Master Alvin - (Alvin Maker) by Orson Scott Card (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Tales of Alvin Maker concludes in Master Alvin, the final book in the historical fantasy series from the Hugo and Nebula award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Ender's Game.

Inspired by 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 a 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 builds 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.

In this final novel in the Alvin Maker series, Alvin's journey leads him himself across the river--visiting his old friend the Red Prophet, across the country, and even across the Atlantic, where Irish folk with knacks are being persecuted. Through trials and tribulations, Alvin must learn when to use his extraordinary powers, and when to not, as he strives to safehold his people from a darkness that threatens everything they've built in the Crystal City, and in their very hearts.

The Tales of Alvin Maker series
Seventh Son
Red Prophet
Prentice Alvin
Alvin Journeyman
Heartfire
The Crystal City
Master Alvin

Review Quotes

Praise for Orson Scott Card

"One of the greats of contemporary science fiction and fantasy."
--The Wall Street Journal

"Orson Scott Card is as fine a writer as we have."
--The Los Angeles Times

"Card is a master storyteller."
--The Seattle Times

About the Author

ORSON SCOTT CARD may be best known for his science fiction (including Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead), but, regretting the lack of fantasy novels set in the American past, he started the Tales of Alvin Maker, the epic of a powerful mage on the American frontier.

Card was born in 1951 in Richland, Washington, and went to school in Santa Clara, California; Mesa, Arizona; and Provo, Utah. After serving as a missionary for the LDS Church in São Paulo, Brazil, he earned degrees at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, worked as an editor of books and magazines, and wrote plays and audioplays. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina with his wife, Kristine Allen Card. They are the parents of three adult children and grandparents of seven.