Speaker for the Dead

Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead Cover

Speaker for the Dead

Adele1967
6/11/2020
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Double 1987 Hugo/1986 Nebula Winner and second in this classic series. Totally different in so many ways from the 1st entry, which dealt with war, xenocide, and the loss of innocence; but still maintains its continuity. We continue to follow Ender's journey set 3000 years after the first novel due to time dilation related to space travel. I was amused by the ironic setting of a colony chartered by the Roman Catholic Church tasked to enforce strict non-interference with the native alien population. We see galactic society's skewed revisioning of Ender's previous actions as Ender continues to do his self inflicted penance as the Speaker of the Dead. He is called to the colony in that capacity and what follows is a compelling tale of guilt, sacrifice and redemption, somewhat of a Christian parable.