[Zsinj16]

Yesterday, I was about halfway through "The Speaker for the Dead" by Orson Scott Card, and I just decided to stop reading it because it was getting way too preachy and got a bit boring, and it simply didn't hold my interest enough to keep reading it.
I thought it was going to be a really good book because of the anthropological study of the Perequinos and all the mysteries surrounding their civilization, plus the religious and political intrigue, but the novel just became way too preachy for me! I mean, the reason I stopped reading it in the middle of the novel is because the novel was seeming a lot like an essay on the views and beliefs and strictness of the Catholic Church instead of a Science Fiction novel!!!
So, did anyone else here have trouble reading Speaker?

[fortytwo]

I didn't.

I believe Card is a Mormon and he often finds a reason to introduce religion into his stories.If he has a fault in my opinion it's that he does tend to preach occasionally in his books.If for example you have only read Enders Game you might get the wrong idea of the style of stories he writes, I don't think that Enders Game is typical Card. Most of his stories seem to involve a question of ethics/morals etc.Personally I enjoy the interaction between the characters and the more thoughtful style of science fiction he writes.
Still, having said that we all like different aspects of the stories we read so if Card doesn't interest you there's plenty of other writers out there!

[Christopher]

I didn't find that when I read it a little while ago. Speaker for the Dead is one of my favourite novels, actually. I quite liked how he blended mythical/religious themes into his narrative, into the very shape of his tale. Ender's Game was certainly more straight-forward than Speaker, or Xenocide and Children of the Mind for that matter, but I actually appreciated that more as it seemed like there was a touch more philosophy behind it, a touch more speculation, which I think is what a lot of sci-fi has been lacking. I think one of Card's best novels, though, which has very little to do with any of that is Treason. It has more fantasy-based themes than any of the Ender books, but it's all blended together quite effectively. Anyone else read that?

[Kamakhya]

Christopher said:

I think one of Card's best novels, though, which has very little to do with any of that is Treason. It has more fantasy-based themes than any of the Ender books, but it's all blended together quite effectively. Anyone else read that?

I really liked Treason. I was a bit disappointed that he didn't go into more detail about the way other families evolved over the years. The idea was neat, though.

I also loved Speaker. However, I recently read Shadow of the Hegemon and found it a bit too preachy for me. Particularly, the idea that it is morally wrong to limit family size and specifically, that to do so, goes against religion (namely Christianity). It was as if the most important thing in Christianity is to have babies. I think I have pretty much had my fill of Card.

[Alai]

Not at all. Speaker for the Dead was simply superb!

[lemming]

If you think Card gets too preachy in Speaker for the Dead, for god's sake don't finish the series! It turns to complete Mormonist mush by the end of Children of the Mind. Oh, and don't read any of his nonfiction essays--they're likely to ruin your vision of him forever.

That said, I liked Speaker for the Dead a lot. Card has a superb gift and he's worth reading if you can see past the religion thing.

[fatboy1523]

I too thought the whole Speaker of the Dead series was boring, except for Ender's Game. Although i do think Card has written some very good books. What did all u people think of Songmaster(right title?) and the Worthing Saga? I liked these two the best out of all his books.

[willowones]

I really enjoyed the Worthing Saga-It was a better read than Ender, IMHO.

[Raisuli]

You've got to keep in mind that 'Speaker for the Dead' is also Card's tribute to James Blish's 'A Case of Conscience', which dealt with a Jesuit's moral dilemma while investigating an alien species. (Blish was an agnostic as far as I'm aware.)

I enjoyed 'Speaker..', although I'm not a regular reader of Card. I'm an aethiest myself and I don't regard the book as 'religious' so much as ethical.

I especially liked how the central theme of the book is worked out logically in all the various plot points by the novel's end.

Having said that I didn't feel any need to read 'Xenocide' or 'Children of the Mind' and Card, in my opinion, is a fantasy and not an SF author and the 'Ender' series reflects this.

[LordBalthazar]

I just finished Speaker for the Dead last night and I have to say I had quite the opposite experience. I went in expecting a light romp and was pleasantly surprised by the deeper, more thought-provoking story. That said, it wasn't until I was halfway through it that things really started to pick up for me. I was so interested in uncovering the mystery of the piggies and the truth behind the deaths of the Pipo and Libo that I stayed up late and read the last 200 pages in one sitting.

As I said, a surprisingly thought-provoking change of pace from Ender's Game. I liked it a lot. But I have two big questions that I hope someone here may be able to answer.

1. Once Jane (almost instantly) acquired the answers to all of the questions that had been plaguing Ender (and, oh yeah, the reader) which didn't she inform him directly instead of setting her intricate plan into motion? Is it because she was so greatly disappointed in his cutting her off? Even so, she was clearly in love with him and was well aware that this lack of information could lead to his death. Wouldn't this have been reason enough to contact him and relay the data?

2. If Novinha was so insistent on Libo (or anyone else) accessing her files related to the Descolada - to the extent that she marry a man she didn't love and bring on so much suffering for fear that marrying Libo would grant him access to said information - couldn't she have avoided all her problems by simply deleting the files?