Empire: The Empire Duet, Part 1

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Orson Scott Card is a master storyteller who has earned millions of fans and reams of praise for his previous science-fiction and fantasy works. Now he steps a little closer to the present day with this chilling look at a near-future scenario: a new American Civil War.

The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone.

The battle rages between the high-technology weapons on one side and militia foot-soldiers on the other, devastating the cities and overrunning the countryside. But the vast majority, who only want the killing to stop and the nation to return to more peaceful days, have technology, weapons, and strategic geniuses of their own.

When the American dream shatters into violence, who can hold the people and the government together? And which side will you be on?

©2006 Orson Scott Card (P)2006 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"Couldn't be timelier...heartfelt and sobering....All the action doesn't obscure the author's message about the dangers of extreme political polarization and the need to reassert moderation and mutual citizenship...it drives it home." (Booklist)

Not my favorite OSC, but my favorite in a while

Loved the premise. The narration made it 5 stars for me. Stefan Rudnicki is my favorite narrator of all time.

eh, it's ok

First Card book that i didn't fly through. The best part of the book for me was the author commentary at the conclusion. His views on the current state of US politics are spot on.

Good story (not great) a little preachy

I haven't read anything from Orson Scott Card that was quite like this before. Perhaps it is the fact that conspiracy theories are not my favorite Genre, but I didn’t really enjoy this book that much. The story was decent but there are a lot of authors who do this kind of story a lot better. And the Ideal logy that was being presented isn't something I completely agree with either.
While I too agree that we should not be so extremely left or right that we cannot see anything the other side is trying to show us. There does come a time when we have to stand up for what we believe in.

There I go assuming that I too know more than you do and feeling the need to preach my own "enlightened" theories, sorry.

This book was Just OK for me.
David

With deadly accuracy

It is amazing how accurately OSC is able to articulate the phases and ideology of the opposing forces in America today. Written a decade ago, tensions have raisen since then and are now comparable to those reflected in this book. Each year they progressively get worse. Everyone is insane.

Scary Yet Awesome

This book is scarily real. We can't imagine a civil war happening, yet Card really shows us a believable way for that to happen. This book is real good a must read for anybody, who likes fiction, and Card. This is his best book yet. Better then Ender's Game.

Wow!!!

A very timely story. I listened to it during the 2020 election and it struck a nerve. I can't wait for part 2.

Authors comments at the end say it all!

enjoyed the story but the greatest enjoyment was from the authors comments at the end of the book! Thanks Mr. Card for so eloquently stating the truth of where our country is headed and what must be done to stop it!

Pass it on. Cautionary tale, very worth repeating.

nothing to add and definitely nothing to take away from what has already been written.

SciFi at its best!

The more I listened to this book, the more I could see our current political situation. This is one of the best books I’ve read in awhile. It’s written so well, that I could actually see this happening in our country. It’s just another example of why Orson Scott Card is such an amazing writer.

Every American needs to listen to the afterward.

I wish that every American would listen to and put into practice what the author says in the afterward.