Seventh Son and Red Prophet: The First Two Volumes of The Tales of Alvin Maker

Tales of Alvin Maker #1-2

by Orson Scott Card

Collected here in one volume, the first two books in the Alvin Maker series, Seventh Son and Red Prophet. From Orson Scott Card, the New York Times bestselling author of Ender's Game, comes an unforgettable story about young Alvin the seventh son of a seventh son. Born into an alternative frontier America where life is hard and folk magic is real, Alvin is gifted with the power. He must learn to use his gift wisely. But dark forces are arrayed against Alvin, and only a young girl with second sight can protect him. "This beguiling book recalls Robert Penn Warren in its robust blend of folktale, history, parable, personal testimony, and pioneer narrative." --Publishers Weekly on Seventh Son"An American fantasy in the tradition of T. H. White's Sword in the Stone." --School Library JournalAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction

642 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2016

About the author

Orson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.

Reviews

[Paul Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could give it 4 and a half stars. The early American setting led me to feel that some of extraordinary magical scenes were just too outrageous, even though it's an alternate reality. If this were set on another world, maybe it would rate five stars.

Although both books told epic tales with satisfactory endings, it didn't seem like Alvin had much character growth. Even though he was on almost every page and was crucial to the outcomes, I felt like, I dunno, he was only a supporting figure. Maybe Card wanted to "save" or hold back Alvin a little so he could tell his wonderful saga without "using up" Alvin.

I loved this alternate reality of little spells and wards and a few powerful individuals. However, I didn't sense a coherent system of magic: what does it cost to work some homespun influence? What are the limits to the top prophets and magic wielders?

I plan on getting the rest of Alvin Maker and devouring them as soon as feasible.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly can't tell if this series is super racist, just kinda racist, or trying very hard not to be racist and failing. Like, there's a White Savior who is better at being a native American than the other native Americans, and the narrator calls the native Americans only by a variation of a rawther offensive term, but then there are some very well-rounded native American characters and as a people they're obviously supposed to be Super Connected to the Earth and Extremely Righteous (which... is a known trope that can definitely be racist). So tl;dr I need to read some reviews and see how folks from that people group feel about this series. I'm going to finish it, I think, but I don't want to go raving about it if it's bad representation, ya know?

[Ben Kreucher · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's books 1 and 2 of the Alvin Maker series and I'm glad of it. Seventh Son doesn't end so much as pauses, much like Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War. It's just a break to say, "here's a warm-up". Red Prophet at least finishes most of the story from Seventh Son while expanding upon it and giving more worldbuilding and plot to keep you coming back and interested in book 3 without leaving you hanging and saying, "wait just a second, why pause there?"

Overall, I enjoyed the look at a different version of past events. Colonial America with a more supernatural bent, a fantastical setting where magic is real, America is still young and Europe still trying to keep a finger on American soil. Plus, Alvin's interesting, even if some might say his powers, his knacks, make him too much of a Gary Stu. I thought it made sense, though, if Orson Scott Card wants to set him down a path toward a showdown with the Unmaker.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is quite good. I wrestled with how the overt racism has aged, but it helps push the point that the colonizers were the problem. That their inherent greed and disrespect for the land is so problematic. This is still a valuable lesson as we struggle with the impacts of capitalism on the growing climate crisis.

[Mark Zodda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Seventh Son a little more than Red Prophet though that had more to do with the centrality of Alvin Maker in the first book. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Debbie Bode · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first and second chapters of the Alvin Maker stories, engaging and inventive