Speaker for the Dead
Decades after committing xenocide against the Formics, Ender Wiggins has reinvented himself as the Speaker for the Dead—a figure who uncovers the hidden truths of the deceased to bring closure to grieving communities. When a call arrives from the colony of Lusitania, where two xenologists have been brutally killed by the native alien species known as the Porqueninos (or "Piggies"), Ender sets out to unravel the mystery. On Lusitania, he confronts Novinha, a grieving xenobiologist haunted by her parents’ death and a secret that could destroy the colony, and navigates the tense dynamics of her fractured family. As Ender digs deeper, he discovers the Porqueninos’ violent acts stem from a tragic cultural misunderstanding: their "murders" are actually sacred rituals to elevate honored beings to a third, tree-like form of life. Alongside resolving the conflict between humans and Porqueninos, Ender also fulfills his long-held promise to the Formic Queen, helping her rebuild her species on Lusitania. Blending profound themes of redemption, interspecies empathy, and the cost of misunderstanding, *Speaker for the Dead* challenges readers to redefine what it means to be "alien" and to confront the consequences of past sins.