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Codex Alera: Jim Butcher
Mar. 26th, 2010 06:01 pmFirst off, I'll start off with a whinge about ebooks, and how the last book in this set is only available in the US, and not in the UK.
This problem I managed to deal with - and not by pirating - but it was annoying.
Anyway, Codex Alera is a set of 6 books, that follow the life of Tavi - a farmboy. It's set in a world where 'most' people have furies, in some degree, which is a sort of a cross between a pet elemental, and magic.
Tavi doesn't.
Aside from the magic system, which I've only seen vaguely similar in Dark Materials, there's a lot of cliches in there. I mean, boy that grows up on a farm becoming the hero? Well, yeah. But I'm not going to hate on a book just for that - I mean, I expect the good guy to win in most films I see, but what's important is how you get there, and how characters are developed in the interim.
Jim Butcher manages it quite nicely - there's a real depth to Tavi - he's likable, and plausibly smart despite striving to get along in a world where he's effectively handicapped. The supporting cast of key characters are similarly quite full and well rounded - there's treachery about, but it's well pulled off - much like George R.R. Martin, when someone's being evil, it's rarely 'just cuz', and there's usually more to it.
It's also quite a well written and paced narrative, and it does draw you along - a real 'burning the midnight oil' book, which is a bit of a hazard when it's 6 books long.
I'd strongly recommend it - if the synopsis looks good to you, it's probably a book that you'd enjoy.
Furies of Calderon - first book in the series
This problem I managed to deal with - and not by pirating - but it was annoying.
Anyway, Codex Alera is a set of 6 books, that follow the life of Tavi - a farmboy. It's set in a world where 'most' people have furies, in some degree, which is a sort of a cross between a pet elemental, and magic.
Tavi doesn't.
Aside from the magic system, which I've only seen vaguely similar in Dark Materials, there's a lot of cliches in there. I mean, boy that grows up on a farm becoming the hero? Well, yeah. But I'm not going to hate on a book just for that - I mean, I expect the good guy to win in most films I see, but what's important is how you get there, and how characters are developed in the interim.
Jim Butcher manages it quite nicely - there's a real depth to Tavi - he's likable, and plausibly smart despite striving to get along in a world where he's effectively handicapped. The supporting cast of key characters are similarly quite full and well rounded - there's treachery about, but it's well pulled off - much like George R.R. Martin, when someone's being evil, it's rarely 'just cuz', and there's usually more to it.
It's also quite a well written and paced narrative, and it does draw you along - a real 'burning the midnight oil' book, which is a bit of a hazard when it's 6 books long.
I'd strongly recommend it - if the synopsis looks good to you, it's probably a book that you'd enjoy.
Furies of Calderon - first book in the series
