Xenocide – Orson Scott Card (1991)
The third installment in the Ender’s Game saga, Xenocide expands the series’ philosophical and ethical scope as humanity grapples with the existential threat of the descolada virus on the planet Lusitania. Ender Wiggin, now an adult, confronts impossible choices: saving the planet’s native species (the pequeninos) and the hive-mind Buggers risks triggering a galactic genocide by Starways Congress. Meanwhile, on the Chinese-colonized world of Path, a genius with OCD, Han Qing-jao, becomes entangled in the political machinations. Card weaves complex themes of cultural relativism, religious fanaticism, and the morality of survival.
If You Appreciated This, Try:
- Children of the Mind (Card, 1996) – The direct sequel, exploring identity and cosmic transcendence.
- The Sparrow (Mary Doria Russell, 1996) – Another first-contact novel wrestling with faith and unintended consequences.
- Hyperion (Dan Simmons, 1989) – A multi-layered sci-fi epic with similar theological depth.
