Prentice Alvin (Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "LET ME START my history of Alvin's prenticeship where things first began to go wrong..." (more)
Key Phrases: golden plow, torch girl, journeyman piece, Arthur Stuart, Old Peg, Miss Larner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A country schoolteacher and the child of a runaway slave find their destinies entwined with that of Alvin Miller, whose talent for "making" has marked him for destruction by the evil force known as the Unmaker. Card's epic tale of a magical, alternate America demonstrates his skill in graceful storytelling. Recommended, along with Seventh Son and Red Prophet , for most fantasy collections.-- JC
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A tribute to the art of storytelling. . . highly recommended."-Library Journal

"Card has uncovered a rich vein of folklore and magic here, to which his assured handling of old time religion and manifest love of children is admirably suited: an appealing and intriguing effort."-Kirkus Reviews

"A beguiling book. . . robust but reflective blend of folktale, history, parable and personal testimony, pioneer narrative. The series promises to be a story of deep delight."--Publishers Weekly
-- Review

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy; later printing edition (December 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812502124
• ISBN-13: 978-0812502121
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,338 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 3 in The Tales of Alvin Maker Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The series continues with solid levels of quality, January 11, 2004

By	Jonathan Burgoine "bookseller" (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Alvin has begun his "prenticeship" and though he comes to Hattrack river mostly to speak to the girl, Peggy, who, as a torch, had the ability to show him his futures and is likely the only person who can help him figure out how to be a real Maker, she flees before he even arrives.

This is a split story for most of the duration, flickering from Alvin on one side, to Peggy on the other, and converging near the end. Alvin's apprenticeship is very interesting, but it is Peggy's story I'm really starting to enjoy more. Peggy is a torch - someone with the knack to see futures in the heartfires of folk, and her own future is intertwined with Alvin's. But when she sees that her own future is a loveless one if she waits for Alvin to arrive, she does the unthinkable - she runs away, to find a way to at least have love for Alvin, if not love from him. Her determination to thwart her own gifts of futuresight is a joy to read, and her strength of character - somewhat rare for female characters in a lot of fantasy works - is a nice change. Very enjoyable.

So is where the tale ends, with a bit more magic than usual, and a set-up for the next story that I'm glad I didn't have to wait years for - like all the other folk who've been reading this series since book one.

'Nathan

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A low point of a nonetheless excellent series, August 19, 2002

By	Christopher Culver - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

PRENTICE ALVIN is the third volume of "The Tales of Alvin Maker", Orson Scott Card's alternate history of an America which looks quite different from our own and in which fol magic is real. After his travels with Ta-Kumsaw in RED PROPHET, the young protagonist finally reaches his birthplace Hatrack River, where he is to become an apprentice smith.

As with RED PROPHET, the first 40 or so pages introduces the reader to faraway events that nonetheless are to have great effects on Alvin's life. Having shown the turmoil of the Native Americans under the westward migration of White settlers, Card now turns to America's other suffering people, the Black slaves in the Crown Colonies and Appalachee, and a slave owner who receives terrible instructions from Alvin's archenemy, the Unmaker. Alvin may have caught a glimpse of his destiny as a Maker from Tenskwa-Tawa in RED PROPHET, but in PRENTICE ALVIN he comes to learn exactly how to harness his knack and how he will eventually build the Crystal City.

While I enjoy this series, I found PRENTICE ALVIN to be a low point. Alvin arrives in Hatrack River seeming like a normal 11 year-old boy, but you'd think his year-long adventure with Ta-Kumsaw in RED PROPHET, who took him from Lake Superior to Florida and everywhere in between, would have made more of a mark. And while the novel can be read speedily, it still seems too long and full of awkward meditations. The violent ending and unveiling of Peggy also seems unbelievable.

Nonetheless, these form no reason for me to not recommend The Tales of Alvin Maker, I find this an immensely entertaining series and PRENTICE ALVIN has its place.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some of the best American fiction in print, May 8, 1998

By A Customer

Card can hold his own with America's best fiction writers, and this series proves it. A reader below compares the Alvin Maker series to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. That's a good starting point, but Card's work is much more humane, and relies much more on human interaction as opposed to magic or fantasy.

Underneath all of Card's works is a complex philosophy of individualism, self-determination, and humanism You see it in his creations of Jane in Ender's Game, Peggy here in the Maker series, and Patience in Wyrms. This is, at its core, a philosophy that captures the essence of the American world-view. It's also one that I and many others share, and it's a pleasure to see these themes gently woven into the fabric of all his stories. Card, you are the best. Keep going!