Furies of Calderon Review
By goodreads.com
"For a 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, Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera, grows old and lacks an heir. Ambitious High Lords plot and maneuver to place their Houses in positions of power, and a war of succession looms on the horizon." "Far from city politics in the Calderon Valley, the boy Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. At fifteen, he has no wind fury to help him fly, no fire fury to light his lamps. Yet as the Alerans' most savage enemy - the Marat - return to the Valley, he will discover that his destiny is much greater than he could ever imagine." Caught in a storm of deadly wind furies, Tavi saves the life of a runaway slave named Amara. But she is actually a spy for Gaius Sextus, sent to the Valley to gather intelligence on traitors to the Crown, who may be in league with the barbaric Marat horde. And when the Valley erupts in chaos - when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies - Amara will find Tavi's courage and resourcefulness to be a power greater than any fury - one that could turn the tides of war.
(Description courtesy of goodreads.com)
With "Furies of Calderon," author Jim Butcher was challenged by someone to write a series of books based on, of all things, both the Roman legions and Pokémon.
With the Pokémon Go hype permeating culture, I thought it might be nice to kick back and have a fun discussion about an older read.
While I do find the magic system and the world very interesting, what I want to talk most about is how Butcher makes this story exciting.
Where most fantasies may take anywhere from 50-100 pages of exposition to establish a world and characters, Butcher isn't afraid to dump an icy bucket of plot over our heads from go. There is ALWAYS something happening in the three or four plot threads that he establishes early on. They become the vessel with which exposition takes place and introduce us to the various factors and politics at play in this world.
With Butcher being one of my favorite authors, it's strange that I only just read this book. I've rarely read someone who can write high-concept yet down-to-earth human characters like he can.
One thing I love about Butcher is how he plays with expectations. When you think you know where the plot is going, he—literally—floods the story with plot twists and new complications. There are never any sort of inconsistencies in the plot or characters; everyone acts the way we have been shown and come to understand.
Magic in this story is never a get-out-of-jail-free card. At a couple points, characters are stripped of their means to come into contact with their particular magic and are forced to use their own ingenuity to either get it back or come up with their own solution to escape a tricky situation.
We don't understand every detail (For example, what happens to a fury when their crafter dies? And just to what extent do a watercrafter's powers go?) but we never need to in order to fully grasp the story. Because again, this is not your traditional fantasy novel.
This is instead a book that focuses heavily on characters and the struggles they face because of the morals and ideals they hold in esteem, from protecting the Realm to hunting down some sheep.
Also, this is a book that is heavily structured for everything to be pulled off eloquently, but you never see the structure because you're just so involved in everything that's going on.
I've Butcher-gushed enough, but I'm pretty sure that with every new book he sets out to write, he tries to surprise even himself. I guess that's how he's kept a near-30 book bibliography fresh even to himself.
A highly recommended read at 5 out of 5 stars, according to a very reliable source - me.
(PS: This is also a pretty cool read for anyone who misses Avatar: The Last Airbender!)
