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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.
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Summary: Wishful thinking
Review: Ah rekon it'd be fair to say that this yere tale is an alternative fantasy history of the ole USA as close as no never mind.
It's a frontier story set in the mid-continent, featurin tha birth and strange childhood of Alvin, a suspiciously accident-prone lad who just has this yere Talent for unknowingly makin' things with a little magic. He and his ilk are much to the frustration of the Rev. Thrower, who's a high-falutin' newly arrived English sophist, and probably a dang Cavalier to boot, against whom good Tom Jefferson and the Cheriky people be a-fightin', watched by the governor of Canada, the Marquise de la Fayette (hold, he's more important in tha next un, RED PROPHET).
Instead of putting it right out, as a Turtledove might, Card has the good sense to hide much of his alternative view and let it sort of just seep its way into the story. The leisurely pace encourages a good bit of ambiance of early white America, with Apalachee style homespun and folksy wisdom and ways, really the backstory for the whole series. The history is wonderfully askew, with a quite different political landscape for familiar landmarks, and there's already steam power, in "Irrakwa" gun factories! Eventually Alvin does have a terrible vision, finds his purpose, and is about to start his wayfaring saga. Those readers who think God spoke long ago and preachers have "got the Bible safely interpreted" may have trouble with the way Card has God "show his hand of power" through differently-enabled practical people.
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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.
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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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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.
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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.
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Summary: Terrific start to the series
Review: Reading the books in the Ender series above got me very interested in Orson Scott Card. In between Ender books, I decided to check out his acclaimed Alvin Maker series, especially when I found Seventh Son available for a bargain price to promote the release of the sixth book in the series, The Crystal City. Make a book cheap and I'll buy it. I was expecting it to be well-written but I wasn't prepared for the level of detail that I would find. It takes place in a frontier land that feels similar to where I was raised in the southern United States, yet Card takes pains to portray the inhabitants respectfully. But in Card's world there are many differences: the largest being the level of magic present. Oh, sure, Southerners believe in folk remedies and the like, but not to the extent that the Millers believe in them. The idea of a seventh son of a seventh son being special is not new, but it's never been taken to the lengths that Seventh Son takes it. The Alvin Maker series is about a very special little boy indeed. His presence confounds everyone from the miracle of his birth on. When a roof board--falling straight toward little Alvin's head--splits itself in two to avoid hitting him, things really start jumping. The idea of the "villain" of this book being the local reverend--and the mentor being a folk poet named William Blake--should give you an idea of where Card is coming from, even though he makes sure to paint the preacher in a bad light that is easily understandable to those who may take umbrage to such portraiture. I found Seventh Son to be highly entertaining, although the ending is an obvious sequel opening. Card must have meant for this to be a series from the get-go. I admire his style and his abilities of characterization and I look forward to reading my next Orson Scott Card novel. (Astute readers will notice that this series is the source of the URL for Card's website.)
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Summary: Amazing! Orson Scott Card never disappoints
Review: Seventh Son is set in the early 1800s--a tale of "a magical America that might have been." In this world, hexes and spells work. Alvin Miller Jr. is the seventh son of a seventh son, a very magical birth indeed. Alvin is no ordinary child--all his life, he has had a "knack" for making things (hence the name of the series, Alvin Maker). When a Presbyterian preacher from Scotland builds a church near the Miller homestead, things turn worse for young Alvin. The preacher alienates Alvin Sr. immediately, preaching that hexes and the like don't work and are just foolishness. The preacher, Philadelphia Thrower, is told by a Visitor that he must turn Alvin to God's way before he is fourteen years old. Thrower seems to hate Alvin, constantly trying to 'reform' the mischievous boy, making Sundays a nightmare. Then a wanderer named Taleswapper comes to town... This is a really great book! I loved it, and I can't wait to read the next one. Once you pick it up, you can't put it down! Orson Scott Card is a wonderful writer. I've *never* been disappointed by one of his books. Seventh Son is a superb (did I spell that right?) novel!
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Summary: Alvin Maker is a phenomenal series
Review: The Tales of Alvin Maker has definately escalated itself to my favorite book series. The reason this book gets four stars is it is boring compared to the others. Red Prophet was completely original and the best in the series. However, every saga needs it's begin, and Seventh Son had some very memorable characters like Taleswapper, Reverend Thrower, Armor-of-God Weaver and Lolla Wossiky. I highly recommend this series to anybody who a strong advocate of history and/or fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Alvin Maker is a phenomenal series
Review: The Tales of Alvin Maker has definately escalated itself to my favorite book series. The reason this book gets four stars is it is boring compared to the others. Red Prophet was completely original and the best in the series. However, every saga needs it's begin, and Seventh Son had some very memorable characters like Taleswapper, Reverend Thrower, Armor-of-God Weaver and Lolla Wossiky. I highly recommend this series to anybody who a strong advocate of history and/or fantasy.
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