Speaker for the Dead
Orson Scott Card
A couple weeks ago I reread and reviewed Ender's Game, suddenly popular again due to the forthcoming movie. When it came out, it received both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award (high praise for sci-fi novels). The following year, Speaker for the Dead, the sequel to Ender's Game achieved the same thing. Many top 100 sci-fi lists have Speaker for the Dead listed around 27th, not as impressive as Ender's Game, but still very impressive nonetheless. Ender's Game, whether it's great or barely mediocre is sure to make a lot of money, so why shouldn't they turn around and turn Speaker for the Dead into a movie too? First I'll review the book and then, if it isn't clear already, I'll spell out why this would never make a great movie in today's society.
The story starts off on the world Lusitania 3000 years after Ender's Game. Ender and what he did has gone down in history and so, when a new race is discovered on this planet, the Starways Congress is quick to make sure that nothing bad can ever happen to them and that their study is severely limited. But then the new race, often referred to as the piggies for their porcine appearance, kills one of the xenologists who had been studying them. Ender, still alive on a planet not too far away, hears what has happened and takes the call to speak the man's life as a Speaker for the Dead, someone who tells the truth of a man's life, not just what he did, but what he hoped to do - the good and the bad, the whole story. But doing so will reveal many secrets that others don't want to be heard. In addition, understanding the man's death will cause him to break all the rules surrounding the piggies and set off a chain of events that could lead to the planet's destruction.
I hope that sounds complicated to you, because it is. Speaker for the Dead, unlike it's prequel, is high science fiction, meaning that it introduces terms and concepts that most people don't understand without reading it. It can make a book harder to get into, but it can also make it more thought provoking at the same time. Of the high science fiction novels I've read, Speaker for the Dead is relatively easy to read, but you still have to enjoy several non-blockbuster things first including science (duh), philosophy, ethics, history, language, psychology, politics, and imagination. I love, or at least don't mind, all of those and so I am willing, even happy, to read through the various chapters in order to reach all the amazing moments throughout the book. Card's ability to have created this story is incredible and I take joy in learning about what he has created and the implications for my own life that are a part of being an active reader of literature.
As with Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead confronts us on many levels of out own thinking to consider new truths that we may be uncomfortable with. How do we realistically perceive others who do not seem to be like us? How does a family fall apart? How does true healing occur?
As with other books in the series, I have read this book around 7 times now and will continue to read it. There is a reason that is book is so beloved by many and I invite you to discover it for yourself. That being said, if you go into this book expecting Ender's Game, you will be surprised.
And speaking of Ender's Game, I thought I would do a follow up to my article about it where I give my prediction on the upcoming movie. The following are the reasons why I believe that, if a sequel is done to the Ender's Game movie, it will not be it's actual sequel, Speaker for the Dead (I do have an opinion on what they should do, but I will explain that at the same time as my review of that book):
1. High Science Fiction Rarely Sells Well To A Popular Crowd
As previously explained, High Science Fiction is very technical – part of the reason that they are popular is that they have discovered a niche audience of nerds who love science, philosophy, ethics, history, language, psychology, politics, imagination, etc. High Science Fiction was never meant to be mainstream. Usually the ideas are strange, if alluring in their oddity, and they often make use of technology to create uncomfortable situations and dilemmas. Often moral dilemmas can work in films, sometimes even a little new technology, but philosophical conversations are usually lost on the crowds.. Speaker for the Dead has too much of all three, I believe, for the standard audience. When we see a sequel to a movie, we are usually looking for the same type of movie and Speaker for the Dead would not fit.
(for the differences between what I consider High Science Fiction and Low Science Fiction, ask me)
2. There Are Too Many Inner Conversations and Thought Processes.
As with Ender's Game, it's not just what people do, but why they do them. This is shown by thoughts and thoughts with non-visible characters (read the book and that makes sense). Movies, for good reason, rarely opt to do those sorts of things.
3. The Series Goes On To Harder To Do Books
Speaker for the Dead ends in a major cliff-hanger which doesn't get resolved until two books later. For most movies, this is a good thing because it means more movies and more revenue. In this case it means delving into movies that are even more difficult to put in movie form - split narratives, more complicated science, philosophy, and politics. I've always known this ever since I read the series. Also, due to plot complications, it would require some crazy actor hiring and changing. Already in Speaker for the Dead it would be near impossible to hire any of the same actors and it would only get more difficult as the series continues.
4. Tough To Show On Screen
The death at the beginning of the book is pretty gruesome and a couple more happen. The piggies look a little grotesque as do the buggers. Abuse never looks pretty. Painful accidents are hard to watch. In addition to the visually unpleasant things to watch, there is little action to the movie – it is more of a drama with lots of philosophical and scientific discussions interspersed as I previously said. Within those philosophical and scientific, there are also touchy subjects talked about at length. A major plot point of the story is that Ender isn't wanted on the planet because he's an "unbeliever" and this is discussed at length. Most screenplays try to play it safe and avoid edgy topics, especially those trying to be blockbuster series.
In the end, although I might enjoy an honest attempt to make Speaker for the Dead into a movie, I can't see it happening as a follow up to the Ender's Game movie. It's not what people are expecting and it's not what major companies are likely to target as a moneymaker. But as I said before, the book is still amazing and I hope you read it, especially if you like science fiction.
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