Academ's Fury (Codex Alera #2) by Jim Butcher Start: November 16, 2015

[Phoenix (Online Elf), Moderator]

Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher

For one thousand years, the people of Alera have united against the aggressive and threatening races that inhabit the world, using their unique bond with the Furies–elementals of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Metal. But now, the unity of the Alerians hangs in precarious balance. The First Lord of Alera has fallen in his efforts to protect his people from the vicious attacks of their enemies. Now, the fate of the Alerians lies in the hands of Tavi, a young man who must use all of his courage and resourcefulness to save his people–and himself.

✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤ ✣ ✤

Please feel free to join us. As always expect spoilers.

Chapter Breakdown

Date		Chapters		PPDQs*
November 16	Prologue – Chp.11	 PPDQ
November 17	Chp.12 – Chp.23 	 PPDQ 
November 18	Chp.24 – Chp.35 	 PPDQ 
November 19	Chp.36 – Chp.47 	 PPDQ 
November 20	Chp.48 – Epilogue 	 PPDQ 

*PPDQs = Person Posting Discussion Questions

[Phoenix (Online Elf), Moderator]

View full size here

About Furies:
(view spoiler)[

Furies are elemental spirits (earth, water, air, fire, metal, and wood) that inhabit all aspects of Alera. Some are small and cannot be seen, and others are powerful enough to manifest when called upon by their wielders. There also exist "Great Furies," the most powerful and ancient of these spirits, by which Alerans swear and curse. They manifest as geographic formations of great elemental power, such as volcanoes and oceans, and are far more often restrained or provoked than explicitly commanded, and then only by fury-crafters of exceptional strength. Many Alerans are unaware of the Great Furies' actual existence, imagining them to be more mythic than real, but this disbelief is incorrect.

While Proto-Aleran ruins show no sign of fury-crafting ability amongst humans of the past, the Aleran people at the present day manifest personal furies in their early childhood or adolescent years, and control them with their minds. They are used to aid them in whatever task undertaken from housework to combat. This fury-based magic is accomplished in one of two forms. First, an Aleran may draw from the strength of their fury to increase their own. For example, earth crafters often draw physical might from the ground, through their furies, to allow them to lift loads far too heavy for normal people, while wind crafters can increase their speed and metalcrafters their endurance. The second form of fury-crafting is to "manifest" a fury. This involves the fury taking a visible form, often the shape of an animal, though taking the shape of a human is not unheard of. Manifested furies are necessary for the most powerful forms of fury-crafting, including flight (windcrafting) and healing (watercrafting).

Most Alerans display some type of rudimentary ability in all areas of fury-crafting, but are highly skilled in only one or two types. High Lords and their offspring generally show considerable talent in all areas of fury-crafting well beyond the capabilities of a typical person, indicating that heredity plays some role in fury-crafting. Residents of large cities typically treat furies as generic entities while those in rural areas forge close personal bonds with specific furies usually tied closely to particular natural landmarks. All Alerans of sufficient talent and strength in fury-crafting to be named to the Citizenry are obligated by law to marry someone with similar strength, in the interest of producing children with strong fury-crafting ability. (hide spoiler)]

Types of Furies
(view spoiler)[

Water: Used in healing, communicating over large distances, reading emotions, shape shifting, keeping a youthful appearance, and manipulating water; disrupted by fire. Isana also learned how to extend her finger nails, making a sharp weapon. Title: Knight Aqua

Earth: Used to gain strength, tracking and hunting, manipulate the earth, calm animals, and inspire lust. A manifest earth fury can attack directly and can carry a crafter across ground as if on a raft. Earthcraft is necessary to travel swiftly on fury-crafted roads throughout Alera. Earthcraft is disrupted when contact with the ground is lost. Title: Knight Terra

Wood: Used in manipulating plants, tracking and for camouflage; used by archers to bend massive bows to allow arrows to fly farther and faster, and to increase the accuracy of arrows. Also used to instantly create wooden tools. Requires nearby wood or plant matter, living or dead, in order to use. Disrupted by surrounding the user with metal. Title: Knight Flora

Fire: Used to control firelight to subliminally manipulate passionate feelings such as joy, anger, and fear; used to create and manipulate flames for either constructive or massively destructive purposes; can be used to create cold by extracting heat from an object; manifested fire furies may attack directly; the most powerful firecrafters can create white-hot spheres that vaporize anything within them and sear all objects within a large radius; disrupted by water. Title: Knight Ignus

Air: Used to fly, control the wind, and to increase speed and agility. Also able to bend air into a lens to see farther or into an echo chamber to allow voice communication without the need for watercrafting, however the effective range is much shorter. Strong crafters may be able to bend the air to make objects or people seem invisible or to create lenses of air to focus light into a damaging beam. It can be used to manipulate the weather, including the creation of lightning. One blind windcrafter was said to be able to "see" by sense the currents of air in the room. Windcraft is disrupted by earth, particularly in the form of salt. Title: Knight Aeris

Metal: Used in swordplay heavily as crafters can change the hardness of metal, allowing them to strike with diamond-hard blades. Combat can be totally in the dark as metalcrafters do not need light to sense nearby metal. Shields can also be made more flexible to absorb a greater amount of impact force than normal. Also used in forging weapons and other precise metal objects, and metalcrafters also have dramatically increased pain tolerance and physical endurance. Although they gain speed, accuracy and deadly ability in combat, metalcrafters do not become physically stronger, nor does metalcraft give them skills they have not learned, and they still require metal weapons/armor to make the most of their abilities. The most deadly swordmasters are those who augment their abilities with earth and wind also. Title: Knight Ferrous
(hide spoiler)]

The People of Alera
(view spoiler)[

Alerans are humans, taking their name from the country they inhabit. They are the most developed civilization on Carna, and they exert their influence over all other sentient races through their use of furies. Their far-flung empire spans most of an entire continent, but they are pressed on all sides by hostile enemies. Their government is a feudal monarchy with institutions derived from the Roman Empire. The government is headed by a single patriarchal monarch, the First Lord, who controls the high lords and their territories. The Senate is the political body for the empire, establishing laws and government appropriations. All of the high lords and senators are part of an aristocracy called Citizens, as are lesser lords and nobles. To become a Citizen, an Aleran must either win a duel with a Citizen called the juris macto or be appointed by the First Lord. Citizens are similar in status to Roman Patricians.

Aleran culture is male dominated and allows for people to be bought and sold as slaves. Women's rights are lacking in many respects but a highly influential Dianic League is winning support for more rights. The country is organized into city-states, with each of the major cities ruled by a high lord. The outlying areas of the cities are inhabited by farms, called Steadholts. Each Steadholt is led by a steadholder who rules that area of Alera, under the authority of the local High Lord.

The Aleran military is organized into legions similar to those used by the Romans. Each High Lord is allowed and responsible for maintaining three full legions (containing Knights and foot soldiers called legionares) and a contingent of bodyguards (singulares). Each legion has sworn loyalties to their High Lord, which causes issues when conflict arises between the First Lord and a High Lord. (hide spoiler)]

[Lara]

Yea! This one is a fun book. Tavi has friends (and enemies) and gets involved in some pretty big stuff.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

I'm in and quivering with anticipation :D

[Elishia]

I'm in if I ever finish the last book

[ShoSho , Moderator]

Elishia wrote: "I'm in if I ever finish the last book"

Hhmmm do you need motivation?

[ShoSho , Moderator]

I started it because I needed something to listen to while I did my walk/run. Stopped in the middle of chapter 2.(an hour or so)
It's very interesting so far.

[Elishia]

Naughty :-p

[Lara]

Ooh. I should start this weekend as well. My evening reading time is often limited these days.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

Elishia wrote: "Naughty :-p"

Lol

[Gisela, Moderator]

Want to do DQ's?

[ShoSho , Moderator]

I'm thinking yes, not too many but I like DQs.

[Gisela, Moderator]

How about 5 per section?

[ShoSho , Moderator]

Sounds good, how many sections? 5?

[Gisela, Moderator]

Yeah, these books are long!

[Elishia]

I'm starting now so I can get an hour or 2 in before bed.

[Phoenix (Online Elf), Moderator]

I did a chapter break down, 58 chapters plus epilogue and prologue , 12 chapters per day. I'm not sure if they are all the same length. Let me know if you want me to change it.

[Lara]

I just finished reading , which was wonderful, and will start reading between laundry and cooking.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

I just finished chapter 11. I'll post a few questions in a little bit.

[Lara]

Sigh, I'm just in chapter 1. Lots going on already. I hate bullies.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

ShoSho's Questions for prologue to chapter 11


1.Could the Canim and the Icemen be working together or is it a coincidence ? Do these has anything to do with the Vord? How do you like the political stuff in the book? Easy to follow?

2.I was expecting Tavi to find out why he doesn’t have furies when he got to the academy. Do you think he’ll find out in this book and manage to have a fury or 2?

3.What do you think of his friends , Max, Ehren and Galia ?Why do you think they were hiding their test from the other students? Who is the thief ?

4.It seems promoting Isana to a steadholder had caused a lot of complications, do you think the first lord had been aware of them before doing this? What do you think of her hatred for the first lord do you think it’s justified or not?

5.What do you think of what Serai(is she really a slave? What does she mean by “Horatio is no threat to me” ?) told Amara about leaving Bernard? Is she right?

6.Just one more! In the epilogue Doroga says: "I like his eyes on you" what does he mean? Kitai wanted a horse but she got Tavi? She bonded with Tavi instead of an animal, now she can’t bond with an animal?

[ShoSho , Moderator]

How far are you?

[Elishia]

The last chapter I heard them so was chapter 15 but that was almost an hour ago.

[Elishia]

I want to read that one Lara sounds good.

[Elishia]

2. I didn't realise it was 2 years later for a while so thought we'd learn somethings while Tavi was at the academy.

I'm not sure what I think of Sarai I feel like she's up to something.

6. Good catch Shosho, I kept wondering why he said that but you could be right.

[Gisela, Moderator]

I started yesterday but haven't gotten past chapter 2. Hopefully I'll catch up today.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

I finished chapter 23! Eeeep , the end of chapter 22 killed me!

[ShoSho , Moderator]

Volunteers for DQs?

[Gisela, Moderator]

I'm beginning ch. 5, I'm waaaay behind.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

Gisela wrote: "I'm beginning ch. 5, I'm waaaay behind."

I might do the next set too, I neeeeed to listen to chapter 24 very soooon!

[ShoSho , Moderator]

ShoSho's Questions for chapter 12 to chapter 23


7.I can’t believe Max kissed Caria and Fade is Sir Miles’s brother! What do you think of how they are handling it? Is it going to come back and bite them in the a*s or are they going to get away with it?

8.Awww poor Serai , such a tragic life and look what happen to her! I knew she’d be dead by the end of the book but it happened earlier than I thought it would. What did you think of her promise to Isana? "I will do my duty to my master. But I will die myself before I allow you or yours to be harmed. That is my oath to you." Anything else about Serai you want to mention?

9.It seems everyone is after Isana. The assassination attempt at the platform was suspicious, especially for the fact that Lady Aquitaine was there too. And now Serai is dead and Fidelias is facing Isana. Who’s going to save the day?

10.What’s up with the Canim? Is the secretary selling information behind the ambassador back? It seems Varg wanted to warn the first lord of something, can you guess what?

11.The Vord sound very creepy. Poor Heddy and Arik , do you think he’s dead dead or they can save him? BTW I loved Drogo’s and Amara’s talk on the gargant’s back.

[Lara]

Responses to Questions for prologue to chapter 11

This is hard for me as I've read the series at least once, so know how things turn out. Though, I have forgotten some details.

1.Could the Canim and the Icemen be working together or is it a coincidence ? Do these has anything to do with the Vord? How do you like the political stuff in the book? Easy to follow? I found the politics difficult to make out. But then, I think that's the point. we know that there are at least 2 strong lords who are vying for power and perhaps planning for a power play. But, there are clearly other issues and complications that we don't know about. It seems few do, and we're only told things bit by bit as people discuss them. As for the Canim and the Vord, I didn't think they were working together, but it did seem that Varg was trying to give Tavi a message of some sort.

2.I was expecting Tavi to find out why he doesn’t have furies when he got to the academy. Do you think he’ll find out in this book and manage to have a fury or 2? My lips are sealed on this one. However, the first time I read this book I had the same expectation.

3.What do you think of his friends , Max, Ehren and Galia ?Why do you think they were hiding their test from the other students? Who is the thief ? I like Max and Ehren a lot. We haven't seen enough of Gaelle to get a feel for her yet. However, she does seem to be a trusted member of the group so can't be a bad sort.

4.It seems promoting Isana to a steadholder had caused a lot of complications, do you think the first lord had been aware of them before doing this? What do you think of her hatred for the first lord do you think it’s justified or not? Yes, a LOT of complications. And yes, I think the High Lord was very aware of the precedent he was setting. He seems to be someone who takes a very long view with his plans.

5.What do you think of what Serai(is she really a slave? What does she mean by “Horatio is no threat to me” ?) told Amara about leaving Bernard? Is she right? I do think she's a slave, but in a favored and protected position. or, at least that is what I took from her comment about Horatio. I too would have liked to have learned more about what she could have made happen to him if he caused trouble for her. And I understand why she said what she did, but am not sure she's right. I'm not sure Bernard is thinking of his legacy so much as he is about making things safe.

6.Just one more! In the epilogue Doroga says: "I like his eyes on you" what does he mean? Kitai wanted a horse but she got Tavi? She bonded with Tavi instead of an animal, now she can’t bond with an animal? Maybe humans are just another type of animal to the Marat! Sneaky isn't it?

[ShoSho , Moderator]

@Lara

#1.I'm just listening to the politics and I try not to analyse them. The bits and pieces we get is not enough to get the whole picture , it's just enough to make you curious!

#3.I like them too specially Max. I hope he's part of the story for rest of the series.

#4.I agree

#5. No Bernard doesn't care about his legacy but he cares about Amara.

#6.Yes very sneaky :D

[Gisela, Moderator]

ShoSho's Questions for prologue to chapter 11


1.Could the Canim and the Icemen be working together or is it a coincidence ? Do these have anything to do with the Vord? How do you like the political stuff in the book? Easy to follow? With Butcher, I've learned that there are no coincidences, so maybe they have something to do with the Vord. As always, lots of stuff happening.

2.I was expecting Tavi to find out why he doesn’t have furies when he got to the academy. Do you think he’ll find out in this book and manage to have a fury or 2?
I'll reserve my comments for later...

3.What do you think of his friends, Max, Ehren and Galia ?Why do you think they were hiding their test from the other students? Who is the thief? His friends remind me of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Max as Cedric Diggory... They are training to be spies, if others knew then it would defeat its purpose.

4.It seems promoting Isana to a steadholder had caused a lot of complications, do you think the first lord had been aware of them before doing this? What do you think of her hatred for the first lord do you think it’s justified or not? The First Lord knew what he was doing. I remember some of what Isana is angry about. Obviously its not just her sisters death, there's more there but can't remember it all. That ring though...

5.What do you think of what Serai(is she really a slave? What does she mean by “Horatio is no threat to me” ?) told Amara about leaving Bernard? Is she right? She's a Cursor so she can defend herself from Horatio and as for Amara leaving Bernard it comes down to duty vs love. Amara's duty and loyalty is to Gaius but her love is for Bernard. Bernard is in the same position. Question is will they choose love over duty.

6.Just one more! In the epilogue Doroga says: "I like his eyes on you" what does he mean? Kitai wanted a horse but she got Tavi? She bonded with Tavi instead of an animal, now she can’t bond with an animal? That's exactly what he meant. That's why she was so angry she wanted a horse but got Tavi , whom she sees as weak and beneath her.

[Gisela, Moderator]

Finished ch.16

[Elishia]

I've just started ch44 but I'm on a he app so can't answer the questions. I'll come back later when I'm on my computer.

[Lara]

I got into chapter 20 last night. Things are really heating up with the High Lord, the Vord, intrigue with the Canim, and Tavi not getting any sleep if he wants to both graduate and have a stable country to live in afterwards.

In this book Butcher has really ramped up the art of ending a chapter/scene on a cliffhanger. Even though I know how things turn out overall, it still ratcheted up my tension.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

@Gisela


#1.You're right, there are no coincidences.
#3. Don't tell me he has the same fate as Cedric!!
I got the spy part later. At first I thought it had been their normal academy test.
#4.The ring is the princep's, isn't it? (view spoiler)[This is what I think happened : The princep met Isana,they fell in love and married and they had Tavi. But the first lord didn't approve so they kept it a secret. I don't know how the sister was involved though (hide spoiler)]
#5.I hope they go for love.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

Elishia wrote: "I've just started ch44 but I'm on a he app so can't answer the questions. I'll come back later when I'm on my computer."

You're ahead of us. I think I'm listening to chapter 31.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

Lara wrote: "I got into chapter 20 last night. Things are really heating up with the High Lord, the Vord, intrigue with the Canim, and Tavi not getting any sleep if he wants to both graduate and have a stable c..."

LOL yes I find it hard to stop at the end of the chapters, the worst part is if a chapter ends in a cliffhanger ,we don't get back to that character for a few chapters.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

Oh you've already finished! Now you can call me lazy :D

[Elishia]

I enjoyed this one more than the first one, not sure of its because I'm used to the world now or because I listened to such a big chunk of it at once.

I really love Doroga I'm going to be VERY upset if he gets killed off.

As for the Aquitaine's
(view spoiler)[He seems to be at the centre of all the trouble so far and as for his wife I don't like her but is she working with or against her husband I can't work it out. She wants Isana on her side for some reason (hide spoiler)]

Tavi
(view spoiler)[ Ok I know he doesn't have a furie as they seem to be element based BUT every time he uses his voice he seems to have some sort of power over whoever he's talking (hide spoiler)]

Isana don't read till the end
(view spoiler)[I knew it from the beginning that Tavi was her son so what's all the secrets about why doesn't he know. (hide spoiler)]

[Elishia]

Haha no I'll save my mean comment for a later date :-p

[ShoSho , Moderator]

I'm just getting the "I like his eyes on you" comment :D woohoo
Her eyes turned to his colors :D

[Elishia]

ShoSho wrote: "I'm just getting the "I like his eyes on you" comment :D woohoo
Her eyes turned to his colors :D"

Omg I didn't even pick up on that and I even remember when he said her eyes look familiar, I was just remembering your previous comment when I was reading that part.

[ShoSho , Moderator]

I just finished chapter 35 , it was so swoony!! Loved how things happened. I'm going to stop listening for a bit and hope that someone comes up with a few questions for chapters 24-35 !!

[Gisela, Moderator]

ShoSho's Questions for chapter 12 to chapter 23


7.I can’t believe Max kissed Caria and Fade is Sir Miles’s brother! What do you think of how they are handling it? Is it going to come back and bite them in the a*s or are they going to get away with it? It might bite them but don't know how yet.

8.Awww poor Serai, such a tragic life and look what happen to her! I knew she’d be dead by the end of the book but it happened earlier than I thought it would. What did you think of her promise to Isana? "I will do my duty to my master. But I will die myself before I allow you or yours to be harmed. That is my oath to you." Anything else about Serai you want to mention? I think she should have foreseen this. It didn't matter if people could follow them back when it was known where they were staying. It was an easy matter to set up an ambush...

9.It seems everyone is after Isana. The assassination attempt at the platform was suspicious, especially for the fact that Lady Aquitaine was there too. And now Serai is dead and Fidelias is facing Isana. Who’s going to save the day? I'm hoping Tavi and Max but I don't think they will.

10.What’s up with the Canim? Is the secretary selling information behind the ambassador back? It seems Varg wanted to warn the first lord of something, can you guess what? I'm guessing the vord. What really caught my attention is that he warned Tavi of the secret passages in the Canim embassy. Why would he do that?

11.The Vord sound very creepy. Poor Heddy and Arik , do you think he’s dead dead or they can save him? BTW I loved Drogo’s and Amara’s talk on the gargant’s back.
I love Drogo and his no-nonsense manner.

[Gisela, Moderator]

I'm on ch. 25

(view spoiler)[ Bernard says that he can't fight what he can't find. Earlier when he sent Brutus to check he found the children but didn't sense the vord hiding in the buildings. Was it a case of being sidetracked by the underground chamber before he could notice the vord? Or is it that the earth furies can't sense the vord? (hide spoiler)]

[Gisela, Moderator]

“Impressive. You people must get bored stupid practicing for that kind of fight, close together.”

LOL Gotta love Doroga! :D

[ShoSho , Moderator]

@Gisela


#8. Yes they should have known.
#11.Yes he's almost on top of my favorite characters.