Orson Scott Card's sequel to his best selling book "Empire." Some of the same characters from Empire continue in this book, most of which takes place in either today's Washington, DC or central Africa where a new deadly plague is decimating the population. As always, Card uses young people in an excellent way to move his story of adventure and fighting forward. This is not so much science fiction as it is current history with a few futuristic add-ons. Watch for the major twist at the end.

This is a great beach read if you've read "Empire."