Speaker for the Dead

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: David Birney, Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

In the aftermath of his terrible war, Ender Wiggin disappeared, and a powerful voice arose: the Speaker for the Dead, who told the true story of the Bugger War. Now, long years later, a second alien race has been discovered by Portuguese colonists on the planet Lusitania. But again the aliens' ways are strange and frightening...again, humans die. And it is only the Speaker for the Dead, who is also Ender Wiggin the Xenocide, who has the courage to confront the mystery...and the truth. Orson Scott Card infuses this tale with intellect by casting his characters in social, religious, and cultural contexts.

This, the author's definitive edition of the sequel to Ender's Game, also includes an original postscript written and recorded by the author himself, Orson Scott Card!.

Browse more titles in the Ender Wiggin series.

©1986, 1990 Orson Scott Card (P)2002 Fantastic Audio, an Imprint of Audio Literature

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award Winner, Best Novel, 1987
• Nebula Award Winner, Best Novel, 1986

"The most powerful work Card has produced. Speaker not only completes Ender's Game, it transcends it." (Fantasy Review)

Spectacular, everything a sequel aspires to be.

Upon finishing Enders Game, I thought it a crime I'd never experienced it as a child or even a young adult. However, I'm grateful for the opportunity to have that first experience now. All the more after listening to Speaker for the Dead. The performance marvelously captures the story, and the material is sublime. It will go down as one of my favorites, and I now envy those who get to hear it for the first time. Couldn't recommend enough.

Great story, complicated series order

The story is Superb, but the order of the series' is very hard to understand.

Beautiful deeper meaning

I loved this book. Ender's Game is a favorite childhood book of mine, and I wanted to delve deeper into Author Card's universe. As some has stated, this book is nothing like the first book. The first is built on strategy and seeing into the inner workings of a child's mind. This one, however, focuses on a full cast with Ender included, and it focuses more on their emotions and trials as a whole. Ender is a full grown adult now, and he should have the opportunity to view things in a different lens than he did as a child. Those who bash on this book seem to forget that characters can grow and change in their surroundings. Ender did just that. If you want to see Ender evolve into a terrific (but flawed) human being, definitely give this book a try!

Like the first book, this book focuses on an alien race that humankind has to learn to accept in order to live in peace.

Wraps your brain some in seeing how new life works

Understanding how new life ecosystems rely on each other and creating a religion and a belief around this is a beautiful ride to listen too.

Masterful book

This is an Absolutely amazing book. Very deep. So many important meanings in the pages. Highly recommended !

A book that changed my life

When I first read Speaker For The Dead, I had just graduated college and was looking to follow up on literature I read as a consequence of an assignment, or preparation for a class - and delve more into the authors works. Enders Game was always my favorite, and I was prepared to read Speaker in the same way as the former: an enthralling sci-fi adventure fraught with near-death and questionable ethics. What I was not prepared for was the wholly transformative nature of Speaker For The Dead.

This book, despite the antithetical nature of its author, is my sole recommendation to those who are trying to accept or grow into empathy in directions that make them uncomfortable. Its purpose, among many, is to force the reader to accept people and ideas, the push the boundary of what they think are acceptable - and then respect them. In the complicated world we live in, this title is a masterclass in revealing how far empathy can really go, and may even help the reader realize that they too are capable of Ender’s capacity for understanding.

Good

Having in mind that the book was written almost 40 years ago it’s just mind blowing…

THE book

Ender's game is the perfect settup for this lovely story. 20 years pass in a 2 weeks travel , some live alot in a short time & this book has a wonderfull message.

Brilliant

Any additional comments?

There is a lot of controversy around Card but he still writes really interesting books that require the reader to think about the implications of each action and reaction. It is a wonderful masterpiece and deserves the reader to think critically about the ideas of Card.

It's NOT a Sequel...But It's GREAT!

Please, don't get this book if you are looking for the further adventures of Ender Wiggins and his buddies. It was never intended to be that kind of a book. It is a compelling, fascinating exploration into the concepts of human contact with other (very different) forms of sentient life. The aliens are alien! This book is the beginning of Orson Scott Card's finest work to date. You will need to get Xenocide and Children of the Mind to complete the story. I recommend all three.

This is an exceptionally good recording with wonderful performances. The use of several voices keeps the fact that the author is switching perspectives very clear. It is not an audio play. It's better.