I should preface this review with two facts: First, I am not a huge epic fantasy fan. I’ve read some of it, and enjoyed some of it, but it is not my first choice as a sub-genre. Second: I love The Dresden Files, and in fact, the only reason I picked up this epic fantasy was because Jim Butcher wrote it.
This is not The Dresden Files. I didn’t think it would be, but for those familiar with the other series, try to put it completely from your mind. The only thing the two series have in common is that Jim Butcher writes an exciting story arc that starts out strong and builds to new levels of danger as time goes on. Otherwise, this is a new world, told in the third person from 4 different viewpoints, and the narrative voice gets out of the way of the story. There is little humor, which I think is what surprised me the most.
What there IS…a new and imaginative epic world in which a race of humans commune with furies to gain mastery over things like air, earth, fire, water, metal, and possibly others. I did enjoy the magic system. It reminded me of a few other systems I’ve seen, but it put a new spin on them, and was implemented in a unique and powerful way, taking full advantage of the inherent magic of the world.
ALSO…a cast of really well-drawn characters with unique talents, who showed their wit and skill early on, and then came through at the end. I particularly liked (and believe I was particularly supposed to like) Tavi, the fifteen-year-old boy who commands no furies of his own (the only one, and he is teased), but whose wits are second to none. There’s more to him than meets the eye, and though we didn’t learn all there was to know about him at the end of this book, I do think it’s pretty obvious where he’s going. It is for Tavi, more than any other character in this book or aspect of this world, that I will continue reading this series.
Amara, the young cursor who completes her final exam at the beginning of this novel, is also a fine character — brave, intelligent, and loyal. She gets a little romance subplot which surprised me in that I like it — I can’t often say that I like romantic subplots in epic fantasy.
There were other characters who came together to humanize this world, each unique, each well constructed, and each important.
Having said all that, it did take me a little while to get into this story. I’m not sure why, except that I often struggle when four different viewpoints rotate and I have to get used to each in small snippets. I think it was also because of the narrative voice which, despite everything, I expected to be more Dresden-like. I really got into this after about 1/3 of the book, and it continued to be excited throughout, although…the battle. I guess this is something epic fantasy novels have to do? Long, drawn out battle scenes? I’m sure it was even well written, but before I started reading these things on tape, I used to thumb through those pages, looking for the important highlights. Harder to do that now. 🙂
I do recommend this book to those who enjoy epic fantasy, even if, like me, you only enjoy it a little bit, and when you’re in the right mood. Get in the mood, and give it a try. 🙂
Rating: 4/5
Title: Furies of Calderon
Author: Jim Butcher
Genre: Epic Fantasy
ISBN: 9780441012688
Publication Date: June 2005