| $@%&! level: Low (if any) “Bedroom” level: None Violence level: Medium-Low (Most of the violence is either self-inflicted, averted, or caused apparently by nature) Back Cover: “Come fall in love with a magical America that might have been... Using the lore and folk magic of the men and women who helped settle a continent and beliefs of the tribes who were here before them, Orson Scott Card has created an alternate frontier America where folk magic works, and has colored the entire history of the colonies. It is into this world, amid the deep wood where the Red Man still holds sway, that a very special child is born...” |
That being said, Seventh Son is one of the few Orson Scott Card books that I've both read and enjoyed (although I never continued on to read the rest of the Alvin Maker series). It's got an odd story-line for a fantasy novel, almost more like a historical fiction than anything. It isn't one story, but several strung together to make up a life, or at least the first ten years of one. I kind of like that, especially with the setting being the early American frontier. Somehow, the historical fiction feel of it works well with the setting in the way that an epic adventure wouldn't have done. I suppose the story of the American frontier really was more like a bunch of stories strung together than it was like a grand quest with knights in shining armor and such.
I also like how the story is about Alvin, but mostly told from the perspective of the people around him. That especially works well with another character's observation that people are just sort of naturally and effortlessly aware of Alvin—that he seems to be something precious and important whether he realizes it or not. He draws attention, one way or another, which makes it easy to believe that the characters around him would notice what he does, so the story can be about him, but mostly not from his point of view. When it is from his point of view, though, he comes up with some ideas that stuck with me for years, even when I'd only read the book once. The thing about the bugs, for instance, is why I had an albino spider for a roommate my junior year of college. It didn't bother me and I didn't bother it and we got on all right for the entire year.
I also have to say that Alvin is really just a very likable character, especially for a ten-year-old. He's not a perfect child, by any means, but nonetheless very likable. He's sure of himself, but not overbearing, questions what he's told but is willing to believe in truth, and has a serious desire to do good but doesn't flinch away from pointing out the various absurdities in his world. It's an engaging combination of qualities. In fact, now that I've looked over it again, I might end up going on to the rest.