I know what you’re thinking. Orson Scott Card is anything but a freethinker. Yeah, yeah. As I’ve said elsewhere, I try to judge authors by what they write rather than vice-versa, and Speaker for the Dead an outstanding and thoroughly humanist novel. The main character founds a movement which consists essentially of a sort of interplanetary Humanist Chaplaincy tasked solely with performing funerals in such a way that the listeners come to truly and profoundly understand why the deceased lived the sort of life which they did. In doing so, the Speaker for the Dead challenges all those who listen to come to understand and empathize better with each other. It’s truly a beautiful thing, the sort of thing that I would love to see realized in my lifetime. The protagonist also strives to expand the circle of human moral concern beyond human beings, struggling to preserve the existence and promote the peaceful coexistence of two other rational species.
Regretfully, I’m short of time today so I’ll leave you with this blurb from The Toronto Star, which I fully endorse:
There aren’t too many recent sf novels we can confidently call truly moral works, but SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD is one. Full of careful characterization, intriguing scientific, especially anthropological, speculation, and a fictional challenge to our capacity to define humanity inclusively rather than exclusively, it’s a completely gripping story.
How it is that a devout Mormon and political regressive penned such a wonderful work is a profound mystery to me, but one that I’m happy to live with. Drop by your local library, borrow a copy, and have a look for yourself!
