Reviews

Most of my reviews lately have been in the "more of the same" spirit, and this one will have to follow suit. If you liked the previous Alvin books, you'll like this one too. If you didn't, this one won't offer you new reasons to change your mind. I liked it better than the Journeyman, and that's probably because the plot is finally starting to (slowly) pick up: Arthur Stuart is no longer defined solely by his fanboyism, Verily Cooper gets fleshed out a little bit more, the plot around Alvin and Calvin sees some development, and we get to see some heavy duty lawyer on lawyer action! Oh, and the Crystal City gets mentioned.

Regarding the rating, I couldn't decide between 3 or 4 stars for this book - but it *was* better than the previous one in the series, to which I gave 3/5, so I thought 4/5 would be alright for this one. 7/10 is really what I would give it.

giantarms's review against another edition

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1.0

Mostly I don't remember. That is what is known as a defensive reflex.

nwhyte's review against another edition

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http://nhw.livejournal.com/282327.html[return][return]This is the fifth book in a fantasy series where traditional European folk magic is real and working in early nineteenth century America. For the first time, a helpful map shows that New England remains a puritan, law-based protectorate of England (still under Commonwealth rule) with John Quincy Adams in charge and his elderly father John as a senior judge; after the sudden death of his predecessor, William Henry Harrison, Andrew Jackson presides over the United States, with their capital in Philadelphia; and the Crown Colonies farther south are ruled by the King from Camelot, formerly Charleston, with his ambitious adviser John Calhoun. The cryptic expression "OK" is just becoming fashionable. Tensions are rising over the extent of slaveholding in the newly settled areas west of the moutains.[return][return]Into all this we inject Alvin, central character of the series, who goes by the name of Smith; it's not difficult to work out which historical character he is meant to remind us of. His dream is to build a Crystal City far into the west, and he has assembled an elect band of followers to help him. By the end of the book they are not much closer to fulfilling the dream; they have gained a new member of their circle, made deep changes to society in New England and Charleston/Camelot, and possibly tamed an enemy, but we're still left a bit in the dark as to where it's all going to end. Audubon and Balzac also make appearances. Light enough reading, and comes tolerably close to giving America a mythological interpretation of its own history.

lobo1tomia's review against another edition

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3.0

Azt hiszem, kb. itt van, hogy ezt a sorozatot is feladom. Mert úgy tűnik nem tart sehova. Legalábbis én nem látom hogy lenne valami cél. Ha egy kötet szól arról, Alvinnak ismét lesz egy új követője, akkor elég sokáig fog tartani, mire annyi embert összegyűjt, hogy megépítse az álmaiban látott Kristályvárost. Nem mondom, Card stílusa továbbra is jó, bár most kicsit sok volt a felesleges moralizálás, az akciók meg gyorsan lezajlottak, s nem is teljesen kielégítően történtek meg. A rabszolgaság kérdése nem lett megoldva, a boszorkányper 3 oldal alatt véget ért, a felvezetések alapján pedig sokkal nagyobb durranásra számítottam.

Részletesen: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2009/05/26/orson_scott_card_a_fakyla/

rbriese7's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

bdplume's review against another edition

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4.0

This volume falls off a bit from the quality of the previous one, if only because it rehashes some familiar territory with another trial taking up several pages. Still, as I near the end of this series I appreciate it much more than I did at the outset. The first volume is nothing special, but the story really picks up steam thereafter.

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