Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly Clever
Review: I tend to read in spurts. I 'discovered' Card at the very beginning of his career, when I read Ender's Game in Analog. And I was taken by the story and wanted more. I kept up with Card through Songbird, continued buying his books and adding them to my unread piles, and occasionally dipping into them. I knew he was writing a saga entitled The Tales of Alvin Maker, but I didn't delve into them, waiting until the series was finished. But someone insisted I read Seventh Son recently, and I found myself entranced, again, with Card's vision. I forget, from spurt to spurt, just how well he writes. Here are fully-fleshed out people, with vision and pettiness mixed. Here, also, is an excellent ear for the spoken language. And most of all, here is a surprisingly clever alternate history of America, in which small magicks and hexes really work, and American Indian visions come true. It also isn't often that an alternate history takes place in the past, and makes you wish it were true. But regardless of how clever the setting is, the people are are the most important: the family members full of love and fears; Talespinner, a man seeking his own visions and the teacher of young Alvin; devout Armor-of-God (what a wonderful name!), married into a family of magickers and unsure how to handle it; Reverend Thrower, a preacher tormented by his own temptations; and young Alvin Jr., a special boy full of magick he only begins to understand by the time this part of the story ends; and his father, filled with visions of Alvin's death by his own hands. The book is full of moral choices, without the preaching a lesser writer might force upon the reader: how one views the world, challenges to those views, what is right and wrong, and how does faith fit in, are all woven into the story seamlessly. Some of the decisions made by these interesting people will surprise you. And if you continue on, there are still more surprises coming. The only weakness in this book is that it is obviously just the beginning of a longer epic, which is still unfinished (two more books to come). There are huge questions left unanswered, including just what is the Unmaker that Alvin almost sees, and why does water hate Alvin. But that won't stop you from wanting to go to the next book immediately.
Rating:
Summary: Card's Enchantment
Review: Let me start by saying that I do not normally read "alternative history" novels. So my review cannot accurately compare Seventh Son against others in the genre. However, I can say that I heartily enjoyed this novel. I was a big fan of the Ender series and a friend bought me The Crystal Cave, thinking it was another Ender book. Well, before I could read the gift, I decided to go back and start the series at the beginning. For about 40 pages I was thinking that this was very slow and not anything like the Ender books. Then I started getting into the story and soaking in Card's excellent prose and character development. I began to appreciate Seventh Son, not in comparison to Ender, but on its own merit. The rest of the book flew by as I grew to know young Alvin more and more. I like the way Card seems to capture the frontier life and presents us with characters of gray (not all good or all evil as with many fantasy novels). And although the characters, especially the younger ones, sometimes speak a little too "smartly," I do enjoy the way Card can turn a phrase or have a character speak a proverb that perfectly fits the situation. When talking about an inquisitive person, one character says "he would go into the mouth of hell just to find out why the Devil has such bad teeth." I loved that one. What I most cherished about this book is the way that Card captures family. By this I mean, how he shows the mean and cruel things we do to other family members while still displaying that love is still at the root of it all. I wish there were more pages for development of the other family members (many of them blurred together) but with five more books to go in the series, Card has time. Which leads to my only other minor complaint with Seventh Son - it doesn't stand alone. With many books that are serial by nature, each book within the series can stand alone or be a piece to the series as a whole. Seventh Son ended almost abruptly with several balls still in the air. Perhaps Card meant it to be this way and I have not yet begun Red Prophet (the second of the Alvin Maker series). However, with characters such as Taleswapper, Peg, and young Alvin himself and with the interesting "America that could have been," I confess I am hooked on another Card series and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book!!!!!
Review: It's not like I have a jones for Old West/Magic novels (see my review for Mark Sumner's "Devil's Tower"), but I really enjoyed this book. It's takes the history of the U.S. and twists it just enough to turn it into a magical but completely believable experience. It's a world I would've liked to grow up in.
Rating:
Summary: Card's Enchantment
Review: Let me start by saying that I do not normally read "alternative history" novels. So my review cannot accurately compare Seventh Son against others in the genre. However, I can say that I heartily enjoyed this novel. I was a big fan of the Ender series and a friend bought me The Crystal Cave, thinking it was another Ender book. Well, before I could read the gift, I decided to go back and start the series at the beginning. For about 40 pages I was thinking that this was very slow and not anything like the Ender books. Then I started getting into the story and soaking in Card's excellent prose and character development. I began to appreciate Seventh Son, not in comparison to Ender, but on its own merit. The rest of the book flew by as I grew to know young Alvin more and more. I like the way Card seems to capture the frontier life and presents us with characters of gray (not all good or all evil as with many fantasy novels). And although the characters, especially the younger ones, sometimes speak a little too "smartly," I do enjoy the way Card can turn a phrase or have a character speak a proverb that perfectly fits the situation. When talking about an inquisitive person, one character says "he would go into the mouth of hell just to find out why the Devil has such bad teeth." I loved that one. What I most cherished about this book is the way that Card captures family. By this I mean, how he shows the mean and cruel things we do to other family members while still displaying that love is still at the root of it all. I wish there were more pages for development of the other family members (many of them blurred together) but with five more books to go in the series, Card has time. Which leads to my only other minor complaint with Seventh Son - it doesn't stand alone. With many books that are serial by nature, each book within the series can stand alone or be a piece to the series as a whole. Seventh Son ended almost abruptly with several balls still in the air. Perhaps Card meant it to be this way and I have not yet begun Red Prophet (the second of the Alvin Maker series). However, with characters such as Taleswapper, Peg, and young Alvin himself and with the interesting "America that could have been," I confess I am hooked on another Card series and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: A unique American fantasy
Review: This book is truy unique as an American fantasy set in the 19th century instead of some pseudo-medieval Europe fantasy world. One thing I'd like to note about this novel is that the story is not entirely Card's; he wrote it as an allegory of the life of Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS (Mormon) Church. Card is a lifelong Mormon and has woven elements of LDS history, doctrine, and culture into many of his works, most notably the Homecoming series (adapted from the Book of Mormon). As an LDS church member myself, I found this book fascinating. Of course, it stands alone and is well worth the read for anyone. Card makes many important points and raises many valuable questions- and the rest of the series is excellent as well. A MUST if you are a Card fan!
Rating:
Summary: Here comes the maker
Review: Wow, I picked up this book because I saw the latest book, The Crystal City, and figured why not pick up the first on and see how things go. I believe this was one of the best choices I have ever made. This is a relatively short novel but beware, once you finish the first one, you are going to search out the remaining volumes of the series. The writing of Mr. Card is simply incredible. I have read a few of his books directed to writers and often his primary focus is on characterization. Now that I have delved into a novel and absorbed his use of his own tools, I say thank you. This is an alternate history, which I normally avoid, but the slight elements of magic move it into the realm of fantasy where I feel much more comfortable.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!!!!!
Review: It's not like I have a jones for Old West/Magic novels (see my review for Mark Sumner's "Devil's Tower"), but I really enjoyed this book. It's takes the history of the U.S. and twists it just enough to turn it into a magical but completely believable experience. It's a world I would've liked to grow up in.
Rating:
Summary: Good introduction to the series
Review: I first read this several years ago, but I recently got the new book and the series and thought I should re-read the others before starting it. This book was good even the second time. This book is a little short, and the plot doesn't really have much of a resolution, it really just serves as an introduction to the story of Alvin Maker. And it does this very well. The reader is introduced to a world where many superstitions are true, where the seventh son of a seventh son is powerful force, and becomes the focus of the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good fantasy series, but don't try to read it as a stand-alone story.
Rating:
Summary: Mormonism's Magical Roots
Review: After buying Orson Scott Card's <Seventh Son> as a stocking stuffer for my son, I was surprised to discover that it was first published in 1987, the same year D. Michael Quinn's pathbreaking scholarly study, <Early Mormonism and the Magic World View>, appeared. Other reviewers have noted that many aspects of <Seventh Son> have analogs in the life of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism. I would have to agree. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and a student of early Mormonism), I can't help but feel that Card is here attempting to both understand and explain the cultural and religious landscape of early America that produced the spiritual visionary Joseph Smith.
Rating:
Summary: Alternative history/fantasy...worth reading!
Review: Im a big fan of "alternative history" novels like "Guns of the South" etc...that is why I really got into the first two to three books of this series. Seventh Son, the first novel in the series, is excellent. Definitely a "must read" for the fans of the fantasy genre. I love the creativity that has gone into reworking the history of the United States and famous Americans of the period like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson etc..
The quality of the series drops off after book three, so I would be tempted to stop after that. But the deterioration of the quality of the series doesnt mean that Seventh Son isnt worth reading.
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