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Xenocide : Volume Three of the Ender Quartet

Xenocide : Volume Three of the Ender Quartet

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It's not only a S/F!
Review: Xenocide does have a very good plot, but not as good as the one Ender's game had. It's more about life, about people, about love! One thing bad about this book is that it's way too long! I mean that Card could have cut the book in half, and people would like it better. It has too much philosophical conversations that are not necessary. So don't be surpised if you find this book boring sometimes. But the book definitely has a good ending, very good. Everything came as surprise. What to believe and what not to, what is the truth and what is not. Love what you love, be what you are. Live as happy as you wish. Life is beautiful. Overall, it's a book that's worth to read. But if you are really busy and don't have a lot of reading time for S/F, I don't think you should buy this book, there are a lot of better books out there. ( If you have read Ender's Game, skip this and The speaker of the dead, go read Ender's shadow)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Quartet
Review: The quartet reads like one (very exciting) book. This one in particular is (to me) the explanation of the series, I do think it is not the most action filled of the series, but it is a must read... Very good book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow . . . extrodinarily powerful
Review: Many people have complained about this book that they dislike (a) the physics involved and (b) the transition between Path and Lusitania. Well, anyone coming to Xenocide, be forewarrned: The chapters alternate between two planets, and there is some philosophy and physics discussion. Perhaps this book isn't for you. If you've already read the other Ender books, however, please read this book - though I don't think you'll need urging - if you're like me, you won't be able to rest until you finish all the Ender books.

Anyway. Despite all that, or perhaps because of it, Xenocide is a wonderful, powerful book that will live in your heart and mind forever. Personally, I loved the physics and philosophy discussion. I loved the theories about philotes and matter and the descolada virus. I loved the way it made Xenocide not just a novel, but something I had to think about, something that I had to make part of me. I couldn't just skim this book, or rush through it to find out what happens - I had to savour every word, to relish every bit of theory, to try and understand it. And guess what? I never took physics in school, and I'm not the greatest science, math or philosophy student, but when I read carefully, and payed attention, I understood for the most part what he was talking about. And it was great! I loved the way Card brought Path into the novel and made us see things through the eyes of a completely different culture. I loved the aspect that Path added to Xenocide.

And, not that it needs mentioning, I also love the qualities that have always made me love Orson Scott Card's writing from the start. His intense, real characters, who are not always perfect, are not always good, are not even always likeable, but are so REAL that you can't help but fall in love with them and thier very human shortcomings and emotions and hurts. The way he develops these characters through all his books, starting in Ender's Game, continuing into Speaker for the Dead, and now into Xenocide. The way he develops the relationships between all the characters. Card has created characters that everyone can feel for, that everyone can empathize with, because no matter how different you are from Card's characters, they are REAL.

Xenocide is a wonderful book, like Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead before it. Just as Speaker for the Dead builds on Ender's Game, Xenocide is a completely differnet story than the two before it, but is built on thier foundation, and is an incredible, powerful book that will keep you riveted to the last page, and then will hold you still, forcing you to run to the bookstore and buy the fourth book.

You will not forget Xenocide. The philosophy and theories within it will haunt your mind and heart and stay with you forever. Thank you, Orson Scott Card, for giving us the gift of the story of Ender and his families.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Interesting, but long
Review: It's difficult to understand this book if the last book you read was a book in the 5th grade. I would think that if you read the two books before, "Ender's Game," and "Speaker for the Dead" you would find it easy to understand. Some things I didn't figure out until this book, "Xenocide," which made me excited when I finally understood something. It is a powerful book of the decision of Qing-jao who must decide Lusitania's fate. It continues the Ender's story with Valentine, and Miro. Quite a good read for a science fiction fan, but still not as good as the others before it. I found the topic of the godspoken and those with OCD was interesting in this novel. It made it continue to flow and brought it all together.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: not enough action
Review: I thought that ENDER'S GAME was great. SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD was good, but not as good as ENDER'S GAME. XENOCIDE was the worst in the series. It switched between Lusitania and Path every chapter. This got confusing and madening. I could live with that if that was all, but it wasn't. It got into some very deep physics and philosophy. I found the physics hard to comprehend, and also not necessary to the plot to the extent that it was explained. Also the philosophy was not needed for the plot. All in all it was decent. The ending leaves you hanging, but the next book picks up at that. I would recommend this book if you read ENDER'S GAME and SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD and liked them. If you thought SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD was not a very good book, I would not recommend reading this book or the next one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Part 2 of a trilogy
Review: Most people who have read "Ender's Game" and "Speaker for the Dead" will like this novel, not for its content but because they love Ender. Card wrote Game as a stand alone novel and Speaker as the first of a trilogy, (he may not have meant to from the beginning, but that's how these books play out). Readers familiar to trilogies know that in most cases they follow a rigid pattern, 1) Setup, 2) bridge, 3) conflict and conclussion. Speaker set up the saga with more style than most trilogies, and is a great novel on its own. Xenocide is just a bridge which disappointed me, and from what I've seen from other reviews, quite a lot of people as well. I was expecting another great novel, but what I read had a "to be continued" feel.

The book is above average for a bridge or arc, which is usually a good thing. However, with our expectations so high from the first two books, this novel falls short of absolute brilliance, and is instead just a good read. We meet a supporting cast of new characters, some hateful and seemingly villianous, which is something new to the series. We are introduced to the dark side of Starways Congress who seem to act out of spite and anger for no real reason. This was the most troubling aspect of the book for me. The first books of the series gave us moral ambiguity and actions bourne of neccesity rather than evil. The story always gave us hope for the future, but the darkness introduced here dims that a bit.

The story still takes place on Ender's "home" world of Lusitania, where the three species are gearing up for the threat of destruction by Starways Congress. We still get the moral dillemas typical of the series, but they feel just a bit contrived at times. Ender's wife acts too standoffish to be true to life. One wonders how Ender ever fell in love with her, and stayed with her for so long. The Sci-fi/fantasy aspect of the book overtakes the human drama which made the series so great and feel so real to the readers. If you get through this book, the conclussion of the series waits on the other side in the novel "Children of the Mind", which gets a lot of the greatness back. If you've read the first two, stick with it. If you haven't read Ender before, please don't start here. If you start here, don't give up on it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A step down
Review: maybe I shouldn't judge this book along with its excellent predecessors,butI couldn't help feeling it was a let-down.The book is far too long,tackles(or attempts to tackle)far too many subjects,and reads very slowly. One of the reasons I loved Card's first two books was his fantastic ability not to waste words on anything-the result being compact,entertaining and thought-provoking writing. This offering did not need 600 pages to tell its story.It is basically two novels in one, that intersect eventually,but,in fact,the "Path" characters and story could've been left out entirely,and the story would have been just as good and certainly shorter. I don't know yet if i'll be able to stomach another "Lusitania" novel.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Lame.
Review: Ender's Game was amazing. Speaker for the dead was pretty good. Xenocide is pretty bad.

I usually like to finish any book I start reading no matter how awful...couldn't finish this one. It was dull and heavy and in some places it's just dumb (ie. The Riots, Everything coming out of that teleportation ride thingy whoosywhatsit.)

Skip it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Intelligent Dilemma
Review: Orsonn Scott Card's book Xenocide has a highly significant theme. It questions what should be done when people meet other intelligent species. However the species that people run into carry a disease that is threatening to infect all of the human race. The main plot of the book surrounds the actions of a few people on the Planet Lusitania, and a few people on another planet who are Godspoken(if you want to know what that means, then read the book). The people on Lusitania and a helpful "computer" have to rush for a solution to their problem before time runs out...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The series gets pointlessly longer, unfortunately.
Review: Ender's Game is fantastic. Speaker for the Dead is possibly the best SF book ever written. Xenocide continues the series, but it just coasts along without any of the punch of the first two book. Much happens, the plot moves forward, but in retrospect I wish I had stopped with book two. This book was too plot heavy and too predictable.


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