I offered my impressions of Furies of Calderon back in May, focusing on the contrast between Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, and this epic fantasy series. Since then, I have finished all six books in the series, and thoroughly enjoyed them.
Tavi continued to be my favorite character throughout the series. He’s clever, surprisingly confident given his lack of fury craft, and determined. When he does something, he puts his whole self into the effort, holding nothing back, and he doesn’t pay much attention to rules — whether “should” or “could.” He makes the impossible possible over and over again, as he grows from the small fifteen-year-old boy with big dreams into a man.
I decided to wait and do a full series review, instead of a book-by-book review, because this is the sort of adventure that needs to be read in order. I’d even recommend in close order, since the entire series has already been written.
My only complaint about the series was the sheer volume of time spent on battles and warfare. To be fair, that’s really what the books were about, and so given that these tend to be my least favorite parts of a book, it is telling that I so enjoyed a series focusing on battles.
If you like epic fantasy with a huge adventure component, you should check these out.
Rating: 4/5
Title: Codex Alara (Begins with Furies of Calderon)
Author: Jim Butcher
I had never heard of Jim Butcher until a colleague of mine told me about him. I started with the Codex Alera and now I am going through the Dresden Files. He has easily become one of my favourite authors.
The Codex Alera is amazing, I could not stop reading it. I find the way Jim Butcher got the idea for the series hilarious. Apparently he was challenged to invent a good story based on the Lost Roman Legion and Pokemon :).