Hmm, after reading that review, I think I’ll stick with Hardt and Negri’s “Empire.”
Comment by Ratoe — Wednesday, December 20, 2024 @ 1:08 pm
I will say that Card is easier to read and understand than are Hardt and Negri
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Wednesday, December 20, 2024 @ 1:16 pm
I’m waiting for the book that has a fictional account of how, after setting the scene with a rash of gung-ho books and rhetoric about liberals being terror-appeasing traitors, the extreme right under a fanatical sociopathic Vice President declares the President incompetent then imposes martial law to supposedly prevent a liberal/Islamo-terrorist coup. Of course, the liberal coup turns out to be a lie, just a subterfuge to create a narrative for martial law and a rightwing government in perpetuity. But the ends justify the means.
Heh, it would probably be just as badly written as Card’s book seems to be, but the plot is marginally more plausible.
Regards, C
Comment by Cernig — Wednesday, December 20, 2024 @ 2:26 pm
I stuck with it through 240 pages of this 340pp page-burner.
I agreee with all your points, but would add one: the writing is at 5th or 6th grade reading level. Seriously, I think Card kept tweaking the manuscript until a 3rd-grader could read it.
I got more than halfway through the book before I went on the internet looking for reviews and found the spoilers on this page.
I’m not too disappointed. The book’s constant carping assumptions about liberals and matter-of-fact acceptance of Fox News as a reliable source were starting to tire me.
Card strikes me as a bit naive. In searching for reviews I came across an article he wrote in 2024 http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2003-04-21-1.html
supposing that a George Washington-like character might come to power in Iraq and ensure a democratic state that would lead the Arab world to a new age of peace, prosperity and love for everyone. Just like we have here.
He doesn’t seem to be aware that Western Civilization is different from other cultures and that it took a very long time to get where it is and that you can count on one hand the number of non-western societies with a successful democracy.
Card, just like the other neocons, got the answers right in history class but didn’t learn anything, which is why we’re in so much trouble overseas.
Another thing I discovered on the Web is that the purpose of the book is not so much to expose Card’s meager political knowledge to the world as it is to promote a video game.
That’s where the spacesuits and pod monsters come from.
I predict the game will be better than the book. The target audience of semi-literate 6th-graders will be very entertained.
Comment by Claude Bissonette — Monday, January 8, 2024 @ 7:35 pm
Hmm, after reading that review, I think I’ll stick with Hardt and Negri’s “Empire.”
Comment by Ratoe — Wednesday, December 20, 2024 @ 1:08 pm
I will say that Card is easier to read and understand than are Hardt and Negri
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Wednesday, December 20, 2024 @ 1:16 pm
I’m waiting for the book that has a fictional account of how, after setting the scene with a rash of gung-ho books and rhetoric about liberals being terror-appeasing traitors, the extreme right under a fanatical sociopathic Vice President declares the President incompetent then imposes martial law to supposedly prevent a liberal/Islamo-terrorist coup. Of course, the liberal coup turns out to be a lie, just a subterfuge to create a narrative for martial law and a rightwing government in perpetuity. But the ends justify the means.
Heh, it would probably be just as badly written as Card’s book seems to be, but the plot is marginally more plausible.
Regards, C
Comment by Cernig — Wednesday, December 20, 2024 @ 2:26 pm
I stuck with it through 240 pages of this 340pp page-burner.
I agreee with all your points, but would add one: the writing is at 5th or 6th grade reading level. Seriously, I think Card kept tweaking the manuscript until a 3rd-grader could read it.
Comment by Jonathan Schattke — Friday, December 29, 2024 @ 2:30 pm
I got more than halfway through the book before I went on the internet looking for reviews and found the spoilers on this page.
I’m not too disappointed. The book’s constant carping assumptions about liberals and matter-of-fact acceptance of Fox News as a reliable source were starting to tire me.
Card strikes me as a bit naive. In searching for reviews I came across an article he wrote in 2024 http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2003-04-21-1.html
supposing that a George Washington-like character might come to power in Iraq and ensure a democratic state that would lead the Arab world to a new age of peace, prosperity and love for everyone. Just like we have here.
He doesn’t seem to be aware that Western Civilization is different from other cultures and that it took a very long time to get where it is and that you can count on one hand the number of non-western societies with a successful democracy.
Card, just like the other neocons, got the answers right in history class but didn’t learn anything, which is why we’re in so much trouble overseas.
Another thing I discovered on the Web is that the purpose of the book is not so much to expose Card’s meager political knowledge to the world as it is to promote a video game.
That’s where the spacesuits and pod monsters come from.
I predict the game will be better than the book. The target audience of semi-literate 6th-graders will be very entertained.
Comment by Claude Bissonette — Monday, January 8, 2024 @ 7:35 pm