I'm proud to say that this book is the fruition of a dream of my brother's, Donald and Geremy. They came up with the idea for a Video game, which is currently in production and will be out later in 2009, but Orson Scott Card loved the idea and wanted to write the book. So after much consultation with the Mustard's, the book was written, the first in a trilogy. It is important to know that it is only the beginning of the story, otherwise the ending will feel very unsatisfactory. My major grief with this book is the same problem I have with all of Card's books; too wordy. Card has lots of great ideas and theories, and he tends to write ALL of them down. He really needs a good editor who he will listen to (I "hear" his editor is just a yes-woman so he gets his drafts right through to printing.) As great as his ideas are, they don't necessarily add to the story and in fact make the reader a little disinterested and bored. The general idea of the story is pretty intersting, the idea that a civil war is on the verge of taking place in the modern day USA between the left and right parties. This of course kind of hits home these days, and Card does predict some things that actually have happened since he's written the book. I would probably recommend this book to people who enjoy sci-fi and action films.

A fictional, near-future, American civil war that has no geographical lines. Instead, the lines are right versus left wing ideals.

This book was exactly what I needed at this time in my life. It helped me to recalibrate myself politically. I'm tired of the hard lines being drawn between conservatives and liberals. This book helped me to step back and consider what is right, rather than what position does a particular party hold.

There are a lot of negative reviews for this book by folks who read it as a political opinion. That isn't what it is. It's just a story that played out having America's left start a war. It could just as easily been written the other way around.

An interesting exploration in American potentials. Yet applying Orson Scott Card's usual character perfection to a world much closer to our own is slightly out of place. Worth a read once for being a thriller, psychological thriller, and Yet Another Scott Card Book, it leads you to think about where our political extremism is headed. If you watch alongside Ken Burns' Civil War documentary, it strikes impressive similarities.

Those who reviewed this book and accused Card of writing a slanted polemic against the left, apparently didn't really read the book. The whole point is that too many people are reacting to the political divide in this country with extreme emotions and have no interest in compromise. The denunciations of this book are a perfect example of the problem.

Yes, in this story, many of the "bad guys" are on the left, but there are a number on the right, and Card's afterword indicated that he considers himself a moderate.

The quality of the book, as entertainment is limited. It is a political editorial, in novel form. I enjoyed it, but I agree with him politically. I can see how others would be made uncomfortable reading it. He has a good point, though, regardless of your political posture.

Considering the time it was written, I feel certain Card is amazed and depressed by what has taken place politically in this country since he wrote "Empire". I hope he is wrong and that civil war is not as likely as his logic would suggest. We are much further down the road to that end since it's publication. The suggestions I have heard on the left that it would be wonderful if our current President could stay in office indefinitely is a chilling thought in light of Cards story.

It's worth reading, but as I said, as a political treatise, rather than escapist fantasy.

This is one of the worst books I've read in years.

If you're looking for some good ol' fashioned American exceptionalism, one dimensional characters without flaw, and too much pointless dialog - this book is for you. For everyone else, please save your time.

I wanted to give up after chapter one but decided I'd stick with it because I enjoyed Ender's Game so much - what a mistake. Hopefully this book doesn't sour the author for me.

I could not finish the book, and stopped half way through. It gets one star because it wasn't the worst thing a person could read. It was just one of the worst books I've read in a while. I feel like my IQ dropped steadily with each page I read. I haven't read anything else of Card's books, but I think he really should stay away from political themes. It just made me wanna puke. Sure, it's just fiction, but I actually felt Card was sharing his political views in the book just as much as he shared his religious views. The book was trivial, cliche, stereotypical, poorly written and pretty boring. One of the very few books where I didn't care at all to find out how it ends. Usually, I want to know, even if I don't read the whole book or find it rather boring. I'm impressed with those who've read the entire book.

Orson Scott Card has done it yet another time! Once again he has delivered political intrigue that is stunningly realistic and even keeled. Political views don’t effect enjoyment, but the ability to think freely is critical to appreciate the depth of the narrative. As always the characters are written so well that you come to know and love them as bosom friends. A strong willed, intelligent female character who values for femininity and freely chooses to dedicate her love to raising children, is a rare and greatly appreciated find.

The absolute best part is when a character goes on an extremist right wing tirade, but instead of seeming crazy they predicted nearly perfectly the progression of left wing policies.

I listened to this one on tape. It really makes you think about what would happen if a coup actually occurred in America.

This book is an almost scary painting of where culture could easily go today. I think it was a great snapshot of what happens when we only allow fanaticism to rule us, creating enemies out of anyone who does not agree with you one hundred percent. Unlike books like 1984 or Fahrenheit 451, that feel both in the past or far future, this book is set very much in the present. Card does a masterful job as always giving a balanced view as well as layering mystery. For those that think this is garbage, read the afterward... and maybe check your level of fanaticism, if this book makes you hate all of Cards books you are who he is writing about.

This book could not have fallen into my lap at a more opportune time. I have always been a fan of dystopian type novels, and to find one written by one of my favorite authors about America seemed like a great find. The story itself was amazing, but the idea behind it has left me breathless. If you ever decide to read it, I highly suggest reading all of it including the Afterword. Reading about the thought process of how this book really came to be has really opened my mind to new way of looking at everyone around me.
This book really does serve a great purpose as a kind of warning of what can happen in America if we - all fellow Americans - don't do something to change the course we are on. To quote Orson Scott Card, "Because we haven't had a civil war in the past fourteen decades, people think we can't have one now...however, we have never been so evenly divided with such hateful rhetoric since the years leading up to the Civil War of the 1860's."

From my FB post after finishing the book: Today I finished Empire by Orson Scott Card, published in 2006. That man could see the future in that book. Some excerpts from the Afterward (not part of the story, but Card's commentary on society): "We are fully polarized - if you accept one idea that sounds like it belongs to either the blue or the red, you are assumed - nay, required - to espouse the entire rest of the package, ... These issues are not remotely related, and yet if you hold any of one group's views, you are hated by the other group as if you believed them all; and if you hold most of one group's views, but not all, you are treated as if you were a traitor for deviating even slightly from the party line. ... We live in a time when lies are preferred to the truth and truths are called lies, when opponents are assumed to have the worst conceivable motives and treated accordingly , and when we reach immediately for coercion without even othering to find out what those who disagree with us are actually saying. In short, we are creating for ourselves a new dark age - the darkness of blinders we voluntarily wear, and which, if we do not take them off and see each other as human beings with legitimate, virtuous concerns, will lead us to tragedies whose cost we will bear for generations. Or, maybe, we can just calm down and stop thinking that our own ideas are so precious that we must never give an inch to accommodate the heartfelt beliefs of others."
As we enter into another election cycle, complete with an ex-president indicted for crimes and a president with a son being prosecuted for tax evasion, as we still deal with the crimes of a group of citizens who attacked our Capitol, as we demonize immigrants, policemen, homeless populations, religious people, gay people, unknown people who knock on our doors, etc., maybe we need to listen to each other, and recognize that most of us aren't on the fringes, we all deserve respect and should give respect, and we can compromise.
Anyway, it was a really good book, and gave a good warning in the form of a book that would make a super movie with a Tom Cruise type as Reuben Malich.

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.