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	<review id="15490433">
    <user id="896936">
    <name><![CDATA[Tim]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[West Jordan, UT]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/896936-tim]]></url>
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      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>5</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Orson Scott Card]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 02 10:35:49 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Feb 15 09:22:00 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 02 10:35:37 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 life of a story is lost by rewriting over and over again.  The problem with this theory is evident in books like Empire.  The only real issue I have with this book is the amount of dialog contained in it.  The characters are consistently talking about the entire plot with a few action sequences thrown in between the dialog.  I think this book would have been so much better if I was shown the clues and allowed to try and figure out what the answers were instead of reading a character who is talking about what he thinks is going on and answers all the mysteries before I even had a chance to figure them out.  Card says in the book that a general can be too smart for his own good and end up giving his enemy too much credit.  I think Card has been too smart for this story and has denied the reader a chance to solve the mysteries. ]]></body>
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