Cursor's Fury. Book 3 of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher fantasy
544 pages



This is my review of Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher.  It is the third book in the series that revolves around the youth Tavi and his growing imporance in the world of Alera.  This time Tavi is sent by the First Lord to lead a new legion being created.  He is to train on how to be a legionaire and also attempt to find any spies within the unit. 

As usual nothing every seems to work out the way they should.  Not long after Tavi reaches the legion, war breaks out in the realm.  Both within and from an ancient enemy known as the Canim.  Tavi is forced to lead a very inexeperience group of legionaires against an overwhelming foe.  Meanwhile, because of the attack by one of the other lord's of Alera, Amara and Bernard are on a rescue mission of very highly placed members of nobility.  They also have the help of an unlikely ally.

As usual the pace of these novels are really good.  Butcher's writing gets better with each book that comes out.  The growth of Tavi in this series is probably the best thing going for it.  He really is growing up and has to think quick on his feet.  Although he does seem to get involved in every single thing going on.  But if we started to criticize fantasy for that, there would be not fantasy left to read.  :)

There is so much political intrigue in these books and that part just gets better each time.  Allies and enemies shift and people are forced in alliances they do not want, but have no choice of.  Assassination attempts and the threat of civil war, keep you on your feet most of the time.  The action is face paced and well done. 

Butcher's work is maturing each time.  There is quite a bit of things going on all the time (but I don't want to spoil anything).  If you are into epic fantasy, you should give this a shot. 

( Review with many spoilers )

Academ's Fury Book 2 of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher Fantasy
480 pages




This is my review of the 2nd book of the Codex Alera. I have to state again that I am a HUGE Jim Butcher fan, so please keep that in mind in regards to this review. :) It is hard not to be biased when you are reviewing someone's work that you really appreciate.

You can check out my review of the first book here. Furies of Calderon Review

Ok, in book two of the serise Tavi is now training to be a Cursor (spy mostly) and it is two years since the events of the first book.  As usual, he tends to be in the right place at the right time and discovers a plan to kill the First Lord of Alera.  Meanwhile, Bernard and Amara are trying to hunt down a mysterious, yet deadly enemy known as the Vord.  They have the ability to shapeshift and take over someone (after killing them) and control them, which includes making them fight.

That is as much as I will say about the plot in the non-spoiler part of this.  The book is better than the first one because of the maturity of Tavi.  He has to deal wit things that are beyond his age and intellect, but he does this very well.  Since he does not have a fury, it forces him to use his brain instead of always depending on a fury (which is what most other people do).  This allows him an edge from time to time since he is able to figure things out quickly.

Overall, this is a great second book to the series.  You can really see that Butcher's writing is getting better the farther he gets into a series.  The characters shine and mature and the story does as well.  The plot becomes much more complicated and the lines of allegiancet are blurried.  Good stuff.

( Review with mucho spoilers )

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. Book 1 of the Codex Alera (fantasy) Book club book.
512 pages.

I have to admit it. I am so impartial when it comes to anything written by Jim Butcher at this point. Most of this is dues to how much I LOVE the Dresden Files, but this series is only slightly less stellar. I think my girlfriend Natalie has mentioned I may have a man crush on him. :)

. The Devil You Know by Mike Carey