Master Alvin: The Tales of Alvin Maker, Book Seven by Orson Scott Card
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Now, while I can't say I liked this nearly as much as the rest of the Alvin Maker series, I can say that it has a lot going for it. Specifically, it remains true to the crunchy granola ideals it began with.

That is: true Christian ideals where you love your neighbor, help your neighbor, and protect your neighbor even if they are out to hurt you. It's good. Of course, when you get to Alvin by this point in the series, after he created the Crystal City and brought together all those with magical knacks to protect them from assholes who'd burn them for witches in frontier-era America, you know he's pretty beast. Almost godlike.

So now we have the conclusion of his legend, and I guess my only complaint is that it came so many years after the previous book.

I will specifically point out that there's nothing objectionable in this novel. The good guys protect the downtrodden and protect women, blacks, and anyone that is considered different. One can easily read into the text that those with knacks could very well be lgbtq, and how they are treated, and Alvin could be a true martyr for them.

Indeed, if one knew nothing of the author and just went by the novels, one might start raving about just how DECENT and GOOD all the messages are, and how interesting the story is, and how satisfying it turned out--even as a semi-tragedy.

But that's mythos for you. And I suppose I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the whole series because it truly was magical and a clever twist on historical fantasy. Seventh Son through Master Alvin was right up there for me along with Ender's Game.

For those who criticize, I just want to reiterate: separate the art from the artist. The art may have dropped off some, but the message is still true--irrespective of the artist.

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