First Lord's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 6) by Jim Butcher (4/5 stars)

This is the final book in Butcher's Codex Alera series.  There is a lot that happens in this book from a detail point of view; overall it is an excellent conclusion to the series.

Tavi, now First Lord Octavian Gaius, is steering the ships full of both the First Aleran and the Canim to land.  From there they are hoping to march across Alera and meet up with the Aleran Legions making their final stand at Riva.  Of course things don't go quite as planned and Riva falls, forcing the final battle between the vord and the allied Alerans, Marat, Icemen and Canim back to where it all started...Calderon Valley.

This book is about war.  If you thought book 5 was about war, well you were right, but this book is even more about war.  So, in general, I am more of an epic quest lover than an epic battle lover...the topic of this book wasn't my favorite.  That aside it was very well written.  Butcher continues to do an excellent job balancing epic battle scenes with personal scenes; these personal scenes lend more depth to the characters we have already grown to love over the last five books.  The action scenes are very well done, as always.  The conclusion of the book is also well done and wraps up most of the loose ends.

Additionally it is nice that Butcher is able to do an epic fantasy with epic battles that still lends time to relationships.  Kitai demands a proper courting from Tavi and this theme weaves in and out of the story, at times providing with a lot of humor.  The dialogue is snappy (if not realistic at times) and added enough humor that you will find yourself chuckling despite the thousands of people dying.

There were a few things I didn't like though.  The book is awfully drawn out.  At first all the engineering details behind Tavi's schemes are fascinating, but as the book goes on it gets to be too much.  The scenes get drawn out by the massive detail that is put into explaining both war strategy and engineering; if you really dig this stuff you will love it.  I loved it for a while and then just wanted to get the story moving.

This book also has the same flaws I have complained about in previous books.  Tavi, it seems, can do know wrong.  Every hair-brained scheme he comes up with is a wonderful success; which is heroic but unbelievable given the craziness of most of his schemes.  A number of times characters are left for dead, but then miraculously make it.  Basically the book ends in an unrealistically cheery way, at least for the main and side characters.  Common soldiers and civilians are sacrificed by the tens of thousands; which got to be a bit depressing but was probably the most realistic part of the book.

I thought it was fascinating how drastically Tavi has changed in this book.  I know he changed some in book five, but in this book he is 100% First Lord with very few of the uncertainties that used to plague him.  Kitai is also seemingly immortal, as she escapes most danger and succeeds at all missions; again a bit unrealistic.

Overall I enjoyed this book and thought it was a good wrap-up to the series.  There is one major loose-end that makes me wonder if Butcher is planning another series set in Alera, but a century or so into the future.  The only things that bothered me about the novel were the drawn-out strategy scenes and some unbelievable successes.   Still, I am always impressed with how enjoyable it is to read Butcher's writing, it is just so readable and engaging.

This book went towards the following reading challenges:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

Captain's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 4) by Jim Butcher (5/5 stars)

This is the fourth book in the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. There are six total books in the series with the 6th book "First Lord's Fury" being released in Dec. 2009. This was a great book and really pulled the series to a good point.

Tavi is still acting as Captain of the First Aleran and has spent the last two years holding the line of war against the Canim. Tavi is recommending seeking alliance with the Canim because he believes the Canim were fleeing a larger enemy, the Vord. Unfortunately the Senate decides to take an interest in the conflict and sends out incompetent and conniving, Senator Arnos to command over Tavi. From there things get worse and worse and many lives are lost. Tavi, Isana, and the First Lord himself are forced to take actions that they never could have foreseen in an effort to save Alera from destruction.

This was an excellent next book in this series. The storyline switches between multiple viewpoints, but does so in such a way that it is never confusing. The number of characters is vast, but kept manageable. A glossary labeling who was related to whom would have been a nice addition; still with wikipedia you can review that online if you are confused. Much of the story deals with great battles, but there is some adventuring that balances that out. Readers who are fans of one or the other types of fantasy, should find a little of both in here.

Tavi, Kitai, and many of the other characters really step it up in this book, taking risky actions that make them forces to be reckoned with. The book is hard to put down and has you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Butcher has an excellent writing style that easily conveys the surroundings of the scenes without pushing aside the great action scenes, it is very easy to read. The characters are very engaging and you are desperately pulling for them through the whole book. There is also some light touches of humor throughout that lighten the story so that it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Things get worse in this book than an any other book in this series, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. This is a wonderful book and I am going to start reading book 5 immediately. You definitely need to read the previous books in the series to understand what is going on in this book.

If I have any complaints it is that Tavi comes up with one successful hair-brained scheme after another. It seems a little far-fetched...you would think with all the risk-taking Tavi does one of his schemes would be a complete failure. He does have some partial failures, but everything works out in the end.

Overall a great book and a great series. I found the first couple books in the series to be a bit slow and the characters not as engaging as I had hoped, but this book made the whole series worthwhile.



This book will be the first one to go towards my 100+ Book Reading Challenge.

Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher (4/5 stars)

This is the third book in the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. This series is quite different from Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series but it is just as good. I started reading these books a bit reluctantly since the epic fantasy genre is very different from the paranormal alternate reality genre of the Dresden Files. This series proves that Jim Butcher is just all around a great writer.

The only problem I have with these books is that in the previous books I didn't personally find any of the main characters extremely likable or engaging. They are all okay and fun to read about but none of them really "spoke" to me.

This book changed some of that. Tavi is sent off to join a newly formed legion where he is supposed to be spying for High Lord Gaius. A tragedy kills off all of the leaders of the legion and Tavi is suddenly the ranking officer of the legion. This proves interesting considering Tavi's lack of military background. Amara is sent to do a daring rescue of some captured nobles and is forced to rely on the morally questionable Lady Aquitaine for assistance.

I like Tavi a lot more in this book. I also really like Kitai's part in the book. Kitai is probably one of my favorite characters; I love her wit and daring.

This book was a fun read. It is very fast paced with a lot of action. Tavi takes some great steps toward growing up and becoming a true legendary hero. The book kept me interested and kept me up late at night. Still when all is said and done though I feel like something is lacking in this series in general.

I am not sure what that thing is. I don't know if it's my lack of being able to relate to the characters or if it's just that I keep hearing Harry Dresden in the back of my head while I read these.

Anyway, it's a good book and if you've been reading the series, you have got to read this book. If you haven't been reading the series I would highly recommend it. It is well-written and entertaining. For some reason though I just don't get extremely jumping-for-joy excited about these books and this book is no exception.

Here is a link to the book on amazon: