Plot summary I

Alvin Miller, a seventh son and a father of six daughters and six sons, is travelling west with his entire family and all of their belongings. His wife – Faith – is about to give birth to a child, when they are on the bank of the Hatrack River. They decide to take the risk and cross the river, when all of a sudden a storm rises and the pregnant woman finds herself in terrible danger. The eldest son, Vigor, saves his mothers life, but gets mortally wounded. Still, he clings onto life long enough for his mother to give birth. With a help of a young girl – Peggy – a torch, who forsees the future, the seventh son of a seventh son is being born and is given the name of his father – Alvin. Peggy, who from then on is going to help Alvin throughout his life with her torch abilities, keeps his birth caul, knowing that it has magical properties.

 The Miller family settles in a town called Vigor Church, where Faith gives birth to another son. Throughout his life, Alvin is put in danger numerous times and water always seems to be the culprit, however everytime it happens, he miraculously avoids death. When a church is built in the town, Alvin is almost killed in an accident, when a ridgebeam falls on him. Yet he is left untouched as the heavy log splits in half right above him.

 Alvin is not fully aware of his abilities, although is it widely known that whatever he makes, he makes better than an adult professional would. He succeeds in everything he undertakes, being just a 7 year old boy.

 Alvin learns about good and evil the day when he sets cockroaches on his sisters, promising the little creatures abundance of food and instead leading them to their death. Alvin is then visited by The Shining Man, who turns out to be Lolla-Wossiky – a Redman, recently converted to christianity and baptised. Lolla shows him a vision from the perspective of a dying cockroach, and Alvin makes an oath: never again will he use his knacks for his own purpose. He tries to heal the Redman, but fails to grow him a missing eye.

 Meanwhile, Reverend Thrower, who was sent on a mission by a misterious Visitor, does everything to make Alvin a proper christian. Though he is convinced that he works for an angel, it is actually the devil, unknowingly working in behalf of the Unmaker, that gives him the order to convert Alvin. The young Maker himself is reluctant to study the Bible, as he fails to see any wisdom in it.

 At the time when the boy reaches the age of 10, Taleswapper (William Blake) - the wannabe prophet - arrives in the Vigor Church. Being an educated man, Taleswapper dedicated his life to collecting stories of the people he meets. He becomes a friend to the Miller family and lives with them for a while, collecting their stories and telling the ones written in his book.

 Taleswapper, who thinks of himself as a man of God, shares with Alvin the kind of third eye sight. They are both able to tell that the altar in Reverend Thrower's church has been cursed by the Devil, while the priest himself is convinced that it was consecrated by an angel. They develop the theory about the Unmaker, as Alvin confesses that sometimes he is able to the dark force of destruction on his peripheral vision, which he describes as tendrils of shadow. Only after he creates something, the tedrils dissapear. From then on, Taleswapper becomes more aware of the powers that the young boy possesses.

The father of the Miller family decides to build a mill in the town. Being afraid of water hurting Alvin, he was reluctant to do it at first, but it becomes more and more necessary as Vigor Church grows bigger. The task of carving a mill stone is given to Alvin. The young boy says that he is able to hear the stone, therefore he knows where to cut it. He finishes the job in one day and insists to accompany the others when the stone is being put in the mill. This is when both a tragedy and a miracle happens - the massive mill stone sinks slightly into the wet soil on the floor and collapses on Alvin. The massive rock splits in half the same as the ridgebeam in church years before, but Alvin, disregarding his own life, puts it immediately back together, thus letting it fall on his leg.

Taken back home, the young boy is badly wounded, as not only bone has been shattered, but also skin has been ripped of his leg. Such wound is deemed deadly and noone has much hope that Alvin will survive, except for Taleswapper, who persuades him to use his powers to heal himself. Alvin agrees and makes a new oath - to live his life in the service of humanity, to devote his powers to defeat the Unmaker.

Learning the way his body is constructed, he is able to grow the missing tissue and repair the bone. There is, however a spot left which he cannot heal - it is a tiny part of bone where the Unmaker seems to cling to the boy. Alvin begs his family to cut it out, yet his father refuses him, as he fears that he will unwillingly hurt his boy. Shortly after, Reverend Thrower arrives with Armor-of-God, the slightly fanatic christian husband of Miller's eldest daughter. They are convinced that Alvin is cursed by Satan himself and want to exorcise him. Alvin's father throws out Armor, but - persuaded by his wife - lets the priest pray at the boy's bedside.

Reverend Thrower's exorcisms are futile, which only convinces him that Alvin is not only possessed, but is the incarnation of the Devil himself. When he overhears the plan to cut out the sick fragment of Alvin's leg, he volunteers to do it, claiming that, being a scholar, he is able to perform such surgery. In fact he plans to kill Alvin, as he thinks that is what God expects him to do. He is, however, unable to enter Alvin's room with sharp tools, as the power that protects the boy simply diverts his thoughts somewhere else. When he finds himself halfway into the woods, he realises his failure and tries to end his life.

Meanwhile, the surgery is conducted by Measure, Alvin's older brother, who's melodical whistling seems to both lesser the pain and empower the healing process. After that, Miller senior decides to send his son away on prenticeship, since he fears that more danger may await him in Vigor Church.







