I'm assuming that most people reading this review are fans of Card's Ender's Game and are wondering what else he has been up to. This book takes place on the western frontier of America circa 1801. In this parallel universe an alternate history has been written that is similar to our own but here common folk have magical powers that make life a little more interesting. Alvin is the seventh son of a seventh son and this is powerful and special birthright in this universe. This story is the first of five and much of it is exposition for the series.A couple of things make this world interesting and Card's creativity shines through. Individuals in this world have special powers that range in power and usefullness. Some people have the ability to make a spark and light fires, one person has the abiltiy to find the best point to dig a well. Others have knacks for making protective hexes, or seeing your soul (called heartfire). Of course Alvin is not your average kid and his powers exceed and surprise thorugout the story in various entertaining manners. I really like the way Alvin is a character with exceptional morals dealing with various forces while trying to understand his adolescent view of the world. This first book sets the stage for two excellent followups before Card looses some steam and goes awry. The fourth book is average and the fifth book is downright bad. The family interaction is precious and Card gets away from this later on.The religious aspect of this series is it's biggest downfall and the books where religion is more prominent are the weekest of the series. The Alvin Makers series is a loosely based on the Book of Mormon and Card tends to get a bit preachy at times (especially in the first book). This takes the book down a star as Card's dogma isnt necessary to the story or the actions of the characters. There are also mixed and hypocritical religious views within the stories that are too complex to go into here and needless to say religious zealots, born-again Christians and Orthodox Jews might get offended.Bottom Line: This is good stuff if you can stomach the preaching and sentimental corniness. Books 2 and 3 are the Jewel of the series but these aren't really stand alone books.