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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Book #2 in the Frontier Magic series continues -- for good and for not-so-good -- along the same path as the first book, Thirteenth Child.
On the plus side, we continue to explore this alternate history of the United States, in which magic is commonplace and an actual necessity. The challenges and adventure of living life on the frontier is still here, and main character Eff is still pursuing her own non-standard magical skills.
On the negative side, the same problems that detract from the overall success of the first book are still present. The magical systems are overly complicated, so that it's never quite clear what's happening, and the solutions and big confrontations are so full of this jargon-heavy magical hoo-ha that it's hard to tell who did what or why. Eff should be a powerful character, but she never really comes into her own. That is, she clearly has talents that are rare, but she doesn't get to do a whole lot with them. She's always just a part of, not the lead actor -- she assists a professor, she participates in expeditions, she's on the team when danger strikes -- but she never is out in front, making decisions and standing out. Finally, the plot suffers from odd pacing. Many of the chapters (as in the first book) have time jumps that basically say, well, for the rest of that year, not much happened, or for the next few months, I kept doing my job. There's a lot of summarizing, with action sequences popping up occasionally, but overall there's a static feeling, as if the whole plot was being described in synopsis rather than actually taking place.
There's one more book in the series, and I'm interested to see where it ends up going. I hope Eff will get a chance to shine and make a difference, and I hope as well that the western explorations will shed some new light on the hows and whys of this magical world.
The Frontier Magic series thus far strikes me as a very interesting idea without the execution to fully back it up. That said, my eleven-year-old son likes the books and wants to read the third, and that's really saying something!
On the plus side, we continue to explore this alternate history of the United States, in which magic is commonplace and an actual necessity. The challenges and adventure of living life on the frontier is still here, and main character Eff is still pursuing her own non-standard magical skills.
On the negative side, the same problems that detract from the overall success of the first book are still present. The magical systems are overly complicated, so that it's never quite clear what's happening, and the solutions and big confrontations are so full of this jargon-heavy magical hoo-ha that it's hard to tell who did what or why. Eff should be a powerful character, but she never really comes into her own. That is, she clearly has talents that are rare, but she doesn't get to do a whole lot with them. She's always just a part of, not the lead actor -- she assists a professor, she participates in expeditions, she's on the team when danger strikes -- but she never is out in front, making decisions and standing out. Finally, the plot suffers from odd pacing. Many of the chapters (as in the first book) have time jumps that basically say, well, for the rest of that year, not much happened, or for the next few months, I kept doing my job. There's a lot of summarizing, with action sequences popping up occasionally, but overall there's a static feeling, as if the whole plot was being described in synopsis rather than actually taking place.
There's one more book in the series, and I'm interested to see where it ends up going. I hope Eff will get a chance to shine and make a difference, and I hope as well that the western explorations will shed some new light on the hows and whys of this magical world.
The Frontier Magic series thus far strikes me as a very interesting idea without the execution to fully back it up. That said, my eleven-year-old son likes the books and wants to read the third, and that's really saying something!
An excellent second in a series, I enjoyed this just as much as the first - and so nice to have a novel with a girl in her late teens who isn't heartstruck or lustful. We may well have romance in the third book, and I know who I'd like her to end up with as a life partner, but Eff has things she wants to do and places she wants to explore. Go girl!
I love it. I hope that there are more books coming in this world. I want to see more of it. I hope we get to learn more of the different magic systems. Am eagerly awaiting The far west. Can't wait to see what they find. Wonder if we will learn what is is driving the animals east. One thing some of those artifices were old and burred so did this happen before? is it normal? Nice to see them coming into there selves. learn to be comfortable with who they are.
I quite enjoyed this sequel. Eff is a very likeable character. I also enjoyed the 3 different magical systems. It was nice to see someone grow up and not give way to family pressure, but find her own way. She is also, sympathetic enough to help her brother find his equilibrium after his spectacular/deadly mistake and help him face it.
I didn't realize that this was book 2 until I came on Goodreads-- there are mentions of past events, but they were well incorporated into the book.
I liked the general western/YA/rural american magic thing going on. It reminded me a little of the Alvin Maker series, but aimed at a different audience-- maybe a dash of Little House thrown in. I enjoyed it and thought the adventures were fun and the characters were well done.
I liked the general western/YA/rural american magic thing going on. It reminded me a little of the Alvin Maker series, but aimed at a different audience-- maybe a dash of Little House thrown in. I enjoyed it and thought the adventures were fun and the characters were well done.
I really enjoyed book one. I felt it was original and Eff was a great narrator. I wanted to like book two, but the plot build up was too similar to the first book and I'm not sure if the climax was worth my energy. Book three is on standby. I hate to leave the series, but it feels to much like a "write by number" story. :(
Heavier on the naturalist stuff than the first book