Xenocide

Rating:
Summary: It's a pity that authors think people will buy ANYTHING.
Review: I bought "Enders Game" and loved it.

I bought "Speaker For the Dead" and liked it more that Enders Game.

I bought this volume expecting more great things from this author.

This is one of the worst Sci-Fi book I ever tried to read. Most of the people of Path suffer from OCD (obcessive Compulsive Disorder, but are extremely intelegent, and they have discovered Jane (the AI program Ender created in Battle school, and they are working to destroy her.

Jane warns the people of Lusitania of the threat to her, and the poeple of Lusitania have discovered a way to release a virus on Path to cure the people of Path of their OCD, and in the process lower their intelegence giving them time to work with the hegemony and explain Jane was no threat and showing how that people could travel lightyears in seconds instead of taking decades at speeds close to the speed of light to go between planets, and to prove the Descolada virus was no longer a threat.

However; this book is so slow and tedious; I do not recommend it, and I never bought another book in this series.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

Rating:
Summary: A Triumph
Review: This was the first book I ever read by Orson Scott Card, which means that I read it before I read either "Ender's Game" or "Speaker for the Dead," the first two books in the expanding Ender series. Suffice it to say that I was hooked. Not only have I gone back and read the entire Ender series to date, but I've also reread this book several times, along with a multitude of other Card offerings. He has become part of my pantheon of authors, and it all started with my reading of this book.

This is not an easy book. The ideas in it are very high-level, and I still have not yet entirely figured out the philotes and the conceptual underpinnings of ansible physics. But the hard science fiction is never the important part of Card's works, and this is no exception. It is the people and their interactions with each other and the world around them that is the 'raison d'etre' behind this book. The tragedy of Han Qing-jao and Han Fei-tzu, the irrationality of Novinha undiminished despite 30 years of marriage to Andrew Wiggin, the unmentioned failure of Andrew Wiggin to raise either Grego or Quara to a sense of decency and social responsibility despite them being the youngest (and therefore supposedly most fluid in their personalities) of Novinha's children; these are the things that make Card's writing so important to the sensitive reader. Ultimately, Orson Scott Card writes with a greater sense of hope for the future and a greater sense of the fundamental decency of humanity (along with the Hive Queen, the Pequeninos, and Jane) than almost every author I have encountered. "Xenocide" is replete with heroes, and even the one great failure in the book fails heroically.

Finally, Andrew Wiggin is actually a rather minor character in this book despite his being the central figure for the series. Some might find that the older Ender has become rather wimpy and ineffective. The opposite is the truth. Andrew is the character that keeps pushing all the others to the final solution, even when he is fighting his own inner despair. As in "Ender's Game," he is the over-burdened centre of the fight against the descolada and the Starways Congress fleet, but just as in "Ender's Game," it is others who have the positions on the front lines of the various battles. Andrew (Ender) Wiggin remains the commander. The difference is that "Xenocide" is told from the front lines, whereas "Ender's Game" was told exclusively from the commander's chair.

Rating:
Summary: So Much for the Ender Wiggin Quartet
Review: I absolutely loved Ender's Game. I was first in line to read Speaker for the Dead, and found it to be not too bad. Not nearly as good as the first, but pretty good. Then, I bought a copy of Xenocide. Then I threw out my copy of Xenocide. You know, I love Orson Scott Card's work and all, but I'll make an exception for this. The storyline set in Speaker for the Dead branches out into all sorts of ludicrous sub-plots. And then the story of Lusitania and the Hive Queen and the Pequeninos and all that gets taken over by that Chinese girl from Path, and it's pretty much downhill. If I were you, I wouldn't waste my hard earned money on this book.

Rating:
Summary: Dry plot, continues the pattern
Review: I read the first book and thought it was excellent. As the author explored the possibility of having minds that were analytically superior to computers (though the characters had to have a certain amount of abstract thinking capability to carry out some of the missions, wich is probably not possible for a kid close to autism) he accompanied it with a plot that was rich and exciting. By the third book, the well had dried up.
A questionable plot with characters who were all too formulated and familiar approached an indecisive ending that would result in the fourth book in the series. There was nothing in the book that made me want to stay up for a few more minutes to finish the chapter. In my opinion, the author got too good at putting the reader in philosophical positions that were irrelevent to life or the book in general. I would not suggest reading it or the good attitude one might have towards the author would be permanently marred. After reading that book, I did not continue on to the fourth, in fact I never read another book by the author again.

Rating:
Summary: Intellectually stimulating
Review: I would like to start off by saying brovo Mr. Card on another excellent book! I felt that this book helps on one's perspective of the universe, it opens one's imagination up to all possibilities! The philosophical dilemas opened a new horizon for me because, before this book, i never thought of anything in a philosopical veiw. I would like to make a comment to the gentleman for Evanston, Mr. Card is an excellent author and if anything he is underated! I started off the Ender story by reading Ender's game as an assignment in my language class. I fell in love with Ender (not literal) and have recently read Ender's Shawdow, Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide. I highly reccoment all of these books! You have yet to dissapoint me Mr. Card!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: great
Review: I have read this book, Speaker for the Dead, and Enders Game. I can honestly tell you that you will not be disappointed. Orson Scott Card continues this story and adds new surprising elements along the way. I found myself growing to know the characters as if they were good friends. This is a terrific book, but you definitely shouldn't pick it up until you read the other two. Otherwise, you will be quite confused. There is never a dull moment in this story and it kept me guessing what would happen til the end.

Rating:
Summary: I think Card slipped a little.
Review: I absolutely loved "Ender's Shadow" and "Ender's Game" but I think Card lost a little of his usual zest in this book. Even though there was a lot going on in the story, it wasn't as climatic as the other books.

"Xenocide" was a great casual read but if you're looking for the usual analytical excitement of Card, you may be a little disappointed. I've yet to read "Children of the Mind" though; maybe that book will redeem this one.

Still, Card is a great author and I enjoy the way his mind works. Finally an author that speaks intelligently without speaking down to anyone or losing the masses by using big words. ^_^

Rating:
Summary: not quite a trilogy
Review: The third of the Ender books, this one ups the stakes presented in Speaker for the Dead, but doesn't resolve any of them. Save one. Still, it's superior to the final book, Children of the Mind, and the Chinese culture of Path presented is very interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Excellent - nothing can measure up to the first book in this series (Ender's Game), but this comes close.

Rating:
Summary: Good sequel
Review: I consider the two previous Ender books among the best I have read. Ender's Game was a first rate adventure/first contact novel and Speaker for the Dead actually managed to surpass it by using the lessons drawn from the first book. This third book does not quite live up to the first two but is still a worthy sequel. While Game and Speaker explored possibilities within the confines of a well-defined universe, this book adds more some less well-defined elements ( a sort of thought dimension that only Jane can maintain where wishes become reality) and creates some events that are logical to the story but never feel ... right. (Valentine and Peter).
Other than these minor gripes I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It is well written and all the characters very 3 dimensional. The planet of obsessive/cumpulsive geniuses was very clever. I will definitely be back for book four.