Xenocide by Orson Scott Card

On Lusitania, Ender finds a world where humans and pequeninos and the Hive Queen could all live together. However, Lusitania also harbors the descolada, a virus that kills all humans it infects, but which the pequeninos require in order to become adults. The Starways Congress so fears the effects of the descolada, should it escape from Lusitania, that they have ordered the destruction of the entire planet, and all who live there. With the Fleet on its way, a second xenocide seems inevitable.

I can't say that I liked it very much. The first half of the book was very slow and I found the characters to be boring. The plot didn't start to pick up until the second half of the book and there were many pieces of the plot that seemed forced in and unnatural. This book ended in a cliffhanger and even though that I don't have high hopes for the next book in the series, I want to read it to find out what happens next.

If you're into long-winded speculations on morality, free will, and the space-time continuum, than you will enjoy this book immensely because there is not much else going on here. Xenocide is really dialogue heavy, way more than Speaker for the Dead and Ender's Game, even more than the Shadow books I think. And by dialogue I don't just mean conversation, we're talking inner monologues that go one for pages. Some of those can be rather self-deprecating, rivaling Samson Agonistes on the angst-level, but its not unwarranted (Samson was blind, Miro was severely crippled and essentially had everything static in his life ripped out from under him - I think Miro takes that cake). I was a little disappointed that the normal wit used in Orson Scott Card's books was lacking, every once in while it would pop back in and there would be a good laugh and a one-liner you're dying to use on someone, but for the most part things keep pretty serious.

As with Card's ability though, there is still a lot emotional investment going on, and he manages it subtly enough that you don't notice until the anvil drops. I found myself a mess at points asking myself, “Why am I so upset by this? I didn't even like that guy.” There are also a lot of really interesting new characters introduced, keeping things lively, and while some plot points were predictable, it was more satisfying than cliche. So if you're looking for a more plot and action driven story, this is not for you. But if you feel like getting deep into some metaphysical shit, not to mention falling in love with these characters, then have at it.

Speaker for the dead asks more questions than it answers. Xenocide and Children of the Mind are all about answering those questions. Although Children answers more questions, Xenocide has more heart.

This book was horrible! It feels like 1/2 of the book is spent describing a character with very little contribution to the story. The author describes at length its home world, its daily activities and rituals. And although these aspects does have importance in the book, it was TOO LONG. Another 3/4 of the book is dedicated to Jane, the very uninteresting AI. She's alright as a side character, not as a main one.

The other characters are Ender's children. For absolutely no reason, all but of them exceeded at one field of study. They just felt as little variations of Ender himself. Totally pointless. And the one who didn't exceeded at anything, ended up saving th world. WTF!

To sum it up, much biography, little unbelievable story. The author explains that he was told that the book was sold before it was even written.