ARWZ :: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Discussion Forums

Violanthe · Webmaster Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 5836

Welcome to the discussion of our first annual ARWZ Spring Book! I invite everyone to pick up a copy of Empire by Orson Scott Card and join in the discussion here on ARWZ. If you've already read this book you're more than welcome to join in.

Here are some questions to get us started off:

What are your first impressions of this book? How did the opening line strike you? The opening paragraph?

How do you like this book after reading the first chapter? Does it intrigue you to continue? What questions does it create in your mind? How eager are you to get the answers?

Which of the characters intrigues you most? Do you find that you identify with any of the characters? If so, why? If not, then what about the characters make you want to continue (or not) reading about them?

Please contribute any observations, comments or questions you have about this novel as you read along.

Feel free to check out what people are saying about this book on all our Book Partner sites: ARWZ, Bestsellers & Literature, It's a Must Read, Science Fiction, and Worm's Scifi Haven.
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librarylover · Moderator Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 277

I'm a bit surprised to see that no one has posted here yet. I've been reading Empire and find it to be more "fun" than intense. There is a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor.

Peter · Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 7:29 pm

Well, it's not spring where I am. So I'll wait until it is before I comment.

Yes, I'm being a smartass, but I'd like to point out that this is the "World" Wide Web, not the Nth. Hemisphere Wide Web, despite popular belief.

It's a trivial point, but it's one that gets my goat.

Very Happy

ljim2000 · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:30 am

Wow, I thought I was starting late by getting the Group Read rolling over at Science Fiction as our April book! However, it looks like it hasn't really caught steam here yet either. I'm nearing 2/3s of the way through and have commented quite a bit in the Orson Scott Card thread on our board. So far, I'm not overly impressed as I think Card's own political viewpoint is rather obvious in terms of which characters he favors as heroic and patriotic (the Republicans army guys) vs, which he doesn't (the lefties). In short, this reeks of propaganda.

librarylover · Moderator Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 277

What book doesn't lean toward the biases of the author? Wink

I still think of it more as a fun read than something to be taken seriously. The situation with Rube and DeeNee took me by surprise. Did anyone else see that coming?

ljim2000 · Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 9:16 pm

The issue that I take with the biases of this particular author is that he declares them to be neither one extreme nor the other, and then focuses his attention making one extreme look heroic and the other villainous. I have to cry foul on that.

The secretary surprise was one of the creative high points of this book I thought. Though he says in the aterword that it was actually one of the game elements he had to work in.

I agree the book shouldn't be taken seriously, but I also have some other criticisms that I went to in length in the Science Fiction board. Being "fun" does not entirely absolve an author from being "good".

librarylover · Moderator Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 277

One thing that really bothered me was Cessy's reaction to her husband's death. The author comments that she gets through the first month by immersing herself in her work. What about their five children? Suddenly, their needs don't exist or what? When a spouse dies, the natural thing would be for the survivor to help the children work through their grief. Instead, she becomes selfish and ignores them? Completely inconsistent with the character which Card had created.

ljim2000 · Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 10:46 pm

librarylover · Moderator Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 277

The ending was a huge disappointment for me. So many loose threads. Would I recommend the book? I don't think so.

Violanthe · Webmaster Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 5836

In general I was disappointed that the story did not unfold with more realism. Rather that showing a truly morally ambiguous portrait of a possible near-future America, a speculation on how ordinary people could quickly splinter into enemier... Instead Card showed how one extremist and a bunch of high-tech gadgets gave the USA some trouble.
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Violet "Violanthe" Kane
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ARWZ.com: A Magazine of Alternative Reality Fiction

Alicia GA · Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 11:50 pm

I couldn't get into this book solely because I could tell by the picture on the cover where it was going to go. The main character was interesting. His wife was likable. The day that he met the new assistant was exciting. But I knew it was going to turn into an America Armageddon type of thing, and I find that too depressing, and unlikely, to spend my free time contemplating it. And, it was so obviously politically slanted.
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Violanthe · Webmaster Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 5836

It was politically slanted, but I found that kind of a novelty since if was conservatively slanted. I read so many books that are liberally slanted, that it's interesting to see the other perspective.

I actually found that this book did not go in the direction I expected. The nouveau American civil war fell pretty flat and turned out to be surprisingly small scale.
_________________
Violet "Violanthe" Kane
webmaster@arwz.com
ARWZ.com: A Magazine of Alternative Reality Fiction