The Crystal City (Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 6)

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Summary: Alvin Maker leads an Exodus from slavery to the Crystal City
Review: I had to go back and see how long it had been since Uncle Orson had published the last volume in the Tales of Alvin Maker, but I waited until after I read Book 6, "The Crystal City." It had been about five years, but without ever going back and jogging my memory I was able to pick up the narrative thread in the ongoing story. Besides, I was encouraged by both the title and the cover art for this novel that Alvin was finally going to take that golden plough out of his poke and finally lay the ground for his city, and in that regard I am not disappointed. However, this is still not the climax of the tale.

Orson Scott Card's Tales of Alvin Maker series is set in an alternative America where some people are born with knacks, a magical ability that is both a great gift and a deep burden. Alvin, the seventh son of a seventh son, is a "maker," who can make things and fix things, using his doodlebug to get a sense of what needs to be done. After the death of his newborn son, Alvin is persuaded by his wife, Peggy (a "torch," who can see the various paths into the future that a life might take), to go to Barcy (the New Orleans of this world), and so he travels down the Mizzizippy with young Arthur Stuart on a flatboat with Abe Lincoln and his friend Coz.

This matters because while Alvin Maker has his dream of the Crystal City, Peggy is concerned with preventing the great war that she sees coming over the issues of slavery. In this America the United States is put one of several "countries" competing for the North American continent. The south consists of Crown Colonies, Spain controls Florida and Nueva Barcelona (Louisiana), and the French still have Canada. Meanwhile, the descendants of the Aztecs are still performing human sacrifices in Mexica and Alvin's friend, Tenskwa-Tawa, the Red Prophet, controls the lands to the west of the Mizzippy. Beyond the Hio Territory where Alvin was born in Hatrack River, the Wobbish Territory where Vigor Church and Carthage City can be found, and even beyond the Noisy River Territory, Alvin needs to find a place for his Crystal City. Because when he saves a single life in Barcy, the act changes everything and forces a series of issues. The establishment of the Crystal City is obviously a major moment in the series, but clearly it is not the big payoff.

As always, it is interesting to see Uncle Orson's take on some of the figures of American's history. If he liked John Adams, he likes Abraham Lincoln any more. However, Stephen Austin and Jim Bowie do not fare well, and Alvin has to worry about the latter almost as much as he does about his younger brother Calvin. I know there are those who want to read these stories as a religious allegory, but I have enjoyed taking the narrative at face value and I remain ignorant enough of the major tenets of Mormon theology so that I do not see anything more here than the American ideal dressed up in alternative clothing. However, I find it hard to believe that there is only one volume left in the series, because there seem to be too many threads left to weave together.

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Summary: Orson Scott Car Fan
Review: I have never read an OSC book I didn't like. This one is one of the better ones, though. The characters (as always with Card) are well developed and easy to care about, the situations are bizarre and engrossing (Alvin meets Abe Lincoln in this one), and the book leaves you wanting more. I read this in three days. Why didn't I give it five stars? Well, because I've read Ender's Game and The Lord of the Rings and a few other classics, which this book does not measure up to. It didn't leave a strong impression on me, but it was about as entertaining as books get anyway. Not something that will stick with you forever, but it's thoroughly entertaining. Highly recommended.

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Summary: disappointing after waiting so long
Review: I loved the first 5 novels in this series. I looked forward to this book and was disappointed. If you read the first 5, like me, you are likely going to read this no matter what I say, but consider buying it used or borrowing it from a friend! Unlike the first 5 novels, it is predictable and there is little additional character development. I know Mr. Card has strong Mormon beliefs, but in the end when the Crystal City's tower is named a "tabernacle", that was just a little too much for me. I don't know if I hope there is a 7th book or not.

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Summary: Losing the zeitgeist
Review: I thought Card was losing his way with "Heartfire," but it was such a good adventure saga I overlooked its weak points (e.g., an annoying Balzac; little development of overall plot). Not true with "The Crystal City," where all that happens is Alvin Smith getting himself one step closer to creating Nauvoo and to getting himself shot in a Carthage City jail. The characters are worth the effort to read, but the love of Margaret and Alvin, so important in "Prentice Alvin" and "Heartfire," is practically non-existent. So too the Unmaker. It's like Card is dropping pieces of his theme as he goes along. It's frustrating to read. For example: where is Cavil Planter? Where is Mistress Modesty? What happened to Verily and the witch girl?

I will continue to read the books in this series, I know Card's got at least one more, since I'm dying to figure out how he works polygamy and destruction of property into his plot. I just wish he'd finish the same thing he started. If he has to kill Alvin off at the end, I accept that, just so long as he's true to the series doing it.

Rating:
Summary: Losing the zeitgeist
Review: I thought Card was losing his way with "Heartfire," but it was such a good adventure saga I overlooked its weak points (e.g., an annoying Balzac; little development of overall plot). Not true with "The Crystal City," where all that happens is Alvin Smith getting himself one step closer to creating Nauvoo and to getting himself shot in a Carthage City jail. The characters are worth the effort to read, but the love of Margaret and Alvin, so important in "Prentice Alvin" and "Heartfire," is practically non-existent. So too the Unmaker. It's like Card is dropping pieces of his theme as he goes along. It's frustrating to read. For example: where is Cavil Planter? Where is Mistress Modesty? What happened to Verily and the witch girl?

I will continue to read the books in this series, I know Card's got at least one more, since I'm dying to figure out how he works polygamy and destruction of property into his plot. I just wish he'd finish the same thing he started. If he has to kill Alvin off at the end, I accept that, just so long as he's true to the series doing it.

Rating:
Summary: Not really what I expected
Review: I was glad to see a continuation to the Alvin Maker series because Heartfire left off with a cliffhanger. The rest of the story was begging to be told. So, when The Crystal City came out, I was overjoyed. However, it too left me hanging. To begin with, I was lost when the story picked up. There were characters involved that had not been introduced. Mr. Card seemed to assume that we would figure it out along the way. Also, many of the characters that were with Alvin at the end of Heartfire were not present in any form. Also in this book, the LDS culture and theology (which is present in all of Mr. Card's works) was overly dominant in The Crystal City. I do appluad Mr. Card for having the courage and faith to present his beliefs to the rest of the world in a form that is much like the parables of Christ. However, unlike The Folk of the Fringe, The Crystal City is not primarily about the Mormon church. Therefore, it was suprising to see the LDS theology overpowering the story of Alvin Maker. Again, this is not saying that Mr. Card should leave his religious beliefs out of his writing. It is the case, however, that when theology or any well known story is used to pattern a novel after, the novel becomes very predictable and in this case, becomes more like reading the story of the Mormon migration. In fact, I found myself checking the included maps, to see exactly where the tabernacle was being built because I was so sure that Mr. Card's purpose in this book was to present his readers with a glimpse of Mormonisim.
All in all, the Alvin Maker series is one of Mr. Card's best series. And I thouroughly, enjoyed the continuation of one of the best fantasy series that I have had the pleasure of reading. Cheers to you Mr. Card. I patiently await the continuation of the Alvin Maker series.

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Summary: Feels like Filller
Review: I was very much looking forward to this novel after having read the other books in the series. I avoid purchasing hardbacks whenever possible, but I decided to give in to my need to hear the rest of the story.

What I loved about the series was the world that Orson Scott Card created, which is still present in this book, but the magic of the world is not there.

The other novels felt more like a complex journey, literally of travelling and spiritually to look at one's purpose in the world. This book lacked that insight and left me feeling that it was just filler and/or a way to close out the series.

I don't regret having purchased the book but I do have to admit I was disappointed. I am a long time reader of OSC's novels and I have at least one more waiting to be read but I would suggest that you check this one out from the library. I would also suggest that you do finish the series if you started to finally see the city.

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Summary: Great alternate earth fantasy
Review: In a world where magical "knacks" flourish, Alvin as expected of the seventh son of a seventh son is a Maker, who understands the essence of things. He can invent, fix, or destroy. This includes healing or killing people.

Alvin's wife, the talented Peggy sees a future devastated by war and disease. She concludes that only her beloved has a chance to avert a pandemic disaster. She is not sure why she sends him to Nueva Barcelona (formerly New Orleans), accompanied by Arthur, his half black brother-in-law pretending to be his slave. They await a sign while staying with abolitionist friends of Peggy. When the plague strikes the Spanish controlled city, Alvin keeps his hosts, much of the poor, and Arthur disease free, but not necessarily safe. Still the real quest has begun. Alvin, seventh son of a seventh son, seeks his long ago vision of the Crystal City, a place where death awaits him.

Volume six of the Alvin Maker alternate earth fantasy series is an exciting tale that can stand alone, but is better read after perusing its predecessors as THE CRYSTAL CITY rapidly moves forward the quest of the hero. Old favorites like the Red Prophet (see volume two) return and Moose and Squirrel amongst others help propel the adventure forward while other cast members enhance the understanding of the essence of Alvin Maker. Still as with the previous five tomes, this book belongs to the hero who must cross troubled waters without adequate bridges (or Simon and Garfunkle - not born yet) as the author pulls out the Ace of Spades from his deck.

Harriet Klausner

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Summary: The Spark is Gone
Review: In _The Crystal City_, Orson Scott Card's 6th book in the Alvin Maker series, Alvin starts an epidemic and builds a bridge, Arthur Stuart gets kissed and runs to Mexico and back, Calvin postures, Verily sulks and Margaret sighs. That's about it.

Before embarking on _The Crystal City_ I went back and reread the entire series, as it had been five years or so since I was through them last and I wanted to be sure everything was fresh. I was, once more, delighted by the voice with its smooth use of early American colloquialism, impressed by the obvious knowledge of history and folklore that went into them, captivated by the engaging characters and astounded by the scope of the work. "Boy," I thought, "This is one Great Series!"

Then I came to the current volume. And I was really disappointed. It purely does not compare with its companions in any way. The story was frankly boring and the Biblical allegory--which was very suave and subtle in the earlier works-- was just ham-handed. I don't object to Alvin's spending the entire book leading a group of slaves to freedom, but it doesn't make for very interesting action and the subplots weren't developed enough to alleviate the tedium. The language was mundane, without any of the personality I had come to expect. The earlier books seemed to be told by a breathing human being; TCC resembled a recitation by a history prof counting the days until retirement. The characters were flat. The characters we had seen before were not developed any further and the new characters were not developed at all. In previous books even minor characters had personalities and stories, but only lip service was paid to that here: note the stunning difference between _Heartfire's_ Denmark and TCC's Old Bart. Historical characters were inserted to fill the formula, but not even Abe Lincoln really added anything. And as for Papa Moose and Mama Squirrel, well, I read the reason for them in the Acknowledgements, but I personally think using those names was a REALLY BAD CHOICE. Every reference to "moose and squirrel" catapaulted me into a realm that had nothing to do with Alvin Maker and Co. I'm sure you know the one I mean.

I don't mind that TCC started about five years after _Heartfire_ and that Alvin was in a really different place than one might have expected. I do mind that the story behind this wasn't really told. It's as if Tolkein had finished FOTR with leaving Lorien, skipped TTT altogether and started ROTK with "Well, now that Saruman's been vanquished..." There was just a huge chunk missing, and I think that chunk would have been a great deal more interesting than the story Card chose to tell. It almost seems to me that Card has written himself into a corner with this series; his characters can no longer grow and change and have real human experiences because that might tarnish them. Good and bad are established, but there are no longer any of the shades of grey that make people interesting.

Though TCC ends with some events that foreshadow a possible cotinuation of this series, it also sums up enough -- with "curtain call" appearances by most major characters fromt he series -- that Card could stop here without much harm done. Unless he makes some radical choices for this universe, I hope he does stop. I really wouldn't like to see this series devolve any further. The spark is gone and laying this series to rest before it decays would be a mercy.

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Summary: Exodus, with Revisions
Review: It's been five years since the last installment in this series, which is a long time without fuel to maintain the energy and enthusiasm this series originally engendered. As an alternate history where people have 'knacks' for doing things, from repairing barrels and bones to seeing the future, its fire came from its ideological underpinnings, of the fight between those who build and those who destroy, of machine versus nature, of the rights of all to be self-directing autonomous individuals versus the cultural assumption that some are better than others, and those inferior beings are suited only for slavery. While much of this underpinning is highly relevant to this latest installment, it does not seem to bring with it the deep emotional involvement that would have made this story come alive.

Alvin Maker is the prime mover here, a man conflicted between his incredible abilities and the knowledge that regardless of how much he builds, however much good he can accomplish in the world, the Unmaker will be following right behind, tearing down all he can accomplish. Alvin's dream of a city built by Makers seems further and further off, as he becomes embroiled in actions to save many of the slaves and poor of the city of Nueva Barcelona (New Orleans) from both yellow fever (that he unwittingly helped to spread) and its other bigoted and superstitious citizens. Almost as a side plot, his brother Calvin becomes embroiled in a foray by Steve Austin and Jim Bowie to conquer the Mexica, with Calvin's typical disregard for the consequences or moral rightness of his actions.

The depiction of the historical characters that dot this novel, from Abe Lincoln to Bowie, is definitely problematic. All of them seem to have no depth, all are portrayed with only the sheen of their legendary characteristics, from Abe's honesty to Bowie's fighting drive, with no signs of other human foibles that would have made these stick-figures into something real. The plot itself is reasonable, a modern alternate version of Exodus with Alvin as Moses, and its final resolution points the way towards where this series may ultimately be headed. But I found as I was reading that I was looking for something more concrete to the action; too little description, not enough supporting details, an almost dreamlike feel to what could have been a very gritty slice of life under very unappetizing conditions.

While Card has a long list of those people who helped check this manuscript for continuity errors with earlier volumes, and obviously their efforts did help eliminate most of those kinds of problems, I did find it a little amusing that the maps on the end papers clearly show Alvin's Crystal City located on the wrong side of the Mississippi river.

Card does manage to make most of his moral points without clobbering you over the head with them, and some of the final section shows at least a willingness to concede that not all that is man-made is bad or that all that is nature-derived is good. But the fire that drove the earlier books, of their implied Great War between good and evil, is not here. Clearly, Card is planning at least one more book in this set, where perhaps the anticipated and long delayed war against slavery will combine with Alvin's dream of a better world to form a heart-wrenching finale. I do hope so.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)