- This article is about the novel. You may be looking for the other uses of the term Xenocide.
Xenocide is the fourth novel in the Ender Quintet, following Speaker for the Dead and preceding Children of the Mind. It was written by Orson Scott Card.
Short Summary
The war for survival of the planet Lusitania will be fought in the heart of a child named Gloriously Bright.
On Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and Pequeninos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. Or so he thought.
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. The Fleet is on its way, a Second Xenocide seems inevitable.
Until the Fleet vanishes.
The task of discovering how the ships were made to disappear falls to Gloriously Bright, the most brilliant analytical mind in a world of people bred to super intelligence. There is little doubt that she can solve the puzzle; but will she choose life or death for the three races that live on Lusitania?
Detailed Summary
Praise
- "Card has raised to a fine art the creation of suspense by means of ethical dilemmas."
- — Chicago Sun-Times
- "XENOCIDE is certain to be one of the most sought-after new books of the year."
- — Science Fiction Chronicle
- "An undeniable heavyweight...This book combines Card's quirky style with his hard ethical dilemmas and sharply drawn portraits."
- — New York Daily News
Trivia
- Xenocide is the longest book in the Enderverse, consisting of 183,062 words.
Editions
