About the Book
Alvin is a Maker, the first to be born in a century. Now a grown man and a journeyman smith, Alvin has returned to his family in the town of Vigor Church. He will share in their isolation, work as a blacksmith, and try to teach anyone who wishes to learn the knack of being a Maker. For Alvin has had a vision of the Crystal City he will build, and he knows that he cannot build it alone. But he has left behind in Hatrack River enemies as well as true friends. His ancient foe, the Unmaker, whose cruel whispers and deadly plots have threatened Alvin's life at every turn, has found new hands to do his work of destruction.
If that spirit of destruction cannot stop him by magic, or war and devastation, then it will try to crush the young Maker by simpler means--more human means. By lies and innuendo, and by false accusations, Alvin is driven from his home back to Hatrack River, only to find that the Unmaker has been there before him, and that he must now stand trial for his life.
About the Author :
Orson Scott Card, the author of the New York Times bestseller Ender's Game, has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his works of speculative fiction. His Ender novels are widely read by adults and younger readers and are increasingly used in schools. Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy, American-frontier fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, and scripts.
Orson Scott Card, the author of the New York Times bestseller Ender's Game, has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his works of speculative fiction. His Ender novels are widely read by adults and younger readers and are increasingly used in schools. Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy, American-frontier fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, and scripts.
Gabrielle de Cuir, an Audie and Earphones Award-winning narrator, has narrated over three hundred titles, and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills.
Kirby Heyborne is an accomplished actor, musician, and comedian. He has received critical acclaim for his starring roles in the award-winning World War II drama Saints and Soldiers, the lighthearted family comedy The R.M., the award-winning boy-band mockumentary The Sons of Provo, and the award-winning quixotic comedy Pirates of the Great Salt Lake. He has had starring roles in thirteen features and many short films. Kirby has also appeared on the WB's Everwood and many national commercials. Recently, Kirby was seen as a recurring character on the hit FOX sitcom Free Ride. Kirby has received a number of AudioFile Earphones Awards for excellence in audiobook narration. He has narrated such titles as Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, Breathers by S. G. Browne, and The Genius by Jesse Kellerman. Kirby is a cofounder and director of the celebrated Los Angeles-based improv comedy group The Society. Also a successful musician, Kirby has released four solo albums and has had his music featured in many films. Kirby has delighted audiences across the country with his ability to blend heart-warming stories, beautiful music, and comedic wit. Stephen Hoye is an Audie Award and Earphones Award winner for the Best Voice in Biography and History. His audiobook career includes reading dozens of audiobooks, including James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia, Michael Lewis's The Blind Side, Carl Hiaasen's Skinny Dip, and Ben Bova's The Aftermath.
Hoye trained at Boston University and The Guildhall in London. Hoye has worked as an actor for more than 30 years, with roles in films such as The Delivery, Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, Little Shop of Horrors, and Spies Like Us. On television, he's been seen in The Return of Shelley, Drop the Dead Donkey, and Crossroads. He's also appeared on stage in Henry V and Love's Labours Lost, both at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park, London.
Stefan Rudnicki is a Grammy-winning audiobook producer and a multiaward-winning narrator, named one of AudioFile's Golden Voices.
Mirron Willis--actor of film, stage, and television--is the winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2012 and a finalist for the Audie in 2015, as well as the winner of several AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook recordings. He has worked extensively in film and television and on stage with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Houston Shakespeare Festival, and the Ensemble Theatre, among others.
Review :
"Card brings to building this world and his large cast of well-wrought characters formidable scholarship in history, religion, and folklore...We are talking about the most important work of American fantasy since Stephen Donaldson's original Thomas Covenant trilogy."
-- "Chicago Sun-Times"
"Just when you think you know what a writer has up his sleeve, he surprises you with a pair of aces. Orson Scott Card is that kind of writer...[He] uses language in these novels like never before...His descriptions bring the magic alive for the reader."
-- "Indianapolis News "
"With delicacy and insight, incorporating folk tales and folk magic with mountain lore and other authentic details, Orson Scott Card has evoked a different vision of Americaas it might have been."
-- "Greensburg Tribune-Review "
"At long last, Card returns to what promises to be his most notable creation, The Tales of Alvin Maker...From beginning to end, this novel is full of riches that include Card's command of language (dialect, too!), sense of history, and vivid portraits of alternate versions of Napoleon, William Henry Harrison, Honore de Balzac, and others. This superb and welcome book continues the saga at the same high level as before, and is most highly recommended."
-- "Booklist"
