This is one of the greatest sf novels ever written. Ender's Game is incomplete without it, and it's the perfect response to his own work. I agree completely that it needs a second read. My experience reading it was like yours. I read it the day it came out and I found it jarring the first time because it takes such an unexpected direction. On my second read it immediately became my favorite between the two books, and has become one of my favorite sf novels of all time.
When I first read this after Ender's Game when it came out, I found the tonal shift so jarring that I had to skip the first third and then go back and read it a second (and third, and fourth) time. There are a lot of great scenes and interactions that have stuck with me these decades later. While I am not a huge fan of movie adaptation (what Hollywood did to the first book is a crime), I always wanted to see the scene where the Buggers, newly resurrected, come flying over the horizon. My favorite parts in the Ender's series, and I think it carries over into the Shadow series, is the brief conversations that occur at the beginning of each chaper. The little glimpse into the fact that even "gods" make mistakes
Blessed to have found this video. I first read Speaker of the Dead when I was in prison 2012. It absolutely changed my life, to come across such a profound book within the few random selections we had to entertain us. I such a great feeling to find others that love it just as much as I did. With all the hate trending these days, it’s nice us mere intellectuals can still enjoy such phenomenal work!
I loved both books (Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead) on initial reading. I did not read either when they were first released so didn't have expectations for them going in. Speaker definitely hits you much differently than Ender's Game. I remember stopping after many sections to reflect on the story and how I felt about it. It was a very consuming and intimate read for me. Thanks for the review, I'll definitely do a re-read as I look back on this book fondly. Many books that I pick up from new authors I try I very much struggle with the writing style and incoherent story-telling. One of the aspects that makes me rate these books so highly is the logical and succinct writing style. There is a clear direction and purpose to what's written. Where as many books I try have so much bloat and illogical meanderings. They have forced actions or behaviors by characters that are out of character to provide bridges to contrived directions the author wants to take the story. Speaker feels fluid and pulls you in close. Its a fluid journey. I do wonder how I'll feel about the 'piggies' on re-read being an older audience.
I'd def be curious to hear your thoughts if you do a reread. Also I agree on writing style. I don't mind trying a new and unusual writing style, if it serves the story. There are definitely too many tho where a unique writing style just comes across as gimiky
I remember Card's first recognized materpiece, 'Lost Boys'. Then I read 'Ender's Game' and was left breathless. But it wasn't until 'Speaker For The Dead' that I fell in love with Ender Wiggin.
Nice to see this review:)) I look videos for this book every year because there's just not enough people talking about it. The book is so great, the series is so fulfilling.
I did, i read all of them except the last book. The rest of the books are a bit different because the timeline is spread out and follows different characters. @@FIT2BREAD
You want a great reading experience? Read Aztec by Gary Jennings. That said, SFTD is everything he is saying here about it. An awesome work. The whole Ender series is excellent. I love Cards writing style and stories very much. That said, I am sad I have too divorce that from his homophobia and statements confirming his total disrespect for that segment of our world.. What a paradox he is. I recently re-read Speaker for the second time. Much more clear now.
Great review! This is my favorite of Card’s books. He gives his characters room to grow and learn from their mistakes. It felt deeply personal and removed from the very cerebral and tactical Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow. I want him to write more like this!
I read the first book in the shadow series. I loved it! That is Orson with his big brain energy 😊. Xenocide, I bounced off of hard. I may try again someday. It is weird to reread this and see how human and empathetic he is as a writer, then look at the dozen blog posts he wrote about gay people going to hell.
Def, though I recommend starting with Enders Game followed by a Speaker For The Dead re read...and then follow publication order...including Enders shadow series
Great review. I read this book a few years as part of a book club, as my first book by the author. I more recently read Ender's Game and re-read Speaker for the Dead last year. I'm sure that having already read Speaker and knowing Ender's future had an impact on my impression of Ender's Game. In my opinion, Speaker is a superior novel with more interesting characters and themes. Have you read the rest of the series? Not sure if I will ever continue as I've heard from others it's a case of diminishing returns from book 3.
Thank you. I've read it all except for the very last most recent book. I liked all of the sequels a lot. I think Speaker is the superior book, but I love them both
Hmmm... I *might* give this a try. I have always heard great things about it. And so far your recommendations have driven me to good things. But... How can I explain this? Orson Scott Card's writing is kinda akin to Christopher Nolans directing to me. Objectively it is very good. I can't list anything bad about it (I can list a few things wrong with Card himself but I separate that from the writing) but... like Nolans movies, I always feel like it's a nice, almost perfect, piece of art I am looking at in a museum under glass. It's nice, great even, but I can't touch it. So it always feels like his stuff is not something I can actually emotionally grapple with.
Interesting take. I think one of the things that was special fir me was how emotional it was. To connect to ender and see how much he was treated as a kid...then after all he was put thru, humanity thousands of years later sees him as the greatest evil ever...
Maybe nolans eries, especially person off interest is pretty good and very emotional. hile having high concepts , but the same time its fun, emotional and really good characters. And its probably easier getting ito it, because they also use batman ideas and have a batman character that is not batman, but way better than any batman from th movies.
@@FIT2BREAD you see that is what I have heard..l that it’s as if that first book sets up a person to kinda dislike endear and the other books rehabilitate him. Which is actually an interesting concept, sort of the inverse of dune… I’ll give it a try. As is I am puzzling my way through incandescence by Egan and that’s not an easy read!
I read Speaker multiple times when I was younger, and liked it a lot, more than Ender's Game. But now, as a man married to another man, all I can think of is how hard Card has tried to undermine and vilify my marriage. I've succeeded at such cognitive dissonance with other authors, but I suppose I take Card's offenses personally.
Robert, thanks for your comment. This is why, at the end of the video I am sure to call out Card and the threat he and others like him pose to our marriages. It's odd for me when I do videos and have Enders Game and Speaker for the Dead ranked highly, knowing that Card is virulently homophobic...I discovered his work before I was aware of it, but I do make sure to praise the work while also calling out the actively bad things hes done
@FIT 2B READ There are other authors and filmmakers I should probably be just as upset with, but I still read and watch their stuff. So I totally understand. And I'm glad you called Card out in your video so others know and can make their own informed decision.
I read speaker for the dead right after i read enders game and I hated it while i was reading it but after i had finished reading it and thought back on it then i felt how great the book was. The only reason could say i hated while reading it was how much difference there is between the enders game amd speaker for the dead.
I completely get that. I made a video about exactly that...the first time reading it, it's so jarring because the first 50ish pages,on first read, are very wtf. I think I called the video something like, "DONT GIVE UP ON THESE" it included Speaker as well as Ancillary Justice and a few other books.
I'm about to start my second read through. It was approximately 10 years ago I read speaker for the dead for the first time. I'll let you know what I thought knowing what I know after the second read through
Great review . I have read both . And both worth the read .I have always love AI in SF, from Star trek et al , to Hal . Jane is....And yes, should we , can we seperate the author from the works ? Many of my childhood authors seem to have fallen out of favor . OSC views are well known . As readers do we purge all his works from our libarary . How about Bradley, Hubbard to name a few .This subject is worth a whole vid by itself . My view . My view, i have read and continue to read OCS and others, ( my bias opinion) .Thanks for the usual cool, informative reviews 🖖
Thanks Sylvan...I think that sometimes what the work is and what it evokes...goes beyond the author...almost like they are two separate things in a way. This is a great book to pick up from the library or borrow from a friend
Speaker For the Dead is sequel to Enders game and was published soon after Enders game. Ender in exile was written later ...and chronologically takes place between Enders game and speaker for the dead
@@tokenblack7983 thanks....def read Speaker first. Just be OK with the first chapter being nothing like you'd expect. This is 3000 yrs after Enders game
This is one of the greatest sf novels ever written. Ender's Game is incomplete without it, and it's the perfect response to his own work. I agree completely that it needs a second read. My experience reading it was like yours. I read it the day it came out and I found it jarring the first time because it takes such an unexpected direction. On my second read it immediately became my favorite between the two books, and has become one of my favorite sf novels of all time.
awesome. i just hope that unexpected beginning doesnt block too many others from reading the whole thing
This review is so hype. I, too, last read this 30 years ago and I remember love love loving it.
I'm reading a lot of hype-worthy stuff this year. Will love to watch you speak a full length review of Speaker, Allen.
When I first read this after Ender's Game when it came out, I found the tonal shift so jarring that I had to skip the first third and then go back and read it a second (and third, and fourth) time.
There are a lot of great scenes and interactions that have stuck with me these decades later.
While I am not a huge fan of movie adaptation (what Hollywood did to the first book is a crime), I always wanted to see the scene where the Buggers, newly resurrected, come flying over the horizon.
My favorite parts in the Ender's series, and I think it carries over into the Shadow series, is the brief conversations that occur at the beginning of each chaper. The little glimpse into the fact that even "gods" make mistakes
I can see that movie scene now....and re sequels...Xenocide and Shadow of The Hegemon...and Enders Shadow are all 5 star reads for me tooo
Blessed to have found this video. I first read Speaker of the Dead when I was in prison 2012. It absolutely changed my life, to come across such a profound book within the few random selections we had to entertain us. I such a great feeling to find others that love it just as much as I did. With all the hate trending these days, it’s nice us mere intellectuals can still enjoy such phenomenal work!
Did you ever read Enders Game or the two sequels to this novel after?
I loved both books (Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead) on initial reading. I did not read either when they were first released so didn't have expectations for them going in. Speaker definitely hits you much differently than Ender's Game. I remember stopping after many sections to reflect on the story and how I felt about it. It was a very consuming and intimate read for me. Thanks for the review, I'll definitely do a re-read as I look back on this book fondly.
Many books that I pick up from new authors I try I very much struggle with the writing style and incoherent story-telling. One of the aspects that makes me rate these books so highly is the logical and succinct writing style. There is a clear direction and purpose to what's written. Where as many books I try have so much bloat and illogical meanderings. They have forced actions or behaviors by characters that are out of character to provide bridges to contrived directions the author wants to take the story. Speaker feels fluid and pulls you in close. Its a fluid journey. I do wonder how I'll feel about the 'piggies' on re-read being an older audience.
I'd def be curious to hear your thoughts if you do a reread. Also I agree on writing style. I don't mind trying a new and unusual writing style, if it serves the story. There are definitely too many tho where a unique writing style just comes across as gimiky
I remember Card's first recognized materpiece, 'Lost Boys'.
Then I read 'Ender's Game' and was left breathless.
But it wasn't until 'Speaker For The Dead' that I fell in love with Ender Wiggin.
Nice to see this review:)) I look videos for this book every year because there's just not enough people talking about it. The book is so great, the series is so fulfilling.
Thanks Jay. Did u also read Xenocide?
I did, i read all of them except the last book. The rest of the books are a bit different because the timeline is spread out and follows different characters. @@FIT2BREAD
I didn’t care for Enders Game but I loved this one and enjoyed the following two.
i really loved the full series
You want a great reading experience? Read Aztec by Gary Jennings. That said, SFTD is everything he is saying here about it. An awesome work. The whole Ender series is excellent. I love Cards writing style and stories very much. That said, I am sad I have too divorce that from his homophobia and statements confirming his total disrespect for that segment of our world.. What a paradox he is. I recently re-read Speaker for the second time. Much more clear now.
Great review! This is my favorite of Card’s books. He gives his characters room to grow and learn from their mistakes. It felt deeply personal and removed from the very cerebral and tactical Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow. I want him to write more like this!
Same. Did u read xenocide and did u read the shadow series?
I read the first book in the shadow series. I loved it! That is Orson with his big brain energy 😊. Xenocide, I bounced off of hard. I may try again someday.
It is weird to reread this and see how human and empathetic he is as a writer, then look at the dozen blog posts he wrote about gay people going to hell.
I read this 5 years ago and still remember it so well. Never read the other ender books though. Maybe I should?
Def, though I recommend starting with Enders Game followed by a Speaker For The Dead re read...and then follow publication order...including Enders shadow series
Oh God, you should.
Great review. I read this book a few years as part of a book club, as my first book by the author. I more recently read Ender's Game and re-read Speaker for the Dead last year. I'm sure that having already read Speaker and knowing Ender's future had an impact on my impression of Ender's Game. In my opinion, Speaker is a superior novel with more interesting characters and themes. Have you read the rest of the series? Not sure if I will ever continue as I've heard from others it's a case of diminishing returns from book 3.
Thank you. I've read it all except for the very last most recent book. I liked all of the sequels a lot. I think Speaker is the superior book, but I love them both
I really need to read Ender’s Game. I have it now so I’m sure I’ll get to it before the end of the year.
Get to it bruthah
Hmmm... I *might* give this a try. I have always heard great things about it. And so far your recommendations have driven me to good things.
But... How can I explain this? Orson Scott Card's writing is kinda akin to Christopher Nolans directing to me. Objectively it is very good. I can't list anything bad about it (I can list a few things wrong with Card himself but I separate that from the writing) but... like Nolans movies, I always feel like it's a nice, almost perfect, piece of art I am looking at in a museum under glass. It's nice, great even, but I can't touch it. So it always feels like his stuff is not something I can actually emotionally grapple with.
I strongly advise reading this, but even more: READ 'Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus'... that should be emotionally grapplable
Interesting take. I think one of the things that was special fir me was how emotional it was. To connect to ender and see how much he was treated as a kid...then after all he was put thru, humanity thousands of years later sees him as the greatest evil ever...
Maybe nolans eries, especially person off interest is pretty good and very emotional.
hile having high concepts , but the same time its fun, emotional and really good characters. And its probably easier getting ito it, because they also use batman ideas and have a batman character that is not batman, but way better than any batman from th movies.
@@FIT2BREAD you see that is what I have heard..l that it’s as if that first book sets up a person to kinda dislike endear and the other books rehabilitate him. Which is actually an interesting concept, sort of the inverse of dune… I’ll give it a try. As is I am puzzling my way through incandescence by Egan and that’s not an easy read!
@@TimothyCollins you know I love incandescence. It works best for me if I let myself get 20% of the math and realize that's as much as is necessary
I read Speaker multiple times when I was younger, and liked it a lot, more than Ender's Game. But now, as a man married to another man, all I can think of is how hard Card has tried to undermine and vilify my marriage. I've succeeded at such cognitive dissonance with other authors, but I suppose I take Card's offenses personally.
Robert, thanks for your comment. This is why, at the end of the video I am sure to call out Card and the threat he and others like him pose to our marriages. It's odd for me when I do videos and have Enders Game and Speaker for the Dead ranked highly, knowing that Card is virulently homophobic...I discovered his work before I was aware of it, but I do make sure to praise the work while also calling out the actively bad things hes done
@FIT 2B READ There are other authors and filmmakers I should probably be just as upset with, but I still read and watch their stuff. So I totally understand. And I'm glad you called Card out in your video so others know and can make their own informed decision.
Holy shnikies! Is that a Rat Army Tshirt?? And are people sleeping on that song? You keep blowing me away with amazing stuff on your channel.
Ha thanks. Yes..rat army!
Recently read Enders game and didn't enjoy it and gave up at 50%, I'll give it a shot again as Speaker for the dead sounds interesting.
oh cool. i hope u like a second go at it
I have told everyone no funeral for me I need a speaker for the dead. I love this book I have read it so many times
Ha nice!
this one is probably my favorite in the ender series. I haven't read the entire Shadow series though. Beautiful book
Love this series and the shadow series
I read speaker for the dead right after i read enders game and I hated it while i was reading it but after i had finished reading it and thought back on it then i felt how great the book was. The only reason could say i hated while reading it was how much difference there is between the enders game amd speaker for the dead.
I completely get that. I made a video about exactly that...the first time reading it, it's so jarring because the first 50ish pages,on first read, are very wtf. I think I called the video something like, "DONT GIVE UP ON THESE" it included Speaker as well as Ancillary Justice and a few other books.
I'm about to start my second read through. It was approximately 10 years ago I read speaker for the dead for the first time. I'll let you know what I thought knowing what I know after the second read through
Great review . I have read both . And both worth the read .I have always love AI in SF, from Star trek et al , to Hal . Jane is....And yes, should we , can we seperate the author from the works ? Many of my childhood authors seem to have fallen out of favor . OSC views are well known . As readers do we purge all his works from our libarary . How about Bradley, Hubbard to name a few
.This subject is worth a whole vid by itself . My view . My view, i have read and continue to read OCS and others, ( my bias opinion) .Thanks for the usual cool, informative reviews 🖖
Thanks Sylvan...I think that sometimes what the work is and what it evokes...goes beyond the author...almost like they are two separate things in a way. This is a great book to pick up from the library or borrow from a friend
@@FIT2BREAD 👍
Silly question everybody as I’m confused…is Speaker for The Dead or Ender in Exile the sequel to Enders Game ?
Speaker For the Dead is sequel to Enders game and was published soon after Enders game. Ender in exile was written later ...and chronologically takes place between Enders game and speaker for the dead
@@FIT2BREAD thank you sir! Appreciate your channel very much! Any recommendation which “2nd” I should read first?
@@tokenblack7983 thanks....def read Speaker first. Just be OK with the first chapter being nothing like you'd expect. This is 3000 yrs after Enders game
RIP headphone users
Do ya recommend it? I cant tell lmao
He does🤗
4:41 they are Catholic
This book was such a let down. I'm amazed Ender's Game fans like it at all.
Honestly I'm halfway through it right now and I think it's amazing
@@julianuga
Because it is, that guy's high.