Genre: Fiction—Science Fiction
Completed: 15 January 2013
Summary & Review:
When the Starways Congress learns of the planet Lusitania’s rebellion and the potential of their native Descolada virus spreading to the rest of the Hundred Worlds, they send a fleet to annihilate the planet, and with it the only remaining Buggers and Pequeninos in the universe. With the help of the life form Jane that resides within the Philotic Web, Ender Wiggin and the other human inhabitants of Lustiania cut off all communication between the fleet and Congress, buying them time to try and save themselves. However, the complete severance of ansible communication causes Congress to enlist the help of the highly intelligent ruling class on the planet Path to figure out how the Lusitanians could have possibly done this. Qing-Jao, a young member of that privileged class, discovers the existence of Jane and figures out how to destroy her. Ender and others, including Ender’s sister Valentine, must figure out how to destroy the Descolada virus so that they will no longer appear as a threat to the rest of humanity, but do so in a way that will not destroy the life cycle of the Pequeninos who rely on the virus to reproduce. Then, they must also delve into the origins of Jane and how she came to be, so that they can save her before Qing-Jao can enact her plan to destroy her.
This is a deep, philosophical book. To think that this is from the same series as Ender’s Game (#186) is pretty surprising. Someone who read and loved Ender’s Game (and who wouldn’t love Ender’s Game?) would by no means be guaranteed to even like this book. Now, if someone read and loved Speaker for the Dead (#237), then there is a good chance he would enjoy Xenocide as well. Card used Ender’s Game to create a world in which he could explore serious philosophical and existential questions, and he does so very effectively. Xenocide explores questions such as the purpose of life, the nature of Deity, the existence of the soul, and more. He even gets into theories of space-time and creation. At times the pace of Xenocide can be a little deliberate, and the length of the book is none too short, but overall it was a very interesting and satisfying read. I think Card is an excellent author and I appreciate his willingness to explore such serious issues within an entertaining story.
Rating: 8.0
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