Heartfire (Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 5) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Only the sound of Alvin's voice could draw Arthur out of his reverie..." (more)
Key Phrases: Gullah Joe, Arthur Stuart, New England (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy; 1st edition (May 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812509242
• ISBN-13: 978-0812509243
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,691 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #28 in

  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Card, Orson Scott

• This is item 5 in The Tales of Alvin Maker Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The fire burns low., November 14, 2000

By	Andrew X. Lias "http://andrewlias.blogspot.com" (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A long while ago, I came across an curious and interesting short story about the birth of a seventh son of a seventh son and I thought to myself that Card had created something truly special. More short stories came out and then a book, and I was a very happy reader. Then more books came out, followed by a hiatus.

After the hiatus, there seemed to be a bit of a drop in quality, but I wrote it off. Not every book can be a gem. Heartfire, unfortunately, is representative of a much more telling decline.

When I read Heartfire and compare it to the first books, one thing in particular stands out in contrast: the original stories were populated with interesting people who DID interesting things and who had interesting things HAPPEN to them. The twists and turns of the plots were surprising and enjoyable. By contrast, very little happens in Heartfire, other than people talking. And they do talk. They talk about philosophy, about what their circumstances, about things that they need to do, about *talking*, and about how they need to stop talking so that they can get a go on. There is lots (!) of dialog, but precious little ever happens. It is, quite literally, 150 pages into the story before any sort of discernable event actually occurs to anyone. And even when that occurs, it ultimately ends up leading to scads of more dialog and a weak as water resolution.

I realize that Card loves his characters, nor can I fault him for that given that he's managed to create some very distinct and interesting individuals, but it does a disservice to them, and to the work as a whole, if they do nothing more than stand around explaining themselves to each other ad nauseum.

It *was* a great series, but I honestly think that Card has lost his way. I think that he has a general idea of where he wants it to end, but no idea of how to get there. Heartfire seems to be nothing less than an attempt to stall his readers while he tries to figure that out. I'm sorry, but it's not fair for him to ask us to pay for the privilege of waiting for him to manage that task, nor do I think that I'll be spending anymore money to do so. Heartfire is a fading ember and I think that it can lead to nothing but cold ashes.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a good book but I'm getting frustrated., June 16, 1999

By A Customer

This latest in the Alvin Maker series is, like all of Card's writing, entertaining, thoughtful and contains elegant prose. Unfortunately, the only reasons for this installment seem to be the exposition of the alternate America--we already get it, I think--and the introduction of new "disciples"--enough already! The half of the book that covers Alvin's experience with New England witchcraft laws would be far more interesting if most of this moral territory hadn't been covered so thoroughly in Seventh Son. Purity is an interesting new character, but there are already enough major characters in this saga. I think most readers, like me, are itching for some progress toward the Crystal City, assuming that Card intends to take the series that far. We can only hope that later installments will reveal a vital purpose for each of the "good guys". Much more interesting was the part set in Camelot--Card's concept of the name-taking is quite good. We do see some change in Calvin's heart after he nearly dies, I think. But still, at the end, the only definite change in anybody's situation is that Alvin will have a couple more followers. The one non-plot related complaint I have is that some of the dialogue--especially the banter in the opening chapters--is a little tiresome. It's better later, though. If you like Card or have read the previous books in the series you should read this book. It's not as good as some others in the series but still a darn good read. If you haven't read any of the Alvin Maker series DON'T START HERE, it will just confuse you. All in all, this book meets Card's high standards--it just fails to meet some of the longtime reader's expectations.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This can't be the end!, August 28, 2000

By	Abigail Welborn (Seattle) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I feel like Romeo, crying to OSC, "Oh, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" And he/Juliet replies, all innocent, "What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?" To which I reply, "Book VI!!"

Unlike most readers of Orson Scott Card, I found myself in the odd (and, I suppose, somewhat enviable) position of having a week of free time and discovering the Alvin Maker series with five books in it. So, for the last eight days, I have literally been living in his alternate America. I was utterly captivated by the books: "Seventh Son," "Red Prophet," "Prentice Alvin," "Alvin Journeyman," and now "Heartfire." I read them so quickly and so close together that I can't really review them as separate books; this is sort-of my review of the whole series (up to this point).

In this version of America, there are three separate countries on the east coast (New England, Appalachee, and the US), plus the Crown Colonies of the south that are still tied to England. Almost everyone has some sort of supernatural "knack." Alvin, the main character, is the seventh son of a seventh son and the most powerful man anyone's seen in a long time. He's on a quest to build Utopia -- the "Crystal City" -- but he doesn't know how he's going to do that (and perhaps OSC doesn't either). While the first two books were mostly about the Red-White conflict, the next three have been about the Black-White conflict -- specifically, abolitionists against the supporters of slavery. The next book will probably involve the Civil War, as Peggy (Alvin's wife, a "torch" who can see possible futures in people's "heartfires") was unable to prevent it.

Any reader who hasn't read the first four books will be hopelessly confused, so don't even bother -- go read the first four! In book five, while I liked knowing what was going on and getting to know Calvin, Verily, and Peggy better, I did miss some of the old friends (like Takum-Sa, Taleswapper, and the Vigor Church folks). I can't call into question the wisdom of plot choice, as some other reviewers have, because I assume Card still has a handle on where he's going (we can only hope); although I wasn't quite sure why Alvin had to go to jail again. Perhaps a subtle reminder that people don't like what they can't defeat. I found the Camelot storyline to be quite interesting, and I thought that this book had the series' best dialogue. Toward the end, it seemed like Alvin was invincible; I'm glad for Calvin's spark of redemption (I hope it will stick), and I enjoyed the scenes of Alvin's triumph, but...

I think he has enough disciples now. Get us to the Crystal City, and do it soon!

(As a sidenote, I think that questioning Card's intelligence because of his choice of religion is uncalled-for. I think that most religions seem ridiculous to those who don't believe in them.)