The complexity of issues tackled in Speaker for the Dead are much deeper than those in Ender likewise, the cultures and worlds explored through Speaker are much more intricate. After reading Speaker for the Dead, I understand where he's coming from. Orson Scott Card has said that Speaker for the Dead is the book he always 'meant to write' and that the only reason he wrote Ender's Game was as a 'prequel,' so he felt a little baffled when Ender's Game ended up becoming his most famous and most read work. Card's belief is not a hindrance to his ability to write a good story, but his overbearing expression of it sadly is. The second novel has a transparency of motive that, for me, destroyed both believability and the central flow of the story.

While in the first book the main character was often guilty of extended internal monologue, this underlined the character's personal journey instead of just pushing a preconceived worldview. The suspension of disbelief should not be broken by the author's message rather, the message should be communicated by carefully built characters and situations so that it emerges naturally and believably. While I do respect that every author has his own point of view, and that one should be able to glean some understanding from their books, such a heavy-handed case detracts from the story and characters as a whole. 'Speaker' is preachy and allegorical, and the characters often devolve into simple mouthpieces for the author's opinions, which are numerous, long, and not particularly original. While Ender's Game is a solid piece of modern sci fi, the sequel falls all too short. He recently began a long-term position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University.Ĭard currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret.įor further details, see the author's Wikipedia page.įor an ordered list of the author's works, see Wikipedia's List of works by Orson Scott Card.

Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.īesides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy ( Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels ( Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry ( An Open Book), and many plays and scripts.Ĭard was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah.

Speaker for the dead