This poem is about a young blacksmith’s apprentice named Alvin.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Acclaimed writer and editor Robert Silverberg gathered 11 of the finest writers in fantasy to contribute to this collection of short novels. Each of the writers was asked to write a new story based on one of his or her most famous series, and the results are wonderful. New Spring by Robert Jordan The Burning Man by Tad Williams The Wood Boy by Raymond E. Feist The Hedge Knight by George R.R. Martin Runner of Pern by Anne McCaffrey Dragonfly by Ursula K. Le Guin Grinning Man by Orson Scott Card Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind The Sea and Little Fishes by Terry Pratchett The Little Sisters of Eluria by Steven King The Seventh Shrine by Robert Silverberg

Alvin Maker and his traveling companion, Arthur Stuart, follow their trail through the wooded hills of eastern Kenituck. They meet a buckskin-clad hunter, a bear, and a shady miller. This short story may be found in the book " Short novels by the masters of modern fantasy" by Robert Silverberg.

"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.

Realm of the Elderlings: Homecoming / Robin Hobb A Song of Ice and Fire: The Sworn Sword / George R.R. Martin The Tales of Alvin Maker: The Yazoo Queen / Orson Scott Card Outlander: Lord John and the Succubus / Diana Gabaldon Majipoor: The Book of Changes / Robert Silverberg Otherland: The Happiest Dead Boy in the World / Tad Williams Pern: Beyond Between / Anne McCaffrey The Riftwar: The Messenger / Raymond E. Feist The Symphony of Ages: Threshold / Elizabeth Haydon American gods: The Monarch of the Glen / Neil Gaiman Shannara: Indomitable / Terry Brooks 1 ROBIN HOBB returns to the Realm of the Elderlings with “Homecoming,” a powerful tale in which exiles sent to colonize the Cursed Shores find themselves sinking into an intoxicating but deadly dream . . . or is it a memory? 2 GEORGE R. R. MARTIN continues with Dunk, a young hedge knight, and his unusual squire, Egg, in “The Sworn Sword,”. 3 ORSON SCOTT CARD puts Alvin Maker on the mighty Mississippi with ne’er-do-wells Jim Bowie and Abe Lincoln, in “The Yazoo Queen.” 4 DIANE GABALDON puts Outlander misfit in “Lord John and the Succubus,” a supernatural thriller set in the early days of the Seven Years War. 5 ROBERT SILVERBERG has a dilettantish poet in “The Book of Changes.” 6 TAD WILLIAMS explores the strange afterlife of Orlando Gardiner from Otherland in “The Happiest Dead Boy in the World.” 7 ANNE McCAFFREY shines a light into Pern in “Beyond Between.” 8 RAYMOND E. FEIST sends one soldier on the ride of his life, an ordinary time for “The Messenger.” 9 ELIZABETH HAYDON relates the destruction of Serendair and the fate of its last defenders in “Threshold,” 10 NEIL GAIMAN tells of the man Shadow, after American Gods in “The Monarch of the Glen.” 11 TERRY BROOKS adds an exciting epilogue to The Wishsong of Shannara in “Indomitable,” how Jair Ohmsford’ destroys the evil Ildatch, armed only with illusion.

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.

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.