Saturday, 23 October 2021 10:13 pm
Book Review: Furies of Calderon
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deckardcanineWhen I picked this up, I didn't realize I had already vaguely heard of the series it came from: Codex Alera. Learning so made me feel better about taking a chance on it. I can't say that Jim Butcher has gotten any better at selecting his titles, tho. Calderon barely comes up and thus gets omitted from synopses.
In this high fantasy, humans regularly form a bond with a fury (the spirit kind) or two at some point in their youth, after which they can call on their furies' powers at will. Each fury is associated with a different element, of which Butcher has combined western and eastern traditions for a total of six: earth, fire, air, water, wood, and metal. The powers are partly reminiscent of Avatar: The Last Airbender but more varied, often allowing what you wouldn't expect. For example, a wood fury enables someone to turn nearly invisible. Not all furies are hospitable to any humans; they can create treacherous conditions.
The other fantasy elements concern original (or at least originally named) made-up creatures, most of which are not described well enough for my mental picture. Most prominent are the Marat, who sound something like orcs: primitive humanoids with fangs and a mean streak, albeit not as consistently wicked. It's possible that they're actually human, with differences exaggerated by racist enemies, but they form bonds with animals instead of furies. They have been absent from the central forested valley, if not the Aleran Empire as a whole, since losing a territorial war ages ago. The recent sighting of one bodes ill.
Shorter summaries such as the one on the back cover make it sound like Tavi, a shepherd apprentice, is the clear protagonist, but several others are just as focal in both POV and plot importance. Tavi's not even in the first few chapters. He mainly stands out as a 15-year-old without a fury, which, in their world, is a terrible disability. At least blind people are pretty common, not met with shocked disbelief.
The first focal character, Amara, is becoming a Cursor (read: official honored spy and messenger) for First Lord Gaius of Alera. Before knowing of the Marat incursion, she learns of a human conspiracy to overthrow Gaius. While only so much older than Tavi, her quickly apparent crush is on Tavi's strong uncle and guardian, Bernard, who serves as steadholder, something of a village chief.
Bernard's sister, Isana, is another frequent focal character. Her water-based powers allow her to heal others and sense emotions, barely separating them from her own. She's quite the pacifist, insisting on no violence under her roof, rescuing a sufficiently pitiable enemy, and even forgoing lethal action against irredeemable steadholder Kord, who has nasty designs on her.
Finally, there's the POV of Fidelias, Amara's former trainer, who does not see eye to eye with her. If you gave him the pseudo-medieval equivalent of the basic trolley problem, he'd definitely opt to pull the switch. Unfortunately, he believes the way to save the most lives involves treachery against Gaius and anyone who stands with Gaius. I'm not sure I follow his bitter logic, but I trust him to be a man of principle even while tentatively siding with a motley crew of unprincipled people.
Exciting? Yes, with a good pace and a major underdog component. I had little trouble reading to my personal quota on most days. Intriguing? Now and then. I expect more in the sequels, both for premise details and for the depth of the villain schemes.
At the same time, I'm surprised this was written after the first five Dresden Files volumes, because the writing feels less polished. Either the shift from a first-person neo-noir narrator took Butcher out of his comfort zone, or he didn't have the same editor. Many sentences or turns of phrase strike me as redundant or needlessly long. "Whimpers of sound," really?
That's not the only way it feels like the work of a younger writer (bearing in mind that Butcher was younger in 2004 than I am now). At several points, a hero was saved by luck, often in the form of a savior showing up at the last second, reminding me of Eragon. There's also a bit more indication of lust than I anticipated of a novel centered on a teen; I'm not sure I'd recommend it to teens.
I don't regret reading FoC from cover to cover. But if the immediate sequel doesn't show marked improvement, I will either skip further ahead or give up.
I have now started Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Result. Boy, when's the last time I finished an entire literary series?
In this high fantasy, humans regularly form a bond with a fury (the spirit kind) or two at some point in their youth, after which they can call on their furies' powers at will. Each fury is associated with a different element, of which Butcher has combined western and eastern traditions for a total of six: earth, fire, air, water, wood, and metal. The powers are partly reminiscent of Avatar: The Last Airbender but more varied, often allowing what you wouldn't expect. For example, a wood fury enables someone to turn nearly invisible. Not all furies are hospitable to any humans; they can create treacherous conditions.
The other fantasy elements concern original (or at least originally named) made-up creatures, most of which are not described well enough for my mental picture. Most prominent are the Marat, who sound something like orcs: primitive humanoids with fangs and a mean streak, albeit not as consistently wicked. It's possible that they're actually human, with differences exaggerated by racist enemies, but they form bonds with animals instead of furies. They have been absent from the central forested valley, if not the Aleran Empire as a whole, since losing a territorial war ages ago. The recent sighting of one bodes ill.
Shorter summaries such as the one on the back cover make it sound like Tavi, a shepherd apprentice, is the clear protagonist, but several others are just as focal in both POV and plot importance. Tavi's not even in the first few chapters. He mainly stands out as a 15-year-old without a fury, which, in their world, is a terrible disability. At least blind people are pretty common, not met with shocked disbelief.
The first focal character, Amara, is becoming a Cursor (read: official honored spy and messenger) for First Lord Gaius of Alera. Before knowing of the Marat incursion, she learns of a human conspiracy to overthrow Gaius. While only so much older than Tavi, her quickly apparent crush is on Tavi's strong uncle and guardian, Bernard, who serves as steadholder, something of a village chief.
Bernard's sister, Isana, is another frequent focal character. Her water-based powers allow her to heal others and sense emotions, barely separating them from her own. She's quite the pacifist, insisting on no violence under her roof, rescuing a sufficiently pitiable enemy, and even forgoing lethal action against irredeemable steadholder Kord, who has nasty designs on her.
Finally, there's the POV of Fidelias, Amara's former trainer, who does not see eye to eye with her. If you gave him the pseudo-medieval equivalent of the basic trolley problem, he'd definitely opt to pull the switch. Unfortunately, he believes the way to save the most lives involves treachery against Gaius and anyone who stands with Gaius. I'm not sure I follow his bitter logic, but I trust him to be a man of principle even while tentatively siding with a motley crew of unprincipled people.
Exciting? Yes, with a good pace and a major underdog component. I had little trouble reading to my personal quota on most days. Intriguing? Now and then. I expect more in the sequels, both for premise details and for the depth of the villain schemes.
At the same time, I'm surprised this was written after the first five Dresden Files volumes, because the writing feels less polished. Either the shift from a first-person neo-noir narrator took Butcher out of his comfort zone, or he didn't have the same editor. Many sentences or turns of phrase strike me as redundant or needlessly long. "Whimpers of sound," really?
That's not the only way it feels like the work of a younger writer (bearing in mind that Butcher was younger in 2004 than I am now). At several points, a hero was saved by luck, often in the form of a savior showing up at the last second, reminding me of Eragon. There's also a bit more indication of lust than I anticipated of a novel centered on a teen; I'm not sure I'd recommend it to teens.
I don't regret reading FoC from cover to cover. But if the immediate sequel doesn't show marked improvement, I will either skip further ahead or give up.
I have now started Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Result. Boy, when's the last time I finished an entire literary series?