I don’t know how to rate this book. On one hand, I had to keep reading to see what happens, so I know the sequence of events. But, on the other hand, I felt like I was seeing and not understanding. If this is the religious allegory that it seems to be, I'm finding it very slippery to hang onto. This volume makes the comparison of Calvin and Alvin to Cain and Abel explicit. So there's that. But then we have Alvin wandering the countryside, doing his miraculous Maker things and being persecuted by...

Two stories in one, that end up coming together. On the one hand Alvin has formed a little gang with Mike, Verily and Arthur Stuart. Wandering around trying to work out how Alvin is going to build his Crystal City - or even what the Crystal City really is. In the process, Alvin gets accused of being a witch and Verily suddenly decides to take on the whole principle of witch trials and fight them through the courts.The other story is of Peggy, now Alvin's wife, who is trying to get an audience wi...

This fifth volume of the series finds Alvin and Peggy now married, and expecting the birth of their first child, but separated for much of the book by separate missions far apart geographically. His continuing quest for understanding of how to build the "Crystal City" of his vision will take him and his small group of companions to New England, to observe a model human community founded on solidly moral and religious principles. But this is a New England where the Puritan theocracy never fell, a...

Storyline: 3/5Characters: 4/5Writing Style: 3/5World: 3/5Almost every new volume in the series has been slightly worse than the previous though none have diminished enough to merit the designation of a bad book. I understand now that a big part of Card's plan with the series was to tour 19th century North America and show off his alternate history. There are probably inside jokes and intriguing contrasts being made with colonial towns, historical personages, and popular ideas. I'd count myself a...

Heartfire, the fifth book in Orson Scott Card's "Tales of Alvin Maker" series, is a travesty. Card has ruined this formerly interesting history of an alternate America and Mormon allegory. Heartfire kills the series that came before it like Children of the Mind destroyed the Ender Quartet and Earthborn wiped out the Homecoming novels.At the end of Alvin Journeyman, Alvin and Peg Guester were wed and travelled to the home of the Weavers in Appalachee. The beginning of Heartfire sees them departed...

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Card's perspective on slavery ranges from facile righteousness to offensive caricature. what a guy.Aaaand it's another courtroom drama. Can we get back to the part where a Messiah is on his hero's journey, please?

By far the best of the series so far and fastest to read. Clear plot (for all story lines).However, Alvin was more annoying than usual. I usually hate when they make you despise a character and then start him on redemption, but Calvin didn't bother me as much. Maybe that was the idea: make Alvin annoying to make you like Calvin more.

I enjoyed this installment of the Alvin Maker series. I really enjoy how the author incorporates many historical figures/events in this story.

I enjoyed this and am so ready to read the last book!

Of all the Alvin Books thus far, this one is my least favorite. I'll not spoil the end with details except to say that OSC has built up a certain amount of plot and then just solves every problem as if he intended to write a book twice as long but had a next day deadline. This series suffers from emotional coddling of the reader, never did I ever "Really" feel nervous about the outcome of any plot line. Almost every plot resolution in this series can be summed up in two words, "Because Superpowe...

Quotes:Government is like watching another man piss in your boot. Someone feels better but it certainly isn’t you.Cupid shoots his arrows where they’ll cause the most mischief. Virtue is what you treasure until you feel desire, and then it becomes an intolerable burden to be cast away, and only to be picked up again when the desire fades.But that was the way of the world – seducers and rapist rarely bore the consequences of their acts, or at least not as heavily as the seduced and the broken-spi...

By the fifth book in Orson Scott Card's Tales of Alvin Maker series, Heartfire, there's little chance that this entry will change many opinions about the series. For those with a continued interest in reading about Alvin's quest to become a Maker and build the Crystal City, this will certainly continue that story.I'm leaning towards the opinion that this series was complete, and better, as a trilogy. Still, the series stands as something which shows the unique voice of the author, and is possibl...

Note: I won't be finishing this series, given the author's homophobic stance - I'm not going to fill his pockets. But these were my thoughts on the book before I knew how horrible a man the author was:Though not quite as up to snuff as the other books in the Alvin Maker series to date, this one wins praise for paying as much attention to Verily Cooper and Peggy the Torch as it does to Alvin and Calvin themselves.Peggy is taking on slavery, trying to use her gift to see the possible futures of pe...

Most of my reviews lately have been in the "more of the same" spirit, and this one will have to follow suit. If you liked the previous Alvin books, you'll like this one too. If you didn't, this one won't offer you new reasons to change your mind. I liked it better than the Journeyman, and that's probably because the plot is finally starting to (slowly) pick up: Arthur Stuart is no longer defined solely by his fanboyism, Verily Cooper gets fleshed out a little bit more, the plot around Alvin and

This series is starting to get a bit disappointing. In Heartfire, Calvin didn't quite make the waves that I hoped he would. Instead, Card produced another average book in the series that from start to finish makes little progress in the overall conflict. And the overall conflict seems mediocre at this point as well - the conflict is simply how Alvin will build the Crystal City someday. I understand that Card meant to write an American epic poem or something and that perhaps he succeeded. However...

Rampant Jordan-ism. If there's a spot on his map, he has to set part of his story there--populated with new characters and challenges--even if it has next to nothing to do with the main story.It ought to be rated a two, or maybe even one one, except that Card is such an extraordinary storyteller. Just read and enjoy.

I really enjoyed this book. Alvin is really coming into his own as a maker, even though he doesn't yet call himself one :)Calvin is more and more trouble, but I still have a bit of faith on the kid coming around. Who knows right? :)I loved the part with the slaves. Incredibly interesting idea, and also, the part about witchcraft was great. I really like Verily Cooper :D

Not as good as the previous books in the series, but necessary to keep the story going without skipping too much time.

I found that these Alvin stories are really good at taking up moral dilemmas of early America and show then for what they where. The story telling is quite good as well.

It’s been a while since I read this far into a series, and I can start to see why I like trilogies and stand-alone books. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this series had evolved into a courtroom drama instead of a historical fantasy. At this point, the whole premise of this series seems to have veered off course and has lost its focus to tackle unrelated issues that were somewhat prominent at the time. Or, at least it’s merely acting as a chance to name drop historical figures and take th...

Heartfire is the kind of Orson Scott Card book I wish I could like. It's got tons of vintage Card touches that he pulls off well. There's the new character of Purity, a New Englander who should remind Xenocide fans (yes, there are some, and I'm one of them) of Gloriously Bright. There's the disquieting scene where an unscrupulous Maker-- a magician, essentially-- seduces (rapes, really) a stranger by altering her hormones and brain chemistry. And there's the best alternate-history cameo yet in t...

Read in a day and a half while I was home sick. This story was MUCH better than book 4, and in fact should have functionally replaced it. I rated them both the same though, because they both have serious flaws.Alvin doesn't change or really DO anything in this book. He makes no decisions, does no Making... he's more of a backdrop for Verily, Margaret, and Calvin to carry the show. He has almost become like Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars Extended Universe. He doesn't go through any struggles; is...

This is kind of a dorky series, but I had a good time going through it. Obviously a story with many lifted parts to anyone aware of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but Card takes an interesting path in choosing to examine the folk magic employed in those days as a part of the story of Alvin (read Joseph Smith pretty much).It is an alternate history in both Church history and American history. I am fairly versed in both, so it was fun seeing how those things were c...

The fifth volume in The Tales of Alvin Maker series has the hero married, confronting the witch trials brought on by the Puritans in New England, meeting John James Audobon and Honore de Balzac as well as John Adams, the judge in the witch trial. Meanwhile his wife has gone to the southern Crown colonies to work against their practise of slavery. Magical elements presented include the greensong, which allows one to run for hundreds of miles without tiring, as well as the various 'knacks', or pow...

3.5-rounded up. Favourite characters, humour, slavery, witch trials, revisionist history of which I know little. An interesting read that I enjoyed. I think that he has questionably stereotypical attitudes towards race, but it is not hateful, rather he is idealistic and clearly abhors racism so I am not going to take him to task for that. I keep remembering suddenly that this is the same author that wrote Ender's game which I think is absolutely amazing. They could probably not seem more differe...

Made the awkward story placement of book 4 worthwhile. Its still entertaining, but not as good as the first two books in the series. O.S. Card knew the resolutions he wanted in the first few books of the series, and it feels like he knows what he wants for the end of book 6, but for books 4 and 5 he just tried moving the pieces around, and give us resolutions that'll bide us over until 6. They were good enough to keep me going, but now I fully expect all that is promised to me in the Crystal Cit...

Caught between three or four stars on this one. Despite being middle-aged, I'm relatively new to the Fantasy genre. I do get the "series" business model but this installment in particular, while well written and solidly plotted, seems more filler than anything else - a way to squeeze out another Alvin Maker book. I do credit Orson Scott Card for avoiding many of the genre templates and cliches and adding an alternate history viewpoint - one that at times seems a bit heavy-handed and overly senti...

Enjoyable read. Certainly not as well written as the previous 4 novels in the Alvin Maker series. I never felt any sort of danger to Alvin. Even while in jail, he knew he would be fine. He does not seem worried or afraid. It makes for an entertaining yet nearly conflict-less story. Even the people around him are saved by his “making.” I really like the character of Verily. I also thought it was neat to see a positive depiction of John Adams.

This is perhaps the best so far in the series. Alvin heads to New England and being tried as a witch by no less than John Adams. Margaret goes to Camelot (Charleston, SC) to try to forge peace from a future war she sees as a torch. There she meets her husbands brother, who manages to get himself in trouble. It is a decent read. This does have a scene of seduction in case you are a parent, otherwise it is tastefully done.

I enjoyed the scene where Alvin leaves the court room after he sees that the law is being subverted to find him innocent. I then appreciate that John Adams is able to use the law to find Alvin legitimately innocent by destroying those who abused the law to attempt to find Alvin guilty. Clever twist and excellent lawyering.