Heartfire (Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 5)
by Orson Scott Card
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Book Summary Information
Author: Orson Scott CardEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-05-15
ISBN: 0812509242
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Tor Fantasy
Book Reviews of Heartfire (Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 5)
Book Review: No progress to the story, same great characters.
Summary: 4 Stars
First I'd like to concur with many of the other reviewers here on Amazon.. the cover of this book is absolutely horrific. Besides being way to romance novel-like for any man to bring out in public, it also has no bearing on the story. Whatever is happening on the cover certainly doesn't portray any scene from the book, so my only question is "What the hell were the producers thinking, and how did OSC let this happen??"
But whatever, on to the book itself. Without a doubt this is the least inspiring and enjoyable book of the series so far. Mostly unimportant-seeming, the events chronicled here come off as being filler for the series. I'm not sure if Card just wasn't certain about where he needed to go with this story and had to publish something, or if he really believed a whole novel would be required to introduce a couple more characters and add detail to a bit more of his fantasy realm. Either way, this novel comes off as being short and inconsequential. The story as a whole doesn't seem moved forward very much from where it was after the third book in the series.
All that being said, I still give this book a generous rating because of Card's wonderful writing. The characters and their banter are still remarkably enjoyable, with Calvin, Arthur Stuart, Verily Cooper, and Honore Balzac providing most of the entertainment. You really find yourself caring for these fictional characters in this series, and that is no different in this book. Card obviously loves the characters he's created here, its just too bad he can't seem to determine what will happen to them.
You'll finish this book in just a couple of days, so its well worth your time, just don't expect it to bring too much progress to the story.
Summary of Heartfire (Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 5)
Peggy is a Torch, able to see the fire burning in each person's heart. She can follow the paths of each person's future, and know each person's most intimate secrets. From the moment of Alvin Maker's birth, when the Unmaker first strove to kill him, she has protected him.Now they are married, and Peggy is a part of Alvin's heart as well as his life.
But Alvin's destiny has taken them on separate journeys. Alvin has gone north into New England, where knacks are considered witchcraft, and their use is punished with death.
Peggy has been drawn south, to the British Crown Colonies and the court of King Arthur Stuart in exile. For she has seen a terrible future bloom in the heartfires of every person in America, a future of war and destruction. One slender path exists that leads through the bloodshed, and it is Peggy's quest to set the world on the path to peace.
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
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