- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books (Aug 8 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 031286728X
- ISBN-13: 978-0312867287
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 626 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
This is the fifth novel in Orson Scott Card's popular Alvin the Maker series, based on an alternate America where some people are born with knacks, which resemble magical abilities. The protagonist of the series, Alvin, is a maker who not only can fix things (such as restoring a wounded bird to health with his doodlebug) but is also something of a natural leader. Alvin and his small band of followers are on a quest to build the Crystal City, a place where those who have knacks can live in safety from the people who sometimes burn them as witches. While Alvin visits the nearly holy province of New England to find out just how cities work, his wife Margaret, traveling under the name Peggy, journeys to the kingdom of Camelot, which was formerly known as Charleston, South Carolina. There she hopes to persuade the exiled King Arthur to help her abolish the practice of slavery. Heartfire is an excellent midseries novel that's sure to delight fans of Alvin. --Craig E. Engler
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Fifth in Hugo and Nebula winner Card's immensely popular Tales of Alvin Maker, this installment of alternative American history centers around two grievous social wrongs. Arthur Stuart, exiled King of England, reigns in Camelot (Charleston), capital of the slaveholding southern Crown Colonies; in New England, meanwhile, "witchers" connive to execute anyone with the "knack," the ability to connect to the powers of the universe. Just before civil war erupts, telekinetic Alvin and his historical friends, such as John James Audubon, and legendary ones, such as riverman Mike Fink, set about to abolish New England's antiwitch laws, while Alvin's wife and mentor, Margaret, uses her ability to read human souls to offer the hope of freedom to the Colonies' slaves and to heal Alvin's malevolent brother before he can kill her husband. Card's antebellum settings, dialogue and historical figures seem authentic and thoroughly researched, and, as always, he offers excellent differentiation of characters. However, Card is as occasionally windy and preachy as ever, and the plethora of lengthy philosophical and/or psychological digressions make for considerably less fictional sizzle than fizzle. Consider this a good bet for fans of the series, but not for a wider readership.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Another solid entry in the Alvin Maker series,
By Craig Childs (Cordova, TN United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Heartfire (Hardcover)
I am surprised by many of the negative comments about this book-not because the book doesn't have flaws (it does), but because it is easily on par, if not a little better, than the previous books in the series. I agree with other reviewers that each book in the Alvin Maker series cannot stand alone and must be viewed as a 300-page chapter in a longer work. The plot is also rather weak, about a man with all-encompassing magical powers trying to create a utopian city, but these books are not about the Crystal City, any more than LORD OF THE RINGS was about Frodo Baggins and his magic ring. Like Tolkien, Card is using a simple journey plot to give his readers the opportunity to explore a strange new fictional universe.Unlike traditional fantasy, however, Card's universe is an "alternate" America, circa 1800, similar to the real America except that frontier superstitions, Indian folklore, and African voodoo are all real. Over the course of five books, Card has examined Midwest frontier life, the American Indian struggle, Puritan witch trials, Appalachian mountaineers, French outpost settlements, and opulent Southern slave plantations. We have met numerous historical figures, some accurately depicted, others a mere caricature of their real selves. We have debated religion, politics, and law. It is clear Card is steering us towards a finale where all these subcultures learn to coexist in a true melting pot society. Like other readers, I too am ready for Card to begin to wrap up the story, but as long as he continues to create such a unique new landscape, and populate it with quirky, textured characters, I'll keep reading.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartfire,
By Jared (Kansas City, Kansas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Heartfire (Hardcover)
I've been an Orson Scott Card reader for 2 years, starting with Ender's Game. I read through that series as the first real book series I've ever read. I read a few other Books by Card and enjoyed them. Then I came across the Alvin Maker series, and loved them. In the fifth installment to this great series, Alvin and his companions are clueless on how to build the Crystal City that they've been questing for. And Calvin has come back from his visit to Napoleon to learn how to control people and gain power. Card keeps the flow of the book going non-stop by switching from the point of view from character to character. Peggy has taken a seperate path from Alvin's once again, and is in Charleston, South Carolina, trying to confront the King about slavory. Calvin has been stirring up trouble again, with his new friend Honoré. Everyone seems to be confused on what their purpose is, except for Calvin who knows that he is there to either rule the Crystal City alongside Alvin, or to destroy it entirely. The book is one of Card's finest, and I recommend it to anyone who even remotely like fantasy books.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Alvin continues his journey,
By A Customer
This review is from: Heartfire (Hardcover)
In this book, we see how Alvin gains followers. We are also shown parts of Alvin's world which we haven't been introduced to previously. I think the book is intended to fill in some background.How Card intends to write his superman without the character going completely nutty is what I want to see, and I think we saw some of it here. Alvin is restrained. He follows normal societal mores until they prevent him from accomplishing his goal, then he makes the minimal change necessary in order to achieve what he's trying to do. This is a good middle chapter to the on-going story.
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