Market-maker

This is the second book in the 'Alvin Maker' series by Orson Scott Card, which began in "Seventh Son." Alvin was prenticed off to a blacksmith, and at the start of this novel, he's on his way when he's ambushed by Reds and stolen away.

Card is writing a very alternate history of North America, with figures and places that match history, but always twisted just slightly. The Hio River, the Mizzipy, and so forth all make me trip up on my mental tongue sometimes (in fact, I would rather have had Ohio and Mississipi, as it was quite distracting). This world, however, has something different to it: magic, in all its forms, be they faith, nature, hexes, superstition, knacks, etc, all of it works. So when Alvin, the seventh son of a seventh son, shows the same ability to speak and wield the powers of the land like any Red (read: Natives), he is taken by Ta-Kumsaw, and woven into a story that threatens to be bigger than all of them - and likely a tale that will soak the ground with blood.

This second book has a lot more characters to it, and the story expands from the scope of just Alvin's point of view. Be prepared to meet various historical figures in this tale, including Napolean and 'Ta-Kumsaw,' and references to many more like Andrew Jackson and Ben Franklin. The drama of the story widens (and is much more cruel and bloody than the previous book, be forewarned).

Very well done, but in places, as I said, the tendancy to use almost-right names and locations drove me nuts. I'll keep reading the series (and am looking forward to doing so), but I think I need a break from it.

'Nathan

This was a wonderful book that deserves wider attention. It is set in an alternate early America, during the time of the Tecumseh and the Indian Wars. As much a frontier western as it is a fantasy, this novel will delight fans of both genres.

Card is an excellent writer who weaves his story with moral and religious overtones. He exposes the best and worst of the frontier Americans, as well as objectively showing the impossible and inevitable conflict with the Native Americans. Card doesn't ignore his characters. Alvin, Tecumseh (renamed Ta-Kumsaw) and his brother, the Prophet, are all deep and vividly portrayed characters. And William Henry Harrison, notorious in history for being the president with the shortest term, is portrayed here as the darkest of men.

If you want to read this book, you will have to read the first in the series, The Seventh Son, also a very good novel, but as you read it keep in mind that you have this one to look forward to. The Red Prophet is a well-written, highly entertaining and original story that ranks among the best fantasy fiction available.

I originally read this several years ago, but read it again after getting the new book in the series for Christmas. I enjoyed the book even more this time than I did the first.

Card does a great job of creating a world that is very similar to our own from the same time period, but with some very important differences in how the world works and some tweaking to early American history. He populates this world with many interesting characters including some historical figures. The result is an incredibly compelling story which has many different levels. The massacre at Tippy-Canoe and the results are particularly well done.

This book is better than the first in the series and leaves me eager to re-read the next one, Prentice Alvin. If you have read Seventh Son, you should definitely continue the series by reading this.

I tend to read in spurts. I 'discovered' Card at the very beginning of his career, when I read Ender's Game in Analog. And I was taken by the story and wanted more. I kept up with Card through Songbird, continued buying his books and adding them to my unread piles, and occasionally dipping into them. I knew he was writing a saga entitled The Tales of Alvin Maker, but I didn't delve into them, waiting until the series was finished. But someone insisted I read Seventh Son recently, and I found myself entranced, again, with Card's vision. I forget, from spurt to spurt, just how well he writes. Here are fully-fleshed out people, with vision and pettiness mixed. Here, also, is an excellent ear for the spoken language. And most of all, here is a surprisingly clever alternate history of America, in which small magicks and hexes really work, and American Indian visions come true. It also isn't often that an alternate history takes place in the past, and makes you wish it were true.

But regardless of how clever the setting is, the people are are the most important: the family members full of love and fears; Talespinner, a man seeking his own visions and the teacher of young Alvin; devout Armor-of-God (what a wonderful name!), married into a family of magickers and unsure how to handle it; Reverend Thrower, a preacher tormented by his own temptations; and young Alvin Jr., a special boy full of magick he only begins to understand by the time this part of the story ends; and his father, filled with visions of Alvin's death by his own hands. The book is full of moral choices, without the preaching a lesser writer might force upon the reader: how one views the world, challenges to those views, what is right and wrong, and how does faith fit in, are all woven into the story seamlessly. Some of the decisions made by these interesting people will surprise you. And if you continue on, there are still more surprises coming.

The only weakness in this book is that it is obviously just the beginning of a longer epic, which is still unfinished (two more books to come). There are huge questions left unanswered, including just what is the Unmaker that Alvin almost sees, and why does water hate Alvin. But that won't stop you from wanting to go to the next book immediately.

Let me start by saying that I do not normally read "alternative history" novels. So my review cannot accurately compare Seventh Son against others in the genre. However, I can say that I heartily enjoyed this novel. I was a big fan of the Ender series and a friend bought me The Crystal Cave, thinking it was another Ender book. Well, before I could read the gift, I decided to go back and start the series at the beginning. For about 40 pages I was thinking that this was very slow and not anything like the Ender books. Then I started getting into the story and soaking in Card's excellent prose and character development. I began to appreciate Seventh Son, not in comparison to Ender, but on its own merit. The rest of the book flew by as I grew to know young Alvin more and more.

I like the way Card seems to capture the frontier life and presents us with characters of gray (not all good or all evil as with many fantasy novels). And although the characters, especially the younger ones, sometimes speak a little too "smartly," I do enjoy the way Card can turn a phrase or have a character speak a proverb that perfectly fits the situation. When talking about an inquisitive person, one character says "he would go into the mouth of hell just to find out why the Devil has such bad teeth." I loved that one.

What I most cherished about this book is the way that Card captures family. By this I mean, how he shows the mean and cruel things we do to other family members while still displaying that love is still at the root of it all. I wish there were more pages for development of the other family members (many of them blurred together) but with five more books to go in the series, Card has time. Which leads to my only other minor complaint with Seventh Son - it doesn't stand alone. With many books that are serial by nature, each book within the series can stand alone or be a piece to the series as a whole. Seventh Son ended almost abruptly with several balls still in the air. Perhaps Card meant it to be this way and I have not yet begun Red Prophet (the second of the Alvin Maker series). However, with characters such as Taleswapper, Peg, and young Alvin himself and with the interesting "America that could have been," I confess I am hooked on another Card series and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

It's not like I have a jones for Old West/Magic novels (see my review for Mark Sumner's "Devil's Tower"), but I really enjoyed this book. It's takes the history of the U.S. and twists it just enough to turn it into a magical but completely believable experience. It's a world I would've liked to grow up in.

This is a fascinating study of Northeastern Native American culture during the 14th-15th centuries A.D.. In this coming-of-age tale, Picture Maker, a young Iroquois girl experiences Algonquin, Naskapi, and Inuit culture first hand before she discovers her ultimate destiny in Greenland.

Into this fascinating and romantic tale, Ms. Spinka intricately weaves the cultural traditions of each group of Native Americans as well as the history of the Norse in Greenland (as a matter of fact, the description of the Norse in Greenland has inspired me to eventually read Jane Smiley's THE GREENLANDERS, as discussed by Ms. Spinka in the "Author's Notes"). She capably shows the social and religious differences - both the good and the bad - of all the cultures discussed and truly makes the reader understand what it is like to "walk in another person's moccasins". This book is wonderful for gaining a deeper sense of cultural understanding and tolerance - I think older adolescents would enjoy this book as well as adult readers!

...And I am really looking forward to reading the sequal DREAM WEAVER to discover the pictures that daughter Ingrid "draws" for herself.

It took me only 4 days to read this book, during which time I was oblivious to the rest of the world. Picture Maker takes you on a facinating journey to interesting and well researched places and civilizations. I couldn't wait to see where it would go next, and what type of customs and lifestyles the people there would have. The characters are absorbing, especially Picture Maker herself. I found myself smiling and crying with her as she faced triumph and despair thoughout her travels. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel as soon as it comes out.

i found the book to be very exciting and deep. after a while you start to get attached to the characters.i am so excited to read the sequel. also you do not have to be a woman to read this book.i am a seventeen year-old teenage boy and i still found the book enchanting .if you are thinking of buying this book you should get ready to be up for many hours because you never want to put the book down. i recommend to young and old to buy this book because it is truly an interesting tale.

As a dealer in Southwestern American Indian fine arts and hand crafted, traditional items, I am always on the lookout for books I can recommend to our collectors and students of the indigenous arts here in America.

The Peabody Museum Press has produced a work that should be included the library of every serious collector of traditional Southwestern American Indian handcrafted arts. For collectors of Navajo and Pueblo textiles and baskets we consider it mandatory reading. It's overview and cataloging of the highly regarded William Wright Collection is particularly notable for its excellent introduction, descriptions of the lifeways and cultural traditions of the artists, and collateral detail notes found throughout. Editor, Penelope Ballard Drooker has given us a very readable distillation of information from many sources which serves to enhance the understanding of the evolution of the state of the arts invbolved in the time frame they were collected: 1960's - 70's.

We especially appreciated the detail photography. While the reproduction of some of the images seemed a bit flat, overall they were still well -lit and shot with sufficient depth of field to convey the textural nature of many of the items very well. The color sections, especially conveyed the vitaltiy of the works pictured.

From the perspective of the serious collector, Publications like this provide us with insight and further expand our knowledge of the development and marketing of these arts as well as the acheivements of individual artists. Few of us can travel frequently enough to benefit from exhibitions of collections as broad and thoughful as the William Wright Collection. Catalog publications, when presented in as complete a manner as Makers and Markets allow us all the benefits without the miles.

We will encourage our collectors to obtain copies for their own continuing education and enjoyment.

This book is a wonderful exploration of one of America's most important early film makers, and black heros, who is all but forgotten today. The book centers on Micheaux's early life mostly, and you get to see what drove the man to be the great pioneer he was. A fascinating study of what one man can acheive in a time and place when he should not have been able to acheive such heights. Great reading.

I originally read this several years ago, but decided to re-read this when I got the new book in the series. This book was very good, both as the continuing story of Alvin Maker as well as the new story in this book with Arthur Staurt.

I really enjoyed the new depth to some of the characters that were introduced in previous books, but were more central to the story in this book. Also, the new characters, such as Arthur Stuart and Mock Berry were very good as well. The only thing I didn't like about this book was there is a point where Alvin has to do something very difficult, and while it is a very clever solution to the problem at hand, it seems like there was a much easier solution available that was not even mentioned. But that was just a minor problem, and didn't detract much from a great story.

If you've read Seventh Son and Red Prophet, you should definitely continue the story with this book.

Alvin has begun his "prenticeship" and though he comes to Hattrack river mostly to speak to the girl, Peggy, who, as a torch, had the ability to show him his futures and is likely the only person who can help him figure out how to be a real Maker, she flees before he even arrives.

This is a split story for most of the duration, flickering from Alvin on one side, to Peggy on the other, and converging near the end. Alvin's apprenticeship is very interesting, but it is Peggy's story I'm really starting to enjoy more. Peggy is a torch - someone with the knack to see futures in the heartfires of folk, and her own future is intertwined with Alvin's. But when she sees that her own future is a loveless one if she waits for Alvin to arrive, she does the unthinkable - she runs away, to find a way to at least have love for Alvin, if not love from him. Her determination to thwart her own gifts of futuresight is a joy to read, and her strength of character - somewhat rare for female characters in a lot of fantasy works - is a nice change. Very enjoyable.

So is where the tale ends, with a bit more magic than usual, and a set-up for the next story that I'm glad I didn't have to wait years for - like all the other folk who've been reading this series since book one.

'Nathan

This third book to the "Maker" series gets back on track with the tale of Alvin Miller/Smith/Maker. New characters, such as Calvin Planter and Arthur Stuart, are introduced and utilized to good effect, unlike some characters introduced later in the series (such as the annoying Balzac in "Alvin Journeyman"). Each chapter contains an interesting development, and the book has several nice twists.

The only note of caution I have is for the series in general. Card has a way of turning his protagonists into supermen. Think, for example, of Lanik Mueller in "Treason," Bean in "Ender's Shadow" or Jane in "Children of the Mind." I don't know whether this is a way for him to wriggle out of plot problems or whether it's his own predilections. Regardless, he begins to do it here as well, and it becomes more pronounced in "Alvin Journeyman" and "Heartfire." That detracts from both the humanity and the believability of the story.

The positive: Affable characters, fast moving, easy to read.
The negative: Uninteresting plot.

Although slightly better than the previous book in this series, Card still doesn't manage to recreate the magic of the first two. In this book, the bulk of the tale is involved in Alvin facing trial for being wrongly accused of theft. Many characters are introduced based on characters created in an AOL chatroom by Card's fans and this book gives the impression much of it was written to coddle those fans and feature their characters. Not an entire waste of time but don't go into this series thinking each of the books will be as entertaining as the others.

I originally read this several years ago, and re-read it recently after getting the new book in the series. As I read this series as a whole, I am staring to notice that the individual stories form each book (The war in Red Prophet, the story of Arthur Stuart in Prentice Alvin, and the trial in this book) and the new characters that keep coming along, are starting to overshadow the overall story of Alvin's quest to build the Crystal City.

This book started a little slowly, so I thought it might not have been as interesting as the previous books in the series, as often happens once you get this deep into a series. But with the introduction of Verily Cooper and Alvin's trial, the book really picks up the pace. I look forward to re-reading the next book (Heartfire) followed by the The Crystal City, which will hopefully conclude the series.

If you've enjoyed the other books in this series, you probably won't be disappointed by this one.

I was first introduced to Orson Scott Card as I randomly searched through Amazon.com's sci-fi section for a book to buy with a ten dollar gift certificate. I ended up buying Ender's Game. I read it in two days(while attending high school and keeping up with all it's related hoopla). I went on to read the entire Ender Series and love it. I have read all the books in the Alvin Maker Series in about two weeks. They are entrancing. I stayed up until after four o' clock in the morning reading Alvin Journeyman, as I couldn't put it down. This book is just as good as any in the rest of the series, in my opinion. It is a superb work by an extraordinarily talented author.(I guess you could say his knack was writing ;-)

I really liked this book, but I had to ignore significant portions of it to do so. If you parse the new age inspired psychological section and the tepid discussion of technical indicators that are anecdotal in nature and unsupported by research (I have been spoiled by "trading classic chart patterns" and "practical speculation"), then you might like it too. While it may be unfair to compare this book to the others since this book predates them, I will be forever testing what I read by those standards.

I really value his anecdotal explanation of what he did as a market maker and how he traded. I think there is real value to know the mind of the market makers that have to make a living in the market everyday by accepting risk. If you can rework your trading to trade WITH the order flow that market makers have on their desk, it will be a much easier ride. Obviously, there is no way for a third party to exactly know what is on a market makers desk, it may be interpolated from their actions. This book provides a perspective that I have not found in other trading books.

I think I've read most of the books on daytrading out there. Too bad, I could have read just this one along with perhaps John Murphy's "Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets" and Velez and Capra's "Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader".

Josh Lukeman very unselfishly shares his valuable insight of the daytrading game. Imagine how powerful your trading would be if your last job was being a market maker for MSCO. Lukeman gives you that insight. Obviously, a few of the reviewers above didn't "get it" because they were too busy looking for a simple solution to their trading woes to support their beliefs that someone else (the market maker) is to blame for their losses.

If you're mature enough to accept responsibility for your trading, this book will give you the edge.

Of all the books I've read in the last year or so, "The Market Maker's Edge" is one of the best, if not the best. It contains specifics on how to trade, not just mechanics (e.g., buy when you see this or sell when you see that...) but reasons why. As most traders learn, there are two sides to every trade. This book explains the psychology at play on both sides.

There are other good books, such as Tony Oz's. But unlike Tony Oz, this book is a different perspective. Where most give generalizations, this book gives specifics.

Though fairly easy to read, I would not recommend this book as an introduction to trading. Otherwise, it is a "must read".

Not so good. This is the second book in Pearson's Lou Boldt series and definately not the best. I found the plot (a rogue veterinarian harvesting human organs) to be a tad unbelievable and uninteresting, and the coincidence of one of the victims being the best friend of one of the main characters (a detective) bordering on the ridiculous. That being said, the book is a quick read, with plenty of action and very well researched details (Pearson is always good at that). Overall, I would say that this book is for Pearson junkies only.

Dr. Tegg and his cohorts want to save lives as they do organ trasnplants, the problem is Dr. Tegg is a Vet and not a physician qualified to do the work. Dr. Tegg also takes organs from donors that remain alive. Three street walkers are found dead, this creates a Police investigation.

The Police Psycholigist has a friend who has disappeared. The whole story surrounds locating this friend before she too dies. My question through out the book is...do they get there in time?

This is a very good thriller and a must read for mystery fans, even the ending leaves us hanging does Sharon live?

Pearson Ridley is a good author and I look forward to reading some of his other Novels.

Are what motivates Elden Tegg--not the idea of saving lives. Of course Sgt Lou Boldt and his squad understand that, even before they know who Tegg is. Tegg--a failed transplant surgeon turned vetrinarian--deludes his assistant and a con man that he's making adifference and saving lives. His assistant draws the line at doing a "heart" which leaves him vulnerable to the same mistakes that got him kicked out of his residency prgram. Boldt finds himself trusting his instincts, and the word of a blind woman--while Daphne tracks down Teggs assistant. She doesn't realize this, but the assist will be an invaluabe help. Daphne has to manipulate Bildt into coming back--but in the end he's glad--because several deaths and maimings were avenged and not a few lives were saved. A real page turner, since you won't realize what happens til it does.

I would have given this book an additional star if it wasn't for the terrible art on the cover. I was embarrassed to read this novel in public. The marketing for this series really cheapens the writing. My friends laugh at me when I show them these books, then insist they are good. I would never buy such an ugly book in hardcover. Get with the times, TOR.

I originally read this when it first came out, then re-read the series when I got the new book (The Crystal City) for Christmas. This one was not as good as the other books in this series.

The story started off very slow, with a lot of nonsense about Arthur Staurt and Audobon (who could have been left out of the book completely) and birds. While this was explained somwhat at the end of the book, it was still too much and too slow. The book does get better near the end, but by that time, there has been too much junk preceeding it to make it seem worthwhile. The dialogue between Denmark and Gullah Joe is particularly boring and painful to read.

I give this book three stars only because of the characters, which are still great, and the ongoing story of Alvin's quest to build the Crystal City, but it wasn't a great story on its own. If you've read the other books in the series, this one is worth reading just to continue the story, but just barely. I hope the next book can return to the great stories from the previous books, if not, then I hope it will at least be the last in this series.

This latest in the Alvin Maker series is, like all of Card's writing, entertaining, thoughtful and contains elegant prose. Unfortunately, the only reasons for this installment seem to be the exposition of the alternate America--we already get it, I think--and the introduction of new "disciples"--enough already! The half of the book that covers Alvin's experience with New England witchcraft laws would be far more interesting if most of this moral territory hadn't been covered so thoroughly in Seventh Son. Purity is an interesting new character, but there are already enough major characters in this saga. I think most readers, like me, are itching for some progress toward the Crystal City, assuming that Card intends to take the series that far. We can only hope that later installments will reveal a vital purpose for each of the "good guys". Much more interesting was the part set in Camelot--Card's concept of the name-taking is quite good. We do see some change in Calvin's heart after he nearly dies, I think. But still, at the end, the only definite change in anybody's situation is that Alvin will have a couple more followers. The one non-plot related complaint I have is that some of the dialogue--especially the banter in the opening chapters--is a little tiresome. It's better later, though. If you like Card or have read the previous books in the series you should read this book. It's not as good as some others in the series but still a darn good read. If you haven't read any of the Alvin Maker series DON'T START HERE, it will just confuse you. All in all, this book meets Card's high standards--it just fails to meet some of the longtime reader's expectations.