Presented to: Orson Scott Card
For: Empire
Orson Scott Card once again has shown us how to follow the commandment to "magnify your calling." Just as he did more than write a movie novelization with The Abyss, he has transcended the standard gaming tie-in novel with Empire. Yes, it has the action, the intrigue, and the "cool gadgets" of a great game, but it also makes the reader think. Are we heading for a divided political house that really will not be able to stand? Is compromise the answer, and if so, what kind of compromise? In a novel that appears to be about the potential dangers of a two-party system gone to extremes, Card manages to hint at some very good reasons for the need for "opposition in all things." Empire is more than a cautionary tale, however. It's an exploration of the lives and hearts of real characters, not just figures doing battle in a game. It's an examination of how people look at their choices, and how they decide what their true priorities are. It asks us each to think, not just feel; to act, not just react. And it reminds us that even when good men do something, evil can gain the upper hand, and that we need to pay attention to what is going on around us. Card paints a very possible future, one we may see with our own eyes, and we can hope that by magnifying a gaming tie-in, he has prepared our minds for more than just a game.