Orson Scott Card'sXenocide 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 ofpequeninos, 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 andSpeaker for the Dead.--Brooks Peck
this is a good book This book is the third in a series of four. It is about the struggle to save life on a planet known as Lusitania after Congress gives orders to destroy it out of fear that a virus that the native species carries will destroy all of humanity. The characters go about trying to neutralize the disease without disrupting the life cycle of native species. Overall the book is good but the characters seem unrealistic and the plot gets a little boring about half way through it. Towards the end some of the events seem so nonsensical that they shouldn't even take place in a science fiction book set 3000 years in the future. This book is good but not as good as its counterparts Enders Game and Enders Shadow.
Literally breath-taking This book is almost scary. It is so powerful in invoking human emotions that at time it was necessary for me to put down the book for some time just to let it settle. Card has carried the characters and the ethical considerations into a new level of humanity. The book encompasses not only the darkest side of human nature, but also the brightest and best things that humans and other ramen can do. The plot is engrossing, making it very hard to stop reading, and there are no fore-gone conclusions. Yes, aspects of the book are stange and seem unlikly and impossible. That is because it is Science Fiction. The genera is not realistic. This book held me captive inside it with it's characters for the time it took me to read it, and I continue to think about it even after I've started a new book. This book was amazing, living up to the expectations set by the earlier books and even surpassing them in some respects.Excellent! If you are into '3rd person omnsiscience' or science fiction in general, without too much of that magical clutter, and with just enough technology, politics, and charachterizations, this just very well may be for you.
