Empire

by Orson Scott Card

Empire

published	November 27th 2007 by Tor Books
binding	Mass Market Paperback
isbn	0765355221 (isbn13: 9780765355225)
ebook
pages	368
description	The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has co...more [close] The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone. The battle rages between the high-technology weapons on one side, and militia foot-soldiers on the other, devastating the cities, and overrunning the countryside. But the vast majority, who only want the killing to stop, and the nation to return to more peaceful days, have technology, weapons and strategic geniuses of their own. When the American dream shatters into violence, who can hold the people and the government together? And which side will you be on? Orson Scott Card is a master storyteller, who has earned millions of fans and reams of praise for his previous science fiction and fantasy novels. Now he steps a little closer to the present day with this chilling look at a near future scenario of a new American Civil War. [close]
date added	06-18-07 edit book

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 801)

Tony duncan

Tony rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

08/05/08

bookshelves: audio, politics, sci-fi--fantasy

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: politics, military thrillers

Ok, I finished it. there was along afterward by Card, that explains the dangers of polarization and how both the left and the right are guilty of fanaticism, and waht we need are reasonable moderates who are open to each others ideas to bring america back form the potential brink of civil war. he says that those who believe it can;t happen here, are flat out wrong, and points to Rwanda and Yugoslavia as warnings.

theoretically I can't argue with him. this is a book about a civil war that occ...more

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J Dean

J rated it:

12/27/07

bookshelves: politics, sci-fi

Read in December, 2007

I would have given this one five stars were it not for the dialogue and some of the plot aspects. The plot stuff, after reading the Afterword, was probably due to the fact that Card was writing this novel around a video game he was helping a company develop. Which is unfortunate, because it brought too much of a sci-fi twist into what would have been a very scarily plausible story. As to the dialogue, it was a little amateurish in many places. The different characters pontificated on freedom...more I would have given this one five stars were it not for the dialogue and some of the plot aspects. The plot stuff, after reading the Afterword, was probably due to the fact that Card was writing this novel around a video game he was helping a company develop. Which is unfortunate, because it brought too much of a sci-fi twist into what would have been a very scarily plausible story. As to the dialogue, it was a little amateurish in many places. The different characters pontificated on freedom and democracy in a way no real person would. That, and the banter between the characters was also straight out of a college freshman writing class (I would know, I wrote some pretty craptacular dialogue in my freshman writing classes). The other issue was the Special Ops team. We're never introduced to any of them, just a bunch of names are thrown out, and eventually you kind of have an idea who each person is, but no real idea what they look like (except I eventually figured out Cat was a big black guy).

Anyway. . .this is still a good book. Card is a smart guy and very well-read, and this is a great story about a potential future where "red state/blue state" animosity boils over into a civil war replete with the assassination of the president and an attempted coup. He grounds it in enough reality (one of the characters goes on "The O'Reilly Factor", another talks to a reporter at the Washington Post), that there is some semblance of reality here. And it is a chilling potential future. Card posits in the book that the accusations about America being the next Roman empire are off-base, that America in the end is not out to control the world; but he also gives us a chilling warning that we're on the verge of becoming such an empire as we're nearing the end of our "republic phase" and if we're not mindful, we're entering the "dictator phase" a la Augustus Caesar, with a potential dictator waiting in the wings, just waiting for a civil war to break out so that he (or she) can bring the country back together and then cleverly rule it with an iron fist.

As a former far lefty, some of the discussion in the book was uncomfortable for me, a lot of snide comments about liberals and progressives. But Card is actually pretty even-handed. Because what he's warning about is political extremism from either side of the aisle, and as he says in his afterword, the right vs left vitriol that we see today is the worst it's been since the eruption of the Civil War. Card's afterword is pretty right on the money, discussing the fact that in today's political climate, moderates (of which I'm trying to become) are seen as traitors to either side because they're trying to find a middle ground. I don't necessarily agree with all of Card's views (I think he skews a little too conservative and has too much respect for the current Pres for my taste), I'm willing to listen to his viewpoints. And his point is that there's probably a lot of us moderates out there, the "screamers" on both sides are drowning them out, to the detriment of us all.

All in all, a really thought-provoking book. While it's definitely not the best Card book I've read, and is in fact the weakest, it's still highly imaginative, with enough "reality" to make you ponder its wider meaning....less

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Jerk

Jerk rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

08/21/08

bookshelves: i-read-this-on-purpose-

I read this book after hearing a lot of hype about it. I used to be an Orson Scott Card reader when I was young so I really expected a good read from this. I was immediately disappointed. After that, I kinda liked it.

I just finished reading Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer and then went to reading this book by mistake. I say mistake because Empire’s narration is so cold and factual. Nothing is embellished and everything is described at face value. It is easy to miss what is going on because ...more I read this book after hearing a lot of hype about it. I used to be an Orson Scott Card reader when I was young so I really expected a good read from this. I was immediately disappointed. After that, I kinda liked it.

I just finished reading Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer and then went to reading this book by mistake. I say mistake because Empire’s narration is so cold and factual. Nothing is embellished and everything is described at face value. It is easy to miss what is going on because there is little leading up to events and when something surprising happens the author may or may not have your full attention. So at first I had a real problem with the narration of this book.

After I adjusted to the narration this book started to shine a bit. The story really moves fast and there is no nonsense between events. It is so strait forward you almost need to reread some pages to make sure you did not miss anything. The story is actually engaging and pretty good. I hate some suspense military thrillers because there is too much focus on trying to give the reader “the reality of war” which usually equates to silly unheard of lengthy descriptions of violence and meanie-headed-ness (chew on that word for a bit.)

I actually like the balance right up to the point where the story turns into a Contra video game and everyone starts whipping out huge guns from there car and running around in the streets fighting laser shooting robots. There is no warning either, one minute your reading a realistic depiction of the future and then your … not. You really do find yourself in a childish and goofy science fiction novel and scratching your head thinking you were tricked into reading a book you normally wouldn’t.

The book ends great. When I say great, I mean great! Perfect ending, saves the whole book and explains everything. The ending alone makes this book not only a shocker but something with meaning much larger than its self. Worlds and dimensions fall apart and break as the reader smacks against a brick wall of reality at 100 MPH. By the end of the book you put it down and really what the hell kind of a book you just read; military novel? Science fiction? Commentary on our future? No, and example of how scary life is right now. This is a seriously cool book. Open it with no expectations. Open it up expecting to hate it. When your done, you will be thinking beyond the book and appreciate Orson Scott Card documenting his evidence of manipulation of the masses.

Make sure your edition has Card’s commentary at the end.
...less

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Justin

Justin added it (review of isbn 0765316110)

02/08/08

bookshelves: literary-abortions

Liberal, intellectual elites plot to overthrow the American government using an army of mechanized super warriors. No seriously. Here is a quote from chapter two where Card sets the stage with a painfully ham-fisted "example" of American academia.

"Oh, Soldier Boy, you poor lad," said Torrent. "The American idea was thrown out with Social Security. We nailed the coffin shut with group rights. We don't want individual liberty because we don't want individual responsibi...more Liberal, intellectual elites plot to overthrow the American government using an army of mechanized super warriors. No seriously. Here is a quote from chapter two where Card sets the stage with a painfully ham-fisted "example" of American academia.

"Oh, Soldier Boy, you poor lad," said Torrent. "The American idea was thrown out with Social Security. We nailed the coffin shut with group rights. We don't want individual liberty because we don't want individual responsibility. We want somebody else to take care of us. If we had a dictator who did a better job of it than our present system, then as long as he pretended to respect Congress, we'd lick his hands like dogs."

... I would like to know when Orson Scott Card was last in a graduate class. He has some graduate level education, at least according to Wikipedia, so where does he get this idea that American schools are like this? Professors don't give long rambling lectures about political policy, especially in history classes (like the one Card seems to represent in this wonderful excerpt). Oh well, what else should we expect from a Mormon whack job?

"Torrent smiled his maddening superior smile. "The rhetoric today is already as hot-blooded and insane and hate-filled as it was over slavery before the first Civil War -- and even then, most people refused to believe war was possible until Fort Sumter fell."

God I hate you. I hate you so much. Here's a suggestion Orson, if you're going to write about something historical or contemporary try learning about it first. No self-respecting, supposedly widely respected, and well learned, history professor, teaching at Princeton, like Professor Torrent is supposed to be, could ever agree with the quote from Card's book. Political rhetoric today is nowhere near as bad as it was in the 1850s and 60s. Also, to the best of my knowledge, no US Senator has been beaten half to death by a Congressman who disagreed with his views. God damn I hate you so much. Stick to science fiction and stay away from politics....less

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1 comments

Christopher

Christopher rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

08/28/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in August, 2008

recommended to Christopher by: Brother in law
recommends it for: Anyone that wants to hear the political babblings of Card

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

This book came highly recommended to me and I was excited to start tearing through its pages. As I started reading the book I couldn't help but to want to tear up its pages.

The only thing that had any redeeming value in this book was that it was a good idea and that ** SPOILER Orson Scott had the balls to kill off a main character about 2/3 of the way into the book.

The main focus of the book is will America become like the Roman Empire. At what stage are we compared to the Roman Empir...more

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Kyle Brady

Kyle rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

05/07/08

bookshelves: scifi-paranoid, scifi-realistic

Read in May, 2008

Going into this book, I wasn't sure what to expect: the wild success of the Enderverse books, full of action, invention, and characters that you identify with? Or should I expect more of a religious twist like with "Homecoming" books... more ideological without as much action, and characters that are rather flat and dull?

As it turns out, a mix of both. "Empire" is an exciting thriller/action-mystery novel... with flavor that only OSC could give it. References to moder...more

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Marty

Marty rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

02/04/08

bookshelves: school-bookshelf

Read in December, 2007

I must say I was curious about what the result would be when I picked up a thriller by Orson Scott Card. Generally, thrillers have simplistic, cartoonish plots. Orson Scott Card's writing is always brainy and insightful. So what is the hybrid result? A veritable Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reading experience, though to Card's credit, the Dr. Jekyll writing style invariably takes most of the stage of the novel, with only occasional bursts of Mr. Hyde. My least favorite moments were the futuristic wea...more

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Dan

Dan rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

08/15/07

Read in December, 2006

recommends it for: Right wing fanatics, People who like Tom Clancy Op Center books

This is the story of a group of left wing militants who try to take of the US with high tech weaponry.

This book was not very good. Card is a good writer, but this is not his best writing. The characters are static and unbelievable. It reads like a script to an action movie: it is fast paced and there is a lot of action.

Also, this book is fair and balanced like fox news. The left wing extreme in this book holds beliefs that only a s...more

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George

George rated it:

(review of isbn 0792745760)

10/04/07

Read in August, 2007

I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book: although I did not for a long time. It has a definite flavour of being political: although I could not figure out which side he was on. At one point he seemed to be standing against the right, and then it was all against the left. I've always loved Mr. Card's writing, and I was sad for much of it that he was becoming so political... and passionately so, although he seemed to shift back and forth. It was not till nearly at the end that I realized th...more

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Tim

Tim rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

04/02/08

bookshelves: on-my-bookshelf

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Tim by: Orson Scott Card

I have to say that Orson Scott Card has got to be one of the most intelligent authors I have read. He is very sensible and knows how to get to the real issues. I really liked the story of Empire however the way in which this story is told I did not like. I recently attended one of Cards lectures on how he writes and how he comes up with ideas for stories and I found out that he doesn't ever write a second draft. He rewrites his first draft several times because he believes that the actual li...more

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Michael

Michael rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

01/24/08

Read in January, 2008

Orson Scott Card is known for writing fast-paced, innovative science fiction. But there are no rocket ships in this novel, or aliens. Empire is a fictional account of a near future civil war in the United States between the factions normally described as "blue" or "red" states.

Card points out that these factions aren't neatly broken down by state, but are more accurately divided by urban and rural populations. The novel then illustrates how a civil war between the two gr...more

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Elizabeth

Elizabeth rated it:

(review of isbn 1593979800)

12/26/07

Read in December, 2007

I obtained and started listening to this audiobook apparently without every reading anything about it, because in part I was disappointed with the subject matter of this book. It is a contemporary spy novel sort of a watered down Clancy type of thing based on the concept of a civil war between liberals and conservative extremists in the U.S. I found the plot details hoky and unbelievable, and was very bored during the political debate that would take place between the characters. It apparentl...more

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Robyn

Robyn rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

09/07/07

Read in August, 2007

Pretty acceptable for a light summer read, especially since the original idea was plotted based on a first-person shooter video game. If you were going to mount an assault on New York City and Washington, D.C., wouldn't you want to play as the heroes in the war? The problem is that Card creates an environment where you're never sure if you are being led down the red herring path of treachery. Are the heroes, military men Cole and Rube, really the villains? Have they been recruited by the wro...more

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Joel

Joel rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

05/01/08

bookshelves: audiobooks

Read in January, 2007

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mike

Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

01/30/08

bookshelves: fiction-sci-fi

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: Any Card fan, anyone who fears the Neocons

While I didn't like the theme of the book - I find the wars we're involved with extremely disturbing - I had to admire the authors talent in making the story believable.

Reading Card is, for me, like watching Daniel Day Lewis act. Every time I've seen Lewis in a movie he's been acting in the role of a completely different type of character from anything he's done before... he's immersed himself in the character so completely that he is completely convincing, looks 100% natural as that charac...more

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T rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

07/18/08

Read in July, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Patrick

Patrick rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

06/25/08

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Patrick by: Chris
recommends it for: anyone who likes action books, war stories, or political books

My beach reading while on vacation...

I don't think I have ever "read" a car chase before, but I really enjoyed the experience... The book was a very good action novel about a civil war breaking out in the near future between extremists in the Democrat and Republican parties and engulfing the entire country. It is a cautionary story about how dangerously polarized politics in Washington are now (this was an unintentional theme in the reading on my trip), but Card doesn't let that ge...more

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1 comments

Michael

Michael rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

08/19/08

Read in August, 2008

I really don't have a anything especially positive to say about this book. It is adequate, but nothing I would run to my friends to gush over. In fact, a few times I considered putting it down just because I lot interest. When I got to the Afterword, I was glad that I had stuck with it. This book tells the story of a future American Civil War, and in the Afterword Card talks about the current political situation, and how it could possibly lead to war. He is very clear to point out that war ...more

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John

John rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

05/02/07

Read in April, 2007

Empire, by Orson Scott Card, is a fast-moving and believeable vision of a possible future for the United States. In a nation torn between Left and Right-wing radicals, there is the specter of a new Civil War.

As always, Card deftly spins this thriller with accurate and exciting descriptions of both real settings (Washington D.C., Gettysburg, Washington State, New York City), and deep, interesting characters.

This book is a must-read for any fans of Card's previous work. It is action-...more

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Jared

Jared rated it:

(review of isbn 0765316110)

06/11/08

It was recomended that I read this book because it deals with politics. Though this is something I am interested in this book seemed entirely too one sided. It was more a polemic than a novel, and its attempts to be non-baised were far outweighed by the moments of its blatant one sidedness. If you are a strong supporter of the right and think that our patriotic duty is to not question either the president or the military then you would like this book. If, on the other hand, you think that th...more

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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.37 (801 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.42 (79 ratings)
number of reviews: 157

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