Empire (Card novel)

Plot

The story follows U.S. Army Major Reuben Malich and Captain Bartholomew Coleman, former Special Forces officers, as America descends into civil war after the assassinations of the President and Vice President. A radical leftist army called the Progressive Restoration seizes New York City and claims to be the legitimate government. The book opens with Malich, then a captain, leading a Special Forces team in a Persian-speaking country; they save a village with one civilian casualty, earning him a promotion.

Later, Malich works at the Pentagon writing security vulnerability plans, which fall into enemy hands. The plans involve a stealthy underwater entry into Washington, D.C., and a rocket launcher attack on the White House using an inside informant. Malich and Coleman witness the attack and try to stop it, killing one attacker, but the second rocket hits the West Wing, killing the President, Secretary of Defense, and others. The Vice President had already been killed by a dump truck backing into his limousine.

Suspicion falls on Malich because he wrote the plans and was present. While Malich is debriefed, Coleman is asked to join a right-wing coup but instead recounts the meeting on live TV and joins Malich in New Jersey. They borrow an SUV to go to Ground Zero but are caught in an uprising of high-tech mechs that fire on uniformed personnel. After rescuing NYPD officers, they escape through the Holland Tunnel to New Jersey, where they help the National Guard repel the mechs. Two F-16 jets are shot down into New York Harbor, one striking the Statue of Liberty's gown.

Reception

The novel's political stance drew both praise and criticism. Booklist called it heartfelt and sobering, approving its message about the dangers of extreme political polarization and the need for moderation. Publishers Weekly criticized it for letting right-wing rhetoric override logic and character, deeming the plot implausible. Library Journal found it entertaining but not Card's best, noting a heavy rightward lean that made it feel more like social commentary than fiction.

In Locus, Gary K. Wolfe faulted the novel for portraying insanity as mostly a liberal trait and compared characters and dialogue to Mattel action figures and bumper stickers, dismissing its afterword's claim of impartiality as false centrism. The action received praise: Booklist described it as a relentless thriller with intriguing plot wrinkles and deftly shaped supporting players, while Entertainment Weekly called it a blistering read, saying Card plots hard-boiled action as well as Tom Clancy and adds character detail and dialogue absent from Jack Ryan novels. The novel was nominated for the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2007.

Adaptations

Empire originated from the development of an Empire video game by the Mustard brothers of Chair Entertainment Group, which was canceled. Orson Scott Card was contacted by Donald Mustard to develop the game's storyline and a novel to launch the series. The Xbox Live Arcade game Shadow Complex was announced as a tie-in to the second installment of Card's Empire trilogy and serves as a prequel to the novel, developed by ChAIR. Film rights were acquired by Joel Silver and Warner Bros.

Sequel

At the E3 video game convention, Donald Mustard of Chair Entertainment revealed that Shadow Complex would tie into the second installment of the Empire trilogy, Hidden Empire, released on December 22, 2009. In a developer diary, Card stated the game is a prequel to the original book, taking place a few hours after the vice president's death and ending within 24 hours. Orson Scott Card was approached by Chair to start the trilogy.