Empire - Orson Scott Card

I picked this up from the "new paperbacks" rack at the bookstore, and I really wish I had tried to get it at the library instead. I only made it through the first 75 pages, and I am not going to finish it. I thought Card would be a safe bet, despite the decreasing quality of his "Ender" series, but this by far is his worst. The premise from the back of the book sounds very interesting, unfortunately he doesn't execute it. It is pedantic, with cardboard characters and a preposterous yet confusing plot.