| Author: | Orson Scott Card |
| Copyright: | 1991 |
| Date Reviewed: | 8/1/92 |
| Rating: | 5.0 |
"Xenocide" is the third but probably not final novel in the Ender Wiggins series after "Ender's Game" and "Speaker for the Dead". It is also the weakest. After discovering that the planet Lusitania (who would ever name a planet for a sunk ship) contains a deadly virus, the Starways Congress sends a fleet to destroy it. Before the fleet arrives, Valentine and her family join Ender to help save the planet. The only two known sentient non-human races are on Lusitania: the Hive Queen and the Pequininos. Meanwhile, on the planet Path, a previous experiment created a race of super intelligent humans who are slaved to a variant of OCD. These unfortunates are worshiped as Godspoken.
Back on Lusitania, there is deep division in the Riberia family (which Ender married into) over what to do with the Descaloda Virus. The Descaloda is a very complex virus which passes information to other virus's suggesting that it might be intelligent. The question is whether it is raman, a race the humans can come to terms with, or varlse, a race with which there must be war. The Descaloda controls the gaiology of the planet and is responsible for the Pequininos life and transformation into the third life - a tree. It is fatal to humans and although temporarily checked, it is likely that the Descaloda will eventually figure out how to wipe out the human population on Lusitania. Without the Descaloda, all native life on Lusitania would die.
Meanwhile, Jane, a computer program that lives in the memories of computers connected by ansibles (faster than light communication) has interrupted all communication with the fleet in the hopes that its mission could be stopped. Two young girls on Path realize that the intelligent program exists and explains to Starways congress how it can be killed by scrubbing all computers. Qing-jao has OCD an refuses to believe that the gods don't exist. Wang Mu is a mutant - super intelligent but naturally without OCD.
Now on Lusitania, Grego Riberia rallies the citizens to destroy a forest that killed his brother. Instead, the mob attacks the near, friendly forest, causing shame for all. Now the inhabitants set for themselves four great tasks: 1) Save Jane. 2) Create a virus that will lobotomize the Descaloda so that the native life will survive but no longer be controlled by it. 3) Invent faster than light travel so the fleet can be stopped. 4) Find a cure for the OCD on Path.
3) is achieved when Grego, in his jail cell, realizes that Jane has the capacity to "think" a spaceship Outside the Universe where thought can create actions and then move it back inside in a different place. An experiment is tried with Ela who hopes to think up the new virus, Miro, a cripple who hopes for a new body, and Ender. Ender is there because he contains Jane's essence which must be present to move the ship. He creates younger versions of his evil brother Peter and his perfect sister Val.
Ela successfully thinks the Recaloda and cures Lusitania. She also finds a cure for Path which Peter brings there. Peter also contains Jane's essence. When he leaves, and takes Wang Mu on a mission to gain control of the 100 planets, and stop the fleet. He also knows that Jane will be brain damaged for a while but will regain her powers.
Although a good read page for page, the book suffers in many areas. It is over long with little plot. Most of the tasks are set in the first third of the book and then nothing happens until the last two chapters. There is endless repetitive talk about life and ethics, covering the same ground over and over again. The ending was very poor. Instead of science, we're given magic and most of the problems are thought away. Worst of all, the initial premise, the destruction of Lusitania by the fleet, is never resolved and left hanging for the next book. I don't mind when some loose ends are left around for the next sequel but this should never happen to the main plot line - especially in a 600 page novel!