Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Book.... until the ending.
Review: I loved this book, couldn't put it down! Until the last 100 or so pages. After many pages of entertaining and deep reading, I was disappointed when Mr. Card jumps head first into a pool of ridiculousness rivaled only by American presidential elections. Oh man. For those of you who read the first two Ender books, this book is a must read as the book has a non-insignificant amount of closure. But be ready to be disappointed by the ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Getting a bit more real, man...
Review: What I have always loved about Card is the "niceness" of his characters and the general optimistic tone of his work. I was relieved, however, to find that this work (which I loved) had some swearing in it when characters finally did get mad.I can't wait to read Children of the Mind which awaits my fingers on my bookshelf. I first read Ender's Game back in '94 and loved it. I read Speaker for the Dead soon afterwords, but didn't come to Xenocide until this year 2000. I picked it up, right after I had finished from the Alvin Maker series, Alvin Journeyman. And now, stuck on Orson, I'd reading Heartfire which will go quickly. Love this man's storytelling!
Rating: 
Summary: Card at his best
Review: As a devoted fan, of course I'm required to say that this is an amazing book. But people, this is THE amazing book of the decade, complete with tragedy, comedy, pain and love, desire, duty, the search for truth, the consequences and advantages that come with learning the absolute truth, and, of course, the further evolution of Ender Wiggin as a character and truly a human being. Of all the Ender books so far, this is the best. Go Wang-mu, you got it girl!!
Rating:
Summary: One of My Favorite Books!
Review: This is an amazing book! My favorite character was Han Qing-jau who is a very religious person. On the planet Path, congress has created genetically altered people that are much smarter than average. They cover this up by creating an OCD virus that makes people think that they are forced to do tasks to "purify" themselves by the gods. Ender and Jane try to find a way for the god spoken to be relieved and a way to stop the xenocide of the buggers and the piggies.
Rating:
Summary: Only a genius could write this book
Review: Anyone reading this review needs to first understand that I am NOT a science fiction fan. The reason I first read Ender's Game was because I decided to see for myself what all the hoopla over the book was about. Although I thought the book was okay, I couldn't understand the people who said that they've read it over and over many times, and that it had profoundly affected their lives. However, I have to say that that's exactly the way I feel about Xenocide now! The further I got into the book, the more in awe of Orson Scott Card's talent I became. I was absolutely blown away by the depth and compassion of this book, and feel that it's one of the very best books I've ever read in my 47 years -- and I read a lot of books! I remember thinking after I read Lord of the Rings for the first time, how Tolkien had to be a genuis in order to be able to write that series. And that's the way I feel about Card now, only more so. It's not just the intricacy of the plot that I'm referring to -- it's the way he gets inside of his character's minds and hearts. I found myself thinking over and over throughout the book, "How could he have possibly written this? What kind of a person must he be in order to have done this?" Card has my highest respect, both as an author, and as a human being who truly understands other human beings.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I ever read so big!
Review: Yes this book is huge...to my standards. I wished that the editor or Card himself would have cut out several of the prolonged scenes that took me a long time to read. Most of it though was very interesting. To my opinion, next to Ender's Game it is my favorite book in the quartet. The fights to me between the family were precise and rolled right along, but a lot of the technical stuff I'd zim through and not think about knowing it probably didn't mean to much to me...and I was right. Well, I'd recommend it...especially if you like sci fi and even more especially if you have read any other book from this quartet.
Rating:
Summary: Much more than generic sci-fi
Review: This series is much deeper than any sci-fi fantasy book that come a dime a dozen. I actually thought this third installment was much better developped than both "Speaker for the Dead" and "Ender's Game", and I have to agree with some of the other reviewers, "Ender's Game" was much more simplistic in style and content. The remainder of the series deals with deeper issues, philosophical and ethical issues, society as a group issues, family values and the like. I'm very much looking forward to see how the series ends.
Rating:
Summary: i thought i'd never have to give 3 stars to anything by card
Review: Not that much happens in this book besides a lot of philosophical debates.This book isn't really that bad, but at times i had to force myself to keep reading, never did that happen in the first two books. Most of the boredem was caused by ender and his family, the other story line about the people of path is actually quite intresting.
Rating:
Summary: Xenocide delivers another powerful tale of Ender Wiggin
Review: Ender Wiggin has finally made it to Lusitania. He has found peace and harmony here on his new life, and has decided to settle down. Yet now he is once again forced to battle within himself and with the community as a whole over what defines a species, and what defines an intelligent being. He is forced to decide who really has the right to perform Xenocide, the killing of an entire species. The real world parallels of this book are truly astounding, as you can clearly see the World War II undertones the book is hinting at, and how easy it is for mob mentality to get the better of the whole. The seperation of church and state really begin to heat up in this novel as well, as Ender Wiggin is forced to decide who he really loves more, and who in the end has the right to decide what is right and what is wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Put Path in a different book
Review: Here's the deal with Xenocide. The Lusitania / Star Fleet, etc. part of the story is typical, really good (maybe great) Card writing. It is perhaps a bit philosophical and maybe a little preachy for my personal taste, but I can appreciate the message. I just did not care for the whole Path angle. Xenocide really could have been a 500 page book, instead of 700, with most of Path eliminated. It is a somewhat interesting story, but it just doesn't fit in with the goings-on of Ender et al, on Lusitania. Of course, the story is woven to make it fit, but it isn't necessary. Also, until Children of the Mind came out, I always hated the ending. It just seemed to not fit in with anything else in the series. I suppose it served as a good lead in to 'Children,' but whether that was intended, or forced due to criticism, I don't know. Obviously, this is a great series, and I absolutely recommend it. I just expected a little, well LESS, from this installment.
|
