The Far West

By: Patricia C. Wrede

Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi

From #1 New York Times best-selling author Patricia C. Wrede, the fantastic conclusion to her tale of magic on the western frontier.

Eff is an unlucky 13th child...but also the seventh daughter in her family. Her twin brother, Lan, is a powerful double seventh son. Her life at the edge of the Great Barrier Spell is different from anyone else's that she knows.

When the government forms an expedition to map the Far West, Eff has the opportunity to travel farther than anyone in the world. With Lan, William, Professor Torgeson, Wash, and Professor Ochiba, Eff finds that nothing on the wild frontier is as they expected. There are strange findings in their research, a long prarie winter spent in too-close quarters, and more new species, magical and otherwise, dangerous and benign, than they ever expected to find. And then spring comes, and the explorers realize how tenuous life near the Great Barrier Spell may be if they don't find a way to stop a magical flood in a hurry. Eff's unique way of viewing magic has saved the settlers time and again, but this time all of Columbia is at stake if she should fail.

©2012 Patricia C. Wrede (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Excellent story for family generations with a wonderful narrator

An adventure, exploration, survival & alternative history of the US Mississippi/Missouri region with well thought out unique new magical animals. The narrator has created distinct voices for the wide range of characters & adds meaning to this terrific story.

was a amazing book

was a amazing book that i would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading this kind of story

Enjoyable if unexciting

Interesting world building by the author and okay story but it’s all very slow paced events that barely climax and then the book just keeps going. All three books are like this, although the second and third may be even slower. It’s an generally entertaining story to listen to while doing something else.

amazing book for the whole family in the car

10yo daughter: full of twists turns and love!

7yo son: dazzling magic and fun

dad: I actually looked forward to hearing this story, and best of all no fighting in the car

I hope this is a series and not just a trilogy.

I have now read all three books in this trilogy and I sincerely hope that Wrede's readers will convince her to turn this into a series. I can see plenty of paths she could take towards turning out more books about this interesting young woman.

Over the arc of the trilogy, I really enjoyed the unfolding of her personality, from a disregarded and dismissed child to struggling adolescence to blossoming young woman. I don't want to provide spoilers, but I find that while Lan is an admirable and deserving young man, Eff is by far the more creative and interesting character.

I enjoyed the interplay between events in our history and how they differ in Eff's. And I really enjoyed learning that both Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were seventh sons of seventh sons. (We should have guessed.) 8-)

I kept thinking during the first book in this trilogy that she kept hanging revolvers on walls and then not shooting them (see Wikipedia article, "Chekhov's Gun") It was revealing in this book to see all those guns being taken down and used. Clearly, this entire series was mapped out before she completed the first one.

To sum up: Don't start with this book. Read them in their proper order: "Thirteenth Child", then "Across the Great Barrier", and then this one.