As an active member of a writing forum he found himself arguing against someone else’s terrible take on writing, a position we’ve no doubt all found ourselves in at one point or another. Jim Butcher was, at this time, a well regarded author thanks to his Dresden Files urban fantasy series, having released the first 4 in the series before releasing Furies of Calderon. The Codex Alera series has a rather famous backstory to its creation which I have no doubt you have all already heard, but I’m going to retell it here because I kind of love it for multiple reasons. If you prefer your reviews in a more multimedia format, consider checking out my book review channel where I read this all out and add in the occasional snide comment! įuries of Calderon was released in 2004 by Jim Butcher and weighed in at 504 pages. If I had to give furies of Calderon a star rating out of a baker’s dozen, I’d say it’s a solid 7. I have a vague recollection of what happens throughout the series but the specifics are honestly lost to me outside of one or two main threads. I read the Codex Alera when it first released and this is a reread. Furies of Calderon is definitely the weakest in the series, I think it’s safe to say, but still strong enough to make me read the sequel thanks to the sheer potential on display here.

Also, I listened to the audiobook of this for my reread, so it's safe to assume I'm spelling a lot of character names wrong!Īs I tend to come across as very negative when reviewing let me start by saying that I really enjoyed the Codex Alera series and this book is an acceptable start if a bit rocky in places and I’m going to be quite harsh on it, because I suspect the follow up reviews I do of the further books will be incredibly biased towards outrageously glowing praise. I will make it obvious when spoilers begin (it's once I start discussing the characters individually). Just for this book, not the entire series. The second half will be all in, spoilers everywhere. For those that haven’t read this book, the first half of this review is light spoilers because honestly there is a twist in the second chapter so I can’t not mention it.

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher