Crystal City: Alvin Maker VI

Having read all the books in this series, and loved each one, I have to say that this one, although written and narrated just as well as the others, leaves me with wanting more. There is too much unanswered for this to be the last book in the series. The narrators were exceptional, and I dearly loved the Christian overtones, which made one think about their own moral code. I was so happy to find a series that left out the usual 'hooks' of sex, blood, gut and gore.
I could not put down this series, buying them when I ran out of credits. Bravo Orson Scott Card!!!

I have been caught up in the Alvin Maker storyline for many years, now, and listened to this story with a combination of frustration and interest. Frustration because the reading is too slow-paced and because Gabrielle de Cuir reads some of the parts and her voice is TRULY annoying, especially at the end where she is reading way too much emotion into the part. (Want some cheese and crackers with that WHINE?!?) All of this is made worse by high compression/low bitrate sound quality of the Audible version.

All together, this is an interesting installment in the life of Alvin Maker, but I don't know that I care for the direction Card is going.

If you've been listing to the previous audio books in this series, prepare for disappointment. It's really a shame Nana Visitor didn't read this last book; she really had the vocal characterizations down pat and brought the characters to life. Plus, her enjoyment of the tale really shone through.

However, unlike Nana Visitor, this new narrator's proper speaking voice really fails to deliver the "country voice" of many of the characters. Thus, it often sounds forced and serves as a constant distraction throughout the book.

In addition, the narrator's vocal characterizations fall flat and without dialogue attribution, it's often difficult to distinguish between characters involved conversations.

A dull, distracting reading awaits you in this audio book.

Like waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never does.

The Crystal City is probably my least favorite of the Alvin Maker series. It got to the point where any obstacle was overcome by Alvin's, or somebody else's knack. It eliminates any tension or sense of danger to the characters when one knows that all they have to do is run real fast, make a fog, or miraculously heal someone. Even though he was very infuriating, and mostly downright stupid, Calvin became more interesting than his brother Al. Toward the end of the book, I really didn't care if they made the Crystal City or not.

Just love this author and the entire series. I've read and listened to them all. The narration is fantastic, l even got my boyfriend addicted to these books!

Just the continuation of a great story.

Everything.

Please, please start at the beginning of the series it makes a huge difference. Seventh Son is the first book. You'll be addicted.

A fantastic addition to the Maker series, I can't wait until Mr. Card gets the next (and supposedly last from interviews I've read) book in the series out. This is certainly a worthy addition to the series and the series as a whole is on par with (and maybe secretly I like it better than) the Ender series.