At Tor it mentions that you've got a book for publication in November. Since I saw it under "hardcover" I asumed this is a new novel. Is it part of the Enderverse? If not it would be great if you could enlighten my with a small non-spoiling synopsis. I'm overly curious as to what it's about. Whatever the out-come, thanx.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
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?
There's also a video game in development along side of it that I believe comes out on the same day. November 28 of this year according again to Amazon.
So no, it is not in the Enderverse. It's a story about the U.S. breaking out into a new civil war.
Hope that helps.
Posted by Hitoshi (Member # 8218) on :
Mostly right.
Empire (the game) doesn't ship until some time next year; it's barely been in production.
That's odd. Amazon says its part of the Shadow series but it's not? Or is it? The video game site posted doesn't give any information about whether it is part of the enderverse or not. Game looks cool. Anybody read the book yet?
Posted by Amilia (Member # 8912) on :
Well, it doesn't come out until November, so most of us won't have access to it for a bit. . . .
I think you misread the review on Amazon, B34N. Since this book hasn't been released yet, they did not have any reviews for it. So they stuck on a review for another of Card's books
quote:"Card's latest installment in his Shadow subseries (Ender's Shadow , etc.), which parallels the overarching series that began with Ender's Game (1985), does a superlative job of dramatically portraying the maturing process of child into adult. [. . .] Fans will marvel at how subtly he has prepared for the clever resolution." — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on Shadow of the Giant
Posted by B34N (Member # 9597) on :
Well, that makes more sense then, didn't even look at pub date. Thanks for the heads up.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
As soon as it's finished, I'll put up the first few chapters here on Hatrack.
It's not in any existing series, though it is the first of two novels set in the same very-near future. (The first novel absolutely ends, however. I promise.)
The core of the story was jointly created by Donald Mustard and me. ALL of the novel as actually written is mine, just as ALL of the game as actually written will be Donald's design. He will adapt the novel as needed to make the game great, as I have adapted the ideas from the game as needed to make the novel work.
It would make a great movie. But only if Hollywood has the guts to finance a movie that actually does a number on ALL the political extremisms of today. ("A plague on both your houses!") So much money at risk in a movie. But for the book and the game, the characters can have all the attitude the authors want! Freedom ...
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card: [Empire] is the first of two novels set in the same very-near future. (The first novel absolutely ends, however. I promise.)
What is the premise of the second novel?
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:The first novel absolutely ends, however. I promise.
This made me laugh because this is exactly the sort of question I would want answered.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Can't tell you the premise of the second novel without telling you the ending of the first.
But you knew that, you sly dog.
Posted by B34N (Member # 9597) on :
LOL. Posted by RunningBear (Member # 8477) on :
Ah, but now you have told us that they ARE connected.
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
w00t! First few chapters are up.
--j_k
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
Why did I pop in here while I'm eating my turkey and munster sandwich on whole wheat at lunch??? Now I just want to read!!! Alas... there is work to be done. *furiously returns to work after last bite is scarfed down so as to get home sooner tonight!*
Posted by Edgehopper (Member # 1716) on :
Well, whatever day in November this comes out, I know how I'll be spending that night. Those first 5 chapters are amazing. This will only be the third time I'll pin a book release date to the calendar and plan to read the entire book the night it comes out (the other 2 being for Harry Potters 5 and 6.)
Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
Seriously, I was supposed to be WORKING today. I've just spent an hour and a half sitting here!
I LOVE IT.
Mr. Card, you can definitely write a thriller :-)
Can't wait till november.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card: Can't tell you the premise of the second novel without telling you the ending of the first.
But you knew that, you sly dog.
Who, me?
::whistles innocently::
Posted by B34N (Member # 9597) on :
quote:Originally posted by Noemon:
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card: Can't tell you the premise of the second novel without telling you the ending of the first.
But you knew that, you sly dog.
Who, me?
::whistles innocently::
LOL AGAIN Posted by RunningBear (Member # 8477) on :
Oh No.
I just realized, next month is September, not November...
too many months!!
Posted by jongo05 (Member # 7580) on :
So I told myself when I first heard that this book was coming out even though it is OSC, I won't be interested in this, too political and the such but then I had to see that the first few chapters were up and after chapter one I thought, yeah you don't need to read this, but then I read chapter 2 and then I read chapter 3 and 4 and 5 and once again I am looking forward to the release of another OSC novel.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
quote:Originally posted by RunningBear: Oh No.
I just realized, next month is September, not November...
too many months!!
And October too! Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
quote:Ah, but now you have told us that they ARE connected.
Made me think:
quote:So, there is kissing.
I am curious whether Malek is a symbolic name or if you picked it out of a hat. Just, you know, for my own sanity.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Do you even have October in America? Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Of course we have October...Major League Baseball and the NFL wouldn't have it any other way. Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Out of a hat. Not symbolic.
Now we're talking about maybe TWO more novels, since the stuff that happens after book 1 is so complex that it logically divides in two.
Hardest thing: Having protagonists who have logical reasons for being close to the heart of the action at all times. Think through history - World War II, for instance. How could you write a novel that focuses on the actual geopolitical issues? To be at the center of the political action, your hero would have to be, say, Winston Churchill (or Josef Stalin, or Adolf Hitler) - but then your hero couldn't be involved in any of the ACTION. And if your hero is involved in the ACTION, then how could he possibly be involved, except peripherally, in the politics?
Very difficult dance to do, juggling your characters into and out of the key scenes....
It is quite possible that the heroes of the second and perhaps third novels will NOT be the heroes of the second and perhaps third videogames - because the novel heroes might have to be more into the politics while the game is more into the action.
But ... since we're playing with Roman analogies ... it's worth remembering that Rome had the citizen-soldier as an ideal, and people like Octavian and Julius and Hadrian were war leaders first, then political leaders.
We'll see how plausible it is. I think Clancy's main series crashed on this very reef. I don't want mine to crash there too.
Posted by Hitoshi (Member # 8218) on :
Mr. Card: Think you could tell us a wee bit about the game design of Empire?
For example, what kind of game will it be? How large of a role does the narrative play in the game?
I'm just really hoping it turns out to be as good as Advent, without any bugs. I can't tell you how sick I am of games like Doom3 that have plot only in the sense that it tells you where to go when. I much enjoy narrative-driven, cinematic games like Advent Rising or Indigo Prophecy.
Actually, one thing I hope they avoid is the "lone man vs. army of enemies" pitfall most games suffer from; it destroys all believability instantly.
"You, Sgt. Big Arms, must take your pistol and defeat an army of hellspawn entirely on your own. The rest of the army will be waiting around outside or will assist you by running into walls or into your line of fire."
Posted by 0Megabyte (Member # 8624) on :
Hmm. It's funny, when I was reading the chapters, I could tell it was OSC's writing. He's so distinctive now in my mind!
As are your opinions, which are always at the very least interesting.
Anyway: OSC, you mention how difficult it is to have a protagonist who is there in all the action.
I've recently been reading a pretty nice series which in a way solves this problem (though is very much different from the style you use, however)
Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series does it by having a whole heckuva bunch of people all in different positions, all of which have their own vantage points on the action... which did a good job of painting a very large tapestry. At least in my opinion.
So, yeah, when using that system, you don't need your characters at the heart of the action all of the time. Then again ,you don't and really can't have a main protagonist then either, just a whole bunch of side characters all doing their thing, kinda like real life.
Not saying you should do it that way or anything, just mentioning how I've seen another author do it. That seems to be Turtledove's style with all his books, anyway.
You've probably read stuff from Turtledove? Or have you? I have no idea, actually. Though he does do science fiction a lot...
Posted by Gwen (Member # 9551) on :
That's what *cough* Kate Elliot does in the Crown of Stars series...it's really neat reading it and discovering that all these interesting stories that seem to be completely unconnected aside from the universe they take place in are actually intricately connected. And none of the storylines are so boring that you think through the whole thing, come on, hurry up, get back to what's going on with Alain or Liath or Anna or Sanglant or Ivan or Antonia. Very well-written. And pretty much all of the main characters (it feels silly to call them that, since I just listed most of them and it's quite a list--add Zachariah, Rosvita, Stronghand, and Hanna, and that's about all but it's still a lot) come into contact with all of the others, so you get to follow around plotlines better--a lapis lazuli ring that went through most of the characters, a family line getting puzzled out by different characters so that all of the characters think different things and the only one who knows and is right doesn't get a chance to tell anyone. It's fascinating, and you get to see almost everything that's important going on in that world. But it does seem like an extremely difficult path to take; almost easier just to magic all the protagonists into the crucial places and damn the "but it's not realistic" crowd...lots of luck and literary acclaim!
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