Prentice Alvin
Encyclopedia
Prentice Alvin is an alternate history/fantasy
novel by Orson Scott Card
. It is the third book in Card's The Tales of Alvin Maker
series and is about Alvin Miller, the Seventh son of a seventh son
. Prentice Alvin won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1990, was nominated for the Nebula Award
for Best Novel in 1989, and the Hugo Award
for Best Novel in 1990.
, an Indian leader who taught Alvin the ways of Indian
people, the young boy sets out to start his apprenticeship as a Smith in the town where he was born.
While there he meets a young half-black boy by the name of Arthur Stuart, the son of a slave and a slave-owner who has been adopted by the owners of the local guesthouse.
Another new friend comes in the form of Miss Margaret Larner, who he later discovers to be the "torch" who helped him to be born so many years ago, and with whom he has been strangely linked since that day.
Eventually, Alvin is forced into helping Arthur to escape some slave-hunters, something that requires him to slightly change Arthur's DNA
enough to prevent the hunters' knacks from identifying the runaway child.
Alvin also creates a plow of living gold, which is bestowed with magical properties, as his journeyman piece to release himself from his apprenticeship as a Smith (and also as a Maker).
The story ends with Alvin and Arthur leaving the town and returning to Alvin's home in the west.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
. It is the third book in Card's The Tales of Alvin Maker
The Tales of Alvin Maker
The Tales of Alvin Maker is a series of novels by Orson Scott Card that revolve around the experiences of a young man, Alvin Miller, who discovers he has incredible powers for creating and shaping things around him...
series and is about Alvin Miller, the Seventh son of a seventh son
Seventh son of a seventh son
The seventh son of a seventh son is a concept from folklore regarding special powers given to, or held by, such a son. The seventh son must come from an unbroken line with no female children born between, and be, in turn, born to such a seventh son...
. Prentice Alvin won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1990, was nominated for the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
for Best Novel in 1989, and the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Novel in 1990.
Plot summary
After being released from his time with Ta-KumsawTecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
, an Indian leader who taught Alvin the ways of Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people, the young boy sets out to start his apprenticeship as a Smith in the town where he was born.
While there he meets a young half-black boy by the name of Arthur Stuart, the son of a slave and a slave-owner who has been adopted by the owners of the local guesthouse.
Another new friend comes in the form of Miss Margaret Larner, who he later discovers to be the "torch" who helped him to be born so many years ago, and with whom he has been strangely linked since that day.
Eventually, Alvin is forced into helping Arthur to escape some slave-hunters, something that requires him to slightly change Arthur's DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
enough to prevent the hunters' knacks from identifying the runaway child.
Alvin also creates a plow of living gold, which is bestowed with magical properties, as his journeyman piece to release himself from his apprenticeship as a Smith (and also as a Maker).
The story ends with Alvin and Arthur leaving the town and returning to Alvin's home in the west.
External links
- About the novel Prentice Alvin from Card's website
- Prentice Alvin at Worlds Without End