Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera Series #1)

Could be a great series

This first book in the Codex series is more of a historical book than an action packed sci-fi adventure. If you are new to reading a series take into consideration that you have to explain all the main characters and learn what this new world is and what is good and bad in it. I would strongly suggest reading the first 2 books in a series to see if you really do like it. You may end up saving yourself a lot of money by not buying them all or realize it is great and become a huge fan of the author and series. To me the book starts off a bit slow. The first half is about learning what the furies are, how they are used in society, who the key characters are, and their background drama. Once you hit the midway mark the action picks up. You get involved in the book. The hero in the book Tavi is a great character. He has strong morals, is very intelligent, clever, and an endearing young man. As the book builds momentum I found myself rooting for our hero big time. I look forward to the next book in the series to see how well the authors story continues and sets up for a long series. This was my first Jim Butcher book and I gave it a four star rating due to a very strong and happy ending. The great thing about this is it is not along the lines of Terry Goodkind or Robert Jordan or Tolkien which is great for a change. No wizards, mord sith, elf's, or sorceresses which of course abound in this genre. So I found it very refreshing to have a new world, with new magic's, and less wickedness. Jim seems to be pretty good at creating something unique and new to me. I recommend reading it if you are new or old to sci-fi fantasy. I enjoyed the adventure and can't wait to pick up the next one in the series. Happy reading all.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Excellent start to an excellent series

I enjoy Butcher's Dresden Files series. However, to my mind the Codex Alera series is as different from Dresden as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Dresden files are written in the first person and set in the more-or-less real world. The Alera books, however, are third person point of view and switch between characters periodically. Also, the books are set in a fantasy world (Carna) with a Roman-influenced human empire surrounded by other, non-human races. There are fewer funny lines than in the Dresden Files books, but this book builds an entire world with an interesting and original magic system. I read all 440 pages of this in roughly 24 hours - I started it before work, and wound up reading it during breaks and late into the night after work. I actually liked this better than the Dreden Files because of the shifting viewpoint and the original world-building in it. Although this is the beginning of a series, Butcher doesn't leave the storyline of this book unresolved. Instead, the further books in the series pick up new and different threads using the foundation laid here.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Docked for Sexual Content

What if everyone in your world had magical abilities except you? In Alera, where even lighting a lamp requires magic, Tavi is in just such a situation. When the realm falls under attack he has only his mind to help save himself, his family, and the whole of Alera.

Furies of Calderon follows several characters through the web of conflict that threatens their lives. Overall the story is engaging and enjoyable, but can seem slow and overwhelming at the beginning due to the complexity of the world and situations you are thrown into. There are graphic violence scenes as well as some sexual content. While the sexual scenes are few and not significant to the story, they tend to focus on the characters feelings of "hot need."

As far as a romping good tale goes, I would highly recommend this book, if you can get through the overwhelming nature of the first quarter. However, I have to dock it for sexual content that I do not feel adds positively to the characters, romance, or plot. It is entirely possible to do good clean romance without going beyond something I would feel comfortable with my son reading. I believe it would be possible to black out the sexual content of this book without marring the story.

3 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Rollicking good read

I was afraid to read this book as in my experience when an author branches off and tries to invent a new set of characters too many parallels can be drawn between books and it becomes a same old same old. I was very pleased that Mr Butcher brought new characters out of the bag and i really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next two. The only parallels i can draw between Codex Alera and Dresden Files is full of action, well developed characters and cant put it down! Not Witless at all!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Enthralling New Fantasy

I haven't read anything else this author has written, but I must say his Codex Alera trilogy hooked me from the start. He has a nice, quick style and his characters are very well drawn. Most especially, he has a nice Roman flavoring and a new magic system in this world that I find refreshing and not like the usual fantasy novels people have been turning out these days. The only flaw I found in an otherwise wonderful book was how the villians seem to get killed and then brought back from the dead too easily. But then, so do the heroes, and since it is the start of a trilogy, I guess that's okay. You don't want to kill off too many major characters too quickly. A very promising book, I look forward to the next one.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Good Alternative to modern fantasy

I got this book a year ago. It took me a while to get around to reading it. Once I did start reading it, it became a very interesting story.
The "Furies of Calderon" follows several characters through a plot against the empire. The most interesting part of this whole story is the premises that people have these furies, or spiritual pals, that follow them around through life. As the person gets older their ability to work with their furry gets stronger.
There are furies for all different aspects of life. I can see how the Jim, the author, could take this and expand on it later. There are furies for the primary elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Then there are others like Wood and metal.
The use of the furies in this book provides an alternative approach to modern day fantasy writing. Instead of having powerful wizards and warriors. There are Furies. Those with furies can be warriors, farmers, hunters, politicians, or even knights.
I believe that anyone that is interested in Fantasy writing will find this book interesting. I would recommend this book to others and friends.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Witless

In the past 25+ years of buying and reading all sorts of genre, I have only left two books unfinished: this was the second. I made it to page 296 before putting it down in dusgust. The storyline is disorganized, the characters are either cliche or witless, and the plot-movers are ill-disguised with little reason for their happenstance. The storyline has a boy with an unknown mysterious past, a wannabe spy who's supposed to have incredible talent but makes mistake after common-sense mistake, a spymaster who has switched sides in an upcoming rebellion, and a patina of Roman Empire with all the purported backstabbing that entity had. The characters are pitiful. On the 'bad' guys, you have the following: The expert and cynical spymaster who thinks the change of rebellion cannot be stopped so he switches sides (a character development that would have been better played out over half the book, rather than in just the first chapter). The unbeatable swordsman, who has little passion except for his kinky affair with a 'witch', but kills because he's so good at it. The 'High Lord' leading the rebellion, who has lots of power but wants to be 'First Lord' just because he wants more power. On the 'good' side, you have the following: the boy with no parents who has a mysterious past, can't think much beyond the moment, and is just starting to turn his mind to mush over girls. The godfather figure of his uncle, who is supposed to be experienced, learned, and somewhat wise but who makes mistake after mistake and acts indecisively. The 'loyal' spy who's supposed to be a hot-shot rookie with loads of talent, but who can't take a step without being two steps behind the 'bad' guys. The only way the plot moves is through improbable results of stupid actions. Too many occur in the first 296 pages alone to list. Let's just say that too frequently does 'fate' step in to keep the characters alive after stupidity struck, and too frequently 'fate' conveniently (blatantly) steps in to make a situation even more stupidly convoluted just so that same 'fate' can later untangle it all. In other words, it's not the action or reasoning of the characters that cause things to happen (or not to happen), it pretty much happens just to be happening. I like Butcher's Dresden series, they're not great but they're okay - readable and enjoyable. I thought this would be written well enough to invest in....it's not. Don't waste the money on it if you have any wish for a read better than that intended for young teenagers.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

An New Universe - Brilliant Butcher

I love this series and my favorite is the one that introduces Calderon. Butcher has created a highly inventive universe. Read it!

Coming off Dresden - aver very good read!

A very good start to a potentially great series. Action packed with good characters interesting situations with unique capabilities. Somewhat like super heroes at the "everyman" level. Read it you will not regret it.

Amazing!

One of the best books I've read in a while!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book was an amazing read. It's ensnaring plot and irresistable characters brought this story to life. I have read this entire series, and Jim Butcher did an amazing job with intelligent answers and solutions. I will never know how he came up with all of it. Anyone who wants an intelligent and crazy-like absolutely awesome- book should read this. It starts out strong and only gets better.

Excellent Series

I am a late comer to reading these 'newer' fantasy genre. My adult son put me onto reading Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files which I love, and from there I had to see what the Codex Alera Series was about. Butcher can wonderfully spin a tale, and even if you are not a fan of this genre, as I was not, you'll enjoy the intrigue, suspense, humor and character development expertly written in these books. I wish there were more in the series.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED THIS SERIES

My title says it all. Luckily, I discovered this series when book five had just come out in paperback. I started with book one and read all the way through book five in about a week and a half. Luckily, the hardback of #6 came out in hardback a week later, and I snapped it up. (And I don't like buying hardcover books!) It's definitely a series I'll be rereading every few years!

Superb!

An amazing series filled with amazing characters and a great plot!! You will not be disappointed if you read this!

Excellent start to a series

I'm not sure what the reviewer below is talking about. There's not a single sex scene in this book. There's talk of rape happening, but it's mentioned in two lines or less. Hardly a sex scene.

This book is amazing. By the second page I was already hugging the book in a worried panic for the characters who were in danger. It's definitely worth a read.

favorite series in a log time

worth reading the whole series

Jim Butcher is a writing god.

Be patient with the first 3rd of "Furies of Calderon". It takes a little time for Butcher to lay the foundations of his amazing world, but it is definitely worth the read. Butcher's characters are heroic, flawed, conflicted, and utterly believable. You can't help but love and hate them, even at the same time. The fury-based magic system is one of the most original I've seen. Great care is also given to local politics as well as that between the various races across Alera. Butcher pays the same attention to individual combat as he does to large campaigns. Fight scenes and battles are easy to follow and vividly painted. The most amazing thing about this series is that, unlike others, each book is actually better than the previous novel.

Hooked!

Loved Jim Butcher's Dresden series, and figured I would check this one out. It is different from the others; this is 'fantasy', (the other is vamps, etc). I am HOOKED and have added the rest of this series to my wishlist! Really great plot and characters!

Fantastic!

A great start to a series. One of the more interesting uses of magic I have seen in a long while.

Book 1

review pending.