1004. Empire

Empire by Orson Scott Card

It should be stated that when I first saw this book by Card in the bookstore, I expected it to be completely different in tone, politically, than it turned out to be. Stay with me though, as I try to explain a couple of more points. At the time, my TBR (to be read) pile was rather large, and I was low on funds, so I skipped it. I don't necessary 'worship' everything Card has written, but since the story of Ender Wiggins came out, I made it a point to read quite a few of his novels.

So, finally, the paperback version of the book got published, and in preparing for the 2007 holiday season, I went to add it to my Amazon 'wish list' (don't hesitate to buy me a book from there!)--hoping! Well, I read a couple of reviews, and suddenly I was starting to worry that this might not be such a good book. Was it the politics of Card that would not agree with me? Was it something else entirely in this book? Finally, after joining BookMooch and PaperBackSwap, the book became available and I decided to 'get it' and read it for myself.

So, yeah, the politics of Mr. Card do not seem to agree with mine. On the other hand, we are not that far apart -- it's not simply a matter of 'Blue States' versus 'Red States' as the Civil War in his book becomes. Politics in the America (USA for you foreigners--I know, we're very obnoxious like that) of today are more complicated. That's not necessarily a reason to NOT read a particular book. Unless of course you already know that a particular person is an outright liar and a deceiver. I have read things and watched movies or documentaries from a perspective that I did not agree with, yet I wanted to learn that side of the story.

The premise of the book is very simple. A grizzled old vet, Captain Malich, returns home to finish his post-graduate education in order to advance both his military career and his post-retirement civilian one. As he advances to the rank of Major, we find him deep in the bowels of the Pentagon working on various assignments, most of them secret, and with purposes that not even his wife can fathom. It all seems pretty bewildering when Captain Coleman (Cole as he will come to be known) joins Malich as his #1 aide. But Cole is not the sort that gives up easy on new assignments, however obnoxious or overbearing or secretive the boss might be. He goes around the secretary and takes a drive to Major Malich's house where he meets Cecily, the major's wife. She has no clue what Reuben Malich is up to either -- but, Captain Coleman's initiative is enough to convince the major that he can be trusted.

And very quickly the action begins and escalates. There is an assassination attempt / terrorist attack in the Capital, Washington D.C. The major and the captain figure it out and are almost able to prevent it. But, through the attack, the American President is killed and the US government is thrown into chaos. This is but the first 'shot' in a 'war' played out mostly in rhetoric and behind the scenes. Because it appears that the movers in this war which threatens to engulf the whole United States are driven by left-wing forces (what we would call, "the Liberals in America"). And that's where Mr. Card lost me. So, yeah, maybe "the liberals" are unhappy that they 'lost' the 2000 election, but would they even contemplate the actions Mr. Card describes in this book? What sort of fantasy is this? Probably one concocted by 'Fixed News Channel' urm, sorry, meant to say 'Faux News Channel' which plays a prominent role in this book.

Okay, you can throw a counter-argument at me and say: 'well, no, it's not really the liberals that are causing all the problems and bringing the country to the brink of Civil War, but rather the puppeteer behind the stage who is manipulating events. Throughout the book we're given little hints that maybe things are not the way they appear, that something else might be going on, that there might be another reason for what is happening. But even that story thread is not resolved by Mr. Card by the end of the book.

And then there are the Mecha. Now, if you're a fun of Japanese Animation, you probably are very familiar with these mechanical fighting vehicles. There are a concept of near Fantasy or advanced Science Fiction, depending on how you want to view them. They are the "Mobile Suits" of Robert Heinlein's 'Starship Troopers'. In this case, they have advanced a bit to suit our 21st century tastes. In some ways they do jar the senses. Are they technologically feasible? The major characters in the story, like Major Malich and Captain Coleman believe that they are producible with today's technology.

So, Card's novel, becomes a Tom Clancy wannabe story full of intrigue and mystery and political background machinations with some spectacular climactic battles. Does Card pull it off in the end?

Sadly, I think that is precisely the moment where he fails. His background is spectacular, even if you don't agree with his politics. And his premise, about the power behind the throne is certainly plausible enough to have the ring of truthiness in it... But truthiness DOES NOT in any way equate with the truth. The danger this republic currently faces actually does come from real forces which are not even in hiding or pulling strings from the background.

Normally, Orson Scott Card's characterizations are flawless. But he does not give enough development to climactic political machinations. It is as if, that particular chapter was thrown in as an afterthought. In addition, Major Malich's old Ranger/Special Forces unit makes an appearance in the book. And while these characters are very enjoyable, they are sort of cartoonish and not fully developed. Finally, Cecily Malich could have been utilized just a bit more. In the end, her talents were left undeveloped in the closing chapter which left me wanting for more...

Fair warning: This book was written as a tie-in to a supposed video game franchise by Chair Entertainment. Whether that game ever came out or not, I don't know, but this could account for some of the problems with the book.

One final thought. Orson Scott Card has a longish essay at the end of the book trying to explain some of his views that underlie the novel. While there are some very good thoughts in there as a whole, in the end that essay comes across as more shrill than most of the debate taking place on American Airwaves today that it is aimed against.

I am not yet giving up on Orson Scott Card, but I am only giving this book 2 stars out of 4--and that's barely. I really thought about giving it 1.5 stars, but I did enjoy Captain Coleman and some of the action.

1003. Final Impact

"Final Impact"

This book by John Birmingham is the third novel in the "Axis of Time" trilogy. A fascinating alternate history / alternate reality science-fiction story set in the year 2021 (or rather beginning there), but actually taking place during the height of World War II (or '2' if you prefer).

But, first of all, let me set the stage for you: In 2021, an international Task Force headed by the USS Super-Carrier 'Hillary Clinton' is sailing off the Indonesian waters to enforce some sort of U.N. edict. There are various politics involved as to why this task force is in the area. Mention is made of 'The War on Terror' having commenced following the attacks of 9/11, as well as the fight against various terrorist organizations. In some sense, the world of the future, in the few pages allotted to it by John Birmingham, is just as fascinating as the world of the past he's about to build.

One of the premises that I always find 'funny' (in all its connotations) in Science Fiction is the 'mad scientist' invention. Mr. Birmingham doesn't necessarily stoop to the level of using it in this trilogy, but he embraces it.... BUT, I am not here to review the whole series or trilogy. Suffice it to say, that the ships of 2021 end up in 1942, and the history of World War II is changed forever. So, it's time to jump ahead (or rather back, if you'll forgive the pun....) If you have not read the first two books in the series, do yourself a favor, and go get those books: "Weapons of Choice" and "Designated Targets". And stop reading this review right here, before you spoil your enjoyment.

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Events in the third book begin with the alternate 1944's D-Day landings in Calais. Why Calais and not Normandy? That's what Hitler would like to know. The Allies have brought into the fight a lot of modified weapons. These weapons are not from the future. Rather, they are what 1940s technology can produce with 2020s know-how. This gives them a clear advantage over the Axis powers, even though, the Axis powers also have in their possession some of these 'future secrets'. And of course the 'The Sword of Damocles' in this whole fight is the fate of one of the Task Force's 'lost ships'. Did the 'HMS Vanguard' slip through time and end-up in the hands of the Russians who at this time in history absolutely control the USSR and are in turn ruthlessly controlled by the brutal dictator Stalin and his cronies? And do the Soviets now possess sufficient modern technologies (aka, 21st century technologies) to oppose the emerging victory of the Allies?

If you've read the first two books, you will know that John Birmingham uses a cast of thousands and many historical figures as key players in his books. It's not as if other fiction writers have not attempted this method before. Harry Turtledove is well known for doing the same, and I have read simple short stories that fictionalized the lives of presidents and others. But the scope in which Mr. Birmingham does it, is breathtaking and awe-inspiring. How can you know the man and president, Franklin D. Roosevelt? How can you know the man and General, Dwight D. Eisenhower? Yet, somehow, John Birmingham has done significant enough research to pull of some magnificent characterizations for these people. This is one of the endearing features of this trilogy.

At the same time however, the author has enough 21st century characters who are completely fictional (but could be based on real people -- in the sense that a TV reporter in the book is inspired by a real life TV reporter), who are very prominent. And in this final chapter of the trilogy, the base characters, the ones who came to the past from 2021 with the 'Hillary Clinton' task force return to the foreground. Their adventures are the link in the important pieces that set-up the ending of the book and the ending of the trilogy.

The old girl, the USS 'Hillary Clinton' has been retrofitted to fight with an amalgam of 1940s/1950s technology. It is still the most fearsome weapon on the sea, except the sea it prowls is set in 1944. Finally, the other plot point that I can reveal here (bit of an annoying spoiler, I know, but you kind of knew that it was coming) is the existence of nuclear weapons. Many of the engineers and the technology that came back with the 'Clinton' are utilized by all the Powers in the World in the development of Nuclear Weapons. Who succeeds and who uses them first and with what kind of results is left for you to find out.

"Final Impact" works both as a Science Fiction / Alternate History Fiction novel, as well as a cautionary tell. All good Science Fiction novels must operate in this arena. You take some characters from our world and place them in a situation which is completely outside of our experience. What you hope to achieve with this ploy is the discovery of some new ways of looking at the world. Some new interpretations and analyses of life as we know it today. Why is that important? Well, how else are we going to learn something new? There are three main ways: a) We experience it for ourselves; b) We learn it from the experience of others (another form of learning) and finally, c) We imagine it.

In this book, John Birmingham successfully puts his characters in a highly charged and segregated atmosphere, the Second World War. Our people, 'our avatars' transferred for our sakes to the past, to experience the adventure for us, come face to face with 'the barbarians' (who are also us, our forefathers) who caused and fought the great war in the 1940s, of the greatest generation. The same place where a black man could not fight side to side with a white man. In a place with people that committed the atrocities of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Able to stop the people that caused the HOLOCAUST of the Jewish people. If we were to visit back then, given the opportunity to stop the atrocities, I wonder, like the characters in the book, how we would react... I wonder, if we were given the chance to stop the atrocities what we would do...

Yet, the most engaging feature of the trilogy, and in particular the third book is how John Birmingham turns the tables on us and shows another side. Are we that much more advanced with our high tech weapons and over the horizon rockets? Are we that much more brilliant since we can spy on everyone in the world, with stealth, and attack them 'at night' while they least expect it? Are we that much better for the way we fight our battles, especially in our so called, 'War on Terror' which for purposes of this book has been ongoing for 20 years (5 times longer that World War 2) ? In the end, the people of the 1940s, adapt our technologies and our freedoms with open arms, but also see our barbarism, and our 'advanced human morality' displaying the cynicism which we flaunted on them when we arrived in the past. And that's a great lesson to take from any book. Don't think, from all the strides that the 'Human Animal' has made, that we have advanced that much in 60 or so years.

I easily give this book 3 stars out of four. With a half star more for the whole trilogy.

John Birmingham is a writer to watch.

Must Read: The Twenty Science Fiction Novels that Will Change Your Life

Would you call these 20, must read? Or, books that would change your life? That's even a higher level of praise than the first question I asked. Well, this website does:

Must Read: The Twenty Science Fiction Novels that Will Change Your Life

As anyone who knows me well, knows that I read a lot of books. Of the books that I read, a high portion of them is in the "Science Fiction" genre. Of the books the author of this article lists, I have read the following:

"Frankenstein"
"The Time Machine"
"I, Robot" (but just the short story -- not the collection)
"A Fire Upon the Deep"

A couple more of these belong to my bookshelf, or on my wish list, meaning they are books that I would like to read at some point. But the question remains: Are these books, or novels, or short story collections life altering as the site claims?

I have read enough fiction to wonder from time to time about the impact of the books I have read. Personally, I am not so sure about these twenty books. I wish I had read all of them by now. One thing is for certain, I have added some more titles to my list of titles awaiting to be read. And that is not a bad thing now is it?