Rating: 
Summary: Close but no City
Review: This is the sixth book in the ingenious Alvin Maker series. In this alternate North America of the 1850s, folk magics work. Blacks make charms from personal items, Reds use the forces of nature, and Whites have knacks; inborn magical talents. Alvin Maker, born Alvin Miller and known as Alvin Smith, is the seventh son of a seventh son and was expected to have an ususually strong knack. He is even stronger than that: apprenticed as a blacksmith, he discovers he has the powers of Maker, one who understands the essences of all things and can manipulate them. Yet as this book begins, Alvin is despairing again, because despite his awesome powers, he was unable to save he prematurely born child.If you're reading these book reviews, there's an excellent chance that you've read books 1-5 already, and want to know whether this book finally hits the money note. Does Alvin finally get to build his Crystal City? Does he at least figure out how he will do it, or where, or with whose help? And is this book worth reading? If you've read the other five books, yes, you should get this one. It has much more plot and character development than the fifth book, Heartfire. In the last volume, Alvin dithered and fretted about how he was going to build his city, but didn't find himself any closer to his goal; he didn't even find himself closer to beginning it. In Crystal City, Alvin begins on another vague errand, sent by his future-seeing wife who is doing her best to avoid an all-out war she sees in almost every possible path. Alvin meets two of Peggy's abolitionist friends in Neuva Barcelona, the unfortunately named Moose and Squirrel. (This odd reference to Rocky and Bullwinkle is merely another of Card's fans on his Hatrack River discussion group; some of the other books suffered by including characters from the bulletin board whether or not they advanced the plot.) And once again, Alvin's attempt to improve things makes them worse. By curing an old woman dying from yellow fever, Alvin finds the entire city now under threat from the plague. And by keeping Moose, Squirrel and their 55 children (of various races, their household is an illegal school for blacks so they follow the letter of the law by not allowing the children to recite their lessons aloud) healthy while all around them are dying, their neighbors pay more attention to the unusual domecile. Several characters from the previous books return, including Tenskwa-Tawa (the Red Prophet of volume 2), Jim Bowie and Steve Austin, and Verily Cooper. Calvin reappears in Barcy, still seething with resentment toward his older brother. Arthur Stuart is growing into a man and discovering his abilities are more than anyone expected from him. Some strong new characters develop in this work, especially La Tia, a voodoo queen with powers rivalling his own, who gives Alvin a much more ambitious mission than he ever expected. We also meet this universe's Abraham Lincoln, but I think that was not an effective device. Most charcters from Alvin's part of the world take a new last name when they enter a profession, yet the historical characters Lincoln, Bowie and Austin did not. It would have been better if they had more appropriate monickers, and let us figure out who they were supposed to be (I'm thinking of Turtledove's alternate America where the CSA remains a separate country; many of his historical cameos are not fully identified). This is clearly not the last book of the series, but we are getting closer to the end. Alvin learns more about himself, his abilities and limits, and how to teach others to work toward a common goal. Yet the book ends with plenty of unresolved familial and political tensions, so there's at least another novel waiting. It would be appropriate to finish this series about a seventh son of a seventh son with book... seven.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best in series but still very very good
Review: When his wife sends him to New Barcelona (New Orleans), Alvin Maker goes even though he is uncertain of his goal. What he discovers is Yellow Fever and oppression. Even Alvin's 'maker' powers are unable to completely defeat the disease, but he resolves to do something about the oppression faced by slaves, freed blacks, and the French inhabitants of the city. Like Moses, Alvin must find a way to lead the oppressed into a promised land. Unlike the Israelites, however, Alvin's task is doubly challenging because he doesn't want to violate laws and force other people out of their country. Along with his friends, Abraham Lincoln and Arthur Stuart--who is quickly becoming a maker himself, Alvin struggles to find a path. Unfortunately, Alvin's brother Calvin, Steve Austin, and Jim Bowie have other plans and do everything they can to hamper Alvin. And Alvin's pregnant wife looks into the future and sees only destruction and death for everything that she and Alvin have fought for. But although the power of the unmaker is overwhelming, Alvin refuses to give up his dream of a Crystal City of Makers, working together to build something wonderful and something that will last beyond his own death. Author Orson Scott Card creates a wonderful and enduring character in Alvin Maker. Card has become one of the best SF/Fantasy authors writing today and THE CRYSTAL CITY reflects Card at the height of his power. Although THE CRYSTAL CITY is an engrossing read, for me it lacks some of the pure emotional power of the earlier novels in this series. In THE RED PROPHET and ALVIN JOURNEYMAN, for example, I often found myself in tears at the pure power of the story. CRYSTAL CITY falls somewhat short of this. That doesn't, however, make the novel less than engrossing and enjoyable. If you're new to this series, you'll find your enjoyment enhanced by starting at the beginning, SEVENTH SON. If you've been following the series, you'll definitely want to read this one.
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