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Empire #2
Hidden Empire
The war of words between right and left collapsed into a shooting war, and raged between the high-technology weapons on each side, devastating cities and overrunning the countryside. At the close of Empire , political scientist and government adviser Averell Torrent had maneuvered himself into the presidency of the United States. And now that he has complete power at home, he plans to expand American imperial power around the world. Opportunity comes quickly. There's a deadly new plague in Africa, and it is devastating the countryside and cities. President Torrent declares American solidarity with the victims, but places all of Africa in quarantine until a vaccine is found or the disease burns itself out. And he sends Captain Bartholomew Coleman, Cole to his friends, to run the relief operations and protect the American scientists working on identifying the virus. If Cole and his team can avoid dying of the plague, or being cut down by the weapons of fearful African nations, they might do some good. Or they might be out of the way for good.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 2009
71 people are currently reading
1838 people want to read
About the author
Orson Scott Card
910 books20.5k followersOrson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 353 reviews
May 9, 2010
The label on the spine says "SCIENCE FICTION", but "FANTASY" would have been more accurate. "RIGHT-WING FANTASY" would have been the most accurate of all.
Global warming is a lie, and even liberals know it in their heart of hearts. Guantanamo is relatively "nice". Progressives conspired against America, and were roundly defeated by patriotic red-state forces. Fox News is the only channel that even occasionally tells the truth. A Rush Limbaugh analog is a brave, noble, and lovable hero.
Three thoughts went through my head as I read this:
First, that George W. Bush could have written the whole thing. I knew that Card had been getting more and more right-wing over the years, but this surprised even me.
Second, that with each page I found myself disliking Card more and more. Your mileage may differ, but I found his opinions really offensive. He really seems quite proud of his bigoted opinions; that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has read any of his homophobic and religiously-biased articles.
Third, whatever storytelling talent Card had has long since been replaced with a dumbed-down writing style and an urge to grab the microphone and preach the True Faith. He's really gotten himself into a rut; he seems utterly dependent on overly-precious banter between precocious kids and their parent(s), alternating with warmed-over right-wing political philosophy and rather limp and confused action scenes.
There's a worldwide epidemic and African warfare thread which is slightly less tedious than the rest of the book, but it certainly doesn't make up for the rest of it. The whole thing rather reminded me of the Left Behind series, and that's a memory I would rather not have dredged up.
It's funny; he was able to write well, once upon a time. It's hard to believe that this book is by the same guy who wrote Songmaster.
Avoid!
Global warming is a lie, and even liberals know it in their heart of hearts. Guantanamo is relatively "nice". Progressives conspired against America, and were roundly defeated by patriotic red-state forces. Fox News is the only channel that even occasionally tells the truth. A Rush Limbaugh analog is a brave, noble, and lovable hero.
Three thoughts went through my head as I read this:
First, that George W. Bush could have written the whole thing. I knew that Card had been getting more and more right-wing over the years, but this surprised even me.
Second, that with each page I found myself disliking Card more and more. Your mileage may differ, but I found his opinions really offensive. He really seems quite proud of his bigoted opinions; that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has read any of his homophobic and religiously-biased articles.
Third, whatever storytelling talent Card had has long since been replaced with a dumbed-down writing style and an urge to grab the microphone and preach the True Faith. He's really gotten himself into a rut; he seems utterly dependent on overly-precious banter between precocious kids and their parent(s), alternating with warmed-over right-wing political philosophy and rather limp and confused action scenes.
There's a worldwide epidemic and African warfare thread which is slightly less tedious than the rest of the book, but it certainly doesn't make up for the rest of it. The whole thing rather reminded me of the Left Behind series, and that's a memory I would rather not have dredged up.
It's funny; he was able to write well, once upon a time. It's hard to believe that this book is by the same guy who wrote Songmaster.
Avoid!
January 12, 2021
Tell me if you heard this one. A virus appears from a wild animal population, spread by sneezing, aerosolized, lingers on surfaces and spreads easily to others while they wear masks, gloves--thinking those measures would protect. The PPE doesn't protect, the virus spreads aggressively. In this story, the virus comes from an unsurprising place, African monkeys. It is discovered early as it rapidly kills 50% of those infected by blood to blood contact, while about 30% of those infected by the airborne version die more slowly. The American president leads a quarantine of the African continent to contain the virus. At the heart of the story is a small group of Special Forces soldiers and the family of a fallen former leader of the group.
Overall, Card has some interesting technology mixed into a potentially interesting plot. I liked the characters and overall story-line. I thought he went overboard with the Christian aspects. He was making a great point but repeated it over and over. I have no problem with his conservative outlook, I knew that is where he was coming from. Thought he was a bit one-sided but no problem. The ending was very disjointed although hinted at throughout the book. Didn't like it.
Still, entertaining and worth at least 3 Stars
Overall, Card has some interesting technology mixed into a potentially interesting plot. I liked the characters and overall story-line. I thought he went overboard with the Christian aspects. He was making a great point but repeated it over and over. I have no problem with his conservative outlook, I knew that is where he was coming from. Thought he was a bit one-sided but no problem. The ending was very disjointed although hinted at throughout the book. Didn't like it.
Still, entertaining and worth at least 3 Stars
October 22, 2014
I really enjoyed this continuation several years after the first book. I'd suggest reading the other book first, but you don't have to. Card did fill in just enough that you wouldn't be lost, but he didn't recap in detail, thankfully. This short (only these 2 books so far) series is based on a concept that was being developed for a video game (now on Xbox, although with a different name) & comics. Card just took the basic idea & developed these novels. As usual, his afterword (which he read) was excellent.
Interesting characters & problems, much drawn from history which made it even better. The idea of religion as a way of life which was more successful than what it displaced. The story was quicker & less complicated than the first one which laid everything out & concentrated on a civil war in the US. Card isn't easy on his characters again.
Very well read by both Card & the other guy (Rudnicki?). Card did just the beginning of every chapter which were thoughts by his fictional president. They were truish enough to make me think. I really liked the beginning of chapter 8:
People know many things and half of them are wrong. If only we knew which half, we'd have reason to be proud of our intelligence.
What is knowledge? A belief that is shared by all the respectable people in the community whether there is any real evidence for it or not.
What is faith? A belief that we hold so strongly that we act as if it is true even though we know there are many who do not believe it.
What is opinion? A belief that we expect other people to argue with.
What is scientific fact? An oxymoron. Science does not deal in facts, it deals in hypothesis which are never fully & finally correct.
No, not high philosophy, but definitely points to ponder & they were well done in the context of the story. Worth reading & highly recommended.
Interesting characters & problems, much drawn from history which made it even better. The idea of religion as a way of life which was more successful than what it displaced. The story was quicker & less complicated than the first one which laid everything out & concentrated on a civil war in the US. Card isn't easy on his characters again.
Very well read by both Card & the other guy (Rudnicki?). Card did just the beginning of every chapter which were thoughts by his fictional president. They were truish enough to make me think. I really liked the beginning of chapter 8:
People know many things and half of them are wrong. If only we knew which half, we'd have reason to be proud of our intelligence.
What is knowledge? A belief that is shared by all the respectable people in the community whether there is any real evidence for it or not.
What is faith? A belief that we hold so strongly that we act as if it is true even though we know there are many who do not believe it.
What is opinion? A belief that we expect other people to argue with.
What is scientific fact? An oxymoron. Science does not deal in facts, it deals in hypothesis which are never fully & finally correct.
No, not high philosophy, but definitely points to ponder & they were well done in the context of the story. Worth reading & highly recommended.
November 28, 2023
Tonight's edition of "I Read Them So You Don't Have To": Hidden Empire, Orson Scott Card.
Card is a serviceable storyteller, as seen by earlier books, but if you read his Worldwatch columns, this is pretty much the fictionalized version of those, topped with a liberal dose of what my SO calls Risk fanfic. If you're a Card purist or can stand the occasional diversions into politics and religion that mark current Card books, go ahead and read. Otherwise, probably it's best to avoid, for your blood pressure, if nothing else.
The postulate for this series of books is that comparing the US to the Roman Empire is an incorrect metaphor, and that we should be comparing ourselves to the Republic. So Card has set out to write a series of books that transitions the US to an empire much like the Roman Republic gave way to the Roman Empire. I'm not entirely sure this is working, as it relies too heavily on a near-omniscient character occupying the Presidency and our main characters all seem just a bit too competent as well. It does occasionally grate.
I also thought it was awfully convenient that the bad guys, other than the implacable plague spreading across Africa, were all Muslims. The outright degeneration of an entire religion is something that I thought Card, as a Mormon, would understand, but it's not entirely inconsistent with the above Worldwatch columns.
Will I read the next book in the series? Well, besides the fact that I Read Them So You Don't Have To, I care enough about the characters to find out what happens to them. However, the geopolitics are somewhat simple and the politics...yeah. Thus, unless you're a Card completest, I'd recommend not reading this book.
Card is a serviceable storyteller, as seen by earlier books, but if you read his Worldwatch columns, this is pretty much the fictionalized version of those, topped with a liberal dose of what my SO calls Risk fanfic. If you're a Card purist or can stand the occasional diversions into politics and religion that mark current Card books, go ahead and read. Otherwise, probably it's best to avoid, for your blood pressure, if nothing else.
The postulate for this series of books is that comparing the US to the Roman Empire is an incorrect metaphor, and that we should be comparing ourselves to the Republic. So Card has set out to write a series of books that transitions the US to an empire much like the Roman Republic gave way to the Roman Empire. I'm not entirely sure this is working, as it relies too heavily on a near-omniscient character occupying the Presidency and our main characters all seem just a bit too competent as well. It does occasionally grate.
I also thought it was awfully convenient that the bad guys, other than the implacable plague spreading across Africa, were all Muslims. The outright degeneration of an entire religion is something that I thought Card, as a Mormon, would understand, but it's not entirely inconsistent with the above Worldwatch columns.
Will I read the next book in the series? Well, besides the fact that I Read Them So You Don't Have To, I care enough about the characters to find out what happens to them. However, the geopolitics are somewhat simple and the politics...yeah. Thus, unless you're a Card completest, I'd recommend not reading this book.
May 23, 2019
So, yeah, this book is a thing.
I read the original Empire book because it was a tie-in to SHADOW COMPLEX, which was a side-scrolling game about fighting a bunch of American reactionaries planning on bombing San Fransisco. Of course, Orson Scott Card chose to write these individuals up as a bunch of extremist liberals. It's impossible to discuss the plotline of this book without mentioning the premise of the first book so let the SPOILER-averse beware.
Basically, a history professor arranged for the assassination of George W. Bush (unnamed but described) and Dick Cheney. He then caused New York to be conquered by extremist liberals who the people of New York City sided with. It was all bankrolled by a George Soros stand-in who was tired of all those noble Republicans and their love of freedom. One of our two heroes was killed and his best buddy successfully captured Soros. The history professor proceeded to become elected with 100% of the electoral college.
The history professor, Averell Torrent, believed that democracies are destined to die and the only way for America to survive is for it to transition into a global empire akin to Imperial Rome. Now what is the twist here? Averell Torrent is NOT the bad guy. No, instead, he is the secondary protagonist of the series who is a necessary evil for the survival of America.
Oh boy.
The rest of the book is how a bunch of Christian missionaries go to Africa to deal with a massive plague of super-cholera (because no one in Africa has ever dealt with that before) and converts all the black folk to Christianity, especially when contrasted to the evil Muslims who are executing all of the local Christians as well as animist followers. Speaking as someone who has done missionary work and is proud of the efforts done, this is every bit as condescending and racist as it sounds.
At one point the SEAL team protagonists infect themselves with super-cholera to make sure they're immune. They also have a fight over whether to assassinate Avrell Torrent for murdering their friend as well as the previous president. The bad guys are the one who want to bring him to justice.
I know Orson Scott Card has some...issues...but what the hell?
I read the original Empire book because it was a tie-in to SHADOW COMPLEX, which was a side-scrolling game about fighting a bunch of American reactionaries planning on bombing San Fransisco. Of course, Orson Scott Card chose to write these individuals up as a bunch of extremist liberals. It's impossible to discuss the plotline of this book without mentioning the premise of the first book so let the SPOILER-averse beware.
Basically, a history professor arranged for the assassination of George W. Bush (unnamed but described) and Dick Cheney. He then caused New York to be conquered by extremist liberals who the people of New York City sided with. It was all bankrolled by a George Soros stand-in who was tired of all those noble Republicans and their love of freedom. One of our two heroes was killed and his best buddy successfully captured Soros. The history professor proceeded to become elected with 100% of the electoral college.
The history professor, Averell Torrent, believed that democracies are destined to die and the only way for America to survive is for it to transition into a global empire akin to Imperial Rome. Now what is the twist here? Averell Torrent is NOT the bad guy. No, instead, he is the secondary protagonist of the series who is a necessary evil for the survival of America.
Oh boy.
The rest of the book is how a bunch of Christian missionaries go to Africa to deal with a massive plague of super-cholera (because no one in Africa has ever dealt with that before) and converts all the black folk to Christianity, especially when contrasted to the evil Muslims who are executing all of the local Christians as well as animist followers. Speaking as someone who has done missionary work and is proud of the efforts done, this is every bit as condescending and racist as it sounds.
At one point the SEAL team protagonists infect themselves with super-cholera to make sure they're immune. They also have a fight over whether to assassinate Avrell Torrent for murdering their friend as well as the previous president. The bad guys are the one who want to bring him to justice.
I know Orson Scott Card has some...issues...but what the hell?
December 9, 2012
I read this book because I read the first in the series (Empire) and I thought that surely the second would redeem some of the atrocities of the first.
I was wrong.
The series can be summed up thus:
Military = Conservatives = Good guys
Intellectuals = Liberals = SATAN
The characters are two-dimensional to the point of sometimes being silly and the action is pretty far-fetched and full of coincidences that just don't happen in real life.
The characters in both books watch only Fox News because "it's the most truthful." Now, no matter what your political stance you'd have to be really dim not to notice that a lot of what passes for news on Fox is actually commentary and spin. No different than those "liberal" guys.
I managed to forgive that, though, because the characters are all military or ex-military or somehow connected to the military which might explain their views. (I say "might" because I know plenty of military folks who would disagree, but whatever.)
In the second book, the main character is a housewife who just loves to cook and bake for her family. She is also an advisor to the President of the United States. In one scene she is literally baking cookies for her family when the President sends a helicopter to pick her up from her suburban ranch home because OMG, HE NEEDS HER ADVICE RIGHT THAT MINUTE. It was so absurd that I couldn't stop laughing.
That being said I think these two books would be perfect for a 13-year-old boy with a military fetish and limited world experience.
I was wrong.
The series can be summed up thus:
Military = Conservatives = Good guys
Intellectuals = Liberals = SATAN
The characters are two-dimensional to the point of sometimes being silly and the action is pretty far-fetched and full of coincidences that just don't happen in real life.
The characters in both books watch only Fox News because "it's the most truthful." Now, no matter what your political stance you'd have to be really dim not to notice that a lot of what passes for news on Fox is actually commentary and spin. No different than those "liberal" guys.
I managed to forgive that, though, because the characters are all military or ex-military or somehow connected to the military which might explain their views. (I say "might" because I know plenty of military folks who would disagree, but whatever.)
In the second book, the main character is a housewife who just loves to cook and bake for her family. She is also an advisor to the President of the United States. In one scene she is literally baking cookies for her family when the President sends a helicopter to pick her up from her suburban ranch home because OMG, HE NEEDS HER ADVICE RIGHT THAT MINUTE. It was so absurd that I couldn't stop laughing.
That being said I think these two books would be perfect for a 13-year-old boy with a military fetish and limited world experience.
October 21, 2010
These Empire books strain my admiration for Card. He does a poor job of being balanced and presenting a truly even view of opposing world views. His clear disdain for climate change theories slips in regularly, as does his stereotyped view of liberals as just Marxists who are too stupid to know they are Marxists. Given the humane and loving views that underpin and add richness to the best of the Ender novels, this limited view of those who disagree with him politically is disturbing and a big disappointment.Views that do surface in the ender's universe books, which is why I've never loved them either. Yep, I am a liberal-not a progressive-a real old fashioned sixties liberal. And yep, I am very smart and very well informed and very very much a patriot. And I'm not a Marxist, and I AM smart enough to know the difference. How I wish Mr. Card was as able to tell the difference.
PS- I could not read these books in print form- my head felt like exploding. The audio version is so well done I was able to experience the books and form an opinion of them, I think, fairly. They won't change my love for Ender and Speaker, but may make me cautious about picking up the next Card book.
PS- I could not read these books in print form- my head felt like exploding. The audio version is so well done I was able to experience the books and form an opinion of them, I think, fairly. They won't change my love for Ender and Speaker, but may make me cautious about picking up the next Card book.
January 30, 2010
In some ways I sort of feel sorry for Orson Scott Card. He went through a period of genious as a relatively young man when he wrote Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, and it has been all downhill from there. I still like the science fiction that he writes and I still try to read everything else he writes but his new stuff just doesn't have the originality that used to define his writing. It feels like he pumps out a book when he needs money.
Read
June 27, 2011To be honest, I'm not sure why I even read this book--I knew going into it it would just annoy me. Some ongoing inability to let go of Ender's shade, I suppose. Whither the Card of yore?
Well, the last book set us up with a rebellion from the evil liberals led by George Soros (ok yes, Card made up some other name for him, but I've forgotten it). In this one, Fox News is still the only honest news channel, but the focus has moved from evil liberals to evil Muslims.
A pandemic is sweeping Africa, and America enforces a quarantine. This enables evil Muslims to commit human rights violations on people they don't like, and so America sends in troops despite the quarantine. Meanwhile, back in America, Christians are protesting the quarantine because they want to go over and heal the sick or whatever. So the President lets them go, but wait! Now the evil Muslims are coming after them too! Luckily, Glenn Beck comes to Africa to keep their spirits up.
I wish I was making this up.
I gave this book two stars instead of one because Card can still make me care about characters even while I'm making vomiting noises at his blatant politicizing.
Well, the last book set us up with a rebellion from the evil liberals led by George Soros (ok yes, Card made up some other name for him, but I've forgotten it). In this one, Fox News is still the only honest news channel, but the focus has moved from evil liberals to evil Muslims.
A pandemic is sweeping Africa, and America enforces a quarantine. This enables evil Muslims to commit human rights violations on people they don't like, and so America sends in troops despite the quarantine. Meanwhile, back in America, Christians are protesting the quarantine because they want to go over and heal the sick or whatever. So the President lets them go, but wait! Now the evil Muslims are coming after them too! Luckily, Glenn Beck comes to Africa to keep their spirits up.
I wish I was making this up.
I gave this book two stars instead of one because Card can still make me care about characters even while I'm making vomiting noises at his blatant politicizing.
April 1, 2010
Hidden Empire, aka, OSC Takes Writing Lessons from Dan Brown. And also, the movie Outbreak.
I shall sum-up this book in one sentence: "Do the ends justify the means?" That's the entire point of this book.
The idea for the story was ok, but the execution was bland at best, and often ventured into horrible territory. Having the benefit of reading this on my Kindle, I highlighted passages whenever they jolted me out of the book, and I've noted the main ones below.
1. So-and-so said and other repetitious phrases
2. The protagonists were so overly 'Christian' that every other sentence was "what would God want me to do". This was compounded by poor humor that made me pity them.
Really? That's laugh-worthy?
3. Poor sentence structure/grammar/conversion to ebook:
4. Really poor transitions. For example, at one point:
...and it takes 4 pages for us to find out that Cecily wasn't magically transported to the middle of a hurricane (I was admittedly confused for several of those pages), and she was just dreaming.
5. Utter fucking lameness
6. Too much leading the reader (aka Dan Brown syndrome)
There's also a major plot-point that makes up the ending that is simply handed to the reader in the second chapter. I will not spoil it here in case you haven't read it, but give me a fucking break.
7. Inappropriate levity
8. Failed continuity
Rusty is a radio personality, but he "remembered" what the top-secret exoskeletons were called??? The main badass solider, Coleman, didn't even know about them!
I shall sum-up this book in one sentence: "Do the ends justify the means?" That's the entire point of this book.
The idea for the story was ok, but the execution was bland at best, and often ventured into horrible territory. Having the benefit of reading this on my Kindle, I highlighted passages whenever they jolted me out of the book, and I've noted the main ones below.
1. So-and-so said and other repetitious phrases
“I know what Jesus would do,” SAID Annie. “No you don’t,” SAID Lettie. “Absolutely I do too,” SAID Annie. “He always healed the sick.” “Because he could,” SAID Lettie. “He could do miracles.” “Our scientists are working as fast as they can on a vaccine and a cure,” SAID Cecily. “And meanwhile we’re telling Africans to take a couple of Advils and call us in the morning?” SAID Lettie
“I don’t know about that,” said Cole.(The lead-in to two paragraphs, one immediately after the other.)
2. The protagonists were so overly 'Christian' that every other sentence was "what would God want me to do". This was compounded by poor humor that made me pity them.
They followed her up the stairs naming even-more-disgusting Jell-O flavors; Cecily didn’t have the heart to tell them that some of them were real, at least according to stories about church suppers from her Protestant friends. Like carrots in orange Jell-O. And minimarshmallows in lime. But Lettie topped them all with her suggestion of “athlete’s foot in licorice Jell-O.” Cecily was laughing in spite of herself as she closed the door and locked it.
Really? That's laugh-worthy?
3. Poor sentence structure/grammar/conversion to ebook:
There was no mention of Cole’s presence and certainly without anyone speaking to him.
The foliage didn’t know it was supposed to get out of the way, and it had a nasty habit of hiding awkward geo graph i cal features.
...it would feel like anticlimax.
“Well, Cole, by your standard, your worse off than I am, since you don’t have any part of that.”
4. Really poor transitions. For example, at one point:
All the people living in those places were steeling themselves for the possibility of evacuation, devastation, rebuilding. Cecily saw herself in a hurricane. Rushing with her minivan full of children, trying to get out of town as the storm surge battered against the coast. In the passenger seat, Nick was shouting.
...and it takes 4 pages for us to find out that Cecily wasn't magically transported to the middle of a hurricane (I was admittedly confused for several of those pages), and she was just dreaming.
5. Utter fucking lameness
It was just a dream. But it felt like so much more than a dream. It felt like an answer. It felt to her as if she had been given this dream to make things clear to her.
6. Too much leading the reader (aka Dan Brown syndrome)
Or maybe she was supposed to learn from it that the hurricane strikes where it will, and when it will, and to spend your life trying to keep your kids away from the hurricane won’t work. The hurricane will find them. They’ll plunge right into it. All you can do is prepare them to be brave and good and make the best of whatever comes to them.
There's also a major plot-point that makes up the ending that is simply handed to the reader in the second chapter. I will not spoil it here in case you haven't read it, but give me a fucking break.
7. Inappropriate levity
Chinma stood up, turned his back, and raised up his shirt. He knew what they would see, because other nonfavorite children in his family bore similar scars, though perhaps he had the most. Lettie said nothing at all. Chinma lowered his shirt and turned back to face her. “I didn’t know,” said Lettie quietly. “I’m sorry.” “Good heavens,” said Aunt Margaret. “The child has a spark of empathy after all. Come, Chinma. Let’s get you packed.”
8. Failed continuity
Rusty had a horrible image of a man with all his bones removed, before he remembered that “Bones” was the unofficial nickname soldiers were giving the exoskeletons that were being prototyped. He had vaguely understood that they were being tested in Africa, but he had some idea of them being experimental. [...:]
As soon as it was engaged with the Bones, Coleman started clicking and smacking his lips—commands to the helmet and exoskeleton, Rusty knew from what he’d seen and read before.
Rusty is a radio personality, but he "remembered" what the top-secret exoskeletons were called??? The main badass solider, Coleman, didn't even know about them!
April 26, 2021
This is bad...awful....terrible. If you were wondering what a NCIS LA episode written from the perspective of Pat Robertson mixed with no dimensional characters and tie-ins to a video game and movie, then you have found your book. I did not read the opening book in this series but if this one is any indication, I have not missed much. From the blurb I was expecting a taut political thriller that delved into machinations of a pragmatic president. Instead, what was received was a pile of dogmatic bullshit told from a preachy pulpit. Why does anything happen in this book? Why did I read over 330 pages of rubbish? It was God's will.
I can forgive plenty when reading fantasy even if it is masquerading as a potential real-life scenario but not having character development or even a likeable character is a bridge too far. The main protagonist, Cecily is a widowed presidential advisor who is living in domestic tranquility with her five children. Her son Mark, is the catalyst for the action of the story which revolves around going to a continent (Africa) that is being ravaged by a new monkey virus called the nictovirus. Mark feels compelled to go here, because of something he read about Christians in the time of Ancient Rome. Which great, he is an idealistic youth who has his whole life to enhance humanity. But no, he is so consumed by religious fervor that he must go to this deadly plague-stricken continent to care for the sick natives. This condescending attitude towards Africa, is yet another thing that grinds my gears about this book. Though not as blatant as Kipling's "White Man's Burden" this mentality about other cultures is pervasive throughout. Woe is me if only the backwards world will allow the superior Western world to rule like the halcyon days of yore.
Another character who you are supposed to emphasize with but who I did not give a shit about was Bartholomew Coleman AKA Cole. This quintessential soldier is the leader of an elite force that is working with futuristic devices that are called Bones and act similar to an Iron Man outfit. Despite, the whole continent of Africa being put under quarantine, this elite force is in Nigeria trying to save the southern Christian part from being "ethnically cleansed" by the Muslim baddies in the north. An offshoot of the story is that baddies in the Central African Republic and Muslim baddies in Sudan have somehow acquired a handheld EMP device making the Bones irrelevant. Along with this is some sort of conspiracy about the pragmatic and sensible American President Averell Torrent trying to turn the United States into some sort of empire on par with the Roman Empire. He is desperately trying to inaugurate a Pax Americana that will further American and his own power.
So, lets see you have a mother who is desperately trying to make her kids orphans by giving in to her 13 year old sons' religious whims, you have a president who may or may not be subverting the Constitution and is using world events for some sort of 5D chess scenario to further his goals, a super soldier who is unsure of his units loyalties and a likely to be global pandemic. For good measure there is also a radio personality named Rusty Trombone or something equally stupid who is a stand-in for Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity who even with self-deprecation comes across as patronizing. There is also the liberal terrorist and founder of the Progressive Upheaval, Aldo Verus who is the mastermind behind sophisticated technology and also a grand manipulator. Cause there is nothing Hippie Leftists like to do more than band together to fight the U.S. government with superior weaponry. All those progressive insurrections, you hear about on the news all the time.
After all this malarkey, you would hope for some sort of payoff. Sorry, but not in this putrid book. The one redeemable aspect is this was the final book of the series. Sadly, those who need to get their bigoted, myopic binary worldview will have to turn to other avenues. Those who enjoy prepubescent kids bantering like they are on the show The West Wing will have to look elsewhere. Those who love the word jeesh and think it is a clever way to refer to an army unit will need to read an exciting wartime book. Lastly, for fans of Orson Scott Card, there is the far superior, Ender's Game which while taking place in outer space is still a lot more grounded in reality than this wet sack of excrement.
I can forgive plenty when reading fantasy even if it is masquerading as a potential real-life scenario but not having character development or even a likeable character is a bridge too far. The main protagonist, Cecily is a widowed presidential advisor who is living in domestic tranquility with her five children. Her son Mark, is the catalyst for the action of the story which revolves around going to a continent (Africa) that is being ravaged by a new monkey virus called the nictovirus. Mark feels compelled to go here, because of something he read about Christians in the time of Ancient Rome. Which great, he is an idealistic youth who has his whole life to enhance humanity. But no, he is so consumed by religious fervor that he must go to this deadly plague-stricken continent to care for the sick natives. This condescending attitude towards Africa, is yet another thing that grinds my gears about this book. Though not as blatant as Kipling's "White Man's Burden" this mentality about other cultures is pervasive throughout. Woe is me if only the backwards world will allow the superior Western world to rule like the halcyon days of yore.
Another character who you are supposed to emphasize with but who I did not give a shit about was Bartholomew Coleman AKA Cole. This quintessential soldier is the leader of an elite force that is working with futuristic devices that are called Bones and act similar to an Iron Man outfit. Despite, the whole continent of Africa being put under quarantine, this elite force is in Nigeria trying to save the southern Christian part from being "ethnically cleansed" by the Muslim baddies in the north. An offshoot of the story is that baddies in the Central African Republic and Muslim baddies in Sudan have somehow acquired a handheld EMP device making the Bones irrelevant. Along with this is some sort of conspiracy about the pragmatic and sensible American President Averell Torrent trying to turn the United States into some sort of empire on par with the Roman Empire. He is desperately trying to inaugurate a Pax Americana that will further American and his own power.
So, lets see you have a mother who is desperately trying to make her kids orphans by giving in to her 13 year old sons' religious whims, you have a president who may or may not be subverting the Constitution and is using world events for some sort of 5D chess scenario to further his goals, a super soldier who is unsure of his units loyalties and a likely to be global pandemic. For good measure there is also a radio personality named Rusty Trombone or something equally stupid who is a stand-in for Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity who even with self-deprecation comes across as patronizing. There is also the liberal terrorist and founder of the Progressive Upheaval, Aldo Verus who is the mastermind behind sophisticated technology and also a grand manipulator. Cause there is nothing Hippie Leftists like to do more than band together to fight the U.S. government with superior weaponry. All those progressive insurrections, you hear about on the news all the time.
After all this malarkey, you would hope for some sort of payoff. Sorry, but not in this putrid book. The one redeemable aspect is this was the final book of the series. Sadly, those who need to get their bigoted, myopic binary worldview will have to turn to other avenues. Those who enjoy prepubescent kids bantering like they are on the show The West Wing will have to look elsewhere. Those who love the word jeesh and think it is a clever way to refer to an army unit will need to read an exciting wartime book. Lastly, for fans of Orson Scott Card, there is the far superior, Ender's Game which while taking place in outer space is still a lot more grounded in reality than this wet sack of excrement.
May 26, 2010
I didn't want to give him a 4 for this book because I disagree with so many statements within the book. And definitely with the choices Cole made at the end. He even questions himself "What if I watch Torrent and find out that they were right after all, and I wrong? That sometimes a ruler needs to be killed to save the people? That democracy is more important than peace after all?" (Mainly because that statement assumes you can't have both peace and democracy at the same time, which I completely disagree with!)
I do agree with the statement "They really thought they were good guys." Because so often that is what it comes down too--trying to determine who is a good guy and who isn't....Cole chose a different way then I would have.
I did enjoy the characters and all the action! I loved how they analyzed about why Rome survived as long as it did. It was interesting to see how Card writes about current events.
Oh, and I never read the first one in the series...but I think this one stands on its own feet.
I do agree with the statement "They really thought they were good guys." Because so often that is what it comes down too--trying to determine who is a good guy and who isn't....Cole chose a different way then I would have.
I did enjoy the characters and all the action! I loved how they analyzed about why Rome survived as long as it did. It was interesting to see how Card writes about current events.
Oh, and I never read the first one in the series...but I think this one stands on its own feet.
July 29, 2010
This book actually made me cry, and I honestly cannot remember the last book that managed that feat. :}
It's about a lot more than politics, cool futuristic military tech, or conspiracy theory: it's about whether or not Christianity actually means something more than Mass on Sunday and a few prayers during the week if you feel you need them. It asks disturbing questions about what you'll risk for your faith. Ridicule? Family relationships? Your very life?
And, of course, the characters are compelling, the smart-sarcastic dialog fun, and the plot interesting. The "Torrent" quotes at the beginning of the chapters are also thought provoking. A notable achievement for a sequel in a series that began life as a video game / movie tie-in! It has my definite recommendation, but do make sure you've read the first in the series, Empire, beforehand or you won't know why you should care about Torrent, Cessy, Cole, and the rest.
It's about a lot more than politics, cool futuristic military tech, or conspiracy theory: it's about whether or not Christianity actually means something more than Mass on Sunday and a few prayers during the week if you feel you need them. It asks disturbing questions about what you'll risk for your faith. Ridicule? Family relationships? Your very life?
And, of course, the characters are compelling, the smart-sarcastic dialog fun, and the plot interesting. The "Torrent" quotes at the beginning of the chapters are also thought provoking. A notable achievement for a sequel in a series that began life as a video game / movie tie-in! It has my definite recommendation, but do make sure you've read the first in the series, Empire, beforehand or you won't know why you should care about Torrent, Cessy, Cole, and the rest.
January 11, 2010
Um... I really, ridiculously loved this book! That said, I also really like Orson Scott Card... so that probably colors my review! Anyway, I liked this one even better than the first one (maybe because I couldn't remember all of it?), though I realize it's never going to make most people's "must read" list. I giggled, I gasped, and I cried as I read (typically not at the same time), and as soon as I put it down I wanted to read it again. Yes, I know I'm gushing, which means I probably should've waited a few days to write this!:-)
September 9, 2020
If you want to read about God, American Patriotism, How Conservatism and Fox news are great, Superheroe Solders, Virus , bad Muslims, poor and very "uncivilized" african boy - this is your book. Boring and predictable final.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2012
I enjoyed this book… I wish that I knew that it was the second in a series before I started reading it. Now I will have to go back and read the first one sometime.
I was amazed at how nice and neat Card writes; all of his chapters were usually on subject/one scene. I’m more used to books that are all over the place and have me backtracking to keep on subject. After the first three or four chapters I was wondering how he was going to fit the rest of the story in the book. But, it was very easy to follow and still kept my attention.
I’m a little dismayed with some of his other reviews… Yes his political beliefs are obvious, perhaps he could have made them a little more metaphoric, like Swift in Gulliver’s Travels, but what does one expect from a political thriller. The President in any political thriller is going to be of one party or the other. It’s sad that we have become so polarized that we take a fictional President and his fictional agenda as a threat to our real political beliefs.
All writers, even my favorite Alistair MacLean, went, or go through phases in their life that tend to shape their writing and consequently have an effect on other people.
I still liked this book, and believe that I will read other Card books in the future... and I still have to read that darn first one... "Empire."
I was amazed at how nice and neat Card writes; all of his chapters were usually on subject/one scene. I’m more used to books that are all over the place and have me backtracking to keep on subject. After the first three or four chapters I was wondering how he was going to fit the rest of the story in the book. But, it was very easy to follow and still kept my attention.
I’m a little dismayed with some of his other reviews… Yes his political beliefs are obvious, perhaps he could have made them a little more metaphoric, like Swift in Gulliver’s Travels, but what does one expect from a political thriller. The President in any political thriller is going to be of one party or the other. It’s sad that we have become so polarized that we take a fictional President and his fictional agenda as a threat to our real political beliefs.
All writers, even my favorite Alistair MacLean, went, or go through phases in their life that tend to shape their writing and consequently have an effect on other people.
I still liked this book, and believe that I will read other Card books in the future... and I still have to read that darn first one... "Empire."
January 5, 2022
Two stars just because of very real virus outbreak situation, but otherwise whole story was not realistic; felt like political and religious PR.
October 23, 2012
Disclaimer. I am a Christian, and though I tend to be anti-political, I lean towards the right when I do. I say this so this one-star review doesn't get obscured by charges of political bias. This book not only sucks, it's pretty immoral coming from a religious conservative like Card.
In Nigeria, we get an Ebola like pandemic where the less deadly strain still nails thirty percent of people who get it, and the other kills people in six hours. Cole and his exo-skeleton team are sent to protect people from raiders intent on wiping out survivors. Cecily and Mark come in later to perform Christian acts of mercy on them. Much, much stupidity ensues.
Warning: heavy use of spoilers. I can't avoid them because a lot of my ire is due to plot decisions and themes.
The first part of the book is okay. Some arguing about the ethics of quarrantining all of Africa, carnage by people afraid of the disease, and nothing objectionable. But then we get to a point in the book where it all goes downhill.
Northern Nigerians just killed a village. Cole's team is tracking them, and they notice that some of them are probably infected by the pandemic. Rather than be horrified and try and get to them fast before they start to infect other people, Cole's buds suggest letting them go precisely so they will infect other people. After all, they can't kill them out of fear from the disease if they have it too, right?
This is bizarre. Never mind the fact that it might be possible to contain the disease, as it seems to transmit by fluid contact or sneezes, or at least slow the infection rate down some. No, we'll just let them get to Northern Nigeria with a disease that has a 30% mortality rate, and essentially allow some special ops to decide whether or not to do this. It's absurd.
The problem is this mindset keeps returning. The same special ops catch the disease and make it a point to infect the entire base for the same reasons. They believe that it's going to spread anyways, so might as well infect people, let some die out, and be immune before any other country's fighting force. There's no real reason why they would think that the virus could spread beyond the borders, they aren't doctors or immunologists, and they aren't generals or people who have the right to condemn their own allies to die like this. Cole at least is horrified, but rather than, I don't know, throw them in a brig pending court-martial, he grits his teeth and endures it.
Meanwhile, we have Christians clamoring to come to Africa to pull a Mother Teresa. Look, I'm a Christian, and Christian charity and selflessness can inspire people to make noble and heroic sacrifices for others. But a bunch of people clamoring to be let in to an area where again, thirty percent of people will die or more is not showing good discernment. Especially when all you can really do is carry water to people.
So in one hand, you have a really naive Christianity to the point of a martyrdom complex, without seriously examining where or not it is one. There's no reflection on whether or not this is God's will, and the idea is that this somehow revitalizes faith in Christianity. On the other hand you have this weird thread of "someone needs to make the tough calls, and survival of the fittest" in Cole's actions, and far worse. There's a lot of stupidity in the book.
What's worse, is that the ending continues in this theme. The President actually masterminded this in some unclear way, and the end result will be "a chance to remake the most troubled continent" and "peace on earth." THIS MAKES NO SENSE.
There's no guarantee this will remake anything, and Nigeria itself splits up into to countries, undoubtedly by Muslim/Christian divide. The death toll from this and the plague will be insane,and a lot of it could have been avoided. Political gamesmanship over a pandemic in a very Darwinian sense, from a Mormon author who on the other hand espouses Christian principles.
This isn't a tortured end, Cole actually reassures the president he did the right thing, and guns HIS OWN FRIENDS down when they try and kill the president because they thought he set them up. Which, he kind of did. Barely any remorse from Cole, either. No agonizing, no memories of fun times flashing in front of his face, etc. There's no reflection on things in general-no agony of spirit over God and the problem of the plague, no real reflection on what duty to country means and if it can remain in the face of a killer problem, and just shallowness all around.
I don't give the immoral-novels tag lightly, but the wtf morality of this book earns it imo.
In Nigeria, we get an Ebola like pandemic where the less deadly strain still nails thirty percent of people who get it, and the other kills people in six hours. Cole and his exo-skeleton team are sent to protect people from raiders intent on wiping out survivors. Cecily and Mark come in later to perform Christian acts of mercy on them. Much, much stupidity ensues.
Warning: heavy use of spoilers. I can't avoid them because a lot of my ire is due to plot decisions and themes.
The first part of the book is okay. Some arguing about the ethics of quarrantining all of Africa, carnage by people afraid of the disease, and nothing objectionable. But then we get to a point in the book where it all goes downhill.
Northern Nigerians just killed a village. Cole's team is tracking them, and they notice that some of them are probably infected by the pandemic. Rather than be horrified and try and get to them fast before they start to infect other people, Cole's buds suggest letting them go precisely so they will infect other people. After all, they can't kill them out of fear from the disease if they have it too, right?
This is bizarre. Never mind the fact that it might be possible to contain the disease, as it seems to transmit by fluid contact or sneezes, or at least slow the infection rate down some. No, we'll just let them get to Northern Nigeria with a disease that has a 30% mortality rate, and essentially allow some special ops to decide whether or not to do this. It's absurd.
The problem is this mindset keeps returning. The same special ops catch the disease and make it a point to infect the entire base for the same reasons. They believe that it's going to spread anyways, so might as well infect people, let some die out, and be immune before any other country's fighting force. There's no real reason why they would think that the virus could spread beyond the borders, they aren't doctors or immunologists, and they aren't generals or people who have the right to condemn their own allies to die like this. Cole at least is horrified, but rather than, I don't know, throw them in a brig pending court-martial, he grits his teeth and endures it.
Meanwhile, we have Christians clamoring to come to Africa to pull a Mother Teresa. Look, I'm a Christian, and Christian charity and selflessness can inspire people to make noble and heroic sacrifices for others. But a bunch of people clamoring to be let in to an area where again, thirty percent of people will die or more is not showing good discernment. Especially when all you can really do is carry water to people.
So in one hand, you have a really naive Christianity to the point of a martyrdom complex, without seriously examining where or not it is one. There's no reflection on whether or not this is God's will, and the idea is that this somehow revitalizes faith in Christianity. On the other hand you have this weird thread of "someone needs to make the tough calls, and survival of the fittest" in Cole's actions, and far worse. There's a lot of stupidity in the book.
What's worse, is that the ending continues in this theme. The President actually masterminded this in some unclear way, and the end result will be "a chance to remake the most troubled continent" and "peace on earth." THIS MAKES NO SENSE.
There's no guarantee this will remake anything, and Nigeria itself splits up into to countries, undoubtedly by Muslim/Christian divide. The death toll from this and the plague will be insane,and a lot of it could have been avoided. Political gamesmanship over a pandemic in a very Darwinian sense, from a Mormon author who on the other hand espouses Christian principles.
This isn't a tortured end, Cole actually reassures the president he did the right thing, and guns HIS OWN FRIENDS down when they try and kill the president because they thought he set them up. Which, he kind of did. Barely any remorse from Cole, either. No agonizing, no memories of fun times flashing in front of his face, etc. There's no reflection on things in general-no agony of spirit over God and the problem of the plague, no real reflection on what duty to country means and if it can remain in the face of a killer problem, and just shallowness all around.
I don't give the immoral-novels tag lightly, but the wtf morality of this book earns it imo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2025
I’ve always been a big fan of Card, but this book is not his best work. At the halfway point is pretty much decided to give it a rare (for me) 2 star rating, but the past 100 pages were very good and knocked it up to 3 stars. The character of President Torrent is fascinating and I wish more of the book would have centered on him, though I understand why the author made other choices. All in all a good book though not as easy a read as his best have been.
October 31, 2014
See the rest of my review here
I wanted to like this book. I really did. The premise interested me. I was in the mood for outbreaks and deadly viruses. The world handling a crisis. It was even a timely read with this current Ebola crisis, but man was this heavy on the politics. If you are a right-winged, Christian who loves Fox News and don't believe in Global Warming, you'll like this a lot. If you like military jargon and vague action scenes, you'll love this novel. If you enjoy a lot of backstory and too many references to the previous novel (which I didn't know existed or read) then you'll enjoy this story. If you enjoy precocious children who are ridiculously wise for their age and who love to banter with Mommy, you'll also like this story...I could do this all day. Fact is, I didn't enjoy any of those aspects of the novel. I read to be entertained, not to be told what's right and what's wrong. This was supposed to be Science Fiction. It read more like wishful thinking on the author's part.
Anyhow, I'd like to believe that every novel has some good in it. So, I'll concentrate on what I did like. The novel starts with this little African boy whose whole family dies from an outbreak started by a monkey. I won't say more. Did I already say too much? A captivating start and I kept hoping the kid wouldn't die since he was so interesting. I also enjoyed learning about the different languages in the various African tribes.
The president of the United States wanted to quarantine the whole continent of Africa in order to prevent the virus from reaching the states. A lot of people found issue with that. As they should. A lot of folks wanted to go to Africa and help the sick. The whole thing is a PR nightmare for the president and his people.
About the president's people, Cole, a military officer, and Cecily, a mom who loves to bake cookies for her five kids and councils the president on the side. I didn't connect with the mother too much. Not with how she handled her eldest son's, Mark, whole do-good crusade. But I did like Cole. He was smart and knew what to expect and who not to fully trust. Before being sent to Africa to check out what the deal was, Cole knew the whole operation wasn't right. As a good soldier, he does what he must, but suffers deadly consequences. Action ensues and they find themselves trapped in a country they can't leave and sick. The Muslim bad guys are coming to get them! But are they really the bad guys, or are the bad guys 'friend's? The pre-ending was big. The real ending was anti-climatic. It should have ended several pages before it actually did.
Hidden Empire has its moments and all the epidemiology and author knowledge over how outbreaks occur was what made me enjoy it the most. Enough that I overlooked a lot of the other stuff that bugged me throughout the story.
I wanted to like this book. I really did. The premise interested me. I was in the mood for outbreaks and deadly viruses. The world handling a crisis. It was even a timely read with this current Ebola crisis, but man was this heavy on the politics. If you are a right-winged, Christian who loves Fox News and don't believe in Global Warming, you'll like this a lot. If you like military jargon and vague action scenes, you'll love this novel. If you enjoy a lot of backstory and too many references to the previous novel (which I didn't know existed or read) then you'll enjoy this story. If you enjoy precocious children who are ridiculously wise for their age and who love to banter with Mommy, you'll also like this story...I could do this all day. Fact is, I didn't enjoy any of those aspects of the novel. I read to be entertained, not to be told what's right and what's wrong. This was supposed to be Science Fiction. It read more like wishful thinking on the author's part.
Anyhow, I'd like to believe that every novel has some good in it. So, I'll concentrate on what I did like. The novel starts with this little African boy whose whole family dies from an outbreak started by a monkey. I won't say more. Did I already say too much? A captivating start and I kept hoping the kid wouldn't die since he was so interesting. I also enjoyed learning about the different languages in the various African tribes.
The president of the United States wanted to quarantine the whole continent of Africa in order to prevent the virus from reaching the states. A lot of people found issue with that. As they should. A lot of folks wanted to go to Africa and help the sick. The whole thing is a PR nightmare for the president and his people.
About the president's people, Cole, a military officer, and Cecily, a mom who loves to bake cookies for her five kids and councils the president on the side. I didn't connect with the mother too much. Not with how she handled her eldest son's, Mark, whole do-good crusade. But I did like Cole. He was smart and knew what to expect and who not to fully trust. Before being sent to Africa to check out what the deal was, Cole knew the whole operation wasn't right. As a good soldier, he does what he must, but suffers deadly consequences. Action ensues and they find themselves trapped in a country they can't leave and sick. The Muslim bad guys are coming to get them! But are they really the bad guys, or are the bad guys 'friend's? The pre-ending was big. The real ending was anti-climatic. It should have ended several pages before it actually did.
Hidden Empire has its moments and all the epidemiology and author knowledge over how outbreaks occur was what made me enjoy it the most. Enough that I overlooked a lot of the other stuff that bugged me throughout the story.
March 1, 2015
Sadly I have to give one of favourite author's a 2 star. I was a little perplexed by the vastly differing reviews of love/hate's and I can kind of see why now. Although probably not for the most of the same reasons. When this book originally came out in 2009 I'm sure it might have stirred up a bit of filth because of the civil war and rise of the American Empire depicted in the book. It seems a few readers could not take this book at face value of being a fictitious political "what if" story and thought the whole book was just OSC's extension of his political and religious views. I personally found it a little sarcastic and I think OSC was playing a bit of devil's advocate on this one. Which by the way was not one of his original stories, but he was enlisted to write the books for a book/game/movie/etc ensemble for the brain child of the original writers (it's right there in the acknowledgements if you don't believe me). I think also still putting this out as OSC science-fiction put off a few people, even though this is a sequal (I didn't realize that when I started it and did not read the first book). This is definitely dystopian, modern day political fiction, so be prepared, there are no aliens or magic in this one, and even his philosophical debates were way below par for what we are used to seeing from OSC...
My big issue with this one, were the characters. I could not really get into or believe most of them; except Chimna, the opening character of the book, I found endearing. I found the relationships between collegues and the president forced and really hard to swallow and the interactions between Cecily(mother) and her son Mark, goading.
I'm curious to how much input the original creators had in the telling of this series, and how much is OSC. We all know he can give us much more. This story might be cool as a 2 hour movie to waste some time one afternoon, but I am not so sure it translates well into a book series. I know OSC is a huge supporter of the gaming and movie industries, so I feel maybe he was trying to help out as much as possible with this one. Regardless, I'm still a huge fan and this won't stop me checking out his other works.
My big issue with this one, were the characters. I could not really get into or believe most of them; except Chimna, the opening character of the book, I found endearing. I found the relationships between collegues and the president forced and really hard to swallow and the interactions between Cecily(mother) and her son Mark, goading.
I'm curious to how much input the original creators had in the telling of this series, and how much is OSC. We all know he can give us much more. This story might be cool as a 2 hour movie to waste some time one afternoon, but I am not so sure it translates well into a book series. I know OSC is a huge supporter of the gaming and movie industries, so I feel maybe he was trying to help out as much as possible with this one. Regardless, I'm still a huge fan and this won't stop me checking out his other works.
March 4, 2010
When I read Empire I was not impressed. I was even a little let down. I expect more from Card than writing an adaption novel for a video game release. I thought it was too much of a video game, centered on cool gadgets and scenery. The characters were fine but were not developed as fully as his usually would be. The story was fine, but didn't spark me to think the way his stories usually do.
He fixed that with the sequel. It's not my favorite Card book, or even in the "must read if you want to know the author" list. But it's a good read. The questions he raises about what makes a good ruler, when democracy fails or succeeds, etc are well thought out and developed and not answered fully (a good thing.) Several side plots also struck me such as the differences in cultures and experiences that drive the way we react to something. As usual, he does a great job of taking people from two different worlds (africa and virginia) and using them to help us see that our way of viewing even small things like the way we spice our food may not be the only way.
And for my Chrisitan friends, he does a great job of showing how Christianity has become irrelevant in the world by losing what made it important in the first place. He places this in a historical context and even addresses it further in his acknowledgments at the end. Don't worry though, as a writer who considers himself Christian (morman) he makes sure to take the opportunity of his novel to bring the faith back to relevance. I may no longer be a practicing Christian, but I can say that the points he raises are one of the primary reasons I left. If I saw a faith that impacted lives like he shows, I'd still be there.
Okay, enough. As always, enjoyed Card better than other authors. But if I had to grade only against his books, this is a solid B.
He fixed that with the sequel. It's not my favorite Card book, or even in the "must read if you want to know the author" list. But it's a good read. The questions he raises about what makes a good ruler, when democracy fails or succeeds, etc are well thought out and developed and not answered fully (a good thing.) Several side plots also struck me such as the differences in cultures and experiences that drive the way we react to something. As usual, he does a great job of taking people from two different worlds (africa and virginia) and using them to help us see that our way of viewing even small things like the way we spice our food may not be the only way.
And for my Chrisitan friends, he does a great job of showing how Christianity has become irrelevant in the world by losing what made it important in the first place. He places this in a historical context and even addresses it further in his acknowledgments at the end. Don't worry though, as a writer who considers himself Christian (morman) he makes sure to take the opportunity of his novel to bring the faith back to relevance. I may no longer be a practicing Christian, but I can say that the points he raises are one of the primary reasons I left. If I saw a faith that impacted lives like he shows, I'd still be there.
Okay, enough. As always, enjoyed Card better than other authors. But if I had to grade only against his books, this is a solid B.
March 30, 2010
I liked it. I'm trying to figure out why. I liked the political-mindedness, the contemporary feel, the fact that no one is really "bad," the thought experiment of what it would be like to have to deal with an epidemic of that size, and I liked that OSC seemed to really know the places he talked about in Africa. I don't have first-hand knowledge of Bangui or Calabar, but I'm convinced that a) they do exist (I know about Bangui, but I'm going on faith for Calabar) and that the streets are named and laid out in exactly the fashion mentioned in the book.
I knew that someone had to die. Someone important, that is. I'm surprised that just one of the jeesh died. I thought maybe Cole would die, but perhaps that would mimic Empire too much. I wasn't particularly surprised that it was Mark. The scene where Cecily finds out Mark died was sad. It made me cry. Lots of parental/relationship things affect me these days. Go figure.
I'm impressed that Cole was able to take down at least two of the jeesh, considering how often it was pointed out that he lacked the experience and perhaps even the abilities of the other guys. Shooting them in the face was necessary, given the context, but I'm glad that the... sadness, I guess, registered on some level with Cole. I wonder why they tried to talk to him. I'm glad that Cole told Torrent how angry he was... although he didn't seem very convincing to me. It came across as if he didn't care. I suppose this is one of those cases where, on screen, a good actor could make that a great speech. I'm glad I'm not an actor.
Cole adopting Chinma and then Chinma living with the Malich's is an interesting development. Why...?
I thought that Cole and Cecily would end up together. Kind of obvious, but sometimes OSC is like that. I think he might have at least one more book in this series, so we'll see what happens, if anything.
I knew that someone had to die. Someone important, that is. I'm surprised that just one of the jeesh died. I thought maybe Cole would die, but perhaps that would mimic Empire too much. I wasn't particularly surprised that it was Mark. The scene where Cecily finds out Mark died was sad. It made me cry. Lots of parental/relationship things affect me these days. Go figure.
I'm impressed that Cole was able to take down at least two of the jeesh, considering how often it was pointed out that he lacked the experience and perhaps even the abilities of the other guys. Shooting them in the face was necessary, given the context, but I'm glad that the... sadness, I guess, registered on some level with Cole. I wonder why they tried to talk to him. I'm glad that Cole told Torrent how angry he was... although he didn't seem very convincing to me. It came across as if he didn't care. I suppose this is one of those cases where, on screen, a good actor could make that a great speech. I'm glad I'm not an actor.
Cole adopting Chinma and then Chinma living with the Malich's is an interesting development. Why...?
I thought that Cole and Cecily would end up together. Kind of obvious, but sometimes OSC is like that. I think he might have at least one more book in this series, so we'll see what happens, if anything.
November 21, 2012
For me, Hidden Empire was to Empire much as Speaker of the Dead was to Ender's Game. Hidden Empire continued to develop the plot and the characters of Empire but was really memorable for it's introduction of a more human element, less kick butt action and more philosophy of the human condition. That being said, there is still plenty of action and drama, just more tear jerking to go along with it.
We were left at the end of Empire with a more or less happy ending, foreboding but tidy. In Hidden Empire an epidemic breaks out in Africa, a virus with a 30-50% mortality rate. Card describes how each of the characters from Empire deal with this outbreak from positions ranging from President of the United States to young Christian boy. Really what brings the story to life is the young African character Chinma. Card does a remarkable job at relating this tragic character to the reader through his experiences with atrocities common to life in some parts of Africa and his thoughts of responsibility and social separation in dealing with the outbreak.
This story was very touching at times, exciting at others. It brings a sense of reality to the power that a relatively small group of compassionate people can posses but also the specific applicability of that power. They couldn't stop the outbreak, couldn't stop the violence, but they could ease the pain and ensure the survival of many who would have otherwise perished.
We were left at the end of Empire with a more or less happy ending, foreboding but tidy. In Hidden Empire an epidemic breaks out in Africa, a virus with a 30-50% mortality rate. Card describes how each of the characters from Empire deal with this outbreak from positions ranging from President of the United States to young Christian boy. Really what brings the story to life is the young African character Chinma. Card does a remarkable job at relating this tragic character to the reader through his experiences with atrocities common to life in some parts of Africa and his thoughts of responsibility and social separation in dealing with the outbreak.
This story was very touching at times, exciting at others. It brings a sense of reality to the power that a relatively small group of compassionate people can posses but also the specific applicability of that power. They couldn't stop the outbreak, couldn't stop the violence, but they could ease the pain and ensure the survival of many who would have otherwise perished.
August 7, 2010
Orson Scott Card has an amazing way of combining science fiction with real life situations...and even spirituality (or religion or whatever you want to call it). There is so much realness to the story and the characters. You get wrapped up in their lives and their interactions.
One would typically think of sci-fi as being sort of ... I don't know... cold? no...too techie? no... anyway... whatever that stereotype is that I am trying to put onto it, Card's work does not fall under it. He has depth. He has emotion. Deep emotion. Not only do you "fall in love" with a main character, but you also find yourself engulfed in the other characters too; they aren't just peripheral beings, but living breathing real people with real personalities and feelings and perspectives.
I actually just found out that this book is: a) in a series; b) not the first one in the series. Luckily it is so self-contained that you don't need to know a thing about #1 to enjoy this immensely. Now I look forward to the first novel of the series and I hope that I haven't messed it up by getting "ahead." But if it's anything like his Ender and Shadow series, I should be fine - I can listen to those in any kind of order and still have a great time living vicariously through those sensational sci-fi beings.
One would typically think of sci-fi as being sort of ... I don't know... cold? no...too techie? no... anyway... whatever that stereotype is that I am trying to put onto it, Card's work does not fall under it. He has depth. He has emotion. Deep emotion. Not only do you "fall in love" with a main character, but you also find yourself engulfed in the other characters too; they aren't just peripheral beings, but living breathing real people with real personalities and feelings and perspectives.
I actually just found out that this book is: a) in a series; b) not the first one in the series. Luckily it is so self-contained that you don't need to know a thing about #1 to enjoy this immensely. Now I look forward to the first novel of the series and I hope that I haven't messed it up by getting "ahead." But if it's anything like his Ender and Shadow series, I should be fine - I can listen to those in any kind of order and still have a great time living vicariously through those sensational sci-fi beings.
February 15, 2010
My perception of this book changed when my wife asked if she would enjoy it. My first thought was, "well it's the second in a series, so you'd have to read the first book first." Then I thought a little harder and realized that that wasn't necessarily true. Yes, it is the second in a series. Yes, the writer assumes that you already know the characters and the major points of their backstory. Other that that, though, what I consider to be the main aspect of the story (and the part that I enjoyed the most) stands on it's own. Furthermore, while I enjoyed the first book and would certainly generally recommend reading it first, this story has a wider appeal beyond the sci-fi genre and so I actually do think my wife will enjoy it.
This book has scenes of advanced technological warfare - though, like it's predecessor, far fewer than the cover picture would suggest. At it's heart, though, it is the story of a plague in Africa, threatening to infect the world, and the ramifications of the political, military, and human responses to that plague. It's classic Card fiction and will attempt to make you actually think.
This book has scenes of advanced technological warfare - though, like it's predecessor, far fewer than the cover picture would suggest. At it's heart, though, it is the story of a plague in Africa, threatening to infect the world, and the ramifications of the political, military, and human responses to that plague. It's classic Card fiction and will attempt to make you actually think.
June 4, 2011
* (because I cried and hated the sad end) "Hidden Empire" follows "Empire" (5*) by O. Scott Card, continuing the story of the new assistant, now experienced and promoted to general, how he, his special ops team, and the widow and her family, and new President cope with a plague virus, like SARS in Toronto starting in Africa and following the first monkey contact. Believable. (I was in Toronto, hiding, during SARS, and saw a documentary. Plus I've given up voting because I am so disillusioned with politicians.) A bloodbath, of great and small, and Card's talent is making us care about them. Like the horror movie where we beg the innocent not to go THERE, events and people keep falling down rabbit holes. I cried too much and didn't like the overwhelming tragedy in the classic useless tradition, even as I read to the very end to discover the fate of the manipulator and manipulated. Part I guessed at the end of the previous book; the part I didn't I did not like because I did not agree with. I don't like horror; if you do, you may like this book.
June 21, 2010
Are Orson Scott Card's books becoming somewhat stale or is it my taste that's changing? Although several of the main characters from Empire were killed off before they can take part in this story, the new characters introduced are predictably noble, talented, and intensely Christian. The politics are predictably conservative, there are all kinds of digs at the left-wing media and intellectuals, and the quotes used to open each chapter are practically OSC opinion columns on their own. Not always bad things in small doses, but it makes the whole book feel a bit like a rant. If you don't mind this, as well as overly fawning reverence to the US military and family values, there's some fun to be had with the globetrotting plot. 2 stars for not great, but a solid quick summer read.
August 29, 2016
This was one of those books I couldn't put down. Well written, good plot, interesting characters. I disagree with Uncle Orson's politics, but it doesn't stop me from enjoying his books. He also at least _seems_ to have a reasonable understanding of history, which is great in a science fiction writer and in a book about politics.
June 18, 2010
This was a good book, though whoever wrote the blurb on the inside flap didn't do their job well. Some of the conflict that they wrote about never actually happened.
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