Customer Reviews

Hidden Empire

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I'll start this review by saying that I've been a fan of OSC for close to 25 years now, and have read just about everything that he ever wrote.

However, I've noticed that his latest books (maybe for the last 8-10 years or so), have really gone downhill, not in their craft, which is superb, but in their plotting and storylines.

Hidden Empire is no execption to this. It comes across (like many of the 'Shadow' books) as just another episode in a franchise, instead of as a work in its own right. I used to be amazed at how much epic story Card could put into 300-400 pages, but now I'm disappointed at how little he gets into the same amount, and it looks like Empire is going the same way and is going to drag out across many, many volumes, each of which advances the overall plot about as much as an episode of a TV series.

[Mild spoilers here]
Epidemic breaks out in Africa, USA quarantines unpopularly, Christians break the quarantine, Christians are attacked, USA defends them, and a little twist at the end of how some US soldiers respond to their president's action when he comes out smelling of roses.
[END MILD SPOILERS]

Don't get me wrong -- it's a *GREAT* story, and it is *BEAUTIFULLY* written, but it feels deliberately small so that many more books (and thus royalties) can be squeezed out of the story of how Torrent will repeat the history of the roman empire and take the USA from Republic to Empire.

Mr Card, if you're reading, take it from one of your readers who has followed you for years. You're losing me. When once upon a time I would be there on release day to pay $25-$30 for the hardback of your book, now I'm content to wait for it in the public library. I made an exception for Hidden Empire, as it was my second Kindle purchase (my first was a book that I wrote myself, just to see how it would look on Kindle! :) )

I don't think I'll make that exception for volume 3. Sorry.

I've been an avid Orson Scott Card reader for years now, and am continually impressed by the sheer volume of great ideas he brings together in his novels. The Ender series, his short stories, and Alvin Maker series are among my favorites of the genre. Hidden Empire is no such thing. I had mixed feelings with the first Empire novel, due to the amount of time it spent bombarding me with political philosophies I disagree with. But that book made up for it with an incredibly interesting story, interesting characters, and OSC's usual terrific prose.

Hidden Empire had all of the bad of Empire, with none of the good. It felt more like an infomercial for Fox News and Christianity than a Sci-Fi thriller. At least three separate times he referenced Fox News by name specifically to favorably contrast them with their competitors. We were told that MSNBC thinks Christians are stupid. We were told that Fox got to interview the leader of a movement while the 'other' networks just found the craziest people they could find. Even if I agreed with that (I don't), and even if it were true (it isn't), it has no place in a novel like this. For a novel that claims to be against blind partisanship and political extremism, jumping into the ring to say which news network is superior is hypocritical at best, outright insulting to readers at worst.

As for the plot itself, it's almost non-existent. When I read books, I always come in to work the next day wanting to talk to friends about the details of what was happening. In this book, almost nothing happened worth talking about. The first 275 pages of the 330-page book were almost completely devoid of what anyone would define as an 'event'. There was a rescue from an embassy, and that was about it. The best way to summarize this point is to say that the plot description written on the dust jacket of the book doesn't start until the last 30 pages...no joke. I honestly had to check to make sure that the book I was reading matched the dust jacket, that's how little the book resembles the description. And in an extreme case of irony, the dust jacket description uses the phrase "quickly runs afoul", as in the protagonist QUICKLY got on the bad side of someone. How page 300 out of 330 is 'quickly' is beyond me. The cover of the book also shows a scene from the first book, not this one, probably because there was almost no action in this one to put on the cover. It's misleading to say the least.

In short, if OSC had published this book in 1985 instead of Ender's Game, we would have no idea who he is. His political beliefs and religion have completely overshadowed his ability to construct an interesting narrative. One-dimensional characters, horrific pacing, lack of action, and an absurd amount of preaching make this a book to avoid.

Some blatant propaganda. Card had a gift for instilling the beautiful and often compassionate LDS faith into his works that has gone awry in this series. Still some great family, heroic moments but combined with how the family knew "FOX was the only reliable news channel" the shine quickly tarnished. The first book (Empire) had me thinking he wanted to pull a Michael Crichton and go straight to the big screen. This, could have been co-written with Glenn Beck. I should have known better after "Empire".

I've read most of what OSC has written and I'm a big fan of the Ender series and I like his fantasy also. But really I picked up this book hoping that it would be better than the first one - and this one is much worse. To be honest had I known that this was a book that was geared toward making a video game I wouldn't have read either one? The first book I found silly, but not idiotic or downright offensive. This book goes a long way toward being offensive - the conservative republicans always right and the evil progressives are out to take over the world. That being said if the plot made sense and moved along I could take that, but the characters act out of character and the plot is disjointed, and it doesn't really move very fast. OSC also seems to have lost his ability to write in the minds of a 10 to 13 year old, not to mention the women in this are also too hard to believe. Couple that with the overt preaching, ideological talking points that lack a factual basis I couldn't recommend this to anyone.

Note to Mr. Card: Be careful what you wish for, as a Mormon, the Christians you lionize here will be the first to turn on you should they ever achieve real power for not practicing the "correct" version of Christianity and will take away exactly what you fear, the religious freedom to worship as you chose. Fundamentalist Catholics should also take note of this so that both don't turn into "useful idiots" for the protestant Christian extremists.

The sequel to his recent book, Empire (Tor Science Fiction). Hidden Empire is a different sort of book than the previous novel was. While Empire dealt with an impending civil war in America along red-state / blue-state lines and the men pulling the strings behind the war, Hidden Empire deals with an epidemic in Africa and the social, political, religious, and military response to that outbreak. The conspiracy elements which gave the original novel so much of its power are much more subdued in this novel, though still present to some degree.

I enjoyed the novel, especially the parts involving President Torrent (clearly a favorite character of Card's), but I wish it focused more of its energy on conspiracies and/or politics instead of concentrating on efforts to fight a viral outbreak. I appreciated the chapter introductions, typically written from President Torrent's perspective, and the feel and depth of the characters.

As a Christian I appreciated Card's interjection of Roman history involving the plague outbreaks and the Christian response to those events, though parts of the book feel like Christian Fiction and I wonder how readers who do not share my faith will respond to these sections. It all fits with history and the comparison of Empire's America to Rome, but again, it's a different sort of book than Empire was.

The book is incredibly modern in its setting: references to modern-day Russian and American politics, culture, board games, military technology, and even the Kindle (which I read the book on).

Bottom line: I enjoyed the book, though not as much as Empire. I hope that the series will continue and look forward to reading more about Card's Imperial America.

Orson Scott Card, to me, is a master of understanding human nature. This book was entertaining but lacking that essential Card quality that makes his books outstanding. It's a good read but if you are looking for the depth and brilliance of the Ender series or even the plot twists and greatness of the original Empire you will be disappointed. I look forward to the master returning in his next book :)

I had low expectations for this sequel, Hidden Empire. I didn't expect to like it. In some ways, I didn't want to like it.

I'm a big fan of Orson Scott Card, but I felt Empire was was one of his weakest efforts (and I've read over 80 of his books!). The central conceit--a civil war between liberals and conservatives--was hokey. The book was chock full of political rhetoric, sci-fi military gadgetry, and an over-the-top villain in a hidden underground lair that reminded me of the early James Bond movies. It just didn't work on any level.

However, Hidden Empire turned out much better. Perhaps because this is now Card's third attempt at a traditional "thriller" (after Empire and Invasive Procedures). The pacing was better. The central crisis was more realistic. The politics was toned down. And the gadgetry at least seemed plausible this time around.

Also, Card asks much more compelling ethical questions. Characters you care about die in horrific ways. And other characters who seem like "good guys" make some really questionable decisions at the end.

I never thought I'd say this, but it actually made me look forward to the next sequel.

Just as Robert Heinlein, Mr. Card has become "preachy". "Hidden Empire" struck me as a collection of OSC's "Ornery American" pieces altered to fit a story line.

I've really never read an Orson book I didn't like until now. Don't get me wrong, the action parts of the book are very good and the ending is an exciting page turner. But here's the rub, the book is preachy in the extreme and intimates that if your not a Christian, you can't possibly have good family values. I actually thought that the first few chapters of the book might be written by one of his children because I have never heard such narrow minded dribble from a writer that I have admired for decades. After the book ends, Card thanks his helpers and tells us a little bit about how the book came about and how he came to write it. He states that two of the chapters were written while riding in the car with his family. Gee, really, no dah!

First of all love almost all of Card's other works, starting to doubt how much I will like his future works though. As others have said if you don't agree totally with cards religious views then skip it. I actually like empire a lot but man this is a load of crap. Seemed way too short, boring and a horrible ending. If he's planning on writing any more empire stories count me out.