First, let me start by saying that I am not a great fan of Orson Scott Card.  In fact, this is the first work of his that I have read in at least 10 years, possibly more.

He is a good writer, but I just have not been interested in the premises of the books he has written in many years.

When I first saw the premise for Empire, it did catch my attention:  A new American Civil War, this time between Left and Right of the political spectrum.  But it just wasn’t enough to make me pull the trigger and buy it.

Then, I got stuck at Sea-Tac Airport the other day.  NOTE TO TRAVELLERS:  Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air should not bother publishing Schedules for their flights, as they are not actually adheared to, and seem to be more like guidelines, or suggestions, than any kind of actual commitment by those carriers to depart any given place at any specified time.  I recommend that they go to an AM/PM arrangement, to minimize the wear and tear on the nerves of their customers.

Since I found myself (again) with several hours to kill, and was not particularly interested in the novel I had brought along (review pending) I went shopping.

This book again caught my eye, but I continued shopping, until, in utter defeat, I decided to go ahead and give it a try.

As per my normal routing, I read the Afterword first.  I found it very insightful, and interesting, which raised my hopes for the book itself.

The first 1/3 or so went along great.  It felt much like a number of Techno-Thrillers I have read - not really Tom Clancy, but more of a Dale Brown feel.

But then it simply went off the rails.  The forces of the Tech Savvy Left includes Mechs (walking tanks), Hovercycles, and other unlikely hardware, that may be fine for a novel set 50 or 100 years from now, but simply destroys any attempt at a realistic time and place feel for a novel that is supposedly set in the here and now.

It even becomes more absurd when the mastermind and moneyman of the Left is an thinly veiled George Soros, but much smarter and even more deranged.

The basic premise was very interesting.  How do you fight a civil war, when it isn’t North Vs South, or any other defined Geographic boundry, but is more Left Vs Right, Red State Vs Blue State, Cities Vs Suburbs and Rural?

It’s unfortunate that the author didn’t spend more time expoloring this, in a more realistic manner, than turning what had the makings of a great political/techno thriller into a mere Science Fiction Novelization of a Video Game.

For what it’s worth, Card has some very interesting points to make throughout the book, and I actually identify with him and his perspective on politics and America, more than I do with many other authors.  I hope that he decides to dip more deeply from this well in the future.  He certainly has the writing ability, and political savvy, to make a signifigant impact on the genre.

Just leave the walking tanks out next time. 

Share This