It is ten years since I read Ender's Game and so I am a bit late in getting to the second book in the series: Speaker for the Dead; published in 1986. It is generally a well liked novel with over 200 reviews and won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. I was not disappointed as Orson Scott Card has come up with another scenario that fires the imagination. There was a moment in Enders Game when we learnt the secrets behind the alien invasion and it was genuinely surprising and had been skilfully fashioned in the lead up to the big reveal. Card does it again in Speaker for the Dead; the actions of the alien race can only be explained when more is known of their story, however until that moment their mysterious behaviour is intriguing.

Ender Wiggins is the Speaker for the dead still trying to atone for the xenocide (the destruction of an entire alien species) that he carried out in the first novel. This time he is summoned to a planet where another alien species is proving just as hard to understand as the Buggers were in the first book. Yes Buggers was the name given to the alien species in the first book and this time round the alien race are called Piggies (no high marks for nomenclature then). Lusitania is a planet where power is shared between a catholic priesthood and a civil administration and a group of scientists are studying an alien race under a strict policy of no intervention. The Piggies have killed two of the scientist in particularly gruesome rituals and Ender sees it as his task to solve the dilemma. He must first overcome the hostility of the priesthood and of the family who have summoned him to speak for one of their dead.

Enders straightforward psychological approach leads to immediate positive results within the family and the catholic priesthood are also soon won over. If these scenarios achieved within a four day period are a little beyond belief they are nevertheless good background to the uncovering of a startling alien life form. Orson Scott Card handles the dialogue and characterisation smoothly enough in order to fit together all the loose pieces in this puzzle. It is a story with a moral that does become a bit Spielberg like, but I can forgive this because of some intricate storytelling and huge dollops of the sense of wonder that makes for excellent science fiction 4.5 stars. ( )

This book absolutely transcends Ender's Game. I found it thought provoking and insightful. It was refreshing to read because the concept of war and hatred is largely denounced and themes of peace and coexistence run front and center to the plot. There are definitely religious themes but those themes don't dominate or direct the narrative morally. They are a part of the reality of the narrative. Again, I loved reading this book even though the plot was a bit slow and there is not a lot of action. It was the conversations between characters and the philosophy regarding contact between different worlds that really enthralled me. ( )

I almost enjoyed this more than the first in the series. Or maybe I enjoyed it just the same but it in a different way. I can't decide. Will reread the whole lot once I'm done with a first read through and decide then. ( )

While the beginning was a slow burn, as soon as Ender entered the foray the book became immediately interesting.

I found that the first act was slow and boring, and if I came into this book immediately finishing enders game, probably would have put it down.

But given the completely different direction this book went, and the philosophical ramifications of meeting of a new species and how he thought we would deal with the situation really gave me and my girlfriend some food for thought.

I disliked the familial aspect of the book, but cannot deny that it was well written. ( )

Yllätyin Ender's Gamen kohdalla siitä miten loistavaan kirjaan olin törmännyt ja kuinka myöhäisessä vaiheessa - Kuolleiden puolustajan kohdalla yllätyin siitä, että "jatko-osa" oli kerrankin ensimmäisen teoksen veroinen, ellei parempi. En voi ymmärtää miten tätä kutsutaan tylsäksi tai pinnalliseksi joissain arvioissa, tämä oli omalla kohdallani todellinen sivunkääntäjä joka oli vaikea laskea käsistä edes nukkumisen ajaksi, ja se antoi paljon ajateltavaa juonensa ulkopuoleltakin. ( )