Series Read: Butcher, Jim - Codex Alera series; Starts November 16, 2014

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Thread for the series buddy read of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher.


Books:


Rules & How to:
1. Identify the book you are commenting
2. Comments ALWAYS under spoiler tags

Example:
Book 1:
(view spoiler)[
Wow! What a book!
(hide spoiler)]

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Reserved

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Reserved

[Michelle]

I'm excited! Jim Butcher is great.

[Mary X]

It's no secret that I'm a Butcher fan. I belong to 2 Dresden Theme facebook groups.

eta: I need to get the 1st one from the library. Shouldn't take long.

[Mary X]

As luck would have it, I was able to download the audio & ebook versions from the library.

[Mary X]

So when are we starting?

[Cynthia]

Has anyone decided when we're going to start?

[Michelle]

I am starting as soon as I finish . Let's start on Sunday!

[Michelle]

If you have it and want to start now, I'll quickly catch up.

[Mary X]

This weekend sounds good to me. Then I can finish up Whiskey Beach and the Johnny Cash bio first.

[Cynthia]

I'll probably start it tomorrow or the next day. I've got Locke to finish as well as 2 BRs.

[Michelle]

Sounds perfect. I'll pop in this weekend to start adding my thoughts.

[Michelle]

Just started chapter 1.

(view spoiler)[Such an interesting magic system with the furies--the woodcrafting to hide the troops, for example. Amara and Fidelias are on a mission and things aren't looking too good for them right now. (hide spoiler)]
Wish I wasn't working all weekend so I could absorb myself in Alera.

[Cynthia]

I tried to put it down and start something else, but I couldn't help myself. I finished it last night (wee hours of this morning, really).

So good. I can't believe I didn't read it sooner.

I'm still left with the same question, although given some pretty huge hints, as I had almost at the beginning.

(view spoiler)[ Who is Tavi? Is Isana his mother? Is his father Gauis's dead son? (hide spoiler)]

[Michelle]

I read WAY too late last night! This is a re-read for me. I'm designing a tabletop RPG for my group around the furies system so I'm reading through it with a different set of eyes. I love the world building Jim Butcher did with Alera. It really came to life for me.

Cynthia, I'm so glad you liked it! I should finish up tomorrow and will start book 2 soon.

[Mary X]

I haven't started yet.

[Michelle]

Mary, I hope you like it! It's such a good series.

[Steven]

Gah, I have to jump in to this one really soon, as I love Jim Butcher and have put these off for far too long.

[Michelle]

Question for those of you through book 1:
Who is your favorite character? And if you had furies, what would you want them to be?
(view spoiler)[ My favorite character is Bernard. I love how caring and strong he is for everyone. I'm crushing a little bit on him. When he let Amara wear his dead wife's slippers, that did it for me. He loves Tavi, Isana, and cares for everyone in his steadholt. Good guy!

If I could have furies, I would want a combination of water crafting and woodcrafting. Healing and emotions plus control over nature? Great combo for me. (hide spoiler)]

[Cynthia]

Who is your favorite character? (view spoiler)[
I am crushing hard on Bernard, too. There are so many likable people in this book.

Tavi is more than we know, and he is so brave. Isana and Amara are both strong women that I admire. And Fade, well he is something else too, isn't he? Wounded, of course, but there's still a warrior inside the idiot's shell.

I'm still going with Bernard. I'm too old to crush on Tavi LOL. (hide spoiler)]

If you had furies, what would you want them to be?
(view spoiler)[ That's easy for me to answer. Wind! Amara can fly! (hide spoiler)]

[Michelle]

I just got my daughter to start Furies of Calderon! Very excited. I told her we would read and discuss them together. She isn't very far yet. (view spoiler)[She just got to the part where Tavi jumps off the back of Brutus to protect Bernard. (hide spoiler)] I told her I couldn't believe she stopped there! But she said the bell rang and she had to go to class. She and I will read more today.

[Mary X]

I haven't started yet. I couldn't handle 2 door stoppers at once. But I just finished The Map of Time. Knocking out the 2nd Longmire book today and will start this tomorrow. I have it on audio & ebook.

[Cynthia]

@ Mary - I think you'll appreciate the pace of Furies after finishing Map of Time. I couldn't take it and returned it to the library, with no regrets.

I have Academ's Fury ready to go. I'm just waiting on someone else to start it with me.

[Mary X]

I have that one too. I picked up at Big Lots a while ago. They have cheap audiobooks there.

[Cynthia]

I've never thought to look at Big Lots for audiobooks. You're officially an enabler.

[Michelle]

Something I love about Jim Butcher's writing is the way he world builds. I am completely immersed in Alera right now. (view spoiler)[From the complexity of the steadholts to the fury crafting, I find myself thinking about the politics and dynamics at play.

Was anyone else shocked by Fidelias's betrayal at the beginning of the book? Poor Amara. (hide spoiler)]

[Cynthia]

@ Michelle - I was shocked. What a foundation to set a story upon!

[Michelle]

I love the strong women characters in this series. Amara and Isana are so great. Actually, I love most of the characters, and the ones I love to hate (like Kord!) are so perfectly written that it is a testament to Jim Butcher's talent that I feel so strongly about everyone in the book.

[Cynthia]

So true! Great characterization, and his world building is thorough but not so wordy that it gets tiresome. I may have said that already, but it's true.

I sometimes (always) tire of reading page after page of building descriptions and long lists of house members and whatnot.

[Roc]

This has been on my to read list for way too long, seen this thread and decided time to read them.

I love the Dresen Files and so far really liking Butcher's writing and world building here.

(view spoiler)[
@ Michelle, that was such a great twist. I'm reading and thinking okay this is cool. It's the old, funny teacher trope in fantasy, which I like, but nope. Such a cool twist.

I'm on chapter 18 and so far I'm liking that Tavi hasn't gotten any furies/magic yet. That's a nice twist from the norm too. I'm sure at some point something changes there but I like the way the character is developing without it.

Really like Isana and how she has been the thorn in the antagonists side so far. How she figured out what Kord and his demon spawn were doing. Then the scene where she takes Fidelias boots while the horses are being stolen, loved it.
(hide spoiler)]

[Michelle]

Roc, I just got to chapter 25 on my re-read. I'll be cautious in not spoiling you! I'm taking my time and jotting down details about Alera as I go to add to the RPG I am designing. I think it's going to be fun to play someone with fury craft. You start as an academy student and choose an area of study. Anyway...back to the book!
(view spoiler)[Tavi is so smart and resourceful. He has found a way to cope in a world where everyone around him has furies, and he only has his wits. It's an interesting twist, to be sure. I felt bad for him when Isana came into his room and it was dark because he can't even light the fury lamp for himself. It's such a simple thing, and something everyone else in Alera takes for granted, but he couldn't do for himself.
(hide spoiler)]
I know you aren't too far yet, but do you have a favorite character so far?

[Mary X]

Not sure what chapter I am no, using the audiobook. But it's right after Michell's spoiler in post 27. I like it so far.

[Michelle]

I heard from someone on a different book site that the audio is excellent. I wish I had done the audio this time around.

[Mary X]

I am enjoying the narrator. It's the same woman that reads the Pink Carnation books by Lauren Willig. I keep waiting for Colin and Eloise to show up.

I got another 45 min or so done today. I'm liking the concept of the furies. But I kind of felt like I was dropped into the middle of the store and not a first book of a series.

[Michelle]

If you haven't read up through the Trial of Wits, avoid this spoiler!
(view spoiler)[I loved this challenge. It really shows how Tavi has adapted to living in the fury world without having furies. He figures out how to keep them safe and finish the challenge for them both.

I also loved when he and Kitai had their moment and he realized she was a girl, and loved it even more when her eyes turned green. Doroga's laughter when he realized what had happened made me smile. (hide spoiler)]
I should finish up tomorrow and won't start Academ's Fury until after the holiday weekend.

[Roc]

Tavi and Isana are my favorite point of view characters so far.
Made it up to chapter 36 now so spoilers below.
(view spoiler)[
The Trial of Wits was great and I was not expected Kitai to be a girl. I laughed reading that scene. Even though the attraction between those two happened very quickly it didn't feel awkward.

For some reason though Bernard and Amara seem awkward or forced to me. Maybe because the scene in the cell was because Bernard was using his furycrafting on her by accident and it was supposed to feel rushed.

As bad as Fedelias is, it is Kord that IMO makes a much more evil antagonist. I find myself more interested in Fedelias, Aldrick, and Odiana. Especially after some of Odiana and Aldrick's back stories are provided. They seem to me to be more sympathetic antagonists. Definitely bad but sympathetic at the same time.
(hide spoiler)]

[Michelle]

Oh, completely agree about Kord. (view spoiler)[ He is so unabashedly evil. Those scenes with Odiana and Isana made my stomach turn a little. I'm glad Aric finally helped, even though it was such a little bit.

Fidelias definitely is more of a lawful character. I'm not sure I would go as far as to say lawful evil, more lawful neutral. He really thinks he is doing the right thing. (hide spoiler)]
Finishing the book right now!

[Mary X]

I'm up to chapter 12. (view spoiler)[Tavi and Amara are still in the Princep Memorial and his Aunt has just saved Bernard. Seemed like there might have been a moment during Tavi and Amara's run through the storm that he might have called a fury or come close to it (hide spoiler)] I like it a lot so far. Not really sure what else to say. I haven't really formed any opinions as to what I think might happen.

[Mary X]

I'm around Chapter 20: Trying to figure out how old Bernard is (view spoiler)[ and wondering if there will be a romance with Amara. (hide spoiler)]

[Michelle]

You know, I guess I hadn't thought too much about Bernard's age. Does the book say if he's Isana's older brother, or younger? In my mind, he was in his mid 30s, but now I'm curious what everyone else thought. Isana says at one point that she is nearly 40, and I guess I think of Bernard as being a few years younger than she is--no real reason why.

[Mary X]

I forgot about them saying her age. So he could really only be about 10 years or so older than Amara. I don't remember them saying her age but I've had her in her early 20's in my mind.

[Cynthia]

In my head, Amara is early to mid 20s. Not sure why I think that other than she was on her final training mission in the first book. I know Isana is in her 40s but doesn't look it. I think of Bernard as being late 30s, but he could be older. I want him to be my age so I can comfortably crush on him, but for Amara's sake I want him to be in his 30s.

[Mary X]

I'm on Chapter 35.

(view spoiler)[So, I am thinking that Tavi and Kitari (spell?) have accidentally bonded and that's why they were freaking out a little about Kitari's eye color changing. (hide spoiler)]

I will probably finish this today but I don't think I'll start the 2nd one Academ's Fury for a few days. I want to get the next Longmire book in this week and the 4th Edge book by Ilona Andrews.

[Michelle]

Mary, yes, I completely agree with your spoiler!

The third Longmire book is a good one. I flew through it yesterday. I plan to start Academ's Fury at the end of this week. Just have to find someone to chat with me about The Road first for a different challenge.

[Mary X]

I finished book 1 this afternoon. I read the bulk of it yesterday and have managed not to read any spoilers.

So now I am going to go back and comment on some.

I gave it 4 stars.

[Mary X]

Michelle's spoiler in post 32: (view spoiler)[I got teary eyed over that. (I am cursed with too easy tears) Poor little guy already has it tough because he can't call furies and apparently those who care about him forgot about that and just left him in the dark (hide spoiler)]

I am crushing on Bernard.

post 36: The Trial of Wits: (view spoiler)[Too funny how he was embarrassed to see her naked yet not so embarrassed to not keep looking and appreciate seeing a naked girl. Even if she wasn't human. (hide spoiler)]

[Michelle]

I'm so glad you liked it, Mary!
Furies ending thoughts:
(view spoiler)[I liked how the book ended with the ceremony and the First Lord.
--Isana getting her own steadholt was awesome--she was the natural successor to Bernard and the people of the steadholt already respect her and see her as a leader.
--Thought it was funny how the First Lord clearly saw something was up between Amara and Bernard, and is allowing them to spend time together by making her his assigned cursor. Crafty old man!
--Doroga not being impressed by the ceremony and wanting to go back to his tribe was funny. I love Doroga.
--And Tavi and Fade finishing his commitment to take care of the sheep after all says a lot about his character and who he is growing up to be. He matured a lot over the course of the book, and he will appreciate the patronage to the academy even more now.

When Fade came out in the battle and saved Tavi, I was so excited. But now he's gone right back to his Fade persona. The First Lord telling Isana he wants to buy Fade from her means someone must have told him something about the battle. Do you think Isana knew who Fade really was?
(hide spoiler)]

[Cynthia]

@ Michelle (view spoiler)[
I believe the First Lord knows exactly who Fade AND Tavi are, and so does Isana. Do remember waaay early in the book, when Tavi first showed up with Amara, Isana asked her if she had come for Tavi or something roughly like that? I've turned it in so I can't check but that's where the seed was planted for me. Especially because of the amount of time the First Lord's son spent in that area.

I believe Isana always expected someone from the First Lord to come and get Tavi, because he is the First Lord's grandson. I think he's her son, too. But all that is just hope and speculation. (hide spoiler)]

[Michelle]

@ Cynthia
Yes, I completely agree! I had actually forgotten about Isana asking that question, but now that you reminded me, for sure.