posted
Hello, all. Just stopping by to say that I really enjoyed Shadow of the Giant. Every time I read one of the Ender Series, it gets me back on an OSC kick and I want to grab a few of the non-Enderverse books. Scanning the boards, I realized that the final Alvin book was out.
I have read the first two, and decided when the Bean series began to take more of OSC's time, that I would wait until the Alvin Series ended to pick it back up.
Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because I have trouble remembering what happened in the last book. It takes me a while to get up to speed! I prefer to read a book series in one big helping (like I did with the first four Ender books).
And OSC is even better at tipping off the reader to what they should remember than most writers. But life, kids, work etc. have a way of sapping time and focus.
So, my delay in reading the Alvin series has made it much worse for the two books I have read. I think when I read the second book, it was 2000.
Anyone have a "what you need to remember" summary for the first two books of the Alvin Maker series?
All I remember was the second one had a big Indian war and the first one involved the family in their pioneer town.
I'd love to re-read them, but I barely have time to read NEW books!
posted
It's not the final Alvin. Master Alvin, the next volume, will be the last.
But apart from that, if somebody wants to summarize, go for it. I won't try - especially because some people believe that Journeyman and Heartfire aren't actually necessary to the storyline <grin>.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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posted
The fisrt two books are setting up alvin to learn what his powers are for and getting him the ppl that he needs to teach him as he grows, his home town falls under the surse of the red prophet for slaughtering mercilessly hundreds of reds because they thought that alvin and measure were captured and killed by them. Third book was his growing stage from boy to man in which he brought himself to the conclusiont hat he should only use his makery when no other road was open to him, thusly he tries to keep himself as much like a regular man as possible, plus it allows him to blend better ( that is until ppl start hearing of the tales of alvin smith) Peggy having left to avoid the futures that tied her to alvin as a sense of duty not love returns in the guise of an elderly schoolteacher and begins to teach alvin and his new found friend the adopted half black runaway Authur Stuart. Finders come for stuart with the aid of the unmaker and his real father, jsut as alvin has completed his master piece turning and iron plow into living gold. During this peggy is forced to reveal herself as her mother is killed and then alvin commits murder himself. Alvin sets forth to do his duty to the world and learn and teach makery. Calvin begins learing form him also being a technical 7th son but his jealousy sends him to exile. Alvin realizes that he needs to leave so as to build the crystal city. In the process he is arrested and tried for the theft of his former master's gold (when in reality it is no one's gold but the plow itself's) ok i hate to give half the story then run but i need to go so i will post you the rest if need be when i get home tonight ( someone tell me if i'm mixing things up i am still trying to read crystal city and events are flowing together for me)
Posts: 9 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Btw DANG YOU CARD (j/k) Before i signed on today i was at about pg 250 of crytal city before i realized that the story would not be tied all together in the next 100 or so pages, and then saw the above post of how i will still have to wait for Mater Alvin!(It's not that i want to be done with your books as i get them, you jsut tell stories SO well that i fly through jsut because I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT'S NEXT
Posts: 9 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:especially because some people believe that Journeyman and Heartfire aren't actually necessary to the storyline
Ahem. Well, these people are weird because I still haven't read the two short stories between Heartfire and Crystal City and I feel the blank.
Now, some of those people may not have enjoyed those two books AS MUCH as the action packed novels of the series, but that doesn't mean that those same people think that the said novels were unnecessary.
Speaking of this, someone needs to outline the plot of those two short stories...I thought I was going crazy when I didn't remember what happened with Jim Bowie or the Yazoo Queen. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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Hobbes, you'd better make sure you don't have any more pressing obligations before you launch into the summary of a lifetime...as only you could do. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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Not very. Just the core stuff from the first two books that I need to remember to follow the next five without being totally lost.
Until I looked at Nelson's summary, I forgot there was a character called Measure.
It's been so long since I read them, I was thinking that the Reverend from the first book was named Dimsdale and that he made life interesting and difficult for Alvin's mother, Hester Prynne... Posts: 8 | Registered: May 2001
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Hobbes, you'd better make sure you don't have any more pressing obligations before you launch into the summary of a lifetime...as only you could do. 
