Red Prophet (Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 2)

by Orson Scott Card

Book Overview

Come here to Orson Scott Card's magical America that might have been, and marvel as the tale of Alvin Maker unfolds. The seventh son of a seventh son is a boy of mysterious powers, and he is waking to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812524268
• Release Date: July 1992
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.8" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Book 2 is definitely the best so far!

I have read the first four books in the Seventh Son series, and book 2 was definitely the best. The story is great, and the lure around the native Americans and their “powers” they hold is a very cool concept. This book also starts Alvin on his goal in life and leave you wondering what and how he will accomplish it.

Incredibly moving tale

My five year old and I are so enjoying this series. This one is more intense then the first and even more incredible! My son is obsessed with taleswapper so was very happy to hear more about him again. Great read I would recommend this series to anyone.

Red Prophet Tales of Alvin Maker

The second in a series of the story of Alvin Maker.. how he developed as he did with the spectacular talent he had, but didn't know how to use.. Woven into the story is a splotch of American history.. not 100% accurate as we were taught in school.. but adds to the interest and helps with the setting.. wonderful in the realm of what if. Great read.

I write this review to the sound of Greensong...

Red Prophet lives up to the expectations that I had after reading The Seventh Son. All the wonderful things that I said about the first book continue to apply. We get to see a "what-if" America where magic actually works, and our history is revealed in alternate ways (like George Washington having been executed at the start of the revolution). This series has been a lifeline for me in the fantasy genra. The good of Red Prophet: 1) Alvin is finally coming into his powers a little. No more accidental board splitting - now he runs to the melody of greensong and goes to places where no white man has ever been. 2) In this book, we run into historical celebrities like Napoleon, the Marquis De La Feyette, more from William Blake (Taleswapper), Andrew Jackson, and Tippy-Canoe Harrison. Its neat seeing the writer's interpretation of these historical figures, and they were well done, if not completely accurately (as the author states about Harrison, for example). 3) The characters are never, every one dimensional. The good guys aren't all good, and the bad guys - even the worst guys - have limits to their vileness. In fact, there's an ever-present feeling of the power of redemption throughout this book which I found appealing. I kept hoping that certain people would rise to the occasion - no spoilers though! The bad of Red Prophet: 1)I would have liked to see even more of Taleswapper. He's the most interesting side-character in the entire series. I think Card avoids heavy usage of him because it requires incredibly diligent writing, and its just plain difficult. And I totally appreciate his work here. 2) I was disappointed with Alvin's dad and brothers when they did "a certain act". I thought that it was out of character and not really believable, and thus I felt led along a path, patiently counting the pages until the believable story began again.

Interesting world along with some great characters

I originally read this several years ago, but read it again after getting the new book in the series for Christmas. I enjoyed the book even more this time than I did the first.Card does a great job of creating a world that is very similar to our own from the same time period, but with some very important differences in how the world works and some tweaking to early American history. He populates this world with many interesting characters including some historical figures. The result is an incredibly compelling story which has many different levels. The massacre at Tippy-Canoe and the results are particularly well done.This book is better than the first in the series and leaves me eager to re-read the next one, Prentice Alvin. If you have read Seventh Son, you should definitely continue the series by reading this.

Well-written, highly entertaining and original!

This was a wonderful book that deserves wider attention. It is set in an alternate early America, during the time of the Tecumseh and the Indian Wars. As much a frontier western as it is a fantasy, this novel will delight fans of both genres. Card is an excellent writer who weaves his story with moral and religious overtones. He exposes the best and worst of the frontier Americans, as well as objectively showing the impossible and inevitable conflict with the Native Americans. Card doesn't ignore his characters. Alvin, Tecumseh (renamed Ta-Kumsaw) and his brother, the Prophet, are all deep and vividly portrayed characters. And William Henry Harrison, notorious in history for being the president with the shortest term, is portrayed here as the darkest of men.If you want to read this book, you will have to read the first in the series, The Seventh Son, also a very good novel, but as you read it keep in mind that you have this one to look forward to. The Red Prophet is a well-written, highly entertaining and original story that ranks among the best fantasy fiction available.

brilliant

this was a FANTASTIC follow up to Seventh Son. I found it extremely moving, and at certain key points, i even became teary eyed. i thought it was incredibly interesting how OSC incorporated historical figures into his version of revolutionary/developing America. really cool. Red Prophet and Seventh Son are my favorites in the series so far.