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: 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!
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: 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: 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: 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.)
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.
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