Xenocide

I still like the basic story and characters, so I did enjoy this book, but I found myself annoyed at two things. First, the way that all the unsolvable problems were all almost completely solved within the last 100 pages seemed beyond implausible. I am a fan of Star Trek, so I am used to science being stretched beyond the breaking point of plausibility, but that brings me to my second gripe. Card spends an interminable amount of time with characters extensively exploring the philosophy and scientific minutiae that supposedly support the technology developed and used, all the while leaving the scientifically literate reader disappointed. If science can't support something in a story, then don't spend pages and pages and pages trying to justify it, just do it, and make up some brief, magical explanations. Had this been done, the book would likely have come in at a more reasonable 300 pages or so.