Speaker for the Dead is so different from Ender’s Game and it was something I wasn’t prepared for.

I liked Ender’s Game, a lot. As I usually do after I finish a book and have written down my own thoughts, I start reading other people’s reviews to see where there is overlap, to find new perspectives and to see if there were things that I missed. I found quite some negative reviews for Ender’s Game and almost felt ashamed because I didn’t notice the flaws that they bring up. It made me rethink my own feelings about the book and I revised my rating after that. After a few days though, I was still thinking about it and realized that it doesn’t matter what flaws other people found or how badly some characters lack depth, because to me, reading it, felt like a rollercoaster ride, I didn’t notice anything missing, I enjoyed every minute of it and when it was done I was left with a feeling of satisfaction and a crave for more.

I’ve since recovered that awestruck feeling, revised my rating once again and started Speaker for the Dead with very high expectations for more of the same. Boy was I mistaken. Speaker for the Dead continues on Ender’s Game, but is, story-wise, nothing like it. It doesn’t even focus on Ender, who I liked so much, until a few chapters in.

Speaker for the Dead features a rich world, an alien-enigma, some powerful, likeable characters and also some whiney, strange characters. The story aspect of Speaker for the Dead is what made me keep on reading, because the first half of the book consists of a lot of whining, some stupid decisions and even more whining. I remember telling myself that I would read just one more chapter before I would give up, and then another, and another, whilst already wondering what I would read next, cause I sure as hell wasn’t going the pick up the next installment if it was going to be this bad again. But I loved how the author built the enigma of the piggies, how he keeps feeding you tiny pieces of information that keep you wanting more, and that kept me reading on. I’m glad I did though. The second half of the story got much better after Novinha stopped her whining and actually started acting like a normal human being. With richer characters, more interesting problems and the unveiling of the piggy-enigma.

Overall, I really liked Speaker for the Dead, but it’s a feeling that only started after I wrestled through the first part of it, so for that I’m only giving it 3.5 stars.

On a general note: how do you come up with such stupid names for alien races? Piggies? Buggers? Did he ask a 4 year old to come up with them? Seriously…