The war for survival of the planet Lusitania will be fought in the hearts of a child named Gloriously Bright. On Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and pequininos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. Or so he thought. Lusitania also harbors the descolada, a virus that kills all humans it infects, but which the pequininos require in order to become adults. The Startways Congress so fears the effects of the descolada, should it escape from Lusitania, that they have ordered eh destruction of the entire planet, and all who live there. The Fleet is on its way, a second xenocide seems inevitble.
Orson Scott Card's Xenocide is a space opera with verve. In this continuation of Ender Wiggin's story, the Starways Congress has sent a fleet to immolate the rebellious planet of Lusitania, home to the alien race of pequeninos, and home to Ender Wiggin and his family. Concealed on Lusitania is the only remaining Hive Queen, who holds a secret that may save or destroy humanity throughout the galaxy. Familiar characters from the previous novels continue to grapple with religious conflicts and family squabbles while inventing faster-than-light travel and miraculous virus treatments. Throw into the mix an entire planet of mad geniuses and a self-aware computer who wants to be a martyr, and it's hard to guess who will topple the first domino. Due to the densely woven and melodramatic nature of the story, newcomers to Ender's tale will want to start reading this series with the first books, Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. --Brooks Peck
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
In some ways the best of the series, but in many ways very dissapointing:
I'll start by saying, that in a way, at least through the first 400 pages of the book, I was amazed by it. I felt that Card had trully surpassed the first 2 books of the series. "Ender's Game" was all about the plot, the action, and didn't really get into the characters. "Speaker of The Dead" was a better, but had waaaayy too much useless theological/religuous discussions, even though the story was trully intruiging. On "Xenocide", I felt Card had reached his peak - The characters were deep, interesting and... more info
It's wandering further away from the origional concept...:
... would have been better as a stand alone book. Worth a read on a slow day, but if you think you have something more interesting then read that instead.
Weak Science Fiction Philosophy:
In the middle of my last law school exam, someone looked at my copy of Xenocide and asked me if I had been disappointed by the direction the series had taken. Although stressed from the upcoming exam (anyone who has survived their first year of law school can understand), I looked at him and told him that I was disappointed, especially considering how remarkable the book that started it all - Ender's Game - had been. At some point, Card decided, or maybe it was in him all along, that a book of science... more info
Read Ender's Game & Speaker, but don't read Xenocide:
Ender's Game is an absolutely amazing book--I have given it to countless people who have uniformly loved it. Personally, I like Speaker for the Dead even more than Ender's Game, as it deals with interesting moral dilemmas.
However, Xenocide is boring, ridiculous, and uninteresting. You, like me, want to continue reading about Ender. But trust me, you should stop at Speaker for the Dead.
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