Book Talk: Empire by Orson Scott Card

I'd like to begin by saying that this book was not the best book I've ever read. In my opinion, the plotline was too basic and there weren't enough cliffhangers to keep me fully engaged. However, there was the occasional twist, which made me want to read deeper into the book. The book came to a sudden halt though. Once the problem had been resolved, there was a short chapter at the end, and nothing else. There wasn't even an epilogue to wrap things up, which I look forward to.

The reason I picked this book out in the first place was because of the premise. The plot gets rolling about a year into the future, so it still feels current with the technology. It presents an odd scenario for the reader to think about: a second civil war. As things in general have been headed downhill for this country, a group of extremists that call themselves "The Progressive Restoration" comes into the picture. They are a seperate, unknown political party, hiding out in the mountains of Washington State. They eventually plan to overthrow the government and set things on a more stable course. They want to instill the ideals of politicians that lived over 30 years ago, because that is what they believe is right for this country. So, they hire terrorist assassins to kill the president and vice president to distract the country while they stage the overthrowing of New York City in order to gain power. Major Rueben Malich and his new right-hand man Bartholomew Coleman (both ex-special ops) get involved in this mess. Our main characters run back and forth, chasing down secrets about what is really going on, while getting chased by the troops of the Progressive Restoration.

That was the basic summary of the book I read, and it doesn't get anywhere close to how deep this book actually goes. I really enjoyed the twists when I encountered them, but there weren't enough to keep me completely satisfied. Overall, I would give this book a 7 out of 10 because I liked the premise of the book, but the substance just didn't do it for me. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read about dystopian societies, or future events.