Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
This is the second book in the "Ender" series. I was introduced to Card's work with Pastwatch a few years ago and followed up that read with Ender's Game. As the movie is about to launch I wanted to read the next book in the series. This book fits into my Meal for the Mind category as it pushes the brains digestive powers. What I love about Card's writing is the human question that he always places before the reader, yet never presumes to know the answer to. He sets up his books in a way that allows the reader to question many attributes of society that if questioned in a current setting would be tantamount to going against the things we believe in as a society. By using his creative and unique futuristic worlds we can explore these questions as a reader and apply them to world we are currently in as we feel comfortable. His books open the door to many issues that the human mind often resists but should explore. Speaker is positioned as a book of redemption for Ender Wiggins, but the book is strong enough to stand alone as a great read whether you have read the previous installment or not. The story takes the reader on the emotional journey of the characters and explores deep philosophical questions about how we, as humans, approach cultures, people, lands, ideas that are new and/or foreign to us. It tackles the age old questions of interference, the study of, the understanding of, the misunderstanding of, and the process of learning about "new" things. In the end, this book; at the very least, makes the reader think about these things; at the very best, it pushes the reader to explore where they stand on issues they may not have explored or considered specifically before finishing this book.
- ISBN-13: 9780812550757
- Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
- Publication date: 8/28/1994
- Series: Ender Quintet Series , #2
- Pages: 416
- Lexile: 850L
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