Xenocide
by Orson Scott Card
★ Top 10 book of 1991 · #9 on Best Books of 1991
On Lusitania, humans, pequeninos, and the Hive Queen might share a world, but a virus called the descolada threatens everyone. Fearing its spread, the Starways Congress sends a fleet to destroy the planet, making a second xenocide seem likely.
Best for: Science fiction readers who like high-stakes tales of coexistence between species
Xenocide is #9 on BookWard's Best Books of 1991, out of 23 1991 books that cleared our data bar.
What Xenocide is about
The planet Lusitania is a fragile meeting place. Humans, including Ender Wiggin and his family, live alongside the Pequeninos, an alien people, and the Hive Queen, a sentient insect. Their peace rests on an uneasy bargain with the descolada, a virus that kills every human it infects yet is the very thing the Pequeninos need in order to become adults.
Fear of that virus drives the Starways Congress to send a fleet carrying the Molecular Disruption Device, with orders to destroy the whole planet and everyone on it. Far away on Path, a world of genetically engineered people, devotion and mental conditioning shape lives in ways that slowly come to light. Meanwhile the Lusitanians begin to learn how faster-than-light travel works, through a mysterious force called the Outside. Third in the Ender's Game series, the novel asks what it takes for different species to understand one another, and what fear of the unknown can lead a government to do.
Xenocide on the Best Books of 1991
Xenocide came out in 1991. Of the 23 books first published in 1991 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #9 on our Best Books of 1991 list.
Why it made the list: 254 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (97 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 1991 list
- Witches Abroad Terry Pratchett, #7
- Chrysanthemum Kevin Henkes, #8
- Farmer Duck Martin Waddell, #10
- The Sum of All Fears Tom Clancy, #11
See all Best Books of 1991 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1990 Best Books of 1992.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 94 want to read it, 7 are reading it now and 153 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.8 out of 5 from 97 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 70 | 55% |
| Reader love | 17 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 39 | 20% |
Questions about Xenocide
When was Xenocide published?
Xenocide by Orson Scott Card was first published in 1991.
Was Xenocide one of the best books of 1991?
Xenocide is #9 on BookWard's Best Books of 1991, out of 23 1991 books that cleared our data bar. 254 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (97 ratings).
Why is Xenocide on the Best Books of 1991 list?
254 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (97 ratings).
More of the best books of 1991
- Outlander Diana Gabaldon, #1
- Needful Things Stephen King, #2
- American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis, #3
- Shiloh Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, #4
- The Firm John Grisham, #5
- Reaper Man Terry Pratchett, #6
See the full Best Books of 1991, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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