kittenkong42's Reviews:

The final book in the Codex Alera does a great job of tying up all of the plot lines without tripping up and also continues the job of changing your perception of what you thought you knew already. Tavi is aware that his grandfather has died as the Great Fury Alera has visited him and is making him (and Kitai) undergo training from hell on their journey home to Alera. This is so when they arrive Tavi is prepared to deal with the realities of war with the power available to him. He hides this from people but his increasing […]

In this, the fifth book of the Codex Alera, the cat is out of the bag following Tavi’s declaration of himself as Gaius Octavian. To protect him and to build alliances his grandfather supports Tavi helping to return the Canim invaders to their homeland. This protection is both from the increasing Vord activity in Alera and the usual Aleran politics that would see him dead. This time we have more than 2 plots as Tavi’s newly honoured mother Isana (regarded as the First Lady of Alera) heads north to rally the troops to defend Alera, Bernard & Amara do their […]

On to the fourth book in the Codex Alera and we are in a situation where Tavi is fighting a holding battle against the Canim invaders, and the realm is doing the same against the forces of High Lord Kalare. Obviously things go wrong… Tavi is tricked into losing command and facing charges of treason when a Senator in the pay of the Aquitanes is given oversight of his forces. Tavi will not kill Alerans who are just trying to survive behind enemy lines, but luckily he manages to give control of his forces to Crassus, the half-brother of his […]

The third book in the Codex Alera picks up another 2 years after the conclusion of the first and continues the parallel story lines approach with the main story featuring Tavi growing in influence and authority and the side story featuring rebellion amongst the nobility and the First Lords machinations to stop this. In the main plot Tavi has become a cursor (a spy for the First Lord) and is researching the ways their ancestors (the lost Roman legion) lived without magic/furycraft. This peaceful life is ruined when he is instead tasked to join the newly formed First Aleran Legion […]

In this, the second book of the Codex Alera, we move past the starter villains of the first book and really kick the ongoing plot lines into gear. In the first book Furies of Calderon we are introduced to our 15 year old protagonist Tavi and finish with him being offered a scholarship from the ruler of Alera  (Gaius Sextus) to his academy. In book 2 we start with the 17 year old Tavi still being an outsider due to his lack of magic, bullied by spoilt nobles, and having some good friends – particularly the delightful Maximus Antillar (bastard […]

Furies of Calderon is the first book in Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera. The book series came about as the result of a discussion about whether a good premise could overcome a bad writer or vice-versa – that a good enough writer could come up with a story even from a bad premise. Jim’s response was to say give him two terrible ideas and he’d write the book combining them; so here we are with a book that combines the Lost Roman legion and Pokemon! This is not my first time reading this series and I actually read it before The […]