Rating: 
Summary: The scope widens and bloodies superbly.
Review: This is the second book in the 'Alvin Maker' series by Orson Scott Card, which began in "Seventh Son." Alvin was prenticed off to a blacksmith, and at the start of this novel, he's on his way when he's ambushed by Reds and stolen away. Card is writing a very alternate history of North America, with figures and places that match history, but always twisted just slightly. The Hio River, the Mizzipy, and so forth all make me trip up on my mental tongue sometimes (in fact, I would rather have had Ohio and Mississipi, as it was quite distracting). This world, however, has something different to it: magic, in all its forms, be they faith, nature, hexes, superstition, knacks, etc, all of it works. So when Alvin, the seventh son of a seventh son, shows the same ability to speak and wield the powers of the land like any Red (read: Natives), he is taken by Ta-Kumsaw, and woven into a story that threatens to be bigger than all of them - and likely a tale that will soak the ground with blood. This second book has a lot more characters to it, and the story expands from the scope of just Alvin's point of view. Be prepared to meet various historical figures in this tale, including Napolean and 'Ta-Kumsaw,' and references to many more like Andrew Jackson and Ben Franklin. The drama of the story widens (and is much more cruel and bloody than the previous book, be forewarned). Very well done, but in places, as I said, the tendancy to use almost-right names and locations drove me nuts. I'll keep reading the series (and am looking forward to doing so), but I think I need a break from it. 'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: The scope widens and bloodies superbly.
Review: This is the second book in the 'Alvin Maker' series by Orson Scott Card, which began in "Seventh Son." Alvin was prenticed off to a blacksmith, and at the start of this novel, he's on his way when he's ambushed by Reds and stolen away. Card is writing a very alternate history of North America, with figures and places that match history, but always twisted just slightly. The Hio River, the Mizzipy, and so forth all make me trip up on my mental tongue sometimes (in fact, I would rather have had Ohio and Mississipi, as it was quite distracting). This world, however, has something different to it: magic, in all its forms, be they faith, nature, hexes, superstition, knacks, etc, all of it works. So when Alvin, the seventh son of a seventh son, shows the same ability to speak and wield the powers of the land like any Red (read: Natives), he is taken by Ta-Kumsaw, and woven into a story that threatens to be bigger than all of them - and likely a tale that will soak the ground with blood. This second book has a lot more characters to it, and the story expands from the scope of just Alvin's point of view. Be prepared to meet various historical figures in this tale, including Napolean and 'Ta-Kumsaw,' and references to many more like Andrew Jackson and Ben Franklin. The drama of the story widens (and is much more cruel and bloody than the previous book, be forewarned). Very well done, but in places, as I said, the tendancy to use almost-right names and locations drove me nuts. I'll keep reading the series (and am looking forward to doing so), but I think I need a break from it. 'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: A twist
Review: This was a great novel. I feel so grateful for picking up the first in this series and have not been disappointed yet. This book picks up at the end of the first one with Alvin heading off to start to start his apprenticeship and twists from there. He doesn't even make it close. This is a great story showing explaining how magic and the Native Americans works in this world. This book filled in a lot of holes and provided a lot of background and setup for the upcoming stories. This is not a novel you can skip if you are going through this series and along the same lines this is a very difficult to pick this book out of the blue.
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