Xenocide

Jacket art by John Harris
Jacket design by Carol Russo

By Orson Scott Card

Release Date: August 1991 (First Edition)
August 1992 (First Mass Market Edition)
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Description: Xenocide is the direct sequel to Ender in Exile, although it was originally published as a sequel to Speaker for the Dead. It is proceeded by Children of the Mind.

“On the world Lusitania there are now three sapient races-the Pequeninos, who evolved there; Humans, who came to colonize; and a Hive Queen and her children brought by Ender long years ago. But on Lusitania there is also the descolada, a virus deadly to human beings which would spread like wildfire throughout the Stairways Congress should it ever escape the planet.

The Starways Congress decided that The descolada should be wiped out once and for all, and sent a fleet, armed with a planet-destroying weapon, to do it. A fourth intelligence, loyal to Ender and Lusitania caused that fleet to disappear.

On a distant world called Path live a people whose culture owes much to that of ancient China on Earth. They have evolved a caste known as the godspoken, people of superior intellectual abilities who pay a terrible price for their gifts. The godspoken of Path have given their loyalty and service to the Starways Congress. Among the god spoken is a young girl named, in The language of her people, Gloriously Bright. It is to her that the Starways Congress turn with the mystery of the disappearance of the Lusitania Fleet. There is no doubt that Gloriously Bright will discover the answer to the puzzle. The question is, what will she do with the information?”

Book Length: 608 pages (Tor mass market edition)

Awards and Achievements: Nominee: 1992 Hugo Award
Nominee: 1992 Locus Award (second place)

Reviews: “Orson Scott Card made a strong case for being the best writer science fiction has to offer.”
-The Houston Post

“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 heavy weight… The book combine Card’s quirky style with his hard ethical dilemmas and sharply drown portraits.” -New York Daily News