Seventh Son

Tales of Alvin Maker, Book 1

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Gabrielle de Cuir, Stephen Hoye

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of the award-winning Ender's Game comes the unforgettable story of young Alvin Maker, the seventh son of a seventh son.

Born into an alternative frontier America, where life is hard and folk magic is real, Alvin is gifted with power, but he must learn to use his gift wisely. Dark forces are arrayed against Alvin, and only a young girl with second sight can protect him.

Don't miss the sequel to this book, Red Prophet.

©1987 Orson Scott Card (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

• Locus Award, 1988

"A tribute to the art of storytelling, this is highly recommended." (Library Journal)
"Seventh Son begins what may be a significant recasting in fantasy terms of the tall tale of America." (Washington Post Book World)
"A consistently gripping tale featuring solid historical research and a keen understanding of religious experience. Another major effort by a world-class talent. Highly recommended." (Booklist)

Another great book by OSC

Honestly, my fave author, OSC writes intelligently and insightful once again, starting book two immediately

Magical ‘Merica

I’m a big Card fan but this isn’t usually the kind of book that I read. I almost exclusively read sci-fi and fantasy so I am glad that I stuck with this book despite it not falling in either of those categories. The characters are very interesting and Card depicts a time that is not often portrayed right by now. The plot is compelling and I think I will be continuing the series. The full cast narration is really good and makes this book even more worthwhile.

An old book new to me

I'm glad I discovered this book. I liked all the narrators in the story. I plan to continue reading the series.

pulled an ace on this CARD novel.

first series I listened to after Ender I was looking for something like it. however this is completely different the writer created a very nice detailed scene for my mind. I'd listen to it again, very good. I will be buying the whole series.

that accent

haven't listened to the whole book but there's a hilarious part where one narrator switches to an insane Scottish accent halfway through a convo then goes back to normal 30 seconds later. 10/10

7 books to this Trilogy, says Mr. Card

Loved it! Sleeper book series I'm happy to have found included in Audible; dark tale.

Engaging but somewhat lacking

The book was engaging, but it meandered a buy for my likes. I like detail (yes, I like Tolkien), but I was wishing the story would go quicker.

Orson Scott Card tells this is too long!

Orson Scott Card himself narrates the afterward. Telling us that this book is what grew out of the first small portion of a planned outline. And, that expains why the whole time I listened I couldnt help but think absolutely nothing of value was happening more frequently than once every 30 mins.

Listen to the abridged version.

This is only my second Orson Scott Card book, had I read this first, I would not be reading another.

Interesting tale.

Any additional comments?

I'm a fan of OSC but I had never read this series, so when this book was turned up as a daily deal I figured I'd give it a spin. I wasn't disappointed. It's not exactly action packed, and yet I still found it quite engaging. The characters are interesting and the world in intriguing. My real problem is that the book feels a bit like a tease. It feels more like the intro to a grander story, the prologue for an adventure to come, which I suppose might be forgivable as it is the first book for a series.

Wonderful story telling.

I read this book about 15 years ago & I wanted to revisit it. I’m so glad I gave this book a listen to. I laughed and cried through the emotional rollercoaster that is the tale of Alvin Jr, the 7th son of a 7th son.