2009 fantasy. In a parallel 19th century America, Eff's twin brother
Lan is the seventh son of a seventh son, so that means he's lucky, and
he'll probably become a great wizard. But Eff is a thirteenth child,
which means that everyone knows that sooner or later she'll turn bad.
There's no infodumping of the background, but the New World is
Columbia, there was a Secession War that ended in 1838, and the three
major schools of magic are Avrupan, Aphrikan, and Hijero-Cathayan. But
while there's a solid alternate history being constructed just out of
sight, this is also a worldbuilding homage to American frontier
fiction, and the simple hardworking life that doesn't seem to have got
that much easier with the availability of housekeeping spells.
There are also no Native Americans. Some people have found this a
reason not to read the book.
There's a Great Barrier spell (constructed by Franklin and Jefferson!)
which keeps the monsters out of the eastern lands, but the settlers
beyond that have to cope with steam dragons, swarming weasels, and
worse things. Eff's family moves to a town just inside that barrier,
and the bulk of the book is about her life going to school, making
friends, and learning about magic. Towards the end there's an
expedition to the settlements west of the Barrier.
This does mean the book moves quite slowly, without a great deal in
the way of exciting action. Which is fine with me, but if you were
expecting the faster pace of the Lyra books or even the humour of the
Enchanted Forest series you'll be disappointed. Eff's self-doubt and
hesitation sometimes get to be a bit much.
On the other hand there are subtle characterisations here, and
something that I think is a first in my reading of fantasy: a group of
people opposed to the use of magic who are not narrow-minded
witch-burning fanatics, but who think that as the easy answer to every
problem the use of magic cuts off the development of knowledge and
understanding of anything that isn't magic.
Followed by Across the Great Barrier.
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