The Xenocide Mission [Hardcover]

Ben Jeapes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2002

Space opera is back with a bang!
Lieutenant Joel Gilmore is part of a space observation team who find themselves attacked by the very aliens they are watching. It becomes a race against time for their fellow soldiers to rescue them, but
in doing so, they unlock the shocking secrets of the solar system.

With thrilling action sequences and brilliantly characterized aliens, this science fiction novelist is one to watch–but be careful of the aliens. These are not Star Trek aliens with altered faces, but a glimpse of what really might be out there. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-In this overstuffed but unusually promising debut, Jeapes delivers a space opera worthy of David Brin or early C. J. Cherryh, replete with complex politics; ingeniously different aliens; brutal fire fights; cliff-hangers; and tough, likable characters. When a supposedly secret orbiting surveillance station is attacked by the Kin, a ferocious species that had nuked civilization on their own neighboring planet into oblivion, junior officer Joel Gilmore and his horselike "Rustie" associate Boon Round flee to that "Dead Planet," where several surprises await. Meanwhile, Joel's father, Michael, a recently retired Commodore, and the young man's heartthrob, seasoned Marine Lieutenant Donna McCallum, join a rescue expedition only to wind up falling toward the local sun in a disabled spacecraft with a Doomsday Device aboard. The author has a few kinks to iron out. Joel and Michael wrestle for the role of protagonist, and the human/Rustie backstory is developed in such lovingly complicated detail that it actually takes over the plot. However, by the time Jeapes's principal characters are together and he's sprung one final, stunning revelation, SF/action/adventure fans who also enjoy peering into alien minds will know they're in good hands. Look for this memorable cast to appear in further exploits.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Set in the year 2153, this action-packed military sf novel involves humans teamed up with a race of quadruped servants, the First Breed, who have been genetically altered by an advanced race that has pretty much wiped itself out. Lieutenant Joel Gilmore and Boon Round, a First Breed, are doing maintenance work on surveillance equipment orbiting the SkySpy asteroid when they witness a devastating attack on the asteroid by the very aliens being watched. From there, increasingly savage events unfold from human, First Breed, and alien points of view, providing an intriguing picture of completely different mindsets and cultures. There are some awkward transitions, and readers might wish for a bit more background, but the action is convincing and so fast paced that the result is a real thriller of a story. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: David Fickling Books; First American Edition First Printing edition (May 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385750072
• ISBN-13: 978-0385750073
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,060,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars sometimes great, but sometimes boring, January 2, 2008

By 

Jack (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Xenocide Mission (Mass Market Paperback)

The "Xenocide Mission" by Ben Jeapes is a great book with mystery, suspense, and thrills, but at times, it gets boring. Don't let this discourage you the book is very good and has a very good story and a lot of actions that creates suspense and makes the reader want to continue reading. But the book got a little boring at times when the setting was calm. The thing I liked the best about the book is that it is told in third person point of view and the story was told through three main characters and their thoughts. I thought that it was a very nice story telling device to tell the story through the lives of three characters, and I liked how two of those characters were related and yet so far apart. One was a commander of the alien race known as the Xenocides or "XC". Other than it being boring at times during the story, the book is very readable and has a really decent appeal to grab the reader in. I mostly recommend this to people who love to read science fiction books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great mission, April 17, 2003

By 

Alvaro (Charlotte,NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Xenocide Mission (Hardcover)

"The Xenocide Mission" written by Ben Jeapes. In this book your imagination travels as you read and understand this thrilling and amazing book. This book is about an outer space mission, in which the crew of an asteroid, named SkySpy, have been sent to watch different life beings, whose technologies, and weapons are supreme or beyond than any of the Earth's. These extraterrestrial beings are called "Xenocides", but also known as "XCs". They are rich not only in technology, and weapons, but they are also aggressive to their enemies.
The "Big Scope" is one of the many surveillance equipment items, which goes around the SkySpy asteroid. The SkySpy is a secret base where Lieutenant Joel Gilmore, one of the main characters, works on the maintenance of the SkySpy. He was the first one to see the glowing white spots in the space, and he thought that some military strength laser was attacking them, but in fact the aliens they were supposed to watch were attacking them.
While you read throughout each page the action unfurls, such as battles, fights between the SkySpy crew, they get close to the XCs, and a lot more! Of course, with a peaceful ending.
My recommendations of this book goes to those that like stories of aliens, and outer space missions, mixed with mystery and a lot of action, that brings you not only to a different point of life, but also a different world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick action and a complex plot, August 9, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Xenocide Mission (Hardcover)

The Xenocide Mission appears under a Random House young adult trademark but its complexity will lend to its enjoyment by many an adult science fiction reader, as well. Joel is part of a space observation team that is attacked by the aliens they are observing. Trapped and awaiting rescue, they find fresh, new and dangerous insights on the aliens they had investigated previously from outside. Quick action and a complex plot makes The Xenocide Mission recommended for older young adults into adults.