Speaker for the Dead - Review
Andrew Wiggin tells the story of those who have died. The apparent murder of a resident Xenologer has drawn Andrew to the planet of Lusitania. It is the one of the Hundread Worlds inhabited by mankind. For the first time in three thousand years an alien race has been discovered and the death an alien anthropologist has been blamed on them. Is this an act of war or or a cultural misunderstanding? The Speaker for the Dead must discover the truth in order to speak a life and to save world.
Orson Scott Card's second installment of the Ender's Game Series is an fictional work of future anthropology. This is an imaginative story surrounding the discovery of an alien race. Our hero, Andrew, was not always a Speaker. Andrew Ender Wiggin played crucial role in the xenocide of the Buggers three thousand years ago. His travels between the stars has kept him relatively young while the natural world has aged three thousand years. Ancient history is Andrews childhood and the nickname Ender has traded its fame for infamy. There is a chance to protect this new race of alien life and advocate for their survival. The full story of Andrew Ender Wiggin can be read in Ender's Game and is a must for anyone interested in Speaker for the Dead. You can read my review of Ender's Game here.
I would recommend this book to those who have read and enjoyed the character development of Ender's Game. I understand that this is a specific recommendation, however, Speaker for the Dead is a difficult book to generalize. The science fiction setting allows Card to paint an elaborate what if scenario. The story telling is surrounded by the sociological consequences of alien interaction. Each action carries a weight that could break the back of the colony. I took a lot away from this book. This theoretical conundrum begs questions of race, religion and relationship. Orson Scott Card shows his true colors in Speaker for the Dead. It is a work that serves as a generous metaphor for those who view the world with compassion and caution.
