The Crystal City
core novel 2003 The Tales of Alvin Maker
Record
| First published | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.63 (11,783 ratings, collected 2026-08-27) |
| Page count | 352 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780312864835 |
| Internal chronology | 6 |
Synopsis
The Crystal City continues the Tales of Alvin Maker, following Alvin as he takes up in earnest the mission hinted at since the series' first volume: the creation of a mystical settlement called the Crystal City, said to be the one thing capable of defeating, and even permanently destroying, the malevolent force known as the Unmaker that has opposed him since childhood. Gathering allies and resources for this ambitious undertaking, Alvin must contend with both the practical difficulties of founding such a place and the deeper spiritual and magical understanding required to make it succeed where lesser efforts would fail. The novel advances the series' long-building central quest, carrying forward Alvin's growth from a gifted but untested boy into a Maker capable of attempting a work on the scale the Crystal City demands.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Tales of Alvin Maker
- Series: Tales of Alvin Maker core; position 6 of 7 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Orson Scott Card
Notes
- From the series record (Tales of Alvin Maker): Complete 7-novel alternate-history fantasy saga, an alternate frontier America where folk magic works; concluded 2026 with Master Alvin.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Tales of Alvin Maker: position 6 of 7: previous Heartfire (1998) · next Master Alvin (2026)
Sources
← The Tales of Alvin Maker dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.