Imagine a North America where things in the early 1800's were different. How different? Imagine if the magic and folklore of the Native Americans had more influence on history. What if white man had a different relationship with the natives while they settled the West?
This is the backdrop for The Seventh Son. Alvin is the seventh son of a seventh son...a magical thing, indeed. He is gifted in ways that bring him power but also to bring condescension and exclusion in his town. He finds that his "knacks" may be more than he thinks. He is discovering evils that he doesn't understand, but knows that he must build things in order to fight those evils that seek to tear down.

One of my favorite things for an author to do, if they do it well, is to "accent" their dialogue with plain talk and bad back-country grammar and dialects. This really gives grittiness and realism to the story. The author's use of historical figures (George Washington, Ben Franklin, e.g.) is somewhat humorous in that they lived different lives that what we came to know in our history classes. The political geography is also different with similar names (Appalachee or Irrakwa) which give a hint of location or culture....but different.
The underlying conflict, which I think is very interesting, is one which pits spreading Christianity, which most modern day Americans understand, against small magic, hexes and spirits. This is really the basis of the alternate reality that the author paints in this book.

Since magic is technically a fantasy prop, I'd consider the Alvin Maker series to be fantasy in an early American setting. Hard core fantasy readers may not get into the small-time magic that the author presents in this book and series, but readers who like "What if", alternate reality stories will like this book. The characters are real, dirty and smelly. They work hard on the American frontier.

Orson Scott Card is the author of the Alvin Maker series of which The Seventh Son is the first book. He has also other science fiction tales, such as the Ender series and the Earth series. He also has written a set of three romantic, speculative stories of three prominent "Women of Genesis", Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel.

In this fantasy novel set in a 19th Century alternite universe version of America, Alvin is the seventh son of a seventh son, and in American folklore that means he has magic powers. He is guided by Taleswapper who knows what he is, and about the powers that are out to destroy him. I loved the setting, the America of a small town in the early 1800s, contemperary to Mark Twain's novels. But there are subtle changes, like the different names of the British King, and the fact that Ben Franklin is actually a wizard. This book is actually good for children, for it has no sex or graphic violence. It is just a good tale of good vs. evil (in this case, called the Unmaker). Maybe the fact that it treats Christianity pretty harshly is one minus, but hardly a bitg strike, literarily speaking. My biggest complaint was the length, or lack there of. It was barely 240 pages long; it felt too short. I will try to find part 2 somewhere.

First off, I just finished Heartfire, the 5th book in this series, so while this may not be the greatest fantasy book of all time it was certainly good enough to make me want to try the next book ...

and the next three after that!

Where this book succeeds is in it's original plot and premise. Its weakness is the slow start, but never fear, keep reading because after awhile you won't be able to put it down.

The story itself is set in an alternate America in which some people are born with strange 'knacks' or powers, Indians draw power from Mother Earth and different forces struggle for power in the blossoming New World. This first book basically lays the groundwork in telling the reader what this America is all about, what politics are at play in the world, and of course it introduces you to Alvin, the main character of the series.

All in all, well worth the read, if only for the books which follow. I definitely recommend it.

Love the book. Love the series. Orson Scott Card is an excellent author, havent met a book he wrote that i didnt like. The only bad thing (if considered bad) is the book is short and to the point.