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Hidden Empire

Orson Scott Card

Tor Books

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The war of words between right and left collapsed into a shooting war, and raged between the high-technology weapons on each side, devastating cities and overrunning the countryside.

At the close of Empire, political scientist and government adviser Averell Torrent had maneuvered himself into the presidency of the United States. And now that he has complete power at home, he plans to expand American imperial power around the world.

Opportunity comes quickly. There’s a deadly new plague in Africa, and it is devastating the countryside and cities. President Torrent declares American solidarity with the victims, but places all of Africa in quarantine until a vaccine is found or the disease burns itself out. And he sends Captain Bartholomew Coleman, Cole to his friends, to run the relief operations and protect the American scientists working on identifying the virus. If Cole and his team can avoid dying of the plague, or being cut down by the weapons of fearful African nations, they might do some good. Or they might be out of the way for good.

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ONE
SICK MONKEYS
THIS IS a dangerous planet. Only a politician would try to tell you otherwise. And I’m not talking about wars—we’re America, we win our wars.There are earthquakes, storms, volcanos. Plagues can appear out of nowhere and slaughter millions of people. Blights can wipe out our crops. A meteor the size of a bus could hit the earth and send us back to the Stone Age. An extraordinary solar .are could destroy our electronics or heat our atmosphere so much our crops all die and we starve.

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Hidden Empire by Orson Scott Card--Audiobook Excerpt

Listen to this audiobook excerpt from Orson Scott Card's science fiction novel Hidden Empire, read by the author, Stefan Rudnicki and Rusty Humphries. In this sequel to Card's bestselling novel Empire, Averell Torrent has become President of the United States, with enormous political and popular support and, if people only realized it, a tight grip on the reins of both political parties. He has launched America into a get-tough, this-world-is-our-empire foreign policy stance.

Reviews

Praise for Hidden Empire

“[A] relentless thriller, which couldn't be timelier and is, for all its hyperactivity and flip, Hollywoodish one-liners, heartfelt and sobering…. Intriguing plot wrinkles come fore and aft of those basic developments, there are many deftly shaped supporting players, and major shocks explode in a split second (no Stephen King slo-mo for Card!). Moreover, 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; indeed, it drives it home.”--Booklist on Empire

“Violent infighting has the American Empire on the brink of destruction in this look at a possible future.”
--Library Journal on Empire

Reviews from Goodreads

Nola rated it

Feb 29, 2012

Yet another fantastic book by OSC!

As usual with Card, a well developed story line is paired to excellent and credible characters to create another page-turning read. Having read the first book in the series, Empire, I knew that the general 'sacred' expectations were likely to be broken, but I'm a... ...more

Peter rated it

Nov 24, 2011

This is the second volume in the Empire series which are really novels developed to support the idea behind a video game production...I believe I have that write...but they are also a rewriting of Roman History in America and the idea of the end of a republic and the beginning of an empire. Witho... ...more

Gordon rated it

Nov 15, 2011

This was a fun and intriguing conspiracy thriller with lots of military action. Left me pondering at the end, because I'm not sure if the good guys won. ...more

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About the Author

Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead. Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the only author to win these two top prizes in consecutive years. There are seven other novels to date in The Ender Universe series. Card has also written fantasy: The Tales of Alvin Maker is a series of fantasy novels set in frontier America; his most recent novel, The Lost Gate, is a contemporary magical fantasy. Card has written many other stand-alone sf and fantasy novels, as well as movie tie-ins and games, and publishes an internet-based science fiction and fantasy magazine, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, Card directs plays and teaches writing and literature at Southern Virginia University. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and youngest daughter, Zina Margaret.

Orson Scott Card