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4 out of 5
by
P.M.
from
Portland, ME | Jul 7, 2010
Eff Rothmer is the thirteenth childing in her family while her twin Lan is the fourteenth and a double seven. (the seventh son of a seventh son) Everyone expects Eff to turn bad because of her birth position. When Uncle Earn actually brings a policeman to arrest four year old Eff, her parents decide to move to the frontier where Father will take up a position as professor of magic at a land grant college and no one will keep expecting Eff to turn evil. The author introduces us to an alternate American history with a War of Secession in the 1830's, a Lewis and Clark Expedition that never returned, and a Great Plains populated by mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, steam dragons, mirrorbugs, swarming weasels, and other assorted flora and fauna. The book covers fourteen years of Eff's life as she tries to come to terms with being that feared and despised thirteenth child. This book reminded me very much of "Little House on the Prairie" infused with magic. It was somewhat episodic but I did enjoy it.
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3 out of 5
by
Nan
from
Adrian, MI | Jun 28, 2010
While this book was a fun fantasy Bildungsroman, I'm not certain that I liked it well enough to continue the series.
I've been reading Wrede's books for years; my first was Daughter of Witches way back in the 80s. I have all of the Lyra novels and the Regency Magic series. In addition to these books, Wrede is well known online for her Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions she created for writers. Over the years, I've come to trust her writing--and especially her worldbuilding.
Which is where I stumble a bit with this book. It's about a family with fourteen children that move to a frontier town when the father takes a job as a professor of magic at the local land grant university. Eff (short for Francine) is the 13th child of the title. Thirteenth children are considered unlucky, evil, and dangerous by many, and the family moves out west in part to protect Eff from those that hold such beliefs. This novels follows Eff from her childhood through maturity as she seeks to find her place in this environment.
This frontier is a dangerous place; a magic barrier separates East from West, and the West is filled with magical and other dangerous creatures. Without the protection of a magician, settlers on the other side of the wall have little chance to survive.
My problem with this book is a complaint that I've heard from others and chose to overlook until after I read the title as well. This is an Alternate Earth fantasy, and it is set in "Columbia," the continent we know as North America. However, when the explorers arrived in this New World, they found it empty of people. Native Americans (or, rather, Native Columbians), don't exist. I'm not certain why Wrede chose to write them out of her world. Perhaps she was trying to avoid the us v. them racism of the American frontier. Perhaps she didn't want to create a fourth major magic system. As an alternate reality, she can do whatever she wants with the world, but clearing the land of any prior inhabitants erases the possibility for cross cultural contact as well as several other plots.
I do think I'll read book two--after it, hopefully I'll be better able to defend or admire Wrede's choices.
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5 out of 5
by
Sara
from
Bethel Park, PA | Jun 26, 2010
Eff, is the thirteenth child of a seventh son, and twin to a double seven. Where she lives, a magica,l frontier version of America, this is considered to be very unlucky. Not just unlucky - according to her backward aunts and uncles it means that she will turn out bad, very bad. Her parents don't set much store by this, and after one of her uncles takes it too far when she is only five, her dad takes a magical professorship right on the edge of the frontier. Folks in Mill City don't care nearly so much about her birth order, though it takes Eff a long time to figure this out, and even longer to let go of her own fear. When she does though, it's 'magical.'
Wrede has done a great job with an interesting twist on one of my favorite dramas. Most fantasy authors use a more medieval base, sword and sorcery, or they go the modern, urban route. I have never before read anything based in an between, expanding into the Wild Unknown. It was a breath of fresh air in a genre that can easily get stale.
Not only did Wrede come up with a new idea, she pulled it off. She had me hooked from the beginning. In addition to that she had great characters. Eff was such a sweet, scared little girl and I really sympathized with her. While I didn't have to deal with her unlucky birth order, in many ways she reminded me of myself growing up. The other characters were just as well done.
While the book came to a definite conclusion, with no loose ends left dangling, I can't help but hope that Wrede will return to both Eff and Columbia (as America is known). I want to see what's in store for Eff's future now that she no longer let's her fears control her. I want to learn more about the fascinating magic systems that Wrede has created. I want to return to Columbia and explore the wilderness with Eff, Wash, William, and all the other delightful characters that populate this world. Bravo Ms. Wrede, you have a new fan.
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3 out of 5
by
Kristina
from
Saint Paul, MN | Jun 15, 2010
I was really, really looking forward to reading this because The Enchanted Forest Chronicles are some of my favorite books of all time, and I've loved everything of Wrede's I've ever read.
I have to say though...I was a little let down by this book. Maybe it's just because I had such high expectations, but for me, "Thirteenth Child" just didn't have the same...magic, I guess...as her other work. What I loved so much about Dealing with Dragons - the clever humor, the little bit of snarkiness, well-drawn and unique characters - just seemed to be missing from this book. Eff was a pretty bland main character - I never really figured out what she was about, and even her friend (William I think?) never really jumped off the page for me. The only characters that ended up feeling like real people to me were Lan, her brother, and Miss Ochiba, her teacher. The plot towards the end was a little confusing, and the climax didn't feel climactic at all.
And also...and this is just a personal preference thing, but the old-west dialect really bugged me after a while.
Overall...it was OK, but not what I hoped for from Wrede.
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2 out of 5
by
Joan
from
The United States | Apr 26, 2010
The Thirteenth Child is "Eff" who is continually harassed by aunts and uncles about her fate in the ruination of the entire family line. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son and everyone thinks he is special. So does Eff. To escape the family hate, her father accepts a position at the frontier edge in a college of magic...whoa there Nellie! Yes, I said college of magic for this is not your normal Laura Ingalls Wilder tale, but the tale of a frontier time that was also magical in the United States. I applaud writing about the woolly mammoths and other natural creatures that many thought Lewis and Clark would encounter. I also applaud introducing magical creatures into the frontier. The story is passive and slow. There are no Indians. There are three kinds of magic that are basically African, Asian and European in which Eff is schooled by a strong black teacher, Miss Ochiba. There are Rationalists who believe that magic should never be used. There is great magical powers that I really want to see being used, and we just see them from afar, and hazily described. I really wanted to love this book as much as the Alvin Maker series by Orson Scott Card, but I just did not. There is a second volume and I hope the writing peps up.