I am reviewing both books at once since they go together. There are more books in the series, but i haven't read them yet. Oh but i will!

I will say this right off the bat. I was extremely moved by these books. More the second than the first, but i really do see them as a package deal.

The first book, Ender's Game, is a re-factoring of a short story by the same name that Orson Scott Card had written years before. He actually explains in his introduction of Speaker For The Dead that he had tried to write Speaker before Ender's Game and failed because he didn't have the right characters. He rewrote Ender's Game so he could develop Ender into a main character for Speaker.

Ender's Game is an excellent adventure novel. Ender is somewhat of a Christ-figure seemingly born to save the earth from alien annihilation. He starts training for this feat when he is 6 years old. All soldiers are practically born into service and the initial story tends to lean on the turmoil of these children bearing the weight of the world, but Ender is the one the government has been waiting for. Now the bad news. Ender is a closet pacifist and doesn't want to hurt anyone. I would equate the story to Matrix meets Starship Troopers. The kids all play war-games preparing for a sort of prophetic battle. I wont tell you how it plays out. Overall the book was good. It gets a little redundant towards the middle...Card seemed intent on hammering away at a concept in many middle chapters that most people probably figure out in the first 2 or 3 attempts. The book picks back up as it nears completion If you pay attention, you will probably figure out the ending ahead of time. I did, but it doesnt take away from the twist that it is.

Ender's Game did a great job of preparing Speaker For The Dead for its lead character. Because of his childhood, Ender grows up pretty enlightened. He kind of reminds me of a Qui Gon Jin type - talented, but cocky and willing to break rules when he feels he is right. Speaker For The Dead is a story about humanity, anthropology (xenology as it pertains to aliens), religion, politics, understanding, love and most of all diplomacy. I consider it to be very socially significant considering the current tensions of the world.

In the story, a colony of humans is started on one of a hundred worlds that can sustain human life. Of all these worlds inhabited by humans, this one is different because it has intelligent life already on it. The other worlds have life, but nothing intelligent. The only other intelligent species humans ever encountered prior to this one was the buggars which they immediately go to war with (the bad guys in Ender's Game). So no one is too excited about another alien species especially since within years of discovering them, they have already murdered 2 humans. Ender however cant wait to meet them. The story unfolds from there. This is the book that blew me away.

II've read a lot of books in my life and I've been touched by a few but never science fiction. Id say a fifth of everything I've read has been sci-fi and i enjoyed most of them a lot. some have been significant, motivating, intriguing, whatever, but none has ever made me tingle like this one. I think one of the reviews on the back of the book was something like "...his (card's) heart breaks for humanity..." or something to that effect. It is the closest thing i can come up with too. It is a story of heartbreak but not for any person...for everyone all at once. fucking amazing.

these books are old too. i always knew of them but never bothered reading them. I am glad i finally got around to it. I'm gonna start reading "Xenocide" the third installment this weekend.

if you like sci-fi, definitely read these. if you don't typically like sci-fi but might want to try some out, this might be the place to start.

Submit Post