Ollanderssci-fi
Cover of Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Speaker for the Dead

Orson Scott Card

An older Ender Wiggin is called to a troubled colony, where alien contact, guilt, and truth-telling collide.

First published 1994 · Ender's Saga

Science FictionFantasy

[DEV NOTE: Eventually use our own synthesized data.]

Explore from this book

More about this book

Story

Thousands of years after Ender Wiggin’s catastrophic role in an alien war, he travels the galaxy under a new identity as a Speaker for the Dead. Because of relativistic space travel, he is still only in his thirties, but he carries the burden of his past and seeks redemption by speaking truth about the dead.

He is summoned to Lusitania, a human colony where another sentient alien species has been discovered. Human authorities tightly restrict contact, but deaths, a mysterious plague, and deep mistrust push Ender into the center of a conflict involving scientists, colonists, and the alien culture.

As Ender investigates, the story unfolds through family tensions, cultural misunderstanding, religious and moral disagreement, and a growing effort to understand the aliens without destroying them. The narrative follows his attempt to uncover what really happened and whether understanding can prevent another catastrophe.

Connected books

Explore all

Try another direction

More by Orson Scott Card

Cover of A Planet Called Treason by Orson Scott Card A Planet Called Treason Orson Scott Card · 1980 Cover of The Worthing Chronicle by Orson Scott Card The Worthing Chronicle Orson Scott Card · 1983 · Worthing Cover of Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card Seventh Son Orson Scott Card · 1988 · Tales of Alvin Maker Cover of The Abyss by Orson Scott Card The Abyss Orson Scott Card · 1989 Cover of Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card Red Prophet Orson Scott Card · 1992 · Tales of Alvin Maker Cover of The Memory of Earth by Orson Scott Card The Memory of Earth Orson Scott Card · 1993 · Homecoming Saga

In the Ender's Saga series

Shown by first publication year; this may not be reading order.

Cover of Xenocide by Orson Scott Card Xenocide Orson Scott Card · 1996 · Ender's Saga Cover of Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card Children of the Mind Orson Scott Card · 2002 · Ender's Saga Cover of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Ender’s Game Orson Scott Card · 2004 · Ender's Saga Cover of First Meetings in Ender's Universe by Orson Scott Card First Meetings in Ender's Universe Orson Scott Card · 2004 · Ender's Saga Cover of A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card A War of Gifts Orson Scott Card · 2007 · Ender's Saga Cover of Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card Ender in Exile Orson Scott Card · 2008 · Ender's Saga Cover of The Last Shadow by Orson Scott Card The Last Shadow Orson Scott Card · 2021 · The Shadow

Details

Authors
Orson Scott Card
First published
1994
Genres
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Space, Aliens, Space Opera
Subjects
Reading Level-Grade 9 · Reading Level-Grade 8 · Reading Level-Grade 11 · Reading Level-Grade 10 · Reading Level-Grade 12 · Comics & graphic novels, science fiction · Wiggin, ender (fictitious character), fiction · Lusitania (imaginary place), fiction · Fiction, science fiction, hard science fiction · Fiction, fantasy, epic · Fiction · Extraterrestrial beings · American Science fiction · Science fiction · Roman · Science-fiction · nyt:mass-market-paperback=2013-11-24 · New York Times bestseller · award:nebula_award=novel · Hugo Award Winner · award:hugo_award=1987 · award:hugo_award=novel · Space warfare · Interplanetary voyages · Guerre spatiale · Romans, nouvelles · Voyages interplanétaires · Ke xue huan xiang xiao shuo · Zhang pian xiao shuo · Ender Wiggin (Fictitious character) · Atonement · Human-alien encounters · Life on other planets · Genocide · American Fantasy fiction · Imaginary places
ISBN-13
9780812550757

[DEV NOTE: Eventually use our own synthesized data.]