Red Prophet (Mass Market Paperback)

Like "Ender," Alvin is a gifted child who is destined to play a major role in the events of his world (in this case a magical alternate 19th century America). Alvin's enemy, the Unmaker, is a bit more mystical than Ender's alien enemy, and certainly more evil. On the basis of the first two books of the series, it looks like there may be a few other parallels as well, but not having read the other books, I can't be sure how--or if--these will work themselves out.

"Seventh Son," the first volume of the series, dealt with Alvin's early years and first struggles with the Unmaker. Much of its focus was on tangled family relationships, especially that between father and son. "Red Prophet," however, is darker and more disturbing. It picks up when Alvin is on his way to become an apprentice blacksmith and paints a broader picture of the history of Indian-White relations in Card's alternate America. Many historical figures, including Napoleon, Mike Fink, and William Henry Harrison, make appearances, although they bear little resemblance to their real life models. Because of a plot intended to upset the fragile peace between Reds and Whites, Alvin spends much of his time as a sort of hostage to Ta-Kumsaw (Tecumseh) and his brother, the Prophet. During this time, he learns more about his own magic, which is as much Red as it is White, and has his first visions of the Crystal City, which it is his destiny to build.

There are many effective scenes in this novel--Alvin entering the mound and Becca's loom, for instance. However, I found that the emphasis on the political machinations of the Whites and the Reds made the book drag. When it was good, it was very very good, When it wasn't--well, I got through it. Eventually I'll get around to reading the next volumes too.

Nevertheless, I'm reading this series for the interest I have in the character of Alvin Miller, Junior (Alvin Maker), so this becomes a bit of a trial. It is, in fact, not until around page 90 that Alvin is even mentioned, and he doesn't become lead character again for some time later. Taleswapper, his mentor, doesn't show up again until two-thirds in -- albeit very mysteriously.

Red Prophet, however, is still a solid continuance of the story, even though it is presented as tangential. Alvin, with the help of Ta-Kumsaw, Taleswapper, and a former "likker-Red" called Lolla-Wossiky -- Ta-Kumsaw's brother -- who becomes the title character and changes his name to Tenskawa-Tawa, discovers ever more about his abilities, including that his half-Red, half-White soul allows him to do things that either side cannot. We get to see him heal a lot, and perform new feats of natural magic while confounding the Reds (who can usually sense the Whites' hexes, but not Alvin's).

All in all, Red Prophet is a good entry in the series and gives us a lot more information than we had before. However, it doesn't flow like Seventh Son did, and it was a struggle to get through; the suspense quotient just wasn't there. If the next book (Prentice Alvin) is this difficult to finish, I may not get through the series at all.

This is a great story showing explaining how magic and the Native Americans works in this world. This book filled in a lot of holes and provided a lot of background and setup for the upcoming stories.

This is not a novel you can skip if you are going through this series and along the same lines this is a very difficult to pick this book out of the blue.