Xenocide - Review
Xenocide is Orson Scott Card's third installment of the Ender series (check out my reviews of Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead). The adventures of Andrew Wiggin continue on the planet of Lusitania. The destroyer of worlds and savior of the human race finds himself conflicted over the preservation of species in the face of biological disaster. The political climate reaches a boiling point as the colonized worlds learn about the violent clashes between the race of Pequeninos and human settlers. As sides vie for power, a genetic epidemic rages beneath the surface of the Lusitanian population. The Descolada is a powerful mutation that has the power to destroy the human race on the colony and beyond. Can the disease be contained or should Starways Congress complete their plan to destroy another world? Read along as an unlikely hero takes center stage in this solar saga.
Card continues his social commentary and philosophical musings through the writing Xenocide. The Ender series has reached its final state moving from an action packed war novel to a battle of the self. The characters wrestle with ethical behaviors and moral dilemma. Matters of faith, science and racial indifference saturate this work of science fiction. The conflicting world views of each character make up the body of this book. Card is a master author and his writing of Xenocide is well composed and consistent.
I would not recommend reading this book. As much as I enjoy Card's work I would not suggest that you read this book. It is slow and boring. The drama is internalized and the epic consequences of each action are muted by the constant droning of the protagonists. I was dizzied by countless conversations that circled round and round matters of sociological conflict. Where does science end and faith begin? How do nations and races resolve seemingly irreconcilable differences? Why am I reading this book? These are the questions that got old while I worked my way through Xenocide. Skip part three and don't feel sorry about it. You wont miss a thing.
