Xenocide (Ender Wiggin Saga)

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Orson Scott Card: Xenocide

Author	Orson Scott Card
Made	Tor Books
Date	1992-08-15
Media	Mass Market Paperback
Catalog	Book
Sales Rank	5732
Availability	Usually ships in 24 hours
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Reviews:

Rating 3.5/5 from 210 reviews

Weak Science Fiction Philosophy

Rating: 2/5 (1 out of 2 think this is helpful) 2008-05-14

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 fiction philosophy would be more appealing than continuing the epic adventure of Andrew Wiggin and his family in the same kind of fast-paced, exciting prose. For those familiar with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Series, this book is the kind of filler that you find in the last few books of the series. Don't get me wrong, if science fiction philosophy were a genre unto itself, then this would do very well; however, considering how almost monumental the first book was, this shift (started in Speaker for the Deadi) is incredibly disappointing. If I wanted philosophy and discussions concerning the human psyche I would turn to Sartre or the Bible. But Card is not content with advancing the story and instead gives us 300 pages of fluff.

Maybe I'm being too hard, but I've really been expecting something more from this series. Some things do happen - Ender et al figures out how to travel faster than the speed of light, the piggies and the humans learn how to tame the descolada virus, and we are introduced to a world called Path where certain individuals can commune with the gods. Unfortunately, that's almost all that happens. The buggers, humans, and piggies are still stuck on Lusitania and the fleet has yet to arrive. That is how the book starts and that is how it ends.

For those who want an end to the series, you, like myself, have to march on, but for those who have finished Ender's Game should read Ender's Shadow and possibly move on to something else.

Some interesting quotes:

"Every day all people judge all other people. The question is whether we judge wisely."

"Isn't it possible, he wondered, for one person to love another without trying to own each other? Or is that buried so deep in our genes that we never get it out? Territoriality. My wife. My friend. My lover."

"Parents always make their mistakes with the oldest children. That's when parents know the least and care the most, so they're more likely to be wrong and also more likely to insist they are right."

Read Ender's Game & Speaker, but don't read Xenocide

Rating: 1/5 (1 out of 1 think this is helpful) 2008-04-23

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.

An O.K. Book in the Ender Series by Orson Scott Card

Rating: 3/5 (1 out of 1 think this is helpful) 2008-02-13

This is the third book in Card's "Ender" series. After finding it hard to put the first two down, the third is a disappointment. Xenocide tries to span the known universe - with plots and sub-plots taking place on several of the 'Hundred Worlds'. It drags in a lot of places and is just too long for no purpose I can discern. I'm struggling to get through it and am not sure I'll continue with the series now.

Disappointing

Rating: 2/5 (1 out of 2 think this is helpful) 2008-01-01

I loved Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead is one of my all-time favorites. However, Card really drops the ball on this one. Unless you have nothing else to read, give this one a pass. His characters are inconsistent, his science is iffy, and he leaves wide open holes.

When I finished the book, I felt like I'd really waisted my time on this one.

It made me lose interest in the series

Rating: 1/5 (3 out of 5 think this is helpful) 2007-11-08

Ender's Game was great, and I enjoyed Speaker for the Dead for most of it. But I stopped reading Xenocide halfway through. It's painfully slow, talks endlessly of religion, and has none of the character of the first two books. If you're a fan of Card, you may want to skip over this book (to save your opinion of him!).

Editorials:

Product Description

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.

Amazon.com

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

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