The Far West

By: Patricia C. Wrede

Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

was a amazing book

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

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

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.

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.

A Mostly Satisfying Conclusion

If you've listened to the first 2 books in this series, then you won't be too surprised by this one.

As usual, the story plods along, with remarkable scenes littered amongst the pretty mundane. Oddly though, it's enjoyable. You never feel like you're rushing anywhere; you're just along for the ride, taking in Eff's daily life as we meander to the end game. It's a bit similar to some of the earlier Harry Potter books in that way.

The downside of this type of story telling (aside from it being slow, which can be a pain if you're not enjoying taking it all in), is that there is much discussed and revealed during the story (indeed, the entire series) that never gets resolved.

In most stories, most of what you hear about is fairly important. In these types of stories though, you hear about so much that it can be hard to figure out just what's important and what is just a tidbit. Sadly, many of those tidbits that seem to be going somewhere never do, and you're left to fill in the blanks in your mind. A shame for such a wonderfully-crafted universe.

Overall however, I enjoyed it. For the shippers, Eff finally "settles down" in this book, and thankfully those parts of the story aren't mushy or annoying. In fact, it doesn't interfere with the story at all; it adds to it.

I'd hoped this wasn't the end, but given that there's an epilogue, I guess it is. Great series.

Bring it to the twenty first century

Story's staying pretty straight fun to listen and think about differences to the way we think about things here today what fun it will be as it catches up to our time and see how it works out in twenty first century
J-Mac Las Vegas nv.

Fabulous story!

I found this story by searching my favourite narrator, Amanda ronconi. I am very happy I gave it a try.

Family friendly

A great family read for all ages. All three books in this series we have heard over and over.

Great story!

Liked the idea and scientific process. exciting action parts. Reads like an autobiography. Would love to read a continuation, if more are planned.

Good story; wishing for more

Okay, excellent story over three books. Love the science emphasis on the magic driven alternative history. It does have a few continuity errors but I mostly only notice because I’ve re-read the story so often. It’s one of my go-to unplug books - and now a first rate audiobook.