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Tales of Alvin Maker #3
Prentice Alvin
The Tales of Alvin Maker series from bestselling author Orson Scott Card continues in volume three, Prentice Alvin . Young Alvin returns to the town of his birth, and begins his apprenticeship with Makepeace Smith, committing seven years of his life in exchange for the skills and knowledge of a blacksmith. But Alvin must also learn to control and use his own talent, that of a Maker, else his destiny will be unfulfilled.
The Tales of Alvin Maker series
Seventh Son
Red Prophet
Prentice Alvin
Alvin Journeyman
Heartfire
The Crystal City
The Tales of Alvin Maker series
Seventh Son
Red Prophet
Prentice Alvin
Alvin Journeyman
Heartfire
The Crystal City
342 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
94 people are currently reading
3412 people want to read
About the author
Orson Scott Card
891 books20.6k followersOrson 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.
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.
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January 2, 2012
Question: How is reading a sequel to a book you loved similar to a restroom visit after “Spicy Night” at the Taco Emporium?
Answer:...Both require you to manage your expectations and BE PREPARED.
Well, stupid toss-pot that I am, I broke the cardinal rule of sequels and went hopscotching headlong into this book with my mental gas mask safely stowed up on the top shelf behind the untouched can of “use your brain” spray.
And it happened...
...I got a stinging, gut-twisting case of "the sequels"...for which I was idiotically unprepared!! Man, was I pissed right off. I mean anyone, anyone with half a neuron firing in their thought factory could see it coming a kill-me-now-o-meter away...anyone except for me, Senor Asshatio.
So there I was...staring into the bowels of a stinky, painful, cramp-causing, sweat-inducing case of the quels...and watching my overly optimistic, unmanaged expectations shatter like glass goblin.
The most embarrassing part for me is that this was not my first sequel rodeo. I've been down the highway of broken dreams and dashed hopes before and thought I had sufficient trained myself to avoid such bright-eyed optimism. I mean I'd cried myself through Star Wars I, II and III (I still hate you George Lucas), Chapterhouse: Dune, The Exorcist II, Dead and Alive and Star Trek III through ??? (God Bless you J.J. Abrams for saving the franchise).
Anyway, I'll cease ranting and move on to the book.
So after really enjoying the first two books in the Alvin Maker series, Seventh Son and Red Prophet, my romance with this series has come to an abrupt and, as mentioned above, painful end. The writing was fine and even fairly polished. However, I found the plot so excruciatingly boring that I actually felt my will to live begin to wane. I just wanted it to be over and that is no way to think while your reading.
As for the plot itself, I will assume you know the "alternate 19th Century America" background and basic premise of the series if you are up to book 3. So young Alvin continues on his way to becoming a superhero, learning the ways of the force or the Ninja or the secret of the Matrix....some magical crap like that. His nemesis is the Unmaker (just think Satan + Darth Meanie + Cruella de Vil and you got it). The Unmaker's current scheme is convincing Mr. Horny White Slave Owner to change his name to Sir Hump-A-Lot and get busy, busy, busy with ALL of the black female slaves so he can spread his seed far and wide and create a new race of people....apparently in contemplation of a new Sith army or something like that.
In addition, you have some good people, some bad people, quite a few dumb people, way too many boring people, a Torch, a Blacksmith and....A Magical Plow made of Living Gold (I am not kidding about that...Magical...Plow....Living....Gold!!!
That was enough for me!!! 2.0 Stars and a request for a permanent separation from this series.
Answer:...Both require you to manage your expectations and BE PREPARED.
Well, stupid toss-pot that I am, I broke the cardinal rule of sequels and went hopscotching headlong into this book with my mental gas mask safely stowed up on the top shelf behind the untouched can of “use your brain” spray.
And it happened...
...I got a stinging, gut-twisting case of "the sequels"...for which I was idiotically unprepared!! Man, was I pissed right off. I mean anyone, anyone with half a neuron firing in their thought factory could see it coming a kill-me-now-o-meter away...anyone except for me, Senor Asshatio.
So there I was...staring into the bowels of a stinky, painful, cramp-causing, sweat-inducing case of the quels...and watching my overly optimistic, unmanaged expectations shatter like glass goblin.
The most embarrassing part for me is that this was not my first sequel rodeo. I've been down the highway of broken dreams and dashed hopes before and thought I had sufficient trained myself to avoid such bright-eyed optimism. I mean I'd cried myself through Star Wars I, II and III (I still hate you George Lucas), Chapterhouse: Dune, The Exorcist II, Dead and Alive and Star Trek III through ??? (God Bless you J.J. Abrams for saving the franchise).
Anyway, I'll cease ranting and move on to the book.
So after really enjoying the first two books in the Alvin Maker series, Seventh Son and Red Prophet, my romance with this series has come to an abrupt and, as mentioned above, painful end. The writing was fine and even fairly polished. However, I found the plot so excruciatingly boring that I actually felt my will to live begin to wane. I just wanted it to be over and that is no way to think while your reading.
As for the plot itself, I will assume you know the "alternate 19th Century America" background and basic premise of the series if you are up to book 3. So young Alvin continues on his way to becoming a superhero, learning the ways of the force or the Ninja or the secret of the Matrix....some magical crap like that. His nemesis is the Unmaker (just think Satan + Darth Meanie + Cruella de Vil and you got it). The Unmaker's current scheme is convincing Mr. Horny White Slave Owner to change his name to Sir Hump-A-Lot and get busy, busy, busy with ALL of the black female slaves so he can spread his seed far and wide and create a new race of people....apparently in contemplation of a new Sith army or something like that.
In addition, you have some good people, some bad people, quite a few dumb people, way too many boring people, a Torch, a Blacksmith and....A Magical Plow made of Living Gold (I am not kidding about that...Magical...Plow....Living....Gold!!!
That was enough for me!!! 2.0 Stars and a request for a permanent separation from this series.
May 1, 2017
2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.
This has to be one of the oddest fantasy series that I have ever read. O.S. Card gives early American history his own strange, imaginative torque. Cross Pilgrim’s Progress with the Belgariad, add in a dash of chemistry, alchemy, and magic, and you get this weird combination of the chosen one quest tale and religious allegory.
Alvin is definitely a “chosen one” with characteristics of Jesus and Joseph Smith both. His quest is to become a Maker, kind of an apprentice creator to God. Like the protagonists in most quest tales, he must learn to control himself as well as to control his talent. He is up against the Unmaker, the Satan stand-in for this series, which reminds me strongly of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry series.
The last volume dealt with race relations between settlers and Native Americans, which leaned heavily on the Noble Savage concept of the 19th century. This volume explores the relationship between white owners and black slaves. Both of these volumes leave me wondering what exactly Card is trying to accomplish in this regard—whatever it is, I didn’t get it.
Book 255 in my Science Fiction and Fantasy reading project.
This has to be one of the oddest fantasy series that I have ever read. O.S. Card gives early American history his own strange, imaginative torque. Cross Pilgrim’s Progress with the Belgariad, add in a dash of chemistry, alchemy, and magic, and you get this weird combination of the chosen one quest tale and religious allegory.
Alvin is definitely a “chosen one” with characteristics of Jesus and Joseph Smith both. His quest is to become a Maker, kind of an apprentice creator to God. Like the protagonists in most quest tales, he must learn to control himself as well as to control his talent. He is up against the Unmaker, the Satan stand-in for this series, which reminds me strongly of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry series.
The last volume dealt with race relations between settlers and Native Americans, which leaned heavily on the Noble Savage concept of the 19th century. This volume explores the relationship between white owners and black slaves. Both of these volumes leave me wondering what exactly Card is trying to accomplish in this regard—whatever it is, I didn’t get it.
Book 255 in my Science Fiction and Fantasy reading project.
September 13, 2009
As the above description indicates, this installment of the series finds Alvin at a transitional stage of his life, learning how (and how not) to use his unique powers as a Maker, in the service of the vision of the Crystal City which Tenskwa-Tawa, the Prophet, showed him as a child. But it also marks a transitional time in the life of Peggy, the "torch" (seer) whose destiny has been entwined with his since she was a toddler five years old. Her visions of possible futures are manifold, depending on people's choices; but though she loves Alvin, almost all the potential paths she sees show him marrying her only out of duty and being deeply unhappy --unless she acts decisively and drastically to change that future.
Despite its transitional character, IMO this volume does not exhibit any sign of the third-in-a-series slump one reviewer professed to detect. Card is not marking time here; both Alvin and Peggy's growth experiences are profound and significant. And just as the author, in the previous book, came to grips in his alternate world with one of the two basic defining moral challenges of real 19th-century American history (the treatment of the Indians), here he comes to grips with the other --slavery. This results in the introduction of a new major character, Peggy's little half-black foster brother, Arthur Stuart. And from start to finish, the machinations and hovering presence of the Unmaker are never far away.
For me as a reader, the quality of Card's storytelling continues to please and fascinate. Peggy's departure from Hatrack River on the eve of Alvin's arrival doesn't come across as a cowardly flight, but as a courageous initiative to grab a better future for herself and Alvin, even if it takes effort and sacrifice. I like the fact that the battle with the Unmaker isn't primarily a physical duel of contending powers, but a moral struggle that Alvin has to wage inside himself. And unlike some reviewers, I don't have a problem with Card's use of frontier dialect in his narrative voice (modified to black African-influenced slave dialect in the scenes viewed through the eyes of Arthur's mother). To me, his command of the different dialects of speakers in his world makes it, and them, come more alive --much like the effect of the dialects in Avram Davidson's stories set in his imaginary British Hidalgo. And the down-home narrative voice, like that of Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John (here, the narrator isn't named, but the reader can recognize Taleswapper's speaking style) immerses one more in the story, where a 20th-century standard English voice could have been more distancing. Like the preceding book, though, this one has its moments of grim brutality that will --or certainly should-- horrify and anger you; no punches are pulled in showing what a fundamentally hideous institution slavery was, how dehumanizing racism is (for both racist and victim), or the extent of the moral deformation wrought by both. I'm eagerly looking forward to continuing the series' unfolding story!
Despite its transitional character, IMO this volume does not exhibit any sign of the third-in-a-series slump one reviewer professed to detect. Card is not marking time here; both Alvin and Peggy's growth experiences are profound and significant. And just as the author, in the previous book, came to grips in his alternate world with one of the two basic defining moral challenges of real 19th-century American history (the treatment of the Indians), here he comes to grips with the other --slavery. This results in the introduction of a new major character, Peggy's little half-black foster brother, Arthur Stuart. And from start to finish, the machinations and hovering presence of the Unmaker are never far away.
For me as a reader, the quality of Card's storytelling continues to please and fascinate. Peggy's departure from Hatrack River on the eve of Alvin's arrival doesn't come across as a cowardly flight, but as a courageous initiative to grab a better future for herself and Alvin, even if it takes effort and sacrifice. I like the fact that the battle with the Unmaker isn't primarily a physical duel of contending powers, but a moral struggle that Alvin has to wage inside himself. And unlike some reviewers, I don't have a problem with Card's use of frontier dialect in his narrative voice (modified to black African-influenced slave dialect in the scenes viewed through the eyes of Arthur's mother). To me, his command of the different dialects of speakers in his world makes it, and them, come more alive --much like the effect of the dialects in Avram Davidson's stories set in his imaginary British Hidalgo. And the down-home narrative voice, like that of Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John (here, the narrator isn't named, but the reader can recognize Taleswapper's speaking style) immerses one more in the story, where a 20th-century standard English voice could have been more distancing. Like the preceding book, though, this one has its moments of grim brutality that will --or certainly should-- horrify and anger you; no punches are pulled in showing what a fundamentally hideous institution slavery was, how dehumanizing racism is (for both racist and victim), or the extent of the moral deformation wrought by both. I'm eagerly looking forward to continuing the series' unfolding story!
December 4, 2025
Continúa la historia de Alvin para convertirse en el Hacedor. Y al contrario que el anterior tomo, en este se centra completamente en Alvin y en cómo crece siendo el aprendiz del herrero y en paralelo aprende a controlar mejor sus poderes.
En esta ocasión el hilo conductor es la esclavitud que existía en los Estados del Sur de Norteamérica en el siglo XIX. Al igual que en el anterior tomo, donde se centraba en la relación del hombre blanco con los indios nativos de esas tierras, Scott Card aprovecha la trama para describir la sociedad de aquella época en Estados Unidos.
Y no puedo hacer otra cosa que alabar cómo escribe, cómo cuenta las historias y cómo desarrolla los personajes. He estado entretenido las 400 páginas y es lo único que le pido a este tipo de historias. Lo mejor que puedo decir es que comienzo el siguiente nada más cerrar este.
En esta ocasión el hilo conductor es la esclavitud que existía en los Estados del Sur de Norteamérica en el siglo XIX. Al igual que en el anterior tomo, donde se centraba en la relación del hombre blanco con los indios nativos de esas tierras, Scott Card aprovecha la trama para describir la sociedad de aquella época en Estados Unidos.
Y no puedo hacer otra cosa que alabar cómo escribe, cómo cuenta las historias y cómo desarrolla los personajes. He estado entretenido las 400 páginas y es lo único que le pido a este tipo de historias. Lo mejor que puedo decir es que comienzo el siguiente nada más cerrar este.
February 19, 2009
Orson Scott Card is one of those writers who seems to have great ideas for how to begin sagas but can quickly lose focus sometime around the third book. I found this to be the case with the Ender saga, which had two superb initial installments before a third novel that signalled a slow but eventual decline in quality.
As I read the Alvin Maker saga, I am worried the same thing may be happenening here. I'm not sure if I'd read this one before. There were moments in the story that I kept having an overwhelming feeling of deja-vu while there were other parts of the story that felt completely unfamilar. I've had the book in my to be read pile for a while and I can't help but wonder if I've read it before.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there.
"Prentice Alvin" covers seven years of Alvin's life as he works as an apprentice for a blacksmith. The story also shows the parallel story of Peggy, who has been involved in Alvin's life since the day she was born and is destined to play a large role in the future. On the day Alvin arrives in town, Peggy realizes that Alvin will love her and marry her in the future out of a sense of duty rather than a true love and desire for her. So, she leaves town suddenly and Alvin comes in to spend his years working.
Along the way, we get some darker moments to the saga, such as Alvin's battle with the UnMaker over the digging of a well and a lot of time spent discussing the evils of slavery. Alvin toils along and while he can be fallible at times, he never does anything really big enough to derail his destiny or to cause any long term damage to his role as the Maker. In short, Alvin comes close to royally screwing up, but always manages to pull back from the abyss. And that may be why I found the book so frustrating. Alvin's abilities are fascinating and seeing how and when he choose to use them in nicely done. But the whole battle with the unMaker and the tempation with the digging of the well could and should have been more compelling. If Alvin is a Christ-figure, I guess you could equate this to his time in the wilderness being tempted. But there's such a lack of any real interaction between the two that it comes off as pretty unsatisfying in the end.
There are also some moments intended as plot twists that are a bit far too obvious. The biggest being the real identity of the school teacher. Thankfully Card doesn't drag this out too long, but it does it enough that it began to bother me that no one else realize who it was. (I won't say since this happens in the later third of the novel and could be SPOILER territory).
Maybe this book is setting up a lot of things for pay-off in future novels. If that's so I may come back and re-examine my rating for this book then. Until then, I have to say that it's the weakest isntallment of the series so far.
As I read the Alvin Maker saga, I am worried the same thing may be happenening here. I'm not sure if I'd read this one before. There were moments in the story that I kept having an overwhelming feeling of deja-vu while there were other parts of the story that felt completely unfamilar. I've had the book in my to be read pile for a while and I can't help but wonder if I've read it before.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there.
"Prentice Alvin" covers seven years of Alvin's life as he works as an apprentice for a blacksmith. The story also shows the parallel story of Peggy, who has been involved in Alvin's life since the day she was born and is destined to play a large role in the future. On the day Alvin arrives in town, Peggy realizes that Alvin will love her and marry her in the future out of a sense of duty rather than a true love and desire for her. So, she leaves town suddenly and Alvin comes in to spend his years working.
Along the way, we get some darker moments to the saga, such as Alvin's battle with the UnMaker over the digging of a well and a lot of time spent discussing the evils of slavery. Alvin toils along and while he can be fallible at times, he never does anything really big enough to derail his destiny or to cause any long term damage to his role as the Maker. In short, Alvin comes close to royally screwing up, but always manages to pull back from the abyss. And that may be why I found the book so frustrating. Alvin's abilities are fascinating and seeing how and when he choose to use them in nicely done. But the whole battle with the unMaker and the tempation with the digging of the well could and should have been more compelling. If Alvin is a Christ-figure, I guess you could equate this to his time in the wilderness being tempted. But there's such a lack of any real interaction between the two that it comes off as pretty unsatisfying in the end.
There are also some moments intended as plot twists that are a bit far too obvious. The biggest being the real identity of the school teacher. Thankfully Card doesn't drag this out too long, but it does it enough that it began to bother me that no one else realize who it was. (I won't say since this happens in the later third of the novel and could be SPOILER territory).
Maybe this book is setting up a lot of things for pay-off in future novels. If that's so I may come back and re-examine my rating for this book then. Until then, I have to say that it's the weakest isntallment of the series so far.
February 18, 2023
No sabría definir con la suficiencia adecuada el valor que puede tener este libro en casa una de las palabras que conforman, a mi modesta opinión, esta obra de arte. Me pregunto cómo libros con menos calidad y menos riqueza literaria, llegan a ser considerados obras maestras o Best Sellers. Menos aún entiendo, que muchas personas no reconozcan el auténtico valor y significado que puede mostrar y presentar esta novela.
Es el tercer libro de la saga, pero es el que más cantidad y variedad de sentimientos consigue despertar; es un libro duro y triste, y pese a tratarse de un libro de género de ciencia ficción, esto se queda aletargado en un segundo plano muy distante.
Aunque el ambiente donde transcurre la historia sea distópico, apenas puedo distinguir la diferencia de ciertas actitudes nauseabundas humanas tanto del pasado como del presente en el que vivimos.
No soy un lector experimentado y seguramente pensarán que exagero mis opiniones referentes a esta lectura, cierto es que la pasión de la lectura me ha llegado quizás demasiado tarde, pero no creo sinceramente que a nadie le pase desapercibido los sentimientos que te afloran en la lectura de este libro.
Es uno de los mejores libros que he leído sin duda, fiel a ciertos aspectos de la crueldad humana. ¿Quién diría que hablo de un libro de ciencia ficción?¿no es acaso una historia de un niño con poderes? No señores y señoras, es algo más que un libro de fantasía, es un libro donde refleja hasta donde el hombre es capaz de llegar, tanto por el extremos del bien, como del autoengaño, generando el más despreciable, cruento y vomitivo mal.
Es el tercer libro de la saga, pero es el que más cantidad y variedad de sentimientos consigue despertar; es un libro duro y triste, y pese a tratarse de un libro de género de ciencia ficción, esto se queda aletargado en un segundo plano muy distante.
Aunque el ambiente donde transcurre la historia sea distópico, apenas puedo distinguir la diferencia de ciertas actitudes nauseabundas humanas tanto del pasado como del presente en el que vivimos.
No soy un lector experimentado y seguramente pensarán que exagero mis opiniones referentes a esta lectura, cierto es que la pasión de la lectura me ha llegado quizás demasiado tarde, pero no creo sinceramente que a nadie le pase desapercibido los sentimientos que te afloran en la lectura de este libro.
Es uno de los mejores libros que he leído sin duda, fiel a ciertos aspectos de la crueldad humana. ¿Quién diría que hablo de un libro de ciencia ficción?¿no es acaso una historia de un niño con poderes? No señores y señoras, es algo más que un libro de fantasía, es un libro donde refleja hasta donde el hombre es capaz de llegar, tanto por el extremos del bien, como del autoengaño, generando el más despreciable, cruento y vomitivo mal.
October 23, 2015
In the introduction Card suggests that the short story that led to the creation of this series is contained within this novel. Something about a golden plough, which will all make sense to you when you read the novel. And that kinda shows. This book feels more developed than the previous two, more thorough, more thought through and better paced. Having read that introduction, and this novel, the previous two books start to feel a bit like a really long prequel. But, a prequel that Card really wants you to read in order to get this book.
Alvin finally gets to the apprenticeship, that his father agreed before book two got in the way, as well as developing and coming to terms with his powers, in this continuing alternate history frontier land fantasy series. More than before the characters feel nuanced, they aren't all as black and white as Card tends to make them. The smith is a good, fair man – although with financially mean tendencies – yet Alvin seems to bring out the worst in him. It's not really directly addressed, but there seems to be a push that even the characters who don't obviously react against Alvin also seem to have their personalities amplified somehow by him. Makepeace Smith becomes meaner around him; the Guesters become better people through the contact.
Still though, Card can't escape his need to use that annoying narrator voice who likes to keep smugly letting us know that each of the bad characters are going to get their comeuppance – "oh, if only he knew, etc." Which becomes very annoying very quickly – pretty much half way through the first time. But, it's getting better. Still not quite that extra star, but it's getting there...
Alvin finally gets to the apprenticeship, that his father agreed before book two got in the way, as well as developing and coming to terms with his powers, in this continuing alternate history frontier land fantasy series. More than before the characters feel nuanced, they aren't all as black and white as Card tends to make them. The smith is a good, fair man – although with financially mean tendencies – yet Alvin seems to bring out the worst in him. It's not really directly addressed, but there seems to be a push that even the characters who don't obviously react against Alvin also seem to have their personalities amplified somehow by him. Makepeace Smith becomes meaner around him; the Guesters become better people through the contact.
Still though, Card can't escape his need to use that annoying narrator voice who likes to keep smugly letting us know that each of the bad characters are going to get their comeuppance – "oh, if only he knew, etc." Which becomes very annoying very quickly – pretty much half way through the first time. But, it's getting better. Still not quite that extra star, but it's getting there...
May 14, 2008
I enjoyed the story, but once again Card relies too much on coincidence. Characters just happen to do what they need to for the story to work, though it doesn't make sense -- for example, Alvin and Miss Larner falling in love. He just didn't convince me of that one. And he saves himself the trouble of explaining how Alvin came to trust in Miss Larner above anyone else by simply leaving that part out. None of that stops me from finishing out the series, though. I'm dying to see how it all turns out.
July 13, 2020
I have to switch services (hoopla to libby/overdrive) to find this on audio, but it IS available.
Adventures in Alvin's psuedo-LDS, magic-centered "American" frontier. Alvin growing strength as a Maker gains him new allies, brings old ones back into his life, and creates enemies both national and personal.
Adventures in Alvin's psuedo-LDS, magic-centered "American" frontier. Alvin growing strength as a Maker gains him new allies, brings old ones back into his life, and creates enemies both national and personal.
April 20, 2019
Този път доста се колебах между 4 и 5 звезди, но накрая добрият финал натежа.
В тази книга определено се долавя "синдрома на средната част", където героят трябва да претърпи определено развитие и всичко е съсредоточено около това. Все пак Кард е успял да скалъпи доста добър сюжет, въртящ се този път около чернокожите роби. Отново имаме лицемерно набожен гад в образа на плантатора Кавил Плантър, който смята за свой свещен дълг да прави "полубели" деца на своите робини, за да ги спаси от дявола. Това за мен беше по-интересната част от книгата, даже съжалявам, че не беше по-дълга. Бих се радвал да науча повече за негърските вуду-магийки.
Виж, обучението на Алвин не ме вълнуваше особено. Не искам да кажа, че е скучно - слава богу, Кард умее да поддържа интригата и не се отплесва в дълго нищо-не-ставане, както би направил почти всеки друг автор. Все пак нещата там са общо взето очаквани, а от време на време и "всемогъществото" на Алвин малко ме дразнеше. Дано историята да не продължи по този път, че има опасност да се скапе.
Заключителната част обаче, с ловците на роби и падането на някои маски, беше наистина чудесна. Но в крайна сметка, за мен тази книга е малка крачка назад, защото й липсваше очарованието от новия свят в първата и мащабите на втората. Ще видим накъде ще продължат нещата, но смятам да си дам малка почивка преди "Алвин калфата", за да не се получи пресищане.
В тази книга определено се долавя "синдрома на средната част", където героят трябва да претърпи определено развитие и всичко е съсредоточено около това. Все пак Кард е успял да скалъпи доста добър сюжет, въртящ се този път около чернокожите роби. Отново имаме лицемерно набожен гад в образа на плантатора Кавил Плантър, който смята за свой свещен дълг да прави "полубели" деца на своите робини, за да ги спаси от дявола. Това за мен беше по-интересната част от книгата, даже съжалявам, че не беше по-дълга. Бих се радвал да науча повече за негърските вуду-магийки.
Виж, обучението на Алвин не ме вълнуваше особено. Не искам да кажа, че е скучно - слава богу, Кард умее да поддържа интригата и не се отплесва в дълго нищо-не-ставане, както би направил почти всеки друг автор. Все пак нещата там са общо взето очаквани, а от време на време и "всемогъществото" на Алвин малко ме дразнеше. Дано историята да не продължи по този път, че има опасност да се скапе.
Заключителната част обаче, с ловците на роби и падането на някои маски, беше наистина чудесна. Но в крайна сметка, за мен тази книга е малка крачка назад, защото й липсваше очарованието от новия свят в първата и мащабите на втората. Ще видим накъде ще продължат нещата, но смятам да си дам малка почивка преди "Алвин калфата", за да не се получи пресищане.
December 12, 2025
Darker, more brutal, showing the underbelly of the world of magic. This is another EXCELLENT volume in the series.
November 21, 2012
Posted at FanLit. http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Prentice Alvin is the third book in Orson Scott Card’s TALES OF ALVIN MAKER. After the excitement in the last book, Red Prophet, when Alvin and his family experienced the Battle of Tippecanoe, Alvin is finally off to Hatrack River, where he was born, to begin his apprenticeship to Makepeace Smith, the blacksmith. He’s also hoping that Peggy, the Torch who watches over him, can help him figure out what it means to be a Maker because he’s had a vision of the Crystal City he must build.
Peggy, who can see Alvin coming and knows he’s destined for greatness, realizes she’s in love with him and worries because she has no skills or education that will help him learn to be a Maker, or that will even cause him to admire her for more than her good looks. (Thank you, Mr. Card, for always giving your leading women a desire to be admired for more than their beauty!) So Peggy runs away to get educated and to acquire some social graces. (But not enough social graces to inspire her to write to her worried parents or to reveal herself to them when she comes back to Hatrack River disguised as a teacher.)
Just before Peggy leaves Hatrack River, she helps a black slave girl who has used some evil magic to escape from the master who was raping her. The magic kills the girl, so Peggy’s parents decide to raise the girl’s “mixed up boy” as their own. Now they must deal with all the problems that occur in a society where Blacks are considered inferior to Whites. Meanwhile, the slave owner, who has been convinced that God wants him to dilute the entire black race with his own white genes, is hunting for his escaped property.
There are some emotional moments, a few scary events, some nice lessons, and even some dark humor in Prentice Alvin, but after two books about how Whites are mistreating others in early America (the previous book, Red Prophet, was about how the “Whites” treated the “Reds”), it’s hard to avoid the suspicion that the TALES OF ALVIN MAKER is becoming a platform for lessons on social justice. (One begins to wonder which minority group will be championed in the next book. “Gays”?…. uh, probably not.)
The beginning of Prentice Alvin moves slowly, especially the parts where Peggy gets nervous about Alvin’s arrival. There’s a lot of angsty dialogue here that becomes tiresome (I felt the same way about some of the dialogue in Card’s ENDER WIGGIN novels). Alvin’s life in Hatrack River isn’t nearly as exciting as his adventures in Red Prophet. His apprenticeship lasts seven years. During that time we see him turn into a strong man, acquire a trade, discover more about his own sinfulness and pride and, when Peggy returns from school and begins to teach him, learn enough about quantum mechanics that he begins to understand his power as a maker. This part of the story is fairly interesting, though it kind of goes off the deep end when, at the climax of the story, Alvin creates a living golden plow for his Journeyman project. Huh?
Overall, this third book in the series is well-written (as always) but doesn’t do much to advance Alvin’s story and felt more like a lesson to me. Nevertheless, it won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1990 and was nominated for a Nebula and Hugo award, probably for its social justice themes. Personally, I feel like the saga is slowing down, just like I felt with the third book in the ENDER WIGGIN series. Readers who just enjoy spending time with Alvin and Peggy will probably be more patient than I was. I’m hoping the next book, Alvin Journeyman, will be more exciting.
I’m reading Blackstone Audio’s production which is narrated by Orson Scott Card, Stefan Rudnicki, and Gabrielle de Cuir. They are doing a great job, but I had to speed them up.
Prentice Alvin is the third book in Orson Scott Card’s TALES OF ALVIN MAKER. After the excitement in the last book, Red Prophet, when Alvin and his family experienced the Battle of Tippecanoe, Alvin is finally off to Hatrack River, where he was born, to begin his apprenticeship to Makepeace Smith, the blacksmith. He’s also hoping that Peggy, the Torch who watches over him, can help him figure out what it means to be a Maker because he’s had a vision of the Crystal City he must build.
Peggy, who can see Alvin coming and knows he’s destined for greatness, realizes she’s in love with him and worries because she has no skills or education that will help him learn to be a Maker, or that will even cause him to admire her for more than her good looks. (Thank you, Mr. Card, for always giving your leading women a desire to be admired for more than their beauty!) So Peggy runs away to get educated and to acquire some social graces. (But not enough social graces to inspire her to write to her worried parents or to reveal herself to them when she comes back to Hatrack River disguised as a teacher.)
Just before Peggy leaves Hatrack River, she helps a black slave girl who has used some evil magic to escape from the master who was raping her. The magic kills the girl, so Peggy’s parents decide to raise the girl’s “mixed up boy” as their own. Now they must deal with all the problems that occur in a society where Blacks are considered inferior to Whites. Meanwhile, the slave owner, who has been convinced that God wants him to dilute the entire black race with his own white genes, is hunting for his escaped property.
There are some emotional moments, a few scary events, some nice lessons, and even some dark humor in Prentice Alvin, but after two books about how Whites are mistreating others in early America (the previous book, Red Prophet, was about how the “Whites” treated the “Reds”), it’s hard to avoid the suspicion that the TALES OF ALVIN MAKER is becoming a platform for lessons on social justice. (One begins to wonder which minority group will be championed in the next book. “Gays”?…. uh, probably not.)
The beginning of Prentice Alvin moves slowly, especially the parts where Peggy gets nervous about Alvin’s arrival. There’s a lot of angsty dialogue here that becomes tiresome (I felt the same way about some of the dialogue in Card’s ENDER WIGGIN novels). Alvin’s life in Hatrack River isn’t nearly as exciting as his adventures in Red Prophet. His apprenticeship lasts seven years. During that time we see him turn into a strong man, acquire a trade, discover more about his own sinfulness and pride and, when Peggy returns from school and begins to teach him, learn enough about quantum mechanics that he begins to understand his power as a maker. This part of the story is fairly interesting, though it kind of goes off the deep end when, at the climax of the story, Alvin creates a living golden plow for his Journeyman project. Huh?
Overall, this third book in the series is well-written (as always) but doesn’t do much to advance Alvin’s story and felt more like a lesson to me. Nevertheless, it won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1990 and was nominated for a Nebula and Hugo award, probably for its social justice themes. Personally, I feel like the saga is slowing down, just like I felt with the third book in the ENDER WIGGIN series. Readers who just enjoy spending time with Alvin and Peggy will probably be more patient than I was. I’m hoping the next book, Alvin Journeyman, will be more exciting.
I’m reading Blackstone Audio’s production which is narrated by Orson Scott Card, Stefan Rudnicki, and Gabrielle de Cuir. They are doing a great job, but I had to speed them up.
August 15, 2010
This book is another good step along the story arc, but what keeps me from rating it higher is the author's version of philosophy that permeates the series and pulls me away from the story.
His philosophy seems to mingle religion and his personal views and sentiments. This philosophy doesn't seem to be presented as a fantasy philosophy, but as a real philosophy. This may be what is done in most books, but it feels far from reality, yet presented as truth. I can't reconcile it.
What's more, there are what could be considered homages to events in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. To me, these events are important and have emotional meaning. In my mind it it dishonors the events to mirror them in this fantasy world with the author's mingled philosophy.
Yet, what keeps me reading the series is the author's amazing gift of creating characters that seem to live in my mind and compel me to know them more.
His philosophy seems to mingle religion and his personal views and sentiments. This philosophy doesn't seem to be presented as a fantasy philosophy, but as a real philosophy. This may be what is done in most books, but it feels far from reality, yet presented as truth. I can't reconcile it.
What's more, there are what could be considered homages to events in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. To me, these events are important and have emotional meaning. In my mind it it dishonors the events to mirror them in this fantasy world with the author's mingled philosophy.
Yet, what keeps me reading the series is the author's amazing gift of creating characters that seem to live in my mind and compel me to know them more.
February 21, 2019
9/10. Media de los 43 libros leídos del autor : 8/10
43 obras que me he leído de Card y media de 8/10. Tela. Creo que eso lo dice todo, y liarme a hacer alabanzas de este autor-y de esta novela- es superfluo. Además El juego de Ender fue la primera novela que leí suya y caí enamorado.
Le he puesto nada menos que 10/10 a siete de sus novelas y 9/10 a otras ocho. Casi merece más la pena decir cuales de esas 43 suspenden; solo hay dos: Ruinas (Pathfinder#2) y Esperanza del venado.
Además solo otras 5 se llevarían tres estrellas. El resto, 4 o 5.
Un crack,vamos.
Tercero de la saga de Alvin Maker, no le dí el 10/10, pero casi. Los personajes siguen siendo el fuerte de la misma.
43 obras que me he leído de Card y media de 8/10. Tela. Creo que eso lo dice todo, y liarme a hacer alabanzas de este autor-y de esta novela- es superfluo. Además El juego de Ender fue la primera novela que leí suya y caí enamorado.
Le he puesto nada menos que 10/10 a siete de sus novelas y 9/10 a otras ocho. Casi merece más la pena decir cuales de esas 43 suspenden; solo hay dos: Ruinas (Pathfinder#2) y Esperanza del venado.
Además solo otras 5 se llevarían tres estrellas. El resto, 4 o 5.
Un crack,vamos.
Tercero de la saga de Alvin Maker, no le dí el 10/10, pero casi. Los personajes siguen siendo el fuerte de la misma.
July 27, 2021
This series keeps getting better. The series ages with its protagonist, and the themes continue to get more mature. In some senses that makes it hard to read. The evil is written starkly and unshielded in a way I am not accustomed to seeing in Card. He is not shying away from the things he usually alludes too. But unlike so many authors, it does not make the book crass. Card continues to portray the moral potential in his characters. They seem 3D in a way so many other authors struggle to achieve. They are changeable while never undermining their internal integrity. All choices feel like just that, choices.
I also love the agrarian trend in the series. Alvins connection to the land is beautiful and compelling. It’s kind of as if Wendell Berry wrote fantasy. The magic system seems secondary, or supplemental, to the character development and the plot, which is just how I like it. It doesn’t distract from the meaningful core. I love it, and can’t wait to get to the next one.
I also love the agrarian trend in the series. Alvins connection to the land is beautiful and compelling. It’s kind of as if Wendell Berry wrote fantasy. The magic system seems secondary, or supplemental, to the character development and the plot, which is just how I like it. It doesn’t distract from the meaningful core. I love it, and can’t wait to get to the next one.
March 2, 2022
Este fue el primer libro que leí de Orson Scott Card y me ganó como escritor (luego descubrir cosas de él como persona, que no comparto en absoluto, pero en fin). A pesar de gustarme mucho, nunca leí los demás libros de la saga, y eso que este era el tercero.
September 14, 2012
I think I really appreciate Card's work as a break from Stephen King's Dark Tower. It's epic and rich and a very American fantasy with violence and evil people and forces in it but still lighter than King. This being a middle book it's quite a bit of... not set up but plot thickening I guess and I'm still connecting with the characters and excited to see where it goes. I also appreciate that Card shows scorn for religious hypocrites without dismissing entire religions like Mists of Avalon seemed to when I read it recently or some sci-fi can seem to. I feel like I can count on him as a writer to champion loving, protective people, people who are creative, who are Makers like Alvin, and to eventually give comeuppance to hypocrites, bigots, selfish and destructive people...Unmakers like the ever-lurking main faceless villian in this series.
February 25, 2014
Alvin is finally starting to understand what it means to be a Maker. A lot more drama going on than on the other books, but a lot more adventure too. I am curious about the possibilities of Alvin's future here, and of Alvin's love. I simply adore Arthur Stuart. He's so sweet and loveable :)
July 16, 2017
I'm really enjoying this series and am still wondering how I never got to these sooner. Prentice Alvin is as riveting and interesting as the first two books and the characters continue to be interesting and the story enlightening. I'm eager to get the next book!
May 19, 2022
This is another good chapter in the Alvin Maker story. He becomes a maker in the pages of this book, and at the end, begins training his brother Measure in becoming a maker.
January 7, 2022
Encore un très bon moment en compagnie d'Alvin, dans ce troisième tome de la série.
J'accepte de supporter les petites philosophies religieuses de O.S. Card parce qu'elles sont largement surpassées par son humanisme, qui lui, transparait au fil de son récit, clair et net comme de l'eau.
C'est cet humanisme, qui lui fait écrire des personnages si beaux que j'en reste à chaque fois épatée : Et c'était déjà le cas avec la saga Ender. La façon dont tout être humain, dans les livres de Card, est capable à tout moment de se transcender est absolument géniale et assez rare finalement en littérature : Écrire de tels êtres humains réclame une fois en l'humanité ( et peut-être un peu de naïveté mais je m'en fou...) qui ne l'est pas moins, et c'est quelque chose que j'apprécie tout particulièrement chez cet auteur.
L'univers original me plait toujours autant : Cette fois, après un tome qui tournait autours des natifs américains, l'auteur a choisi de parler de l'esclavage et c'était captivant et douloureux à la fois.
Le tome 4 attend dans ma PAL et ne tardera pas...
J'accepte de supporter les petites philosophies religieuses de O.S. Card parce qu'elles sont largement surpassées par son humanisme, qui lui, transparait au fil de son récit, clair et net comme de l'eau.
C'est cet humanisme, qui lui fait écrire des personnages si beaux que j'en reste à chaque fois épatée : Et c'était déjà le cas avec la saga Ender. La façon dont tout être humain, dans les livres de Card, est capable à tout moment de se transcender est absolument géniale et assez rare finalement en littérature : Écrire de tels êtres humains réclame une fois en l'humanité ( et peut-être un peu de naïveté mais je m'en fou...) qui ne l'est pas moins, et c'est quelque chose que j'apprécie tout particulièrement chez cet auteur.
L'univers original me plait toujours autant : Cette fois, après un tome qui tournait autours des natifs américains, l'auteur a choisi de parler de l'esclavage et c'était captivant et douloureux à la fois.
Le tome 4 attend dans ma PAL et ne tardera pas...
September 7, 2023
This book was on par with the rest of the series. It's a very interesting story and part of me wants to finish, but Card got pretty dark on this one. If someone were to want to read this book but is nervous about reading moderately disturbing material, skip the second to last chapter and you'll avoid the worst of it. All you need to know about what you missed is that ***SPOILER COMING*** Cavil's life falls apart. He loses his wife, his plantation, and his dignity amongst his neighbors and is forced to flee the county. He decides to hunt Alvin as revenge/penance to the Overseer.
We'll see if I finish the series. I feel like this happens with all of Orson Scott card series, he goes one or two books too long to hold my interest.
We'll see if I finish the series. I feel like this happens with all of Orson Scott card series, he goes one or two books too long to hold my interest.
October 31, 2019
This is by far the best book in the series yet. Peggy revealing herself was what I was hoping for. It was just so sad it was too late. And Measure is still my favorite.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2021
Still not tired of reading about Alvin Maker. Hope the next one is just as good.
June 23, 2023
Recommendation: A good continuation of the series about Alvin that feels somewhat more connected to the first book than the second one.
Critique: As usual, Card is great at characters and conflicts: he presents villains that you despise and protagonists you are interested in following, and you want to see the resolution. At this point, you can almost expect this of Card: he writes those elements well. This book, taken on its own, is a very entertaining read. There are some particularly satisfying passages that are set up with established characters and deep relationships such that the resolution is like the punchline to a great joke: satisfying a tension you hardly knew was there. Horace's conversation with Makepeace and Alvin is an example of this, as was Alvin's trip to the general store with Arthur Stuart later.
But I have a small gripe that I will elaborate out of all proportion to how much I enjoyed this book. Reading Prentice Alvin reinforced the impression I'm getting with this series that Card had some high-level plot points in mind for his story of a boy who grows into being a Maker, but then fleshed the spaces between those plot points out with self-contained, unconnected stories of brutality and hatred. The second book, Red Prophet, set up how Alvin got a vision for his destiny: building the Crystal City. In the process, it created a vibrant, rich world of native Americans connected to the land that was being polluted and deadened by the colonists.
None of that world is in this book. It feels like it was discarded once it was no longer needed, and the consequences of the Red Prophet events barely persist into Prentice Alvin. The curse of Vigor Church - in which every resident needs to tell their story of culpability in the massacre to any person they come in contact with who hasn't heard it from them - has only served to insulate the community from everyone else. In Prentice Alvin, they live quite comfortably in that isolation, not really inconvenienced at all, because it seems an inconvenient story aspect. The events of Red Prophet span the months if not years between when Alvin leaves for his apprenticeship at the end of the first book, Seventh Son, and when he arrives a few miles away at Hatrack River for his apprenticeship at the beginning of Prentice Alvin, but there's no real repercussion for Alvin that he arrives a year late at the smithy. The smith hasn't found a new apprentice, nor is he all that concerned that Alvin is coming from Vigor Church, which famously was involved in bloodthirsty mass-murder. It's not that the smith reconciled all this undesirable information, it's more that the smith didn't really exist in the world of the story until Alvin arrived. Alvin also seems weirdly unaffected by his experiences in Red Prophet: somehow he has returned to the state of naivete and innocence that he had as a child.
Time in general is weirdly fluid and unpredictable in Prentice Alvin. Aside from mostly ignoring the events of the second book like it didn't happen, a lot happens in the course of about a week, then three years pass in a chapter break, then several more years pass (we don't know how many, only that Arthur is suddenly "old enough to do chores"). Time stops and then shoots forward unexpectedly, which makes it difficult to understand what was happening or how the characters have changed with maturation/age. It's not just the young protagonists, either: years pass enough for characters to grow old, crotchety, and infirm, and we don't know it until we see it in their dialogue. This coyness about how much time has passed doesn't add to the narrative, and it gets in the way at times.
Review: What follows is a detailed plot synopsis with very little critique.
Critique: As usual, Card is great at characters and conflicts: he presents villains that you despise and protagonists you are interested in following, and you want to see the resolution. At this point, you can almost expect this of Card: he writes those elements well. This book, taken on its own, is a very entertaining read. There are some particularly satisfying passages that are set up with established characters and deep relationships such that the resolution is like the punchline to a great joke: satisfying a tension you hardly knew was there. Horace's conversation with Makepeace and Alvin is an example of this, as was Alvin's trip to the general store with Arthur Stuart later.
But I have a small gripe that I will elaborate out of all proportion to how much I enjoyed this book. Reading Prentice Alvin reinforced the impression I'm getting with this series that Card had some high-level plot points in mind for his story of a boy who grows into being a Maker, but then fleshed the spaces between those plot points out with self-contained, unconnected stories of brutality and hatred. The second book, Red Prophet, set up how Alvin got a vision for his destiny: building the Crystal City. In the process, it created a vibrant, rich world of native Americans connected to the land that was being polluted and deadened by the colonists.
None of that world is in this book. It feels like it was discarded once it was no longer needed, and the consequences of the Red Prophet events barely persist into Prentice Alvin. The curse of Vigor Church - in which every resident needs to tell their story of culpability in the massacre to any person they come in contact with who hasn't heard it from them - has only served to insulate the community from everyone else. In Prentice Alvin, they live quite comfortably in that isolation, not really inconvenienced at all, because it seems an inconvenient story aspect. The events of Red Prophet span the months if not years between when Alvin leaves for his apprenticeship at the end of the first book, Seventh Son, and when he arrives a few miles away at Hatrack River for his apprenticeship at the beginning of Prentice Alvin, but there's no real repercussion for Alvin that he arrives a year late at the smithy. The smith hasn't found a new apprentice, nor is he all that concerned that Alvin is coming from Vigor Church, which famously was involved in bloodthirsty mass-murder. It's not that the smith reconciled all this undesirable information, it's more that the smith didn't really exist in the world of the story until Alvin arrived. Alvin also seems weirdly unaffected by his experiences in Red Prophet: somehow he has returned to the state of naivete and innocence that he had as a child.
Time in general is weirdly fluid and unpredictable in Prentice Alvin. Aside from mostly ignoring the events of the second book like it didn't happen, a lot happens in the course of about a week, then three years pass in a chapter break, then several more years pass (we don't know how many, only that Arthur is suddenly "old enough to do chores"). Time stops and then shoots forward unexpectedly, which makes it difficult to understand what was happening or how the characters have changed with maturation/age. It's not just the young protagonists, either: years pass enough for characters to grow old, crotchety, and infirm, and we don't know it until we see it in their dialogue. This coyness about how much time has passed doesn't add to the narrative, and it gets in the way at times.
Review: What follows is a detailed plot synopsis with very little critique.
June 24, 2022
It's been a long time since I read this book and I'm surprised at how well the Tales of Alvin Maker series holds up. I'm totally engaged and looking forward to (re-)reading the next installment (though if memory serves this may have been the high water mark of the series).
April 21, 2010
I really liked the first two Alvin Maker books, even though from the beginning there were some niggling things that were bothering me. It's a fantasy set in an alternate history America--which is a lot of what had made it so fun. Things seem to have split off from our Timeline at least by the time of the English Civil War. There's a Lord Protector in 1800--but also a (much truncated) United States, without slavery and with Native Americans who are full citizens. (There is still slavery in a rival nation, Apalachee, and in the still existing "Crown Colonies.") Benjamin Franklin was reputed a wizard, George Washington was beheaded for treason and Thomas Jefferson was a guerrilla fighter. The poet William Blake and the legendary Native American leader Tecumseh (Ta-Kumsaw) are prominently featured as characters in the first two books. Oh, and there's magic. One with a definite American folk magic feel. It's a world oh so different than the usual faux Medieval European fantasies that you so commonly find. And this read I noted how natural Card's dialogue is--it doesn't use elisions or strange spellings, but syntax and word choice to give a flavor of how people spoke. He's a wonderful storyteller.
Still, despite the sympathy for the Native American plight in Red Prophet there was much in Card's vision of America that grated at me. It became obvious that he didn't see the integration of the Iroquois and Cherokee into America in his Alternate History as this good thing. I felt instead he saw them as having become "White" through technology and literacy and he saw instead as ideal this separation of the races with the Whites East of the Mississippi and the Reds West of that river. And in this book at last, it finally dawned on me that his hero Alvin Maker was a stand in for Joseph Smith. I thought I could see the Mormon influence in making a villain of a Methodist preacher who wouldn't believe there could be prophets in the present day. But in this novel this whole thing about Alvin being a "Maker" took on more of a messianic tinge that grated on me. Especially with Peggy devoting herself to him as the fulfillment of her destiny. So this is where I got off the ride--mid-book. That's why the rating is so low.
Still, despite the sympathy for the Native American plight in Red Prophet there was much in Card's vision of America that grated at me. It became obvious that he didn't see the integration of the Iroquois and Cherokee into America in his Alternate History as this good thing. I felt instead he saw them as having become "White" through technology and literacy and he saw instead as ideal this separation of the races with the Whites East of the Mississippi and the Reds West of that river. And in this book at last, it finally dawned on me that his hero Alvin Maker was a stand in for Joseph Smith. I thought I could see the Mormon influence in making a villain of a Methodist preacher who wouldn't believe there could be prophets in the present day. But in this novel this whole thing about Alvin being a "Maker" took on more of a messianic tinge that grated on me. Especially with Peggy devoting herself to him as the fulfillment of her destiny. So this is where I got off the ride--mid-book. That's why the rating is so low.
August 15, 2008
I liked this one a bit more than the first two, and would've given it a 3.5 instead of 3 if I could. It doesn't deserve a 4, however. Having been a long time OSC reader, I surprisingly sit on the fence when it comes to my opinion of him. He's written two of the best books I've read, Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. There are a few VERY good ones, like Lovelock. And then, there's some atrocious pieces, like the last two of the Ender series, or Songmaster. In addition, his writing can be anywhere from acceptable to "who told you semi colons and commas were interchangeable?" kind of bad. He also tends to be on the preachy side.
Anyway. The Alvin Maker series, so far... isn't bad. There are so many parts where his ideas just strike me as stupid. Like the whole making-unmaking thing. Or the crystal city idea. Or the fact that Alvin is essentially a Christ figure (come to think of it, Ender was also a Christ figure, but in a different way), what with his magical healing powers, his ability to command atoms to be or not to be, etc. Or the fact that the whole Alvin Maker series reminds you of how the author is Mormon. The whole Mistress Modesty bit also made me wince. And don't even get me started on how stupid the idea is to make Taleswapper into William Blake. I mean, come on.
But when it comes down to it, Orson Scott Card really is a good story teller, and whenever I put the book down it is with some reluctance. The third book is also a bit darker than the first two; the scenes involving Cavil became a bit hard to stomach, although bordering on ridiculous. There are a few moments that almost made me want to tear up. That's another thing - I'm not particularly attached to or smitten by any character, but OSC has managed to make me very fond of them, which is more than what most authors have done to me.
In short, it was an enjoyable and fast read, and I still intend to follow through with what Alvin and his idiotic foes are up to in the next 3 books.
Anyway. The Alvin Maker series, so far... isn't bad. There are so many parts where his ideas just strike me as stupid. Like the whole making-unmaking thing. Or the crystal city idea. Or the fact that Alvin is essentially a Christ figure (come to think of it, Ender was also a Christ figure, but in a different way), what with his magical healing powers, his ability to command atoms to be or not to be, etc. Or the fact that the whole Alvin Maker series reminds you of how the author is Mormon. The whole Mistress Modesty bit also made me wince. And don't even get me started on how stupid the idea is to make Taleswapper into William Blake. I mean, come on.
But when it comes down to it, Orson Scott Card really is a good story teller, and whenever I put the book down it is with some reluctance. The third book is also a bit darker than the first two; the scenes involving Cavil became a bit hard to stomach, although bordering on ridiculous. There are a few moments that almost made me want to tear up. That's another thing - I'm not particularly attached to or smitten by any character, but OSC has managed to make me very fond of them, which is more than what most authors have done to me.
In short, it was an enjoyable and fast read, and I still intend to follow through with what Alvin and his idiotic foes are up to in the next 3 books.
January 1, 2013
Note: I won't be finishing this series, given the author's homophobic stance - I'm not going to fill his pockets. But these were my thoughts on the book before I knew how horrible a man the author was:
Alvin has begun his "prenticeship" and though he comes to Hattrack river mostly to speak to the girl, Peggy, who, as a torch, had the ability to show him his futures and is likely the only person who can help him figure out how to be a real Maker, she flees before he even arrives.
This is a split story for most of the duration, flickering from Alvin on one side, to Peggy on the other, and converging near the end. Alvin's apprenticeship was dry and uninteresting, but it is Peggy's story I'm really starting to enjoy more. Peggy is a torch - someone with the knack to see futures in the heartfires of folk, and her own future is intertwined with Alvin's. But when she sees that her own future is a loveless one if she waits for Alvin to arrive, she does the unthinkable - she runs away, to find a way to at least have love for Alvin, if not love from him. Her determination to thwart her own gifts of futuresight is interesting to read, and her strength of character - somewhat rare for female characters in a lot of fantasy works - is a nice change.
Less enjoyable is where the tale ends, with a bit more magic than usual, and a blunt set-up for the next story. I'm glad I didn't have to wait years for - like all the other folk who've been reading this series since book one.
Best Line:"'A woman's wisdon is her gift to women,'" Peggy quoted, "'Her beauty is her gift to men. Her love is her gift to God.'" / Mistress Modesty shook her head as she listened to her own maxim from Peggy's lips. "So why do you intend to inflict your wisdom on this poor unfortunate man you say you love?".
Alvin has begun his "prenticeship" and though he comes to Hattrack river mostly to speak to the girl, Peggy, who, as a torch, had the ability to show him his futures and is likely the only person who can help him figure out how to be a real Maker, she flees before he even arrives.
This is a split story for most of the duration, flickering from Alvin on one side, to Peggy on the other, and converging near the end. Alvin's apprenticeship was dry and uninteresting, but it is Peggy's story I'm really starting to enjoy more. Peggy is a torch - someone with the knack to see futures in the heartfires of folk, and her own future is intertwined with Alvin's. But when she sees that her own future is a loveless one if she waits for Alvin to arrive, she does the unthinkable - she runs away, to find a way to at least have love for Alvin, if not love from him. Her determination to thwart her own gifts of futuresight is interesting to read, and her strength of character - somewhat rare for female characters in a lot of fantasy works - is a nice change.
Less enjoyable is where the tale ends, with a bit more magic than usual, and a blunt set-up for the next story. I'm glad I didn't have to wait years for - like all the other folk who've been reading this series since book one.
Best Line:"'A woman's wisdon is her gift to women,'" Peggy quoted, "'Her beauty is her gift to men. Her love is her gift to God.'" / Mistress Modesty shook her head as she listened to her own maxim from Peggy's lips. "So why do you intend to inflict your wisdom on this poor unfortunate man you say you love?".
Read
March 13, 2011The series continues with solid levels of quality: Alvin has begun his "prenticeship" and though he comes to Hattrack river mostly to speak to the girl, Peggy, who, as a torch, had the ability to show him his futures and is likely the only person who can help him figure out how to be a real Maker, she flees before he even arrives.
This is a split story for most of the duration, flickering from Alvin on one side, to Peggy on the other, and converging near the end. Alvin's apprenticeship is very interesting, but it is Peggy's story I'm really starting to enjoy more. Peggy is a torch - someone with the knack to see futures in the heartfires of folk, and her own future is intertwined with Alvin's. But when she sees that her own future is a loveless one if she waits for Alvin to arrive, she does the unthinkable - she runs away, to find a way to at least have love for Alvin, if not love from him. Her determination to thwart her own gifts of futuresight is a joy to read, and her strength of character - somewhat rare for female characters in a lot of fantasy works - is a nice change. Very enjoyable.
So is where the tale ends, with a bit more magic than usual, and a set-up for the next story that I'm glad I didn't have to wait years for - like all the other folk who've been reading this series since book one.
'Nathan
This is a split story for most of the duration, flickering from Alvin on one side, to Peggy on the other, and converging near the end. Alvin's apprenticeship is very interesting, but it is Peggy's story I'm really starting to enjoy more. Peggy is a torch - someone with the knack to see futures in the heartfires of folk, and her own future is intertwined with Alvin's. But when she sees that her own future is a loveless one if she waits for Alvin to arrive, she does the unthinkable - she runs away, to find a way to at least have love for Alvin, if not love from him. Her determination to thwart her own gifts of futuresight is a joy to read, and her strength of character - somewhat rare for female characters in a lot of fantasy works - is a nice change. Very enjoyable.
So is where the tale ends, with a bit more magic than usual, and a set-up for the next story that I'm glad I didn't have to wait years for - like all the other folk who've been reading this series since book one.
'Nathan
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