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Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera #1)

by Jim Butcher (Goodreads Author)

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 27,066 ratings · 1,393 reviews

In the realm of Alera, where people bond with the furies-elementals of earth, air, fire, water and metal, fifteen-year-old Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. But when his homeland erupts in chaos-when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies-Tavi's simple courage will turn the tides of war.

Paperback, 504 pages

Published June 28th 2005 by Ace (first published January 1st 2004)

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Aug 03, 2007 Mike Malaspina rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone

Shelves: fantasy

Furies of Calderon is your typical fantasy epic. Swords, sorcery, world turning upheaval, the blackest of evil and noblest of good. Only, the true hero of the story is not only powerless... Because that's been done before. No, the true hero is now only powerless, he's the ONLY powerless character. Even the other lowly farm hands can command boulders to simply pull themselves out of crop fields.

The savage Marat barbarians all have years of fighting experience from birth and great mighty beasts wh...more

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May 02, 2013 Jon added it

Recommended to Jon by: Science Fiction & Fantasy July 2010 Selection

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, read-in-my-40s, liked-it

3.5 stars

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book now resides, safe and secure, at my blog. You can read it by following this link: http://bit.ly/18wOPQL

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Jul 09, 2011 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, sword-sorcery

An interesting series from the creator of the Dresden files. This is more of an epic fantasy with a really interesting magic. The characters were well done & I especially liked all the different creatures. Very interesting world & inhabitants with logical politics & problems.

That said, I had a few problems with the story, especially at the end. (view spoiler)...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Archer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: High Fantasy fans, Anyone looking for a solid fantasy

Shelves: books-i-own, fantasy, books-that-bleed-awesome, high-fantasy, fairly-decent-tbh, fiction, not-bad

Hello once again my fellow bookworms.

Now let me just get something off of my chest before I get into this. I am a Jim Butcher fan, I am a fantasy fan, and I haven’t read many modern high fantasies, partly because there aren’t many (comparatively speaking) but mostly because they are that dry and suck so many balls before breakfast that it is painful. Yes I read Game of Thrones. No I wasn’t impressed. If you can’t tell a story in instalments under 1000 pages long then you desperately need an edit...more Hello once again my fellow bookworms.

Now let me just get something off of my chest before I get into this. I am a Jim Butcher fan, I am a fantasy fan, and I haven’t read many modern high fantasies, partly because there aren’t many (comparatively speaking) but mostly because they are that dry and suck so many balls before breakfast that it is painful. Yes I read Game of Thrones. No I wasn’t impressed. If you can’t tell a story in instalments under 1000 pages long then you desperately need an editor, and you desperately need to cut the waffle.

Having said that, it was with great trepidation that I picked up this tome of 600 pages from an author whose Urban Fantasy writings I read voraciously. I had heard that it was a fantasy from multiple viewpoints, that the society in the book was heavily based upon the Roman Empire. I’d been told by sources, which shall remain nameless from my school/college days (who I have recently found out believe that Flush Flush is good literature and that le Clare plagiaire is a genius author… note to self; kill them later) that this book was garbage and didn’t make any sense, so I put off starting this series.

This book is NOT garbage, it DOES make sense, and it is good old-fashioned high fantasy of an ilk that hasn’t been seen since the Waylander Series by Gemmel. This is a book that you have to lose yourself in. You have to realise that this is not your world and that each of the main players, of which there are 4, play a very important role in the tale and that by jumping from one viewpoint to another actually gives you the whole story.

A little bit of background info on this world would actually come in handy I think. Welcome to Alera. The Aleran Empire is very much like that of our Roman Empire, except their citizens have one very fundamental difference. They have a relationship with elementals called Furies. There are 6 distinct flavours of Fury: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Metal and Wood. What these furies essentially do is give their human the ability to work with those Elements (these are the Japanese elements). Some people are more gifted than others and have more than one Fury to call upon.

The Aleran Nation borders lands inhabited by tribal people known as the Marat. There are four tribes and each tribe is as different from each other as a dog is from a cat. They are very reminiscent of a smoothie made of the Mongol horde, the ancient Goths (no not the weirdoes who seem to have become more and more emo over the years... I miss real Goths, emos aren't cool... I mean the ancient tribe from Europe), and later Vikings… but different. The Alerans and the Marat don’t like each other much and are at a tenuous peace… and that’s pretty much all you need to know before the story starts.

I’m not going to talk about each of the POV characters in depth, because that will spoil things and I try to steer clear of that, but their names are Tavi, Amara, Isana and Fidelias. However I will say this, Tavi is the main protagonist. Their views of the tale as it unfolds draws you deeper into this rich world that Butcher has crafted and from the descriptions I could smell the wood smoke and earth of the world in my mind (I have a good imagination, so sue me).

HOWEVER, this book is far from perfect, and I would go as far as to say that it is a little less sound than the Dresden Files series that Butcher writes. The pacing at the beginning was a little dodgy and would gain speed just to be slowed to a crawl again. Yes this was a bit annoying and made this book a little bit of work to read but I still enjoyed it immensely. I found myself caring about the characters and their lives. There were a few errors here and there but no one is perfect and it’s far better than most bestsellers I’ve read in recent years (eyes his read books pile and contemplates burning SMeyer on the bonfire in the middle of the local park on the 5th of November), and only one or two spelling fluffs which can easily be forgiven.

Basically what I’m trying to say is that if you’ve been looking for a good high fantasy that actually tries to set up it’s own world and doesn’t borrow heavily from other printed works (wanders over and kicks Christopher Paolini in the ribs “I PAID GOOD MONEY ON STAR WARS WITH DRAGONS YOU PRICK!”) then you should definitely, at least, borrow this from your local library, I know it’s not to everyone’s taste but honestly, what is? I honestly, hand on heart; highly recommend this to any fantasy fan.

Archer OUT

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Oct 21, 2012 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite

5+ stars to an awesome start to a series. Not sure how the rest of the series is going to compete with the start of it but I am looking forward to see where it goes. Especially since my friend says they get better.

Epic fantasy adventure story of Tavi. Tavi is a boy born without any furies and is looked upon by many in his realm as a freak. In the realm of Alera people have furies which allow then to control earth, water, air, fire metal in some way or another. Some are very strong and some not s...more 5+ stars to an awesome start to a series. Not sure how the rest of the series is going to compete with the start of it but I am looking forward to see where it goes. Especially since my friend says they get better.

Epic fantasy adventure story of Tavi. Tavi is a boy born without any furies and is looked upon by many in his realm as a freak. In the realm of Alera people have furies which allow then to control earth, water, air, fire metal in some way or another. Some are very strong and some not so much, but everyone has some kind of fury except for Tavi. He has always been told he just hasn't come into them yet but at age 15 it is becoming harder to believe that he will ever come into a fury. When Tavi and his uncle Bernard run into trouble in the valley, Tavi will have to rely on his brain all the time wishing he had some kind of fury to help him through his ordeals.

My friend told me that it started out slow because of the world building that happens. I didn't find that at all. The world building was done during the telling of several story-lines that were going on. It didn't feel like an info dump where you are trying to figure out what is going on. There are things that are mentioned but aren't spelled out what they are but I like that sometimes. There are stories that give a definition of all the terms and I feel like the world building can drag on when that happens. I prepared myself for the world building and found myself immediately immersed in the story with the world just kind of forming during the story to my delight.

One of my favorite parts of this story is how the face of evil gets blurred. There are flat out heroes and evil villains in this story but then there are those that enter the grey zone. That grey zone gets entered into by the good and evil characters. Once the story gets started it is nonstop action. There are several stories going on and they stay on that story for a long time. You are not bouncing back and forth getting teased and then jumping back and forth constantly. There is the longest battle I ever read about without ever getting bored. I guess because it was actually several battles broken up with strategic maneuvering. There was also several story-lines being told within the same battle. If it was 1% or 2% shorter than it would have been perfect. Now if you want to pick it apart there were times when I was like why don’t they just do __. There was also a couple battles that were a little farfetched but they were short and didn't affect my enjoyment of the story.

There are a couple romances building but this is a fantasy lovers book not a romance lovers book. I loved the pace of the book. The writing was mature but not to the point of ever having to hit my dictionary. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series. This book ends with enough finality that you wouldn't have to move on with the series. Anymore it seems that they end in a cliffhanger to get you to read the next book. The quality of this book will have me moving on with the series and not a cliffhanger and I LOVE that.
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May 03, 2010 Jeffrey rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy fans

Shelves: read-in-2008, fantasy, re-read, read-in-2009

There is something about this book that keeps drawing back to re read it again and again -- i guess because it a really good fun read

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Feb 12, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of epic fantasy and/or the Dresden Files

Shelves: fantasy, series, fantasy-magic, fantasy-epic

I finished all six volumes in Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series, so I’m writing one review to cover the whole set. Regardless of which of the books this review is attached to, if you want to read this epic saga, start with the first book: Furies of Calderon . I’ve also read all fourteen of the full-length books in his Dresden Files, and there are some interesting points of comparison.

First and foremost, this is a well-crafted and engrossing tale — definitely worth reading.

The tale follows the lif...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Carly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, worldbuilding, epic-fantasy

According to the author, the Codex Alera series owes its birth to a forum flamewar. Several (unpublished) authors argued that a brilliant initial concept/central idea was required for a good fantasy novel. Butcher argued that characters, story complexity, and execution were what mattered. When dared to make good on his claim, he bet that he could write a successful story based on whatever two concepts his opponents gave him. They gave him Roman legions and Pokemon. Thus Alera was born.

Butcher ma...more According to the author, the Codex Alera series owes its birth to a forum flamewar. Several (unpublished) authors argued that a brilliant initial concept/central idea was required for a good fantasy novel. Butcher argued that characters, story complexity, and execution were what mattered. When dared to make good on his claim, he bet that he could write a successful story based on whatever two concepts his opponents gave him. They gave him Roman legions and Pokemon. Thus Alera was born.

Butcher made good on his bet. The characters in Furies of Calderon are surprisingly likable and complex, and it is their interactions and problems that drive the story. He creates a world with ambiguous morals, alien viewpoints, and an unblinking willingness to challenge the reader's perceptions and beliefs. The book's mood is a roller-coaster from laugh-out-loud humor (and amazing one-liners!) to points where the characters' pain is so severe that the reader is tempted to skim. Heroes and villains all remain complex, but in a way that's hard to describe: in terms of actions or fast descriptions, they are pretty stereotypical. Yet even the heroic, unselfish ones are oddly likeable rather than irritating. Butcher's prose is workmanlike. His dialogue is especially good at giving the world and characters shape and depth. (At the same time, I'd love to know how many times the tired phrase, "arched an eyebrow", occurs in the series. I'd bet it would be in the hundreds.)

One thing to note: I read the books out of order, starting with the second, third, and sixth before hitting this one (curse library availability!) so I may impute more depth to the characters than they actually show here. One of the most impressive aspects of the series is the intricate plotting: plot points are set up in this book that become crucial in the last, and some of the characters' "out of character" responses or activities are due to a much more complex backstory. Also on a sidenote, other than Max, who first appears in the next book, I mainly find the characters here to be less likeable than those in the Dresden Files, Butcher's other series. I think this is due in large measure to the structure of the epic fantasy/quest story, where all the characters' skills and abilities are typically larger than life, often to the detriment of their personalities. In a full worldbuilding setting, it is harder to capture the eccentricities that give dimensionality to the DF characters (e.g. Waldo Butters' one-man polka band.) However, if you find the Codex Alera characters rather flat here, note that they become significantly fuller and more complex in the second book in the series, and a large number of fun new personalities are added to the gang.

One might, however, consider that Butcher lost his bet. Perhaps the world is loosely based on Pokemon and the Roman legion, but he has brought so much additional complexity and creativity that one might argue his central concept contains deeper themes--loyalty versus obedience, love versus dependence, humanity versus duty--as well as an amazingly complex and intricate world. The plot is intricate--basically, if you think of something awesome you wish might happen, it probably will. It is unusual for an author to create such a real magical world, with intricate rules and a complex society. He never breaks these rules, yet manages to to incredible, surprising, and creative things with it. I am not one for battle scenes--I tended to skim those bloodthirsty, brutal, and above all boring scenes in Tolkein or Sanderson--but the creativity Butcher brings leaves one with only one good description: purely awesome.

The story takes place in the Calderon Valley of the Kingdom of Alera, where the descendents of the lost Roman legions apparently settled thousands of years ago. Alera is a savage, hierarchical land, with a failing high king who is the last of his line, a set of scheming lords anxious to relieve him of the burden of office, an economy built upon slavery, and a tendency try to massacre the members of the neighboring lands. Not that its neighbors aren't doing their fair share. Alera, the only human civilization, is surrounded by the savage icemen, the barbaric Marat, and the warg-like Canim. Alerans themselves are superhuman: they are all gifted with and dependent on their Furies: elemental magic that can be embodied in beings of wind, fire, and stone (this is where the Pokemon come in, although it's actually a little hard to connect them the much more original and well-thought-out furies.) All Alerans have furycrafting skills and use them for everything from mundane household tasks to healing, flying, and superhuman epic battlemagic.

Only Tavi, a shepherd boy in the Calderon Valley, is furyless. Lucky Tavi is treated like a retarded child: he not only looks like a young 12-year-old, but at fifteen years, his lack of furies appears permanent and means he is essentially useless and helpless. In a world dependent on the furies, he cannot turn on or off lights, help with the farming, or even travel fast on the roads (which are specially designed for fast travel via earthcrafting).

The story--and the series--starts with a seemingly mundane incident. Tavi wants to bring flowers to the girl he is sweet on, and is therefore so late bringing in the sheep that they wander away and are lost. In retrieving them, he stumbles upon proof of a traitorous scheme that will endanger the entire Calderon Valley. Aided by his watercrafting aunt Isana, his stolid stonecrafting uncle Bernard, and the mysterious windcrafting servant of the high lord, Amara, Tavi must bring news--and preferably proof--to the garrison to alert the legions (yes, Roman legions) to the danger. Along the way, he and his allies must evade and outwit scheming mercenaries, vicious slavers, and bloodthirsty barbarians.

The most impressive part about the book, for me, was the way Butcher created a world with perspectives so alien to our own, and yet managed to make it immersive. He also has the rare gift of separating culture from the personalities of individuals in the culture. Marat happily practice cannibalism and don't have a word for lying, but the individuals manage to escape simple characterizations such as "noble savage" or "vicious barbarian". Alerans live in a world where women are subordinate to their men, only Citizens of the realm have the protection of law, and slavery is the norm. They even utilize "discipline collars", which use incredible amounts of pain and pleasure to bend slaves to the slavers' wills. I found this concept the most horrible and long-lasting one of the book. Butcher painfully and excruciatingly explores what it means to lose self-will (view spoiler). The book is light and fun, yet opens some troubling questions: the idea of slavery and self-will is, perhaps, one that stayed longest with me, but he also plays with the limits of loyalty and duty and what happens when the duty to the community conflicts with the path of truth, justice, and humanity.
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Sep 30, 2012 Kaila rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, fantasy, magic

This review is also available on my blog, Stumptown Books.

I admit that I made a huge mistake by reading this novel before any of The Dresden Files. At the time I was shuffling through my Kindle library and I had just finished one or two urban fantasy novels. I was not in the mood for another one, so I thought, Hey! How about The Furies of Calderon!? Oh poor unwitting me, picking it up, all in good faith.

My first problem with this book is where the premise came from. Although I could not find an...more This review is also available on my blog, Stumptown Books.

I admit that I made a huge mistake by reading this novel before any of The Dresden Files. At the time I was shuffling through my Kindle library and I had just finished one or two urban fantasy novels. I was not in the mood for another one, so I thought, Hey! How about The Furies of Calderon!? Oh poor unwitting me, picking it up, all in good faith.

My first problem with this book is where the premise came from. Although I could not find any definite evidence, the rumor is that Butcher was bet he couldn't make a good story out of a bad idea. In this case, the lost Roman 9th legion, and Pokémon. Now, I personally think that sounds pretty awesome, but I'm a nerd. I also think that Jim Butcher taking it and running with it is a testimony to his balls of steel and his writing capability. Not just anyone could make that shitty bet into a six book series. Unfortunately for Jim, and for us, the bet should have been: take a bad premise but make good characters. Good characters, in my opinion, do not always need a good story, nor do they need ridiculous situations to prove themselves the better human. The bad guys do not need to be evil for the sake of evil with some general douchery thrown in. Nor do all of the good characters need to be noble and upstanding.

The elemental powers drew strong parallels to Avatar: The Last Airbender for me. (One of my favorite cartoons!) Who knows where the cartoon writers got their inspiration, but Avatar was released in 2005, while this novel was published in 2004, so no worries there. Of course, the target audience for Avatar: The Last Airbender is 6-11 year olds, so I'm a wee bit outside the demographic there. Furies of Calderon, on the other hand, is advertized as a "high fantasy novel;" which means that sex, blood, and general world ending antics are fine. Yet in this novel those all felt distinctly out of place, like it was supposed to be written as a young adult novel but a rape scene accidentally got thrown in. Yeah, you heard me. Furies is like The Last Airbender but with more rape. When I started writing this review I told my boyfriend that I was reviewing Furies of Calderon, but he gave me a blank look. As soon as I said, "You know, Avatar The Last Rape Bender?" He walked away groaning. I started referring to Furies as that when the stupidly one dimensional and overly antagonistic local muscle revealed their propensity for said torture and rape. It was so ridiculous and purposefully overdramatic for the sake of drama that I threw the book down and had to walk away for a few days. At least the major antagonists have some semblance of a plan going for them, but the betrayer was revealed way too early in the story to make that very dramatic. As in the first chapter. Butcher, I feel, really missed out on some potential character development there with Amara. So here I am as the reader, baffled as to why local farmers rape slaves for drama, and then confused as to why a perfectly good opportunity for drama and character development was dropped by the wayside.

Whether it was an excess of drama or a lack thereof, a lot of the book was telling and not showing. The one sentence I wrote down after finishing it to remind myself of things I should say in a review was "500 pages of characters talking about how scared they are." I was badgered, harassed, and goaded into unspeakable acts of eye rolling as characters fleshed out how incredibly frightened they were, over and over again. It's not character development, it's 500 pages of characters worried about what is going to happen. Of course, it's those one dimensional "good characters" I mentioned earlier, noble and upstanding, who don't have any other traits to talk about besides either being right, or scared. If that is all your characters are capable of, something needs to be reevaluated here.

It is a trope in urban fantasy that the main character starts out already very powerful, pain resistant, tough, and disillusioned. In Furies of Calderon, however, it is the exact opposite. Not only is the main character weak, he is the only weak character, every single other person having their own elemental already, while he has none. While reading this book I kept thinking, "NOW would be a good time for his powers to suddenly come into affect....ok how about NOW?!" This is the one positive thing about this novel, and at least it is a valid drama point. As much as I would like to know whether he ever does get his powers, I was definitely not planning on finishing the series. However, I will be begrudgingly reading more, but only because the internet informs me that it gets better.(less)

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Feb 13, 2009 Justin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, own

I read this book after I ran out of Dresden Files. Jim's little blurb at the end of his books had convinced me to give it a whirl. Let it be known, this is not to the caliber of The Dresden Files. It is a good book none the less. The story follows several characters in the world of Alera, who find themselves intertwined together in a land on the brink of war. This is a book of themes. Bravery, honor, love, family and sacrifice are all themes predominately displayed through out the story. Alera i...more

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Aug 04, 2009 Guy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy

As many other reviewers have said, this is not the best fantasy series that has ever been written... but it is nevertheless very good... and oh so addictive: I almost didn't put it (the series) down from start to (sort-of) finish (5 books in 5 days... each about 500 paperback pages... and the sixth hasn't been published yet).

It's basically Lois McMaster Bujold's "Miles Vorkosigan" series transplanted into fantasy. There's a little less humor and somewhat more plot / world-building / cast-of-char...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Shane rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm only about a quarter of the way through this book, but I'm enjoying it a great deal. One of the first things I look for in a good story is good characters, and this book delivers in a big way. Villains range from over-the-top psychotics who are entertaining to read (think Drusilla from Buffy) to people who think of themselves as heroes but just have a different way of looking at things (like Magneto from X-Men). None of them are boring or forgettable, and the scenes that focus on the villain...more

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Dec 29, 2008 Lightreads rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

So at the end of a lot of the Harry Dresden books there's this author biography that talked about how Butcher has loved epic fantasy since he was a wee thing, and how he wrote it for years but never got published, and it was urban fantasy that broke him into print. But what he really loves is epic fantasy, because he imprinted on Lord of the Rings and he just, OMG, he loves it.

Which tells you most of what you need to know about this series. Epic fantasy where the good guys win through ever-mount...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Andreea Daia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ab, read-2011, action-adventure, recommended, high-fantasy

This novel is everything I love in a fantasy book and it came as such a great surprise. Surprise because I got to listen to it it by accident and without knowing absolutely anything of it (before my vacation, I got from the library as many audio-books as I was able to find available and borrow). Once I figured out how good it was, I wished I actually read it rather than listen to it, but it was a little bit late to change the format.

I don't want to say much about the subject because I don't want...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Sabe Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Apocrypha hold that Jim Butcher created the Codex Alera series on a dare: to create a good fantasy work out of the elements "Lost Roman Legion" and "Pokémon." While Furies of Calderon isn't the sort of work that will stick with you for years to come (it took me a while to finish, several times losing interest and picking it back up later), it does demonstrate the strengths of such an Iron Chef-style creative constraint, and represents a nice change of pace from Butcher's better-known Dresden Fil...more Apocrypha hold that Jim Butcher created the Codex Alera series on a dare: to create a good fantasy work out of the elements "Lost Roman Legion" and "Pokémon." While Furies of Calderon isn't the sort of work that will stick with you for years to come (it took me a while to finish, several times losing interest and picking it back up later), it does demonstrate the strengths of such an Iron Chef-style creative constraint, and represents a nice change of pace from Butcher's better-known Dresden Files series.

Butcher takes the "lame"/clichéd aspects of his assigned story-ingredients and plays them to the hilt, endeavoring his best to make them fresh. You'll recognize all manner of familiar tropes: elemental magic, invading barbarian hordes, a young boy lacking magical powers who nevertheless dreams of attending the great Academy of magic. But each of them is rendered with a playful flourish that lends just enough surprise to counterbalance the familiarity. The elemental magic, for instance, weaves into the world in inventive ways: the characters' relationships with the "furies" that grant their powers provide a clever avenue for characterization, and some care has been taken to explore what a society would look like when each and every member can erect a stone wall or heal wounds with just a bit of time and concentration. It's nicely done!

The barbarian horde, the Marat, merits particular attention. One of Jim Butcher's greatest weaknesses as a writer is his unyielding White Dudeness: he has privilege blinders a mile long, and takes offense when they're pointed out to him. So it's worth taking note when he writes a classic "Others" group like the Marat. He does a few interesting things with them on the surface: the notable playful flourish here is that the barbarians are consistently described as being pale-skinned, while the Anglo-style Alerans have ruddy, or bark-like, or earthy skin tones according to their elemental affinities. The subversion ends there, though. The rest of the time, the depiction of the Marat follows the Stereotypical Savages playbook step by step: animal empathy, trials by combat, habitual nudity, and of course, destructive hunger for the Anglo Dudes' lands and stuff.

Women come off a little better, but not much. The principal heroine, Amara, is one of the most capable characters in the narrative, the first to grasp the danger presented by the villain and acquitting herself well in most scenes of conflict. Beyond that, though, women are often depicted as being overcome by emotion, and are constant victims of sexual threats and violence. Not recommended reading for anyone with triggers for such things! As with the Marat: nothing new to see here, move along.

In sum, I found Furies of Calderon an entertaining read, and the Codex Alera world a clever response to Butcher's writing challenge. But Butcher has a long way to grow before he becomes a favorite author of mine, and Furies only takes baby steps in that direction.(less)

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Jul 16, 2012 Nathaniel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

If you've looked at my reviews at all, you know that I love Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. They are the best series I've ever read. In most of the books, Jim includes an Author's Note at the end to tempt people to try his Codex Alera series. And, for years, I've been studiously avoiding them.

The problem is that Jim's pitch sort of backfires on me. For example, he writes "My first love as a fan is swords-and-horses fantasy." For me that is strike one, because I shudder at the thought of traditiona...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, fantasy-challenge, fantasy, action-challenge, want, favourites

So...imagine you take Roman people, customs and building designs and then insert them in a magical world of strange creatures and savages. Then say you give every 'Roman' the ability to summon elemental spirits called Furies to 'craft' fire, water, earth, air, wood and metal. That's more or less what this book is.

I had read Furies of Calderon before and not enjoyed it anywhere near as much as I did now. I think the type of fantasy had to grow on me. It was sort of G.R.R Martin in parts, sort of...more

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Mar 12, 2008 Eric rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fantasy fans, Butcher fans.

Shelves: fantasy

Furies of Calderon was a fun read.

This is Jim Butcher's first fantasy novel, and it shows. He takes some time to get his rhythm and find each character's home, but once he gets started, the story hums along nicely.

The plot is a pleasantly complicated one. There are enough sharp turns and surprises to keep it interesting, but not so many as to make it seem out of control. Both the heroes and villains range from clearly delineated to morally ambiguous. Butcher puts down enough false leads to creat...more

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Jul 01, 2007 Belmanoir rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mild spoilers within:

Ok, this book was amazing. First of all, the worldbuilding was SO well done---not a single infodump in the whole book. On top of that, it was brilliantly plotted---5 POVs seamlessly woven together with each one being incredibly suspenseful and each character's plot fitting into the larger arc with a satisfying click. There was seriously not a single place in this book where I wasn't dying to know what was going to happen on the next page. Just reading this book and looking a...more Mild spoilers within:

Ok, this book was amazing. First of all, the worldbuilding was SO well done---not a single infodump in the whole book. On top of that, it was brilliantly plotted---5 POVs seamlessly woven together with each one being incredibly suspenseful and each character's plot fitting into the larger arc with a satisfying click. There was seriously not a single place in this book where I wasn't dying to know what was going to happen on the next page. Just reading this book and looking at it from a technical point of view, it was genius, plus it was really entertaining and I loved all the characters except Bernard. And some of the payoffs were just...I could not stop smiling at one in particular that was set up through the entire book and then...WHAM!

So, the bad. Not very much of it...mainly, one of the main characters, Bernard, had absolutely no personality. I liked him at first and was really upset when something bad happened to him...but later, he just completely failed to interest me. Which meant that the major romance of the book also failed to interest me, since it seemed to consist mainly of the female protagonist in question thinking "Wow, Bernard is so strong! Yet so gentle! He makes me feel so safe!" I KNOW Jim Butcher can do better because I've seen him, even in this series. What gives, Jim Butcher?

The second problem also surprised me in a Jim Butcher book. Arguably my favorite character is this awesome woman Isana. She's a powerful sorceress (not really the right word but you won't understand "furycrafter" until you read the book), she's bad-assed and awesome...and her plotline consists of being abducted and almost raped and sold into sexual slavery. For real. I kept waiting and waiting for this to have a larger relevance to the plot like EVERYONE ELSE'S SUBPLOT. Maybe the slaver is a spy for the enemy, I thought. No. There was no point to this plot and it took Isana completely out of the larger action. In addition, the badassed insane EVIL chick furycrafter who was Isana's opposite number on the villain's side turned out to have been driven mad by sexual abuse as a child. AUGH! Why can crazy evil chicks never just LIKE BEING EVIL? Why can't they think it's fun, or have some logical reason like the evil dudes? Why does it always have to be "No, I became crazy in a tragic childhood incident involving sexual abuse"? Blargh.

I still recommend this book though. It rocks. (less)

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Nov 21, 2009 C rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to C by: Jeffrey

Shelves: read-in-2009, epic-fantasy

I loved how, instead paragraphs upon paragraphs of description, Butcher throws you straight into this world. The first few chapters were a little slow and hard to read because I was still getting used to the setting and deciding whether I liked certain characters, but it was entirely worth it. For me, the story didn't pick up until Tavi's encounter with the herdbane.

This book is a lot more complex than Butcher's Dresden series. There are so many hints that are unanswered, but that I swear I'm ri...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Deirdre Culhane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reread, fantasy, 2013-reads

Not the strongest of openers to a series I very much like.

Currently rereading this on a Sunday night in the bath as it's a paperback copy I'm not sad to destroy.

I quite like the character Fidelias - much more so than Amara or Bernard. Flawed logic is one of those character traps that I can see myself falling into so easily.

A nice, easy read that I'm continuing to enjoy.
********************************************************

Finished, and my impression hasn't really changed. This kept me in the...more

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Oct 10, 2007 Jack rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I have a general aversion to the swords-and-sorcerers branch of fantasy. Tolkien excepted, I am not interested in hearing about dwarven mail or evil lords or Ye Knightes of Olde. The covers tend to give me dry heaves, and this one is no exception.

But I so enjoy Jim Butcher's other books (the popular Dresden Files series; don't talk to me about the horrible T.V. show) that I decided to give this a try. And damn if I didn't thoroughly enjoy it. It ain't Shakespeare (or even Tolkien!) and it's fair...more

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Mar 20, 2009 Sketch MacQuinor rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this book because of my love of Butcher's other series, "The Dresden Files." I went through all the Dresdens and my friend Houston was kind enough to lend me his copy of this, the first book in this series.

This book pissed me off. I couldn't give up on it.

I don't normally like sword-and-sorcery fantasy. It's generally too stilted and lacks a sense of whimsey, or a sense of whimsey that doesn't feel like it was made for a middle-school mindset. Nobody but Terry Pratchett can be Terry Pratc...more

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Dec 24, 2008 April (CSI:Librarian) rated it 1 of 5 stars

First of all... I consider Jim Butcher to be a very talented writer, and I have greatly enjoyed the Dresden Files for a number of years. So when reading my complaints, you must also keep in mind that, having read all of the Dresden Files books more than once, I had a certain level of expectation that needed to be met.

They weren't. With the exception of a few short scenes in the beginning and in the middle, this first book in the Codex Alera was very, very subpar. It's not even all that long and...more

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May 21, 2013 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This series has a great premise, enough so that stumbling on a two sentence description of it convinced me to read it. Roman legion (the lost legion ?) displanted to fantasy world, have developed magical powers to control elementals, and have to deal with icemen, zergling swarms, animal-bonding barbarians, & internal power struggles caused by a fading emperor. Protagonist is the one guy with no magical powers.

There were some plot elements that felt contrived. Some examples: Amara's opening s...more

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May 21, 2013 Nephatron rated it 3 of 5 stars

Roman-esque society with intangible ‘furies’. Furies (which may be metal, water, earth, air or fire) are capricious elemental beings that bond to people and undertake work on their behalf. Multiple 3rd person POVs. My first time reading Jim Butcher, who is probably better known for his urban fantasy/crime-noir series the Dresden Files.

Basic synopsis: An orphaned boy, living in a remote rural village turns out to be hugely important to a wider political clash. In a twist to the usual ‘discovers h...more Roman-esque society with intangible ‘furies’. Furies (which may be metal, water, earth, air or fire) are capricious elemental beings that bond to people and undertake work on their behalf. Multiple 3rd person POVs. My first time reading Jim Butcher, who is probably better known for his urban fantasy/crime-noir series the Dresden Files.

Basic synopsis: An orphaned boy, living in a remote rural village turns out to be hugely important to a wider political clash. In a twist to the usual ‘discovers he is magic’ trope, the boy (Tavi) is unable to bond to furies, leaving him uniquely flawed and unable to do what others can. Shockingly original premise there. Certainly sounds like something I’d read! Relax, I jest. Mostly. The key characters of the book are young spy Amara loyal to the First Lord (who has been aged by personal tragedy, the loss of his son the Princeps in a battle of which elaborate statues are erected); her mentor/betrayer/bad guy Fidelias; Tavi the obligatory rural ‘orphan’ with unique attributes coming-of-age who lives coincidentally close to the location of the Princeps death and memorial; his ‘aunt’ Isana (who is strongly hinted to be more than that); and his uncle Bernard, the local ‘steadholder’. Add in a few hostile fantasy creatures, a border skirmish ripe with opportunities for betrayal, cross-cultural misunderstandings and love and you’ve got the bones of the book.

It’s a rip-roaring adventure, and it’s refreshing to have a protagonist who is limited in some way and requires the help of others. The world building is well done – there’s never a horrible info dump, but for an inexperienced fantasy reader, the ‘in the deep end’ style might be off-putting. The pacing is fast: what I expected to be the epic climatic fight in fact rapidly arrives and the consequences explored. But there are a few flaws: there’s an absolutely horrific rape scene which fits oddly in the rest of the book (the why appears to be missing – unlike other subplots which progress the wider narrative, there appears to be no wider payoff. **spoiler** Further, I found the choice of victim – a ‘fallen’ woman – politically problematic). Butcher also seems to have set up a series where the good guys are flawed and make mistakes, but the ‘bad guys’ are without any redeeming qualities.

It reads well as a stand alone and yet you can clearly see the bones of future novels. Overall, I’m giving it 3.5 stars.(less)

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May 19, 2013 Sharons Bücherparadies rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dies ist der erste Teil der High-Fantasy Reihe zu Codex Alera. Ich bin auf dieses Buch durch Zufall in der Bibliothek gestoßen. Da mir der Klappentext gut gefiel, beschloss ich es mir also zuzulegen und wurde keineswegs enttäuscht.

In diesem Buch spielen sehr viele Charaktere eine Rolle. Hauptfigur ist hier jedoch Tavi, ein junger Wehrhöfer, der keine eigenen Elemente beschwören kann und auf dessen Schultern ein schweres Schicksal liegt. Er muss die Stadt Kaserna retten ganz ohne Elemente doch zu...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Monika rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy fans, who hunger for something to digest, but do not care for sophistication.

Recommended to Monika by: nice fanarts on DeviantArt

Shelves: fantasy

I've just finished the book. Well... my feelings are mixed.
The world itself and the main intrigue, although exploited, hooked me up, because they smell of Good Old Fantasy for a mile, but there were parts where I couldn't but groan at the wasted potential of the story. All that sexually-frustrated-sadist theme was too fake for me and the book could've done better without it. The levels of brutality here were so high they almost tripped to the ridiculous zone.
Some of the actions of the charact...more I've just finished the book. Well... my feelings are mixed.
The world itself and the main intrigue, although exploited, hooked me up, because they smell of Good Old Fantasy for a mile, but there were parts where I couldn't but groan at the wasted potential of the story. All that sexually-frustrated-sadist theme was too fake for me and the book could've done better without it. The levels of brutality here were so high they almost tripped to the ridiculous zone.
Some of the actions of the characters seemed to happen not because of the consequence of their character and personality, but because the story demanded it of them and there was too many turns of Fate to believe it. The other frustrating thing was the hints to the characters' true identities, which, whenever appeared, felt more like a smack to the face than a subtle poke.
Also, although the book is quite voluminous, I couldn't shake off the mental image of a traveling bag barely holding all the stuff thrust into it. Just too many threads developing too quickly. I understand that it's the first book of the series and all the plots have to start somewhere, but really, ALL of them at once? Give me some break. Too much stimulation is unhealthy.
And the descriptions of the characters' mental states: "X knew he was scared, but he had to do it", then a shift to another Point Of View and "Y knew that X had to do it, even though he was propably scared". C'mon, enough with the descriptions. SHOW me instead of TELLING. I don't need explanation of every step the character takes, leave me some space for interpretation. Especially when most of their moods summs up to "scared" and "on the brink of tears".
Don't get me wrong, it WAS entertaining an I will be reading the next one (because I've heard it gets better), but I definitely won't compare it to "Lord of the Rings" or "Song of Ice an Fire", the two titles that spring to my mind whenever I hear "high/epic fantasy here!".
On the positive side, I liked Tavi's resourcefulness, which made his plot the most attractive one, and his "limitations", as someone in the book called his inability to call upon furies. I also have nothing against Amara and Bernard, though they're quite flat, but I came to hate Isana. The only moment when I got interested in her character was at the very, very end of the book, because it's the onlty moment you get a glimpse past her strong inclination to martyrise herself for the good of the others, though sadly, it's just one sentence describing an expression in her eyes.(less)

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Mar 24, 2013 Tricia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Codex Alera was a great series and this is the opening book of the series and leaves you wanting to read the rest of them. I was swept along with the flow that was neither too fast paced nor ploddingly slow as some books can be. Interesting characters and a well-built world of political intrigue and espionage combined with an interesting magic system made for a great fantasy adventure.

As someone wrote in a review of it, the Codex Alera series leaves off where a really good fantasy rpg could poss...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, series

I have read many of Butcher's Wizard Dresden series. I adore them. I'm sure boys/men would enjoy them beccause they are full of action. Dresden gets beaten half to death in every installment. So he's a masochistic hero. Facing down evil and pain all of the time.

This kind of fantasy, in Furies, is Butcher's favorite kind to write. He has said. So I talked myself into trying it before I've even finished all of the Dresden books. I didn't want to like them because it would make another whole serie...more

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About Jim Butcher

A martial arts enthusiast whose resume includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives in Independence, Missouri, with his wife, his son, and a ferocious guard dog.

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Quotes from Furies of Calderon

“The course of history is determined not by battles, by sieges, or usurpation, but by the individuals. The strongest army is, at its most basic level, a collection of individuals. Their decisions, their passions, their foolishness, and their dreams shape the years to come. If there is any lesson to be learned from history, it is that all too often the fate of armies, of cities, of entire realms rests upon the actions of one person's decision, good or bad, right or wrong, big or small, can unwittingly change the world.
But history can be quite the slattern. One never knows who that person is, where he might be, or what decision he might male.
It is almost enough to make me believe in destiny.” — 28 people liked it

“Because a sound tree doesn't have bad roots, Amara. No enterprise of greatness
begins with treachery, with lying to the people who trust and love you” — 26 people liked it

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Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera #1)

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