Empire by Orson Scott Card - a review

Empire is easily the worst thing I've ever read by Orson Scott Card, and the worst book I've read in some time, period. I honestly didn't think he was capable of such clunky prose, wooden dialogue, and cardboard characters. The thriller sections weren't thrilling and I often had to push myself to finish. There was actually dialogue along the lines of "Seeing as we're both in such excellent physical shape, there's no need to park too close." This is just plain sloppy writing. And he was so desperate to deliver his message, large chunks of it read like rant. I much preferred the Afterword, when he laid out his social concerns in a straightforward and much more readable manner. His attempts to work these concerns into the dialogue and expositions were done with all the subtlety of a novice (which Card isn't) and gave my eyes a good workout from frequent rolling. He was working on a schedule and running late and boy, does it ever show.

It is a shame. OSC, as he is known to his fans, is capable of much better. I've read a number of his books and they were either brilliant (Ender's Game, most notably) or at least a darn good read (Enchantment). Also, the questions he raises in the book are worthy of a better treatment. The polarization of American political culture into two camps of mutual loathing is one I've blogged on before. It's toxic, and this book shows us what such toxicity could theoretically lead to. The whole question of the United States as an empire or empire-to-be is also worthy of some serious thought. I wish he had handled it as deftly as he did with such large issues in the Ender series.

I would also dearly love to see a female character who is not a carbon copy of all his others. All his main female characters have the same persona: engaging, witty, highly intelligent, unconventional. I would dearly love to meet his wife, who is supposedly the template for them, and who is obviously well worth knowing, but I wish he could summon up another female character he is capable of liking.

Just one star for this effort.


Technorati tags: Empire, Orson Scott Card

What kind of Canada?

There was a very disturbing article (in French) in LaPresse today about a priest come to visit immigrant workers who was chased off the FraiseBec farm in Ste-Anne-des-Plaines by the irate owner, Isabelle Charbonneau.

There are a couple of things very wrong with this picture.

First, immigrant workers are being held in unacceptable conditions. A landlord, as Father Clement Bolduc pointed out very reasonably, has no right to restrict the visitors of tenants. Mme Charbonneau claims she has a "responsibility" to "protect" her workers, who are mostly women. There was nothing in the situation that indicated that these women were in any danger whatsoever. Mme Charbonneau, who was physically present, was well placed to evaluate this herself. She had no legal right to evict the priest.

Second, this eviction was carried out with active help from the Terrebonne police. Since when do the police assist people in asserting authority to which they have no legal right, and which, even worse, is oppressive in nature?

There are too many cases of immigrant workers being exploited and oppressed in Canada. We do not need the police intervening on behalf of those who are taking advantage of them.

FraiseBec is apparently the largest strawberry producer in the country. I do believe I will be keeping an eye out for their produce, so that I can actively avoid it.

Technorati tags: FraiseBec, Immigrant workers