''Heartfire'' (1998) is an alternate history/

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

novel by American writer

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...

. It is the fifth book in Card's ''

The Tales of Alvin Maker ''The Tales of Alvin Maker'' is a series of six alternate history fantasy novels written by American novelist Orson Scott Card, published from 1987 to 2003 (with one more planned), that explore the experiences of a young man, Alvin Miller, who ...

'' series and is about Alvin Miller, the

seventh son of a seventh son ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 11 April 1988 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. Like '' The Number of the ...

. ''Heartfire'' was nominated for the Locus Award in 1999.

Plot summary

Alvin marries Peggy, and they conceive a daughter (not born by the end of the book). Alvin, Verily Cooper, Arthur Stuart, and

Mike Fink Mike Fink (also spelled Miche Phinck)O'Neil, Paul. ''The Old West: The Rivermen''. Time-Life Books, New York. 1975 p. 71 (c. 1770/1780 – c. 1823), called "king of the keelboaters", was a semi-legendary brawler and river boatman who exempli ...

are joined by John James Audubon, a French-speaking painter of birds. This group go to a Puritan-dominated place near Boston and end up confronting the witch laws. Meanwhile, Peggy has gone to the Crown Colonies - slave states that ruled by the Stuart dynasty in exile - in an attempt to free the slaves. Purity is introduced, a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

girl whose parents were hanged for their knacks, which are considered

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

by the Puritans. Purity meets Alvin's band and Arthur Stuart tells her the whole story of their travels. Purity goes away convinced they are witches and tells a local witcher, Quill, who is evil and twists her words against her and the boys. Quill intends to hang them as well as Purity. Alvin whisks away Arthur Stuart, Mike Fink, and Audubon by leading them into the greensong that lets them run hundreds of miles without tiring, but turning back without the others en route. Alvin gives himself up to the men sent to bring in the "witches" while Verily hides for the moment. Quill has both Purity and Alvin running in tight circles to wear them down - a semi-legal form of torture, intended to make them confess to witchery. Verily comes by and loudly scolds Quill in front of the crowd, saying it's inhumane. At the trial, Verily Cooper makes a case for overturning the witchery laws: in all previous witch trials, it was the witcher who brought up any connection with Satan, while the defendant had been too beaten down to resist. The judge,

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

, is sympathetic, but realizes that a sudden overthrow of long-kept laws will cause social instability. However, based on Verily's evidence, he suspends the licenses of all witchers in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

for alleged misconduct; since, to reinstate their licenses, a witcher would have to prove his claims in a normal court, and since this is impossible, it effectively ends the practice of witch trials while leaving the laws on the books. Calvin has come back to America from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

with

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

, the French boy-writer. The two meet up with Peggy and Calvin gets himself in serious trouble.

References

External links

About the novel ''Heartfire'' from Card's website

Heartfire
at Worlds Without End {{Orson Scott Card 1998 American novels The Tales of Alvin Maker series novels American fantasy novels American alternate history novels Tor Books books

Plot summary

See also

References

External links