In a lot of ways, this feels like the second half of a longer novel that should have been paired with "Seventh Son."

"Seventh Son" establishes the character of Alvin Miller, Jr. and the fact that he's the seventh son of a seventh son. "Red Prophet" expands the alternative history of the universe Card is creating, including a lot of time spent on the politics of the universe. Card also spends some time setting up the rules by which his fantasy will play during the rest of the series (or so I presume).

This feels like the second half of what should have been one longer starting novel for the series. Alvin does feature but he's kept off stage for the first third of the book before finally coming into the story. The first third establishes the political situation, examines the powers used by the Native Americans in the novel and shows the rise of Lolla-Wosiky to becoming a prophet for his people.

If it weren't so interesting, it could be terribly frustrating. And Card does find ways to intersect the events of "Seventh Son," expanding that book a great deal. And it helps remind readers of what's gone before.

The book builds to a central scene, depicted on the cover when Alvin and the title character cross paths and share a vision together. Alvin sees the future he can build and where all things can lead, sewing seeds that I hope will pay off in future stories.

Enjoyable to imagine what a Native American experience might entail and to follow that thread and give flesh and bone to a people who have never truly been represented to me as anything other than stereotypes. It was good for me to shed immature thoughts and take on respect and endless possible explanations for who these Native American men and women might have been and why. Great storytelling with a strong control of pace balanced with detail/ philosophizing.

Alvin Miller is the seventh son of a seventh son which gives him special powers in this alternate history tale of America set in 1811 during the time around the historical battle of Tippecanoe. In this series, each of the important characters of European ancestry possesses a folklore talent called a knack. The Indians in the series have a connection to the land which helps them survive and prosper. The Indian way is threatened by the arrival of the settlers. Alvin is a bridge between Americans and the Indians. He must heal the land and broker a compromise, or the Americans and Indians will perish in a destructive war.

Historical figures are transformed into characters who may or may not resemble their real selves. The American characters keep their historical names like William Henry Harrison, Mike Fink, Andrew Jackson, and Napoleon Bonaparte. The Indian characters have transformed names like Ta-Kumsaw (Tecumseh) and his brother Lolla-Wossiky (Tensquatawa) aka the prophet. Locations also have transformed names like the Hio territory (Ohio), the Wobbish territory (Indiana), and Carthage City (Harrison’s fort at the crossing of Ohio and the Greater Miami rivers). The main plot involves three characters. Harrison wants to take over the Indian territory of Wobbish and open it to settlers. Ta-Kumsaw wants to fight the Americans and wipe them out to send them back to Europe. Lolla-Wossiky prefers a path of non-violent resistance and builds the Indian town called Prophetstown. The three clash and young Alvin, through his Indian-like talent powered by the strength of the land, tries to solve the problem. Through his efforts, Alvin earned the name Alvin Maker.

I wanted to read this novel because I recently read an excerpt novella named Carthage City published in the September 1987 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. I wrote a post on purchasing the missing 60 issues I didn’t have from Spring 1977 to March 2014 in this post titled Asimovs Collection. The novella covered the story about the character named Hooch Palmer. It was the only section of the novel that did not involve Alvin. I was interested in the background information and the magical system, so I bought a copy of the novel. I liked the novel. The only aspect of the novel I didn’t like was the narrative of bad American who is not of the land versus the noble savage Indians who are of the land. I took it as satire, over-exaggeration to prove a point about not thinking through actions. With that perspective, I would like to read the other five novels in the series.

Втората книга за Алвин Твореца също продължава ударно. Този път мащабите са по-големи, а и събитията са доста по-жестоки и кървави. Намесва се местната и международната политика, сред действащите лица се появяват Наполеон, Лафайет, Текумзе (който само се споменаваше в първия том) и цели двама американски президенти.

Акцентът в книгата обаче е върху взаимоотношенията бели-индианци. Алвин е отвлечен от червенокожите и трябва да усвои техния начин на живот, да почувства единството с природата и да се научи да слуша "зелената тишина". Среща се отново със своя Сияен човек, индианския пророк Тенсква-Тава, и получава видения за бъдещето. Надвисва обаче страховит конфликт между двата свята - конфликт, от който никой няма да се измъкне невредим.

Хареса ми как Кард вкарва сивота в образите на героите. Някои, които в първата книга бяха подчертано отрицателни, тук проявяват разум и човещина - и обратно, някои от положителните герои участват в зверства.

Все пак, за да не съм прекалено възторжен, имаше една-две дреболии, които не ми допаднаха. Първо, подразни ме, че на два пъти Кард обрисува даден герой като напълно безскрупулен, а после изведнъж се оказва, че има скрупули и даже нещо като чест. Първия път го приех, защото макар и леко неправдоподобно, се вписваше прилично в сюжета, но втория път вече ми дойде множко.

Второ, недоумявам защо трябваше да се показва някаква скрита "бяла страна" на Текумзе, която реално няма никакво отражение върху ставащото (още повече пък, че не се връзва с един друг по-ранен момент от книгата). Вероятно Кард го е направил, само за да вмъкне идеята за тъкачния стан, който тъче безкрайното платно на историята от нишките на човешките съдби. Идеята сама по себе си е готина, но цялата тази сцена ми стоеше като кръпка.

Както и да е, това са бели кахъри, които с нищо не ми развалиха удоволствието. Изгълтах книгата кажи-речи наведнъж и веднага скачам на следващата, "Чиракът Алвин".

Зарибен съм! Ако в следващите книги качеството не спадне, това ще стане една от любимите ми фентъзи поредици! :)

I enjoyed the mixing of history and fantasy.

Second read – 25 February 2011 – ***. I re-read Red Prophet in the form of a pair of hardcover graphic-novel books. My reviews of that re-read are at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

First read - 4 January 1989 – ****. Fantasy is not my usual comfort zone. But this is genre combination of fantasy and alternate history. It is an intriguing saga of an alternate late 18th century America where magical knacks are real. This is Volume 2, and goes into more depth on the magics of the Native American population.

If I hadn't read book #1 and wasn't already intrigued with the storyline of Alvin I would have stopped reading this book. It turned out to be good in the end but OSCard did we really need the first 40 pages to be the most BORING conversation ever between two evil men? I kept saying, what about Alvin? I need to know what's happening to Alvin!!

But I did like the storyline about the Native Americans and reading about their magical powers, especially over the land. On to book #3!

So I read another one. It was okay but seriously Card, I understand. Predestination. Injuns. I get it. Please I can has new story now?

I'll probably read another one.

Read this immediately as a follow-up on the first.

In-between it though, I did google Card and I am disturbed by suggestions of homophobic attitudes due to his Mormon faith.

These values, don't, however, intrude on the novel nor its quality - at least as far as I can perceive. And I am trying to take away the 'cult of the personality' of the author - an issue which is more challenging to do in the personality-driven internet world.

Once again, I loved the writing. But this novel really takes off. If anything it's better than the first. The journey here is impressive, and while the first in the series began to convey an alternative history, this one truly explores it. All the wonderful cultural and political machinations of this speculative history enable the novel a fascinating backdrop.

Recommended for both American history buffs and lovers of fantasy. A great writer, regardless of some odd attitudes due to his faith.

4.0 to 4.5 stars. A very unique, original fantasy (or alterniative history SF if you prefer) by one of the best writers around. Set in an alternative United States of the 19th century, this is a truly American fantasy tale. Wildly inventive and beautifully written. Highly Recommended.

Nominee: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1989)
Nominee: Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1989)
Winner: Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (1989)
Nominee: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature (1989)

First things first: DNF, I just couldn't push through it. A friend recommended the series to me, and I made it through the first one fine, but at roughly 85% through this one I just wasn't enjoying myself. I have so many other books that I know I will love on my TBR shelf, I don't want to bother myself with this one anymore.

That's not to say that the book was awful! It just isn't for me. I typically like these types of books, and the premise was extremely entertaining, but I couldn't get past the writing style. That was another weird one for me, because I am a big fan of many other Card books. I guess this one just didn't make that cut.

This is the second of Orson Scott Card's Tales of Alvin Maker series and was published in 1988. I think Card has become most famous for "Ender's Game," which was made into a film. This one would make a good film. Card's hero is Alvin Maker, a boy growing up on the frontier, that is, the frontier of the early 1800s, to the west of the Appalachians. But his world is an alternate history America. It seems there was a Revolution and there is a United States, but the Carolinas and Georgia remain as English colonies. The French never lost Canada and still control it along with an outpost at Fort Detroit. Very interestingly, there is a separate "Appalachee," an independent state in the Appalachians. Names are a little different--and I like these names. The Ohio River is simply called the "Hio" and the Mississippi is the "Mizzippi." But the big difference is that it is a world where magic works. Alvin has a "knack"--he has a power to make things using his hands without any tools and to heal people. In this, the second story, he gets involved in the effort of Ta-Kumsaw (Tecumseh) to unite the Native tribes to drive the Americans back to the East Coast. The "Red Prophet" of the title is based on Tecumseh's brother, who became a shaman. In this America, he has magical powers...The villain is the self-styled General, William Harrison. In Alvin's world, will Harrison still win the Battle of Tippecanoe and defeat the Native Americans? In our history, his victory propelled him to the presidency ("Tippecanoe and Tyler, too")....