if you can, but this book is not right for everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: stick with ender's game
Review: IMPORTANT NOTE: STICK WITH ENDER'S GAME!!! this is just like the matrix...only the first one was good...don't dissapoint yourself by buying this book...i've been reading this book for 2 months...it is so boring that i don't even want to read it anymore...i got to page 91...it's still boring...BORING BORING BORING!!! i plan to read ender's shadow...try reading that if you liked ender's game
Rating:
Summary: Did not think Card could out do Ender's Game - he did
Review: Amazingly good story. You dont need to have read Ender's Game (the first novel in the series) but it helps. Card constructs incredibly detailed characters. The basic story is uncommon and rich and then the concept of the Speaker itself is wonderful. Card is wonderful in the way his deep and lively characters come together to tell the already great story. Excellent
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