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Tales of Alvin Maker
Series · 8 books · 1987-2016

Books in series

Seventh Son book cover
#1

Seventh Son

1987

In an alternate version of frontier America, young Alvin is the seventh son of a seventh son, and such a birth is powerful magic. Yet even in the loving safety of his home, dark forces reach out to destroy him.
Red Prophet book cover
#2

Red Prophet

1988

Come here to the magical America that might have been and marvel as the tale of Alvin Maker unfolds. The seventh son of a seventh son is a boy of mysterious powers, and he is waking to the mysteries of the land and its own chosen people.
Prentice Alvin book cover
#3

Prentice Alvin

1989

The Tales of Alvin Maker series continues in volume three, Prentice Alvin. Young Alvin returns to the town of his birth, and begins his apprenticeship with Makepeace Smith, committing seven years of his life in exchange for the skills and knowledge of a blacksmith. But Alvin must also learn to control and use his own talent, that of a Maker, else his destiny will be unfulfilled.
Alvin Journeyman book cover
#4

Alvin Journeyman

1995

Alvin Miller, a gifted seventh son of a seventh son, utilizes his skills as a Maker to help create a brighter future for America, but his task is further challenged by his ancient enemy, the Unmaker, who plots to end Alvin's life. 100,000 first printing. $100,000 ad/promo. Tour.
Heartfire book cover
#5

Heartfire

1998

Peggy is a Torch, able to see the fire burning in each person's heart. From the moment of Alvin Maker's birth, when the Unmaker first strove to kill him, she has protected him. Now they are married. But Alvin's destiny has taken them on separate journeys. But only one slender path exists that leads through the bloodshed, and it is Peggy's quest to set the world on that path to peace.
The Yazoo Queen book cover
#5.99

The Yazoo Queen

2003

"The Yazoo Queen" is a fantasy short story by Orson Scott Card set in his The Tales of Alvin Maker series. It was published in the anthology Legends II.
The Crystal City book cover
#6

The Crystal City

2003

Using the lore and the folk-magic of the men and women who settled North America, Orson Scott Card has created an alternate world where magic works, and where that magic has colored the entire history of the colonies. Charms and beseechings, hexes and potions, all have a place in the lives of the people of this world. Dowsers find water, the second sight warns of dangers to come, and a torch can read a person's future—-or their heart. In this world where "knacks" abound, Alvin, the seventh son of a seventh son, is a very special man indeed. He's a Maker; he has the knack of understanding how things are put together, how to create them, repair them, keep them whole, or tear them down. He can heal hearts as well as bones, he build a house, he can calm the waters or blow up a storm. And he can teach his knack to others, to the measure of their own talent. Alvin has been trying to avert the terrible war that his wife, Peggy, a torch of extraordinary power, has seen down the life-lines of every American. Now she has sent him down the Mizzippy to the city of New Orleans, or Nueva Barcelona as they call it under Spanish occupation. Alvin doesn't know exactly why he's there, but when he and his brother-in-law, Arthur Stuart, find lodgings with a family of abolitionists who know Peggy, he suspects he'll find out soon. But Nueva Barcelona is about to experience a plague, and Alvin's efforts to protect his friends by keeping them healthy will create more danger than he could ever have suspected. And in saving the poor people of the city, Alvin will be put to the greatest test of his life—-a test that will draw on all his power. For the time has come for him to turn to his old friend Tenskwa-Tawa, the Red Prophet who controls the lands to the west of the Mizzippy. Now Alvin must take the first steps on the road to the Crystal City that was shown to him in a vision so long ago.
Seventh Son and Red Prophet book cover
#1-2

Seventh Son and Red Prophet

The First Two Volumes of The Tales of Alvin Maker

2016

From Orson Scott Card, the New York Times author of Ender's Game, comes an unforgettable story about young Alvin Maker: the seventh son of a seventh son. Born into an alternative frontier America where life is hard and folk magic is real, Alvin is gifted with the power. He must learn to use his gift wisely. But dark forces are arrayed against Alvin, and only a young girl with second sight can protect him Collected here in one volume, the first two books in the Alvin Maker series, Seventh Son and Red Prophet.

Author

Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Author · 135 books

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 The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts. Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He recently began a long-term position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University. Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret. For further details, see the author's Wikipedia page. For an ordered list of the author's works, see Wikipedia's List of works by Orson Scott Card. http://us.macmillan.com/author/orsons...

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