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51st out of 214 books
—
382 voters
Alvin Journeyman (Tales of Alvin Maker #4)
Return to the world of Alvin Maker--a magical America that might have been. Using the lore and folk-magic of the men and women who settled the North American continent, Card has created an alternate American frontier--a world where a particular kind of magic really works, and where that magic has colored the entire history of the colonies.
Hardcover, 381 pages
Published
September 1st 1995
by Tor Books
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In his introduction, Card acknowledges that when "Alvin Journeyman" was first published, some fans had been waiting several years for the next installment in the series. Had I been one of those fans, I would have probably been really annoyed that I'd waited a long time and only got "Alvin Journeyman."
Just as is the case with the later Ender novels, the Alvin series seems to have descended into a series where people sit around and have lots of philosophical conversations that, while interesting,...more
Just as is the case with the later Ender novels, the Alvin series seems to have descended into a series where people sit around and have lots of philosophical conversations that, while interesting,...more
Trudging through the first chapter I wanted to scream. If I didn't already know that I enjoy reading books by this author I would have tossed the book. I'm sure as I continue through the story this memory will fade, but ... I just started the book, and the pain is still fresh.
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But now it's finished, and that was good reading--especially the legal bit with the court case. I liked how it was wrapped up where much of the trouble started, where Mr. Dowser had said for the well to be dug.
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But now it's finished, and that was good reading--especially the legal bit with the court case. I liked how it was wrapped up where much of the trouble started, where Mr. Dowser had said for the well to be dug.
Note: I won't be finishing this series, given the author's homophobic stance - I'm not going to fill his pockets. But these were my thoughts on the book before I knew how horrible a man the author was:
Quite happily, this book had quite a bit of Calvin (Alvin's younger brother, who, since Alvin's eldest brother died just after Alvin was born, is also a seventh son of a seventh son). Calvin Maker is extremely jealous of Alvin's abilities (and is poisoned to the thought of trying to even match Alvi...more
Quite happily, this book had quite a bit of Calvin (Alvin's younger brother, who, since Alvin's eldest brother died just after Alvin was born, is also a seventh son of a seventh son). Calvin Maker is extremely jealous of Alvin's abilities (and is poisoned to the thought of trying to even match Alvi...more
Originally published on my blog here in May 2000.
After a gap of a few years, Card has continued this series, one of my favourites of the fantasy genre. It is set in a fascinating alternate history USA in which much of the country remains in the hands of the colonial powers, and where magic is relatively commonplace.
Alvin Journeyman picks up the story of Alvin (usually referred to as Smith or Maker, from his occupation and magical gifting respectively) where the previous books left off, and carri...more
After a gap of a few years, Card has continued this series, one of my favourites of the fantasy genre. It is set in a fascinating alternate history USA in which much of the country remains in the hands of the colonial powers, and where magic is relatively commonplace.
Alvin Journeyman picks up the story of Alvin (usually referred to as Smith or Maker, from his occupation and magical gifting respectively) where the previous books left off, and carri...more
Victory of Eagles, A Novel of Temeraire, by Naomi Novak (recognizable historical mileu): Thoroughly enjoyed this story of Napoleon's invasion of Britain and how dragons, led by Temeraire, and his captain, Will Laurence, help the British repel the French, who have their own dragon force. While Napoleon escapes, by dragon flight, of course, Temeraire and Laurence are sent to Australia. Both have been removed from military service because they rescued the dragons of France from a debilitating and l...more
Another great story within a story: I originally read this several years ago, and re-read it recently after getting the new book in the series. As I read this series as a whole, I am staring to notice that the individual stories form each book (The war in Red Prophet, the story of Arthur Stuart in Prentice Alvin, and the trial in this book) and the new characters that keep coming along, are starting to overshadow the overall story of Alvin's quest to build the Crystal City.
This book started a li
...more
Because I'm lazy, I'll just review books 1-4 here. I wouldn't go so far to say this is a great series but it is very fun. The books are quick and the setting and characters are interesting. The other benefit is that the story lines in each book are different from what you get in typical science fiction and fantasy series. It's easy for me to recommend this series.
I can't give this book more than 3 stars though because it's not very compelling. The book wasn't a struggle to read but I think that...more
I can't give this book more than 3 stars though because it's not very compelling. The book wasn't a struggle to read but I think that...more
In the 4th series of the Alvin Maker series we find Alvin in jail on trumped up charges. Makepeace Smith, his master while he was studying to be a smithy, has sworn that Alvin stole the plow that Alvin himself made as his master piece to graduate from being an apprentice. The only reason Makepeace Smith is saying this is because once Alvin had completed making the plow; he used his knack to turn the plow to gold. And this was the real reason Makepeace Smith wanted the plow - not to use it in the...more
This installment of The Tales of Alvin Maker primarily concerned itself with Alvin's trial in Hatrack with a small side story concerning Calvin's journey in Europe. This isn't the only book by Mr. Card that makes me feel this way but I feel like I get through a book and hardly anything's happened. One obstacle was overcome, one marriage occurred, one curse was lifted, and one villain gained power and killed another. But pretty much everyone is in the same place they started off in. I'm just left...more
Another exciting chapter in the Tales of Alvin Maker. This one focuses on another plot against Alvin by his old master, Makepeace Smith. Much of the plot revolves around Alvin defending himself from allegations of theft and inappropriate contact with a young girl. A few new characters and storylines make appearances, including Verily Cooper, an Englishman who had the unfortunate luck of growing up with a knack in a country where people like him could be put to death; and Alvin's little brother C...more
I'm well and hooked on this series now. I love the ease with which Card writes in dialect and the sort of rant that the narrator goes on in the first chapter. What was tough about this one is that I really hate misunderstandings that build and build through a story based on gossip and or lies and it's hard for me to stomach witch-hunt type trials, so what Alvin faces in this book grated on me. It's also rough to watch him be so clueless about the jealousy of his brother Calvin and just watch tha...more
I would actually rate this book more as a 3.49, just short of rounding up to a 4th star. The book builds upon its predecessors well and begins to develop Calvin, but it just didn't feel like much happened (aside from a major event that came out of nowhere and was completed right after it was introduced). This book felt more like a set up for the eventual conflict between Calvin and Alvin.
But as always, Card works with a fantastic cast of characters and introduces new ones (such as Verily Cooper,...more
But as always, Card works with a fantastic cast of characters and introduces new ones (such as Verily Cooper,...more
It had been awhile since I read the last book in this series, Prentice Alvin, so I went in hoping I wouldn't have to refer to Wikipedia too much about the details of what happened in the last book, in case my memory failed me (as it often does). Fortunately, the only thing I have forgotten about Orson Scott Card is how deftly he is able to refresh the reader's memory on such things without breaking up the narrative. I was able to enjoy this book without even a glimpse of a Wikipedia cheat sheet....more
For quite some time now, I have been trying to pinpoint the exact date when one of my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card, officially made the jump from writing understated, powerful novels about fundamentally good, human, exquisitely rendered characters in fantastical settings, to writing over-analyzed crap with too much dialogue, too much pontificating about political machinations and without a single bloody word edited out.
Having read both Prentice Alvin and Alvin Journeyman within the past 24...more
Having read both Prentice Alvin and Alvin Journeyman within the past 24...more
Originally posted at FanLit.http://www.fantasyliterature.c...
Alvin Miller is finally a journeyman blacksmith and a Maker. He’s back home in Vigor Church, trying to teach others his Making skills because he believes he needs Makers to create the Crystal City he’s dreamed of. But the Unmaker is hard at work, trying to unravel Alvin’s plans. With the help of a girl who has a crush on Alvin, the Unmaker manages to get Alvin to flee back to Hatrack River where Makepeace Smith is waiting to sue him fo...more
Alvin Miller is finally a journeyman blacksmith and a Maker. He’s back home in Vigor Church, trying to teach others his Making skills because he believes he needs Makers to create the Crystal City he’s dreamed of. But the Unmaker is hard at work, trying to unravel Alvin’s plans. With the help of a girl who has a crush on Alvin, the Unmaker manages to get Alvin to flee back to Hatrack River where Makepeace Smith is waiting to sue him fo...more
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Of all of the places Card takes us in this series, one of the last I was expecting was the courtroom. A traditional "american" place that fascinates us in our history, fiction, and entertainment - and yet somehow I've always been loath to go there unless necessary. At first, I was afraid Card would plod us through the same bites and parries that we're used to from watching our favorite courtroom dramas, but he actually holds back on the full scene. The more important conversation happens elsewhe...more
Alvin returns to his home town Vigor Church with the intention of
teaching townsfolk the skills of making so that he can recruit a lot
of people to help him build the "crystal city" from his visions. Un-
fortunately he his forced to leave town due to the accusations that he
had improper relations with a young girl in town (untrue). He then
goes back to Hatrack River and stays in jail to await his trial due to
accusations of Makepiece Smith that his golden plow is the property
of Makepiece. Meanwhile h...more
teaching townsfolk the skills of making so that he can recruit a lot
of people to help him build the "crystal city" from his visions. Un-
fortunately he his forced to leave town due to the accusations that he
had improper relations with a young girl in town (untrue). He then
goes back to Hatrack River and stays in jail to await his trial due to
accusations of Makepiece Smith that his golden plow is the property
of Makepiece. Meanwhile h...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The fourth installment in the Alvin Maker series is filled with uncharacteristically boring stretches. In retrospect I can see why some of these seemingly unimportant moments were necessary for the climax of the book, but I'm not convinced that it couldn't be 1/3rd shorter. Perhaps all long-running series are doomed to summarize the previous books as they go. Those might not have bothered me as much were I not reading the series back to back.
Still, Card always has some beautiful philosophical a...more
Still, Card always has some beautiful philosophical a...more
Jun 21, 2011
Splen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to Splen by:
nobody, fan of O.S.T.
Shelves:
orson-scott-card
O.S.C. re-imagines an American historical period wherein
various groups of Americans (including Native Americans)
are imaginatively imbued with powers over nature,
a.k.a. 'knacks' and Folk-magic.
I say it is lovely.
Primarily Fantasy.
Also, Science Fiction -> Alternate History.
I first read and purchased (in Paperback)
the first five volumes of this series
a few months before Volume VI, the final book, was published
near its release on November 10th, 2003.
(I purchased the First Edition Hardcover of Vol...more
various groups of Americans (including Native Americans)
are imaginatively imbued with powers over nature,
a.k.a. 'knacks' and Folk-magic.
I say it is lovely.
Primarily Fantasy.
Also, Science Fiction -> Alternate History.
I first read and purchased (in Paperback)
the first five volumes of this series
a few months before Volume VI, the final book, was published
near its release on November 10th, 2003.
(I purchased the First Edition Hardcover of Vol...more
Alvin has been followed home by slander, and finds still more of it at home. He knows what the achievement of his life should be, but his pupils aren't capable of learning the skills he tries to teach them -- except his brother Calvin, who is too envious to listen. Driven out again, Alvin returns to Hatrack River and unmasks servants of the Unmaker. Slander is the main theme, but slavery and justice are also considered. Can young mixed-race Arthur be dragged back to his evil master/father becaus...more
Book 4 of the Alvin Maker series takes the characters through several transitional experiences and resolves lots of hanging threads from the first 3 books. Through most of the book, Alvin sits in jail and stuff goes on around him. Several strange and interesting new characters are introduced as well. Apparently it took several years for Orson Scott Card to get around to writing this one, and I'm glad he did - and I'm glad I didn't have to wait those years! Just had to wait for Lydia to pick it u...more
This is one of the best alternate history series I've ever read. It's clever, well-researched, and incredibly entertaining. For those of you who know your early American history, you will appreciate Card's rendition of mid-nineteenth century America. What I appreciate the most about this series is the writing. It's clean and efficient, and he trusts his reader. Despite all the information he throws at you, he doesn't stop and take the time to explain every little detail; he trusts that you'll pi...more
This has been my least favorite book in the series so far. The plot plodded - feeling more like an extra side-tale most of the time - and most of the encounters between characters were irritating or frustrating. Calvin is almost too evil to be believed, and all the French characters irritating. The exchanges between Alvin and Margaret we also very strange. Knowing what I did about Peggy, I did not expect the level of resistance she suddenly put up against Alvin, and the death of her mother seeme...more
Card continues his top-notch storytelling in this fourth volume of Alvin's saga. One of my Goodreads friends was distinctly displeased with this installment, complaining that it brought the series no closer to its resolution, and introduced characters and subplots only for the sake of lengthening the story. My take on these points, though, is quite different. The characters and subplots don't simply lengthen the saga; they add depth and complexity to it. You can tell a great (in the epic sense)...more
Mar 07, 2008
Tony duncan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people that like involved plots and characters about good and evil
I read the original book maybe 20 years ago and loved it. I haven;t read fiction for a good 10 years and this was my first plunge back into science fiction.
While simplistic in some ways this is a beautiful grand narrative. An alternative history where magic is real and is based on folk magic form the 198th century. An america that came about without wiping out the native Americnas and where the south remained a loyal colony for years longer than the US. An Iriquois nation part of the US, and wes...more
While simplistic in some ways this is a beautiful grand narrative. An alternative history where magic is real and is based on folk magic form the 198th century. An america that came about without wiping out the native Americnas and where the south remained a loyal colony for years longer than the US. An Iriquois nation part of the US, and wes...more
It has been said that any plot which depends on a dramatic courtroom trial is doomed to mediocrity. ALVIN JOURNEYMAN, unfortunately, is one of those plots. In this fourth instalment of Orson Scott Card's alternate-history and Mormon allegory "The Tales of Alvin Maker", Alvin is put on trial for his life. We, the readers, spend half the book being dragged through courtroom melodrama with a protagonist the reader is having a hard time caring about any more.
At the end of PRENTICE ALVIN, Alvin finis...more
At the end of PRENTICE ALVIN, Alvin finis...more
interesting. quite interesting. this is the first in the series i read (that i can remember, i feel like maybe i read one like 10+ years ago..some of the prose/imagery is familliar), so i spent a bunch of time so i spent a bunch of time just getting traction. but i do enjoy a bit of bafflement in my entertainment. i def enjoy the "alternate vision" of america, and all that it encompasses.
the book starts to drag in the middle a bit, but as the fourth book in a series, there often has to be some b...more
the book starts to drag in the middle a bit, but as the fourth book in a series, there often has to be some b...more
In loved the Ender series by this author & was eager to read more. I love to read & rarely put down a book unfinished. So I was amazed when I could not finish this book. I tried 3 different times to pick it up and get involved, thinking perhaps it was external pressures that were stealing my attention. But it just didn't happen. I could not get involved with the characters or the story. It simply didn't hold me & after 3 years of sitting on my bookshelf is still unread.
Unexpected start to this one. Alvin and Calvin are the primary protagonist and antagonist in this one. Calvin rushes out of Vigor to find his own master and escape the scheming Alvin. Meanwhile, Alvin is pushed out of Vigor by scandalous words only to find himself in deep trouble over his golden plow in Hatrack. Europe makes its appearance with old and new characters while Calvin does one of the few nice things he's ever done and making Alvin's dream a greater possibility. Truly fortunate as Ver...more
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Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series Th...more
More about Orson Scott Card...
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series Th...more
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“Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space.”
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“Everything possible to be believed is an image of truth." -Taleswapper ”
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Nov 12, 2012 12:21pm