Furies of Calderon / Jim Butcher

Furies of Calderon

category: fantasy, young adult, author:

Jim Butcher

book 1 of The Codex Alera
original copyright 2004,
read in August 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

This book is, "A classic coming-of-age epic". Actually, this quote is pinched from the cover of another book, Pawn of Prophecy, which will be the next to be reviewed. Both Pawn and Furies are coming-of-age fantasies. One book is much better than the other.

Furies of Calderon says, in its Prologue, that the course of history is determined by the actions of the individual. The book then documents the actions of several individuals... and documents them well.

The characters are strong and well-meaning. Even the baddies have good intentions. The book even provides a nice piece of philosophy to explain the motivations of the bad guys:

There's two kinds of bad men... who will hurt others with forethought... Men that don't figure there's anyone else alive who matters but them. And men who figure that there's something that matters more than anyone's life. Even their own... The second kind [are] ... very dangerous.

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files have characters who have a strong sense of justice. Who will fight to protect others. Who believe that the individual must be protected against bad men -- of both types. This strong moral sense is carried into Furies: the main characters -- the good guys, anyway -- will risk their lives to save friends and family.

They also -- by being such nice people -- are able to earn friendship and respect in unexpected places. While still crushing the baddies...

All a bit Biggles, really.

Which, to me, is a positive recommendation :-)

At the start I wrote that this book is a coming-of-age fantasy. It is also for young -- but not too young -- adults.

"Coming-of-age"? Furies is the first of a trilogy. The main character is a boy becoming a man. He also has a mysterious past... You can just bet that he will turn out to be the son, probably illegitimate, of the long-dead Prince. No magic sword -- but I'm guessing magic powers...

The fantasy world is interesting... When mankind crawled out of the trees and tried to explain the world, they invented spirits in every tree, cloud, stream, rock... Jim Butcher has put the spirits -- his Furies -- back in the world. Where else would young lads go out and "tease a rock" in the pastures?!

Is this book really, "young adult"? I think so...

There's blood and gore and violence. Okay, so a young adult is used to computer games. The "young adult" giveaway is in the sex scenes...

The teenage hero blushes and looks the other way when faced with a naked girl. His older uncle meets the woman of his dreams... gets hot and heavy... and is interrupted. The adult heroine is threatened with pack rape... and is forced to watch, as the less heroic woman is subjected to degrading sexual violence... with no more description than I have included in this paragraph.

There is battle violence, graphically described. There is sex, willing and unwilling... either hinted at, or happening off-stage. Young adult... Thank goodness:-)

I enjoyed this book. In fact -- having struggled to start Pawn of Prophecy -- I came back and read Furies a second time. Some books are enjoyable enough to read a second time. And complex enough to benefit from the second reading. Furies of Calderon is such a book.

..o0o..

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