Seventh Son
Reviewed date: 2008 Oct 9
Rating: 3
256 pages
This is the introductory book of Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series. It serves as a good introduction, but that's all it is: an introduction to the story. The story itself is barely hinted at. I'm intrigued. Alvin is the seventh son of a seventh son, which makes him a Maker. We don't know what a Maker is, but apparently he is the focal point of a very real spiritual battle. Cosmic forces of good and evil are centered upon him. His ability to bring order out of chaos--I think--will be important.
The story is also an allegory of Mormon history, but as I'm unfamiliar with Mormon culture and history I didn't pick up on any of this.
It's gripping, as all Card's writing is, but it's incomplete and unsatisfactory. I look forward to reading the sequels and getting the rest of the story.