The Far West

4 out of 5 Covers

In the Frontier Magic series, Patricia C. Wrede recreates the American West in a world where magic exists.  This does not mean gunfights where the duelists use wands instead of guns.  It is much more like Little House on the Prairie, chronicling the daily struggles of settling the frontier.  For Eff Rothmer, there are added difficulties.  Here twin brother, Lan, is a seventh son of a seventh son, a particularly powerful magician.  But coming from a particularly large family, Eff is a thirteenth child, an unlucky number.  The first two books showcased Eff learning about the various magically systems in the world and helping deal with the new creatures that threatened the settlements.

This third book finds Eff and her brother joining an expedition to map the furthest reaches of the West. Far from a travelogue, this is also a very personal journey for Eff, as she come to understand of her burgeoning knowledge of magic as well as making a choice between suitors.  There are also numerous dangers as the expedition encounters new magical creatures that could threaten the settlements.

Patricia C. Wrede has long shown a talent for creating vivid worlds and characters.  Her ability to bring the frontier to life with all its challenges and romanticism is impressive.  And Eff is a fascinating character, full of insecurities and contradictions.  The whole cast is fully realized, but as Eff is the narrator, she really stands out.

One of the challenges of a first person narrative is that is that it can create a distance between the reader and the other characters.  And as everything has to be filtered through the narrator’s point of view there is the potential for unreliability.  Wrede manages to avoid that particular pitfall, but struggles some in weaving the personal and adventurous storylines together.  While all the storylines come to a fulfilling conclusion, possible ending the series, they don’t all come together at the climax.  Some are resolved during the dénouement.  

The good definitely outweighs the flaws as Wrede produces another winner.