In Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and pequininos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. But Lusitania also harbors the descolada, a virus that kills all humans it infects, but which the pequininos require in order to become adults. The Startways 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 and a second xenocide seems inevitable. Until the fleet vanishes. The task of discovering how the ships disappeared falls to Gloriously Bright, the most brilliant analytical mind in a world of people bred for superintelligence. There is little doubt that she can solve the puzzle; but will she choose life or death for the three races who live on Lusitania? Xenocide is the third novel in Orson Scott Card's The Ender Saga.
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"It took me a while to get into Speaker for the Dead and this book, Xenocide, mostly because they are so different from Ender's Game and therefore not what I was expecting. It wasn't until about 3/4 into Xenocide that I started to "get it". Some of the explanations for stuff seemed a little convoluted, and I'm not quite sure the mix of sci-fi and religion works completely ... but it works enough I guess and the character development is the book's strength. The one twist that excited me the most wasn't one of the questions/puzzles that were the themes of the book, so I am looking forward to seeing it more in Children of the Mind. I'm also dreading reading Children because its clearly going to focus on a character I don't really like. Sorry for the vague comments, but I hate spoilers lol!"
— Casey (4 out of 5 stars)
“In his afterword, Card declares, ‘The ideal presentation of any book of mine is to have excellent actors perform it in audio-only format,' and he gets his wish. Card's phenomenal emotional depth comes through in the quiet, carefully paced speech of each performer. This is a wonderful way to experience Card's best-known and most celebrated work, both for longtime fans and for newcomers.
— Publishers Weekly on ENDER'S GAMEThe characters are memorable and the pace quick. An Earphones Award winner when originally released, this audiobook is well deserving of listeners' time.
— AudioFile magazine on ENDER'S GAME" Ok, I am totally hooked. "
— Naomi, 2/16/2014" The Ender Saga gets really far-fetched in the third book. The interplay of characters and ideas is so compelling that I was able to read through some of the more outlandish concepts. I'll take the audacity of Orson Scott Card over a safe predictable narrative tale any day. I'm taking a break now, but will definitely read the 4th book. "
— Joe, 2/6/2014" Just FYI Xenocide is not found in any English Dictionary (I looked at several). Xeno means "outside." I just found it interesting that he created a whole new term and used it as a title. The book was okay. I liked the second book in the series better. There is a lot more Sci-Fi in this one. He takes you down several roads that deal with physics and he lost me a couple of times. The character development is good and he does move the story along. It just seemed more laborious to me. I will continue to read and finish the series. I'm kind of interested in reading some of his other books with "Ender" but I may take a break from him for a while. "
— Lynette, 1/26/2014" The book was quite similar to Speaker for the Dead, which was good. My biggest problem with this story is that it seemed way too repetitive. It seemed like a litany of conversations centered on the characters bemoaning about how they need to castigate themselves with tedious rituals for something they thought or said. Either that or Miro complaining about his slow speech. I understand character development but these idiosyncrasies were already developed within the first 5 times they had these interminable thoughts or conversations. Honestly, I think the story could have been 200 pages shorter with the same progression and essential elements. "
— Jeremy, 1/25/2014" What a deep, moral, ethical mess of a book! It took me forever to read it. I had to go really slowly so I didn't miss anything. But, I enjoyed it and look forward to the ending of the Saga. "
— Kayleen, 1/20/2014" Ender Wiggins has brought the Hive Queen to the planet Lusitania with the hope that she can live there with humans and the native pequininos. The plaanet is also home of a virus that kills humans it infects. The Startways Congress wants to the planet and everything on it. "
— Fredrick, 12/31/2013" The third in the series was still reasonably decent. "
— Trish, 11/30/2013" Decent 3rd book of ender's saga but not as good as the previous 2. "
— Jayson, 11/25/2013" This was a tough book to get through. Not awful, just not as interesting as the first two. I am starting to loose interest, good thing there is only one more book in the series. "
— V, 10/3/2013" A bit boring in the beginning. "
— Natasha, 5/15/2013" Loved the first two but couldn't get into this one. It seemed more preachy than the others. I may go back and try again at a later date. "
— Kim, 3/26/2013" This book takes the saga to a new level. Ender is not as impressive as last 2 books but there so many other things that makes Xneocide one of the finest book in Ender's Saga. And yes, Jane is fun. :) "
— Harsh, 12/22/2012" Love the creativity. Not quite as good as the first two. But pretty darn good for a trilogy. "
— Sethschorr, 11/29/2012" Loved the entire series--sequels and prequels. "
— Rebecca, 9/10/2012" This is where the Ender series starts to get weird. I was pretty sold on the central story by this point, but there are definitely some quirky (if not awkward) elements to this installment. "
— Justin, 6/20/2012" Another good follow up to the first 2 "
— Alex, 6/4/2012" This is a horrible book compared to Ender's Game a lot of senseless stuff and too many characters, plus the whole Godspoken thing is ridiculous. I don't know if I can keep going with this series "
— Zignema, 1/30/2012" I see this and the next book as a continuation of the previous two, Qing-jao's story is spine-chilling, but somehow this book does not have the impact of the other two. Still an excellent excellent novel. "
— Andrea, 5/21/2011" Recently started re-reading the series that I never finished. As a kid I only liked Ender's Game, but I really appreciate the deeper though that was put into the rest of the series. "
— Ryan, 5/18/2011" It's as good as Speaker for the Dead for about the first half to three quarters of the book. Then it takes a bizarre turn and totally derails. I have no desire to finish the series after reading this book. "
— Sara, 4/27/2011" This is a great book. Explores issues of ethics and morals that few books even attempt to address. "
— Allan, 4/24/2011" man this book sucked. seriously. i absolutely LOVED ender's game...and i liked speaker for the dead...but this one was an immense disappointment. "
— Mary, 4/18/2011" A little weird...still good, but the series becomes progressively weirder the further you go "
— Tammy, 4/17/2011" this one breaks the goofy meter. "
— Ian, 4/15/2011" Well that series certainly took a turn for the worse. At least I don't have to read the remaining 5 books now! "
— Shane, 4/6/2011" Love the series overall; this book tends to drag. "
— moore, 4/1/2011" Too long. The descolada theme was good and the interaction of the piggies and the hive queen was OK. I didn't like the end and where it was going with the clones of Valentine and Peter. I don't need to read any more of this thread. I'll try the Shadow series with Bean. "
— Kendar88, 3/27/2011" Fits in well with the series "
— Nigel, 3/27/2011Orson Scott Card, the author of the New York Times bestseller Ender’s Game, has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his works of speculative fiction. His Ender novels are widely read by adults and younger readers and are increasingly used in schools. Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy, American-frontier fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, and scripts.
John Rubinstein is an actor, composer, and director who won a Tony Award for his starring role in Broadway’s Children of a Lesser God. He has narrated dozens of audiobooks, earning several AudioFile Earphones Awards and being named a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2013.
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.
Gabrielle de Cuir, award-winning narrator, has narrated over three hundred titles and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. She was a cowinner of the Audie Award for best narration in 2011 and a three-time finalist for the Audie and has garnered six AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her “velvet touch” as an actor’s director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost producer for bestselling authors and celebrities.
Bleak December Inc. is a multimedia company founded by Canadian actor and filmmaker Anthony D.P. Mann.