The Warring States of NPF - Orson Scott Card is Insane

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Orson Scott Card is Insane

Quote:

From Publishers Weekly
Right-wing rhetoric trumps the logic of story and character in this near-future political thriller about a red-state vs. blue-state American civil war, an implausibly plotted departure from Card's bestselling science fiction (Ender's Game, etc.). When the president and vice-president are killed by domestic terrorists (of unknown political identity), a radical leftist army calling itself the Progressive Restoration takes over New York City and declares itself the rightful government of the United States. Other blue states officially recognize the legitimacy of the group, thus starting a second civil war. Card's heroic red-state protagonists, Maj. Reuben "Rube" Malek and Capt. Bartholomew "Cole" Coleman, draw on their Special Ops training to take down the extremist leftists and restore peace to the nation. The action is overshadowed by the novel's polemical message, which Card tops off with an afterword decrying his own politically-motivated exclusion from various conventions and campuses, the "national media elite" and the divisive excesses of both the right and the left.
Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quote:

From Booklist
Some video-game developers asked Card to write a scenario for "an entertainment franchise . . . about a near-future American civil war." They came to the right man and held off on releasing the game until he completed this relentless thriller, which couldn't be timelier and is, for all its hyperactivity and flip, Hollywoodish one-liners, heartfelt and sobering. Its heroes are two special-ops army officers who keep their oaths to defend the U.S. against all enemies when far too many of their ostensible colleagues have decided to abandon theirs. A rocket hits the west wing of the White House, killing the president, vice-president, and secretary of defense. While those directly responsible are Arabs, the next day, 14-foot-tall, bulletproof, armed globes on mechanical legs, backed by shooters on individual hovercraft, seize New York City by killing anyone in uniform. None of the new attackers looks anything other than American. A "Progressive Restoration" administration is established in the city, and it encourages other cities and states to join it to restore government as it should have been but for the stolen elections of 2000 and 2004. 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. Ray Olson

Rocket-weilding Arab terrorists wiping out the executive branch in a single strike on behalf of their liberal masters who then proceed to seize control of the nation with their evil, communistic terror-bots, and the only thing that can save us is two Arny Boyz from GoodOl'Boysville, Red State.

Man, remember back when Orson Scott Card was totally awesome, back before The Terror got him all hella-crazy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by fifthfiend

Man, remember back when Orson Scott Card was totally awesome, back before The Terror got him all hella-crazy?

I remember those days.

Those were good days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fifthfiend

Man, remember back when Orson Scott Card was totally awesome, back before The Terror got him all hella-crazy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Blood

I remember those days.

Those were good days.

I remember one time me and Orson went fishing for catfish in the crick out behind pa’s house. We saw this biggun’ swim by and I told Orson, I said I reckon he’d better just jump on in and wrestle it and sure as shit ‘for I was even done talkin’ he was in the crick, thrashing around fightin’ this monster of a catfish. Damn thing was big as he was, swear t’ God. He tussled with that goddamn fish 'most an hour ‘for it got away. I helped him out ta' crick and we laughed ‘bout it on our way back to the house. Orson said he was gonna go back to that crick and catch that catfish someday, show it what’s fer.

I miss that kid.

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Orson--please--put down the remote control and the assault rifle, and back slowly away from the Fox News feed. Then count to ten, take a few deep breaths, and then ask yourself, "Wow, what the fuck have I been smoking lately?"

Fellow liberals! The one called Card has discovered Operation Blow Up The White House and Conquer New York City! He even knows about the new civil war we were planning! Quick, back to the Liberal-Cave to concoct a scheme even more foul and fiendish!

We'll get you next time, ~~Inspector Gadget~~ Orson Scott Card--next time...

Geez, this really makes me sad considering that Card is my favorite author of all time. His Seventh Son series is just genius and I don't think I need to go into the Ender series. It's a shame that his ideas have been reduced to this. Hopefully he'll rethink this and just decide that it was one bad night at the bar and that he shouldn't use drunken ideas for book or video game plots.

Maybe it's just time for good old Orson to put down the pen.

Or, you know, the acid.

Huh, this doesn't seem so crazy to me. I mean, yah, the whole scenario is insane, and completely implausible etc. But why are you all so upset over his writing it? From what I can see, he was asked to create a "what-if" scenario, and that's what he did. Would you be reacting the same way if he wrote a novel about Right Wing extremeists nuking NYC and San Fransisco, then declaring a new Government with its capital in Kansas? Both scenario's are completely insane, but it seems to me that both could make for a pretty good story.

It's just a novel.

Why is Orson Scott Card insane? Well why don't we go right to the source itself, to see why Orson Scott Card is insane?

Quote:

"You look pissed off," said Malich.

"Yeah," said Cole. "The terrorists are crazy and scary, but what really pisses me off is knowing that this will make a whole bunch of European intellectuals very happy."

"They won't be so happy when they see where it leads. They've already forgotten Sarajevo and the killing fields of Flanders."

"I bet they're already 'advising' Americans that this is where our military 'aggression' inevitably leads, so we should take this as a sign that we need to change our policies and retreat from the world."

"And maybe we will," said Malich. "A lot of Americans would love to slam the doors shut and let the rest of the world go hang."

"And if we did," said Cole, "who would save Europe then? How long before they find out that negotiations only work if the other guy is scared of the consequences of not negotiating? Everybody hates America till they need us to liberate them."

"You're forgetting that nobody cares what Europeans think except a handful of American intellectuals who are every bit as anti-American as the French," said Malich.

Terrorists are scary an' stuff, but the real danger is American university professors.

And I'm sure Card isn't using his characters as a mouthpiece or anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryanderman

Yeah, but he's writing it from a clear political viewpoint. It's no secret that Card is fairly conservative, and while it's obviously an implausable "what-if" scenario, he's tacitly implying that liberals would do something of this nature if it were possible.

And yeah, I would be equally upset if he wrote a novel about right wing group doing the same thing, because it would contribute negatively to an already deteriorating national political dialogue. I'm tired of all the negativity on BOTH sides; if this country wants to progress, we have to stop just trying to tear the people who disagree with us down, and actually discuss issues and try and come to some sort of concensus. Something like this isn't going to help.

It makes me sad. "Speaker for the Dead" is my vote for one of the best novels of all time. To see that this is what Card's doing now is extremely disappointing. It also seems to be part of an unfortunate trend: see Frank Miller's new Batman book "Holy Terror, Batman", which is similar, what with Batman defending Gotham from freakin' Al-Qaida. :rolleyes:

Whelp, c'mon fifth.

Let's go save Europe.