the empire of "songmaster" is a place of treachery, resembling that of ancient rome and the galactic empire of isaac asimov's foundation series. the book is morally ambivalent. true love, both heterosexual and homosexual, are major themes as are loyalty and honor. fraud, kidnapping, assassination, murder are also prevalent and each of them is shown in more than one light. as with many of card's works, this story is more about the interplay of people, and their moral issues, than it is about technology, although the empire clearly has advanced technology.