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Codex Alera #2
Im Schatten des Fürsten
Zwei Jahre sind seit der gescheiterten Invasion der Marat vergangen. Und während Tavi dem Ende seiner Ausbildung zum kaiserlichen Spion entgegenfiebert, droht Alera bereits neue Gefahr. Denn ausgerechnet als Kaiser Gaius Sixtus schwer erkrankt und die Mächtigen des Reichs ihre Intrigen vorantreiben, bewegen sich die Furcht erregenden Vord auf die Hauptstadt zu – uralte Schreckensgestalten, für deren Wiedererweckung auch Tavi mitverantwortlich ist …
640 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
1968 people are currently reading
13211 people want to read
About the author
Jim Butcher
204 books51k followersJim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,172 reviews
July 2, 2023
A good, old-fashioned fantasy series that doesn´t try to reinvent something, break with genre conventions, or be progressive, but instead tells a great story, has a cool magic system, an interesting enemy, and very good characterizations.
Oldschool fantasy aimed at YA
It has become a bit difficult for fantasy authors who don´t go the dark way and make everything grimmer and dirtier, but stay instead with a bit of the cheerful, Tolkien, happy go lucky style, reminiscing the good old days when bad was bad and good was good.
Don´t compare it with the revolutionary stuff
Some of the readers not liking this series may be simply too strict with it, because not every novel can or wants to be the next Rothfuss or Sanderson and I am sure that many are appreciating the conventional and entertaining way fantasy used to be told since just a few years ago.
Good combination
I like the mixture of ideas, the avatars, and elementary powers, the evil Vord that will become a cool, evil collective intelligence, something a bit closer to Sci-Fi than to Fantasy, and a stylish, unusual enemy for the genre.
Give the thing a chance, Butcher is a great storyteller and hey, one can never run out of fantasy series. For instance, if there comes a time when nothing too seductive is waiting in the TBR.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
Oldschool fantasy aimed at YA
It has become a bit difficult for fantasy authors who don´t go the dark way and make everything grimmer and dirtier, but stay instead with a bit of the cheerful, Tolkien, happy go lucky style, reminiscing the good old days when bad was bad and good was good.
Don´t compare it with the revolutionary stuff
Some of the readers not liking this series may be simply too strict with it, because not every novel can or wants to be the next Rothfuss or Sanderson and I am sure that many are appreciating the conventional and entertaining way fantasy used to be told since just a few years ago.
Good combination
I like the mixture of ideas, the avatars, and elementary powers, the evil Vord that will become a cool, evil collective intelligence, something a bit closer to Sci-Fi than to Fantasy, and a stylish, unusual enemy for the genre.
Give the thing a chance, Butcher is a great storyteller and hey, one can never run out of fantasy series. For instance, if there comes a time when nothing too seductive is waiting in the TBR.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
June 2, 2024
If you were on the fence about the first book (Furies of Calderon) then go ahead and give this one a try. The pacing was faster, there are finally some explanations for the way the furies work, and (now that I knew a bit about the world) the entire thing is a bit easier to understand. Plus, I really enjoyed seeing the characters again!
This one was a bit different than the last book because, besides all of the political intrigue, there was also an Invasion of the Body Snatchers flavor to it!
What the what?!
I know, right?
But it was really cool!
So not only is everyone in danger from all the normal backstabbing that comes along with an attempted coup but now our heroes have to try to convince everyone that there's an alien life form that...well, Invades your Body and Snatches your mind!
Ahhhhhhh!
And they're being led by these creepy-ass bug queens...
Toss in some really sweet (and in Tavi's case, kind of hilarious at times) romance and mix it all together to make a really fun story.
I'm sold!
I'm also guessing that if you didn't like this one, it's probably best to put this series down and move on to something else. For me, though? This is staying a top priority.
Re-read 2021
I listened to the audiobook from Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group with Kate Reading as the narrator. She was phenomenal, and I'd highly recommend this version if you get a chance.
This one was a bit different than the last book because, besides all of the political intrigue, there was also an Invasion of the Body Snatchers flavor to it!
What the what?!
I know, right?
But it was really cool!
So not only is everyone in danger from all the normal backstabbing that comes along with an attempted coup but now our heroes have to try to convince everyone that there's an alien life form that...well, Invades your Body and Snatches your mind!
Ahhhhhhh!
And they're being led by these creepy-ass bug queens...
Toss in some really sweet (and in Tavi's case, kind of hilarious at times) romance and mix it all together to make a really fun story.
I'm sold!
I'm also guessing that if you didn't like this one, it's probably best to put this series down and move on to something else. For me, though? This is staying a top priority.
Re-read 2021
I listened to the audiobook from Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group with Kate Reading as the narrator. She was phenomenal, and I'd highly recommend this version if you get a chance.
December 19, 2019
2.5/5 Stars
Another okay installment in the Codex Alera series, it’s time for me to part way with this series.
I’m going to keep this review short, I actually can copy my review for the first book here to explain why I won’t be continuing with this series.
Although my review is going to sound negative, let me state that this is not a bad series, but then again there’s nothing special about it and I don’t see any sign of improvement from the first book. It’s all once again, pretty basic and formulaic.
I can already predict that the newly introduced villain in this book, the vord, will become the final boss of the series. Let me make a guess, the vord sounds like a virus so judging from that, there will be a Queen or King vord that became the final boss of the series. Then, judging from the tone of the series so far, even though there are war, politics and all that jazz, none of the main POV characters will die, maybe one at most. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
Academ’s Fury, the second book out of six in the Codex Alera series, began two years after the events of Furies of Calderon and the plot is still immensely predictable. A lot of scenes were still too long for the pacing’s own good and Butcher kept on repeating the things we already understood over and over again. For example, Amara couldn’t have a child. This situation is repeated for so many pages throughout the book. I don’t know why Butcher had the need to emphasize this point over and over again. I get it, she can’t have a child, saying it once or twice is enough. The worst part is, this is only one of many examples. Also, this series actually featured a lot of romance and I’m generally not a big fan of romance in my fantasy read.
Characters are still very hard to care, I kept on wishing the entire plot to focus only on Tavi because his POV is the only one that I’m slightly invested in. The rest are just okay-ish to meh. Amara was probably the worst for me, I kept on wishing she would die already so I don’t have to read her POV anymore. Maybe when it comes down to it, I just couldn’t connect with Butcher’s prose. I feel like I should've cared more about some of the events that happened in the book but it just didn’t connect with me. I’ve read a few series that’s predictable but they still managed to intrigue and made me invested, but not Codex Alera.
I’m usually a patient leader but still, there’s a limit to my patience. This is not a small series at all, six books long and each book are easily over 600 pages. I’ve read more or less 1300 pages so far and I’m only slightly invested in Tavi. That’s ONE character, only one over the course of 1300 pages and 400k+ words. If I’m not invested in the characters by this point, there’s just no way I can push myself to continue with the series. I tried so hard and got so farrrr, but in the enddd it doesn’t even matter.
This is a beloved series among many, but when it doesn’t work, it just won’t work. I won’t be spending my time for another 3000 pages of an okay series, there are so many great books out there waiting for me. It's time for me to part ways with this series. Overall, this is a series that I would recommend only to anyone who’s new to adult fantasy.
You can find this and the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at BookNest
Another okay installment in the Codex Alera series, it’s time for me to part way with this series.
I’m going to keep this review short, I actually can copy my review for the first book here to explain why I won’t be continuing with this series.
Although my review is going to sound negative, let me state that this is not a bad series, but then again there’s nothing special about it and I don’t see any sign of improvement from the first book. It’s all once again, pretty basic and formulaic.
I can already predict that the newly introduced villain in this book, the vord, will become the final boss of the series. Let me make a guess, the vord sounds like a virus so judging from that, there will be a Queen or King vord that became the final boss of the series. Then, judging from the tone of the series so far, even though there are war, politics and all that jazz, none of the main POV characters will die, maybe one at most. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
Academ’s Fury, the second book out of six in the Codex Alera series, began two years after the events of Furies of Calderon and the plot is still immensely predictable. A lot of scenes were still too long for the pacing’s own good and Butcher kept on repeating the things we already understood over and over again. For example, Amara couldn’t have a child. This situation is repeated for so many pages throughout the book. I don’t know why Butcher had the need to emphasize this point over and over again. I get it, she can’t have a child, saying it once or twice is enough. The worst part is, this is only one of many examples. Also, this series actually featured a lot of romance and I’m generally not a big fan of romance in my fantasy read.
Characters are still very hard to care, I kept on wishing the entire plot to focus only on Tavi because his POV is the only one that I’m slightly invested in. The rest are just okay-ish to meh. Amara was probably the worst for me, I kept on wishing she would die already so I don’t have to read her POV anymore. Maybe when it comes down to it, I just couldn’t connect with Butcher’s prose. I feel like I should've cared more about some of the events that happened in the book but it just didn’t connect with me. I’ve read a few series that’s predictable but they still managed to intrigue and made me invested, but not Codex Alera.
I’m usually a patient leader but still, there’s a limit to my patience. This is not a small series at all, six books long and each book are easily over 600 pages. I’ve read more or less 1300 pages so far and I’m only slightly invested in Tavi. That’s ONE character, only one over the course of 1300 pages and 400k+ words. If I’m not invested in the characters by this point, there’s just no way I can push myself to continue with the series. I tried so hard and got so farrrr, but in the enddd it doesn’t even matter.
This is a beloved series among many, but when it doesn’t work, it just won’t work. I won’t be spending my time for another 3000 pages of an okay series, there are so many great books out there waiting for me. It's time for me to part ways with this series. Overall, this is a series that I would recommend only to anyone who’s new to adult fantasy.
You can find this and the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at BookNest
February 24, 2018
OKAY, HOLY SH*T. Dieses Buch hat sich in eine Mischung aus Game of Thrones und Harry Potter verwandelt/entwickelt. Was zum Teufel? ICH LIEBE ES.
.
Edit: Ja okay, Harry Potter VIBES im Epilog, hab riesige Erwartungen an den dritten Band für mehr davon!! :D
.
Edit: Ja okay, Harry Potter VIBES im Epilog, hab riesige Erwartungen an den dritten Band für mehr davon!! :D
September 21, 2017
I liked Furies of Calderon (the first book in the Codex Alera series) but thought it was pretty average compared to other works in the genre. Academ’s Fury, on the other hand, was AMAZING!!!
Seriously – I couldn’t put it down! It delivered on every promise made in the first book and completely blew me away with its stellar pacing, fantastic battle scenes, exceptional characters, and overall creativity. I felt like my heart was ripped out a few times while reading it and I love it when a book can make me feel that engaged. I already liked Jim Butcher, but this book launched him forward a few more notches in my book.
If I had any criticisms, it’s that the main character was sometimes more suave and resourceful in difficult situations than I thought believable… but it did make for some excellent and memorable moments, so I won’t complain too much. :-)
Overall, if you are on the fence with whether to start the series or continue on after the first book (like I was), take it from me – totally worth it!
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
Seriously – I couldn’t put it down! It delivered on every promise made in the first book and completely blew me away with its stellar pacing, fantastic battle scenes, exceptional characters, and overall creativity. I felt like my heart was ripped out a few times while reading it and I love it when a book can make me feel that engaged. I already liked Jim Butcher, but this book launched him forward a few more notches in my book.
If I had any criticisms, it’s that the main character was sometimes more suave and resourceful in difficult situations than I thought believable… but it did make for some excellent and memorable moments, so I won’t complain too much. :-)
Overall, if you are on the fence with whether to start the series or continue on after the first book (like I was), take it from me – totally worth it!
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
July 1, 2024
I really enjoyed reading this book!
The book has two main plotlines: the first takes place in Calderon, and the second in the Capital. You'll see more politics and intrigue and a bit less action compared to the first book in the series. Butcher gives his characters more depth and reveals more knowledge about the world.
Academ's fury is another great book in the series. I really like the world, the writing, the characters, the action, and all the politics and intrigue.
Definitely 5/5
The book has two main plotlines: the first takes place in Calderon, and the second in the Capital. You'll see more politics and intrigue and a bit less action compared to the first book in the series. Butcher gives his characters more depth and reveals more knowledge about the world.
Academ's fury is another great book in the series. I really like the world, the writing, the characters, the action, and all the politics and intrigue.
Definitely 5/5
August 31, 2022
I enjoyed the first book of this series, probably because it was a new fantasy world to figure out. Somehow this second book was less exciting. Oh, lots of stuff happened, but it loses its savour when the main characters never make a wrong decision. And they figure things out much too quickly and easily. The Marat have known about the parasitic vord for generations, but all of a sudden Bernard and Amara figure out how they work and how to kill them within hours of their first engagement. It doesn't give the Marat much credit despite the fact that they are otherwise depicted as intelligent.
It's not just the adults—Tavi is so uber-responsible and ulta-moral that he is downright unbelievable. A kid in his teens facing down ambassadors, military leaders, and even chiding the First Lord. Plus he is apparently acting incompetent to hide his secret duties from his friends and classmates. He is just too perfect, able to take on whatever comes his way and triumph.
What mystifies me is that the Harry Dresden series predates Codex Alera, and Harry is far from a perfect character. It's not like Butcher doesn't know how to craft a realistically flawed protagonist. Dresden was interesting, even when his some of his attitudes drove me nuts. Tavi gets self righteous and kinda boring pretty much immediately. This harks back to the early days of fantasy, on par with works like Edding's Belgariad or Feist's Riftwar Saga, much less morally ambiguous than we are used to now.
The redeeming features are the relationships. Bernard, as a powerful furycrafter, is expected to produce as many children as possible. Amara, we are led to believe, has been wounded and is now unable to conceive. But they are so besotted with one another that I had to cheer for them. And of course there's Tavi and his Marat gal, Kitai. She'll educate him in many ways! Three cheers for Kitai!
Book number 471 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project
It's not just the adults—Tavi is so uber-responsible and ulta-moral that he is downright unbelievable. A kid in his teens facing down ambassadors, military leaders, and even chiding the First Lord. Plus he is apparently acting incompetent to hide his secret duties from his friends and classmates. He is just too perfect, able to take on whatever comes his way and triumph.
What mystifies me is that the Harry Dresden series predates Codex Alera, and Harry is far from a perfect character. It's not like Butcher doesn't know how to craft a realistically flawed protagonist. Dresden was interesting, even when his some of his attitudes drove me nuts. Tavi gets self righteous and kinda boring pretty much immediately. This harks back to the early days of fantasy, on par with works like Edding's Belgariad or Feist's Riftwar Saga, much less morally ambiguous than we are used to now.
The redeeming features are the relationships. Bernard, as a powerful furycrafter, is expected to produce as many children as possible. Amara, we are led to believe, has been wounded and is now unable to conceive. But they are so besotted with one another that I had to cheer for them. And of course there's Tavi and his Marat gal, Kitai. She'll educate him in many ways! Three cheers for Kitai!
Book number 471 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project
October 11, 2017
I'd say this one is marginally better than book 1. The first two- thirds I wasn't please with the progress of the series but the last third really made up for it. I think part of my frustration is that the two best new characters both got killed off and they both had great potential. Additionally I like several of the secondary characters more than the main characters. More Katai, Lady Acquitaine and Odiana.
The series has all the elements to be great but is just average at this point. I'm hoping it grows more.
I'll continue the series but will take a break from it.
The series has all the elements to be great but is just average at this point. I'm hoping it grows more.
I'll continue the series but will take a break from it.
August 7, 2019
8/10, puede que más.
En realidad no le doy más estrellas para que no me pegue un amigo de GR que le ha dado dos miserables estrellitas a la vez que la pone a parir. Debía ser que su pareja no había sido afectuosa con ´´el en una temporada y, claro, eso causa mal humor, estrés y pocas ganas de dar buenas valoraciones a lo que uno lee. Supongo.
Venga, tras la coña, al lío.
La única cosa que yo quiero saber de una segunda novela en una saha es ¿Merece la pena si me ha gustado la primera parte? Pues, para mí, sí, sin duda.
Que si la primera parte está muy bien esta segunda no desmerece. Es distinta, sí. Ya no nos sorprende el worldbuilding, el sistema de magia no evoluciona y los personajes nuevos que aparecen no son tan atrayentes. Peeeeeeeeeeero, a cambio nos ofrece ese mundillo de intrigas entre casas rivales y personajes que es moneda de cambio usual en toda saga. Y hay algún personaje nuevo atractivo, sí. Y evolucionan los personajes…un poco al menos.
Salvo las batallas, aburridas y causa principal de que no la puntúe más alto, me he divertido. Como que empiezo en ya la tercera parte.
P.D. Butcher creo que me ha conquistado, cosa que no consiguió del todo con sus primeros libros de Dresden. Les tengo que dar otra oportunidad.
En realidad no le doy más estrellas para que no me pegue un amigo de GR que le ha dado dos miserables estrellitas a la vez que la pone a parir. Debía ser que su pareja no había sido afectuosa con ´´el en una temporada y, claro, eso causa mal humor, estrés y pocas ganas de dar buenas valoraciones a lo que uno lee. Supongo.
Venga, tras la coña, al lío.
La única cosa que yo quiero saber de una segunda novela en una saha es ¿Merece la pena si me ha gustado la primera parte? Pues, para mí, sí, sin duda.
Que si la primera parte está muy bien esta segunda no desmerece. Es distinta, sí. Ya no nos sorprende el worldbuilding, el sistema de magia no evoluciona y los personajes nuevos que aparecen no son tan atrayentes. Peeeeeeeeeeero, a cambio nos ofrece ese mundillo de intrigas entre casas rivales y personajes que es moneda de cambio usual en toda saga. Y hay algún personaje nuevo atractivo, sí. Y evolucionan los personajes…un poco al menos.
Salvo las batallas, aburridas y causa principal de que no la puntúe más alto, me he divertido. Como que empiezo en ya la tercera parte.
P.D. Butcher creo que me ha conquistado, cosa que no consiguió del todo con sus primeros libros de Dresden. Les tengo que dar otra oportunidad.
November 2, 2013
This book is just as bad or even worse than the first book in the series, but for a the opposite reason. This book I love the pacing, but I hate all the characters. All the characters to me seemed 1-dimensional and flat that I was not emotionally connected, which for many books the pace of the plot is more of a problem than disliking a character. I think the writing, design of the cover, and the overall series are all just god awful words can't describe it. I for one will never try to read or go near this series ever again. This is my third one star, and the other one is the first book. I don't think I will ever try or read this book ever again. I don't exactly understand how people could enjoy reading the series, maybe it has to do with the fact that many have enjoyed the Dresden Files, which I love so much as it has become one of the most fun series of all time for me. Will I guess everything does not work for everyone all the time.
July 23, 2023
*** 4.43 ***
So good!!! Can't wait to find out what happens next! 😀👍
So good!!! Can't wait to find out what happens next! 😀👍
July 11, 2023
It was good, but not exceptional. There's nothing new here, just a decent, solid old-fashioned fantasy story competently told.
November 14, 2021
5 Sterne
Wahnsinn! Ich mag es unwahrscheinlich gerne, keine Ahnung, wie das passieren konnte.
Jetzt will ich high Fantasy schreiben 🤤
Wahnsinn! Ich mag es unwahrscheinlich gerne, keine Ahnung, wie das passieren konnte.
Jetzt will ich high Fantasy schreiben 🤤
March 13, 2021
Academ’s Fury is the second book in Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series. Although I enjoyed the first book, I enjoyed this one significantly more. The only reason it took me so long to read was due to time constraints. Whenever I picked it up, I never wanted to put it back down. There’s a lot of action in this book. For me it was the exciting, edge-of-my-seat sort and not the boring, repetitive kind.
After having a rough start with Tavi in the first book, I’m a big fan of him now. I did sometimes get exasperated when a new chapter switched away from Tavi’s POV in the middle of some tense action, because his storyline was the one I was the most interested in. It didn’t take me long to get back into the POV that the new chapter had switched to, though.
I don’t have too many more comments, but the ones I have will need to go in spoiler tags:
After having a rough start with Tavi in the first book, I’m a big fan of him now. I did sometimes get exasperated when a new chapter switched away from Tavi’s POV in the middle of some tense action, because his storyline was the one I was the most interested in. It didn’t take me long to get back into the POV that the new chapter had switched to, though.
I don’t have too many more comments, but the ones I have will need to go in spoiler tags:
July 19, 2025
Za długie, za dużo perspektyw, dosyć przewidywalnie napisana, bez wzruszeń. Kolejny tom przeczytam, ale już będę wtedy starsza 🤭
December 6, 2016
3.5ish stars.
Book #2 provided a lot of what I loved about book #1, added a few more things that I love and, unfortunately, a few things I didn't love as well. Possible spoilers to follow.
The first chapter led me to believe that the series had gone waaay downhill somewhere in the gap between where the last book ended and this one began. Literally every stupid high school cliche I've ever read in one chapter- poor Tavi and his nerdy friends are getting bullied by the bigger, stronger more popular kids! Oh wait! Someone even bigger and stronger comes in to save the day and humiliate the bullies! What a lucky coincidence! Ugh. I'm glad that ended quickly. I realize that this is a classic high fantasy novel and there are certain tropes that are to be expected, even loved, but I like it so much more when Butcher transcends the particularly cheesy ones in his writing.
Despite what I was initially led to believe, Tavi actually became a better, more likeable character this time around. One of my criticisms of Furies of Calderon was the flat characterizations, Tavi included. I think he really came into his own here and I'm glad that Butcher hasn't (yet, at least) sold out and gifted Tavi with furycrafting abilities. He's way cooler and more interesting without them. Also, he pretty much (inexplicably) saved the realm again without any of those abilities. Pretty ridiculous but also pretty B.A.
One thing that was true about the first book and continues to be true here is that all of the "good" characters, the protagonists, are so gooood. There's none of the moral ambiguity that makes a really great protagonist. Bernard and Amara and Tavi are just so noble (spoken in the voice of Hades from Hercules). Boring! Isana, ever the victim, did have some interesting developments but only because she's so noble. Boring! All of the interesting characters who played both sides of the good/evil field, like Fidelias, Gaius, Varg, Lady Aquitane, etc. were ones that we saw for like five minutes every once in a while before we went back to the noble ones. Boring! On a side note- favorite character? Kitai.
Butcher did a lot to expand the world of Alera by introducing a lot of political intrigue and moving the setting from rural Calderon to the big city of Alera Imperia in the heart of the country. It made things feel a lot bigger and more epic and dramatic.
Call me wishy-washy but something cheesy that I did love was the romance. Tavi and Kitai! *heart eyes* Amara and Bernard! *heart eyes* Max and Gaius's wife! *heart eyes* Let's hook Isana up with someone here! The poor woman is lonely!
Was it just me or is this significantly longer than Furies of Calderon? It felt overlong and there were a few parts I struggled through despite the generally quick pace. I'm really looking forward to book 3, but I think I'll have to take a little break before I begin.
Book #2 provided a lot of what I loved about book #1, added a few more things that I love and, unfortunately, a few things I didn't love as well. Possible spoilers to follow.
The first chapter led me to believe that the series had gone waaay downhill somewhere in the gap between where the last book ended and this one began. Literally every stupid high school cliche I've ever read in one chapter- poor Tavi and his nerdy friends are getting bullied by the bigger, stronger more popular kids! Oh wait! Someone even bigger and stronger comes in to save the day and humiliate the bullies! What a lucky coincidence! Ugh. I'm glad that ended quickly. I realize that this is a classic high fantasy novel and there are certain tropes that are to be expected, even loved, but I like it so much more when Butcher transcends the particularly cheesy ones in his writing.
Despite what I was initially led to believe, Tavi actually became a better, more likeable character this time around. One of my criticisms of Furies of Calderon was the flat characterizations, Tavi included. I think he really came into his own here and I'm glad that Butcher hasn't (yet, at least) sold out and gifted Tavi with furycrafting abilities. He's way cooler and more interesting without them. Also, he pretty much (inexplicably) saved the realm again without any of those abilities. Pretty ridiculous but also pretty B.A.
One thing that was true about the first book and continues to be true here is that all of the "good" characters, the protagonists, are so gooood. There's none of the moral ambiguity that makes a really great protagonist. Bernard and Amara and Tavi are just so noble (spoken in the voice of Hades from Hercules). Boring! Isana, ever the victim, did have some interesting developments but only because she's so noble. Boring! All of the interesting characters who played both sides of the good/evil field, like Fidelias, Gaius, Varg, Lady Aquitane, etc. were ones that we saw for like five minutes every once in a while before we went back to the noble ones. Boring! On a side note- favorite character? Kitai.
Butcher did a lot to expand the world of Alera by introducing a lot of political intrigue and moving the setting from rural Calderon to the big city of Alera Imperia in the heart of the country. It made things feel a lot bigger and more epic and dramatic.
Call me wishy-washy but something cheesy that I did love was the romance. Tavi and Kitai! *heart eyes* Amara and Bernard! *heart eyes* Max and Gaius's wife! *heart eyes* Let's hook Isana up with someone here! The poor woman is lonely!
Was it just me or is this significantly longer than Furies of Calderon? It felt overlong and there were a few parts I struggled through despite the generally quick pace. I'm really looking forward to book 3, but I think I'll have to take a little break before I begin.
May 7, 2020
4.25 of 5 stars
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Omg, this book! I definitely loved this more than the first book! I certainly loved the political aspect as the main focus of this series. It always excites me whenever a story involves political mind games and battleground techniques. I specifically loved this because of the slow but intense world building. The dreadful battles didn't last for just a few pages, but span for almost half the book. Those battles kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. There was more than enough tension set up for a whole book.
Aside from that, there's so much character development, especially Tavi. Oh my, Tavi! I remember that there was not enough scenes of him on the first book and I was so glad we had more of him on this one. I can proudly say that he became one of my most favorite male fictional characters ever. Among the several character perspective, Tavi was the one I'm most looking forward to. He was so smart, courageous, caring and rational. I loved that despite being furyless, he's the most capable among all of them. He didn't let his emotions cloud his judgements. In fact, he can think more rational when he feels things. I can practically hear how his mind works whenever he was in a helpless position. He was also wise and politically knowledgeable. That scene when he was almost too late to get to the Citadel to save the First Lord and hopeless about not having enough help, his 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' clever plan was not something I can think of myself! The fact that the fate of the Realm relies literally on his decisions was too much I actually felt bad for him. Oh my, I loved his character so much!
If Tavi was my most favorite character in this series, Isana was one of my least favorite. It already crept my mind in the first book. I don't like how she handled things. I almost always disagree with her decisions. She was the exact opposite of Tavi when it comes to formulating steps and decisions. She always let her emotions affect her judgement. I mean, I respect her for having so much love and care for her loved ones, her desire to protect them and do everything to make them safe, but she often decides without thinking beyond that. I can't exactly blame her, especially when I discovered something from her words at the end of the book. But still. I always don't like unwise characters. And I noticed that she always missed the important battles, even in the first book. There's always something going on with her and her lack of participation in those battles made me think about her less.
Overall, this is a very intense book. So much happened and I enjoyed every last bit of them. Those last few pages made me speculate a lot of things. I'm so excited for the next book.
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Omg, this book! I definitely loved this more than the first book! I certainly loved the political aspect as the main focus of this series. It always excites me whenever a story involves political mind games and battleground techniques. I specifically loved this because of the slow but intense world building. The dreadful battles didn't last for just a few pages, but span for almost half the book. Those battles kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. There was more than enough tension set up for a whole book.
Aside from that, there's so much character development, especially Tavi. Oh my, Tavi! I remember that there was not enough scenes of him on the first book and I was so glad we had more of him on this one. I can proudly say that he became one of my most favorite male fictional characters ever. Among the several character perspective, Tavi was the one I'm most looking forward to. He was so smart, courageous, caring and rational. I loved that despite being furyless, he's the most capable among all of them. He didn't let his emotions cloud his judgements. In fact, he can think more rational when he feels things. I can practically hear how his mind works whenever he was in a helpless position. He was also wise and politically knowledgeable. That scene when he was almost too late to get to the Citadel to save the First Lord and hopeless about not having enough help, his 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' clever plan was not something I can think of myself! The fact that the fate of the Realm relies literally on his decisions was too much I actually felt bad for him. Oh my, I loved his character so much!
If Tavi was my most favorite character in this series, Isana was one of my least favorite. It already crept my mind in the first book. I don't like how she handled things. I almost always disagree with her decisions. She was the exact opposite of Tavi when it comes to formulating steps and decisions. She always let her emotions affect her judgement. I mean, I respect her for having so much love and care for her loved ones, her desire to protect them and do everything to make them safe, but she often decides without thinking beyond that. I can't exactly blame her, especially when I discovered something from her words at the end of the book. But still. I always don't like unwise characters. And I noticed that she always missed the important battles, even in the first book. There's always something going on with her and her lack of participation in those battles made me think about her less.
Overall, this is a very intense book. So much happened and I enjoyed every last bit of them. Those last few pages made me speculate a lot of things. I'm so excited for the next book.
December 28, 2013
Another action packed installment of a great fantasy series.
I didn't know where it where it was going to go after the first book but was floored when it was every bit as good as Furies of Calderon and possibly exceeding it. In Academ’s Fury we get to see Tavi grow as he studies to be a Cursor. We get multiple stories going again with many of the characters from the first book. In addition we are introduced to some new intriguing characters one of my favorites being Tavi’s best friend Max. Kitai makes an appearance and she is just the perfect heroine.
This is the second book of the series so I can only say so much about it without giving things away. But what I love most about this series, besides the writing, is that it always has you thinking. The political villains in this series aren't Snidley Whiplash obvious villains. You start to see their side of issues and it makes it difficult to decide where your allegiance should lie. I love when a story makes you think about which side of the road is the evil. In this series most of the politicians fall in the grey zone. There is one group that is definitely the evil party but from there it is hard to decide whose team to root for. Although this is much more action/adventure there are some romances that are sprouting from the series but it is happening in a very believable atmosphere. The only negative is unlike the first book bouncing between stories was cliffier. Maybe that was just because there wasn't any breaks throughout the whole book.
If you are into Fantasy, like great writing, and don’t need the steamy, you really need to pick up this series. It’s not very often that I pick up a 600 page fantasy book and don’t have to skim.
I didn't know where it where it was going to go after the first book but was floored when it was every bit as good as Furies of Calderon and possibly exceeding it. In Academ’s Fury we get to see Tavi grow as he studies to be a Cursor. We get multiple stories going again with many of the characters from the first book. In addition we are introduced to some new intriguing characters one of my favorites being Tavi’s best friend Max. Kitai makes an appearance and she is just the perfect heroine.
This is the second book of the series so I can only say so much about it without giving things away. But what I love most about this series, besides the writing, is that it always has you thinking. The political villains in this series aren't Snidley Whiplash obvious villains. You start to see their side of issues and it makes it difficult to decide where your allegiance should lie. I love when a story makes you think about which side of the road is the evil. In this series most of the politicians fall in the grey zone. There is one group that is definitely the evil party but from there it is hard to decide whose team to root for. Although this is much more action/adventure there are some romances that are sprouting from the series but it is happening in a very believable atmosphere. The only negative is unlike the first book bouncing between stories was cliffier. Maybe that was just because there wasn't any breaks throughout the whole book.
If you are into Fantasy, like great writing, and don’t need the steamy, you really need to pick up this series. It’s not very often that I pick up a 600 page fantasy book and don’t have to skim.
December 19, 2017
Although this installment was easier for me to read than Furies of Calderon (my groans were cut down by about a third, I'd say), I liked this second novel no more than the first one. It has been two years since the events of Furies, and we're plopped right back into the action without so much as an update, which at first had me a little miffed. The problem with plowing through novels so quickly is that proper nouns quickly find their way into the oubliette, so even though it's only been about two months, I was still playing catch up trying to remember who the characters were.
On second thought, let's not blame me. The names just aren't very memorable. I was 3/4s of the way through this book and explaining it to a friend and I had to grope for the main character's name. T...t...it's T-something I swear! Tavi? No wonder he's powerless, he sounds like it.
From the first page, Butcher sets up the story, and from there on out it is non-stop action. I like a good action scene as much as the next bloke, but in this case it really started to grate on me. The characters are never given a chance for introspection, besides sparing a thought or two for "I wonder where this other character is right now? No matter, off to another near death situation!" So once again, one of my main problems is the lack of character development. I know what the author wants the characters to be, but they never seem to get there on their own. We're just told they do, and I am baffled at people who say these characters feel "alive." Only alive in the sense that fire is alive; expanding the story and going new places but leaving nothing behind to appreciate. Honestly, the only character I felt became a little more interesting in this novel was Fidelias, who I hated in the first book, so that's saying a lot. I always like it when bad guys become likable.
What really interests me about this series is the weak (well, relatively) main character. Tavi uses his brains and quick wit to talk himself out of - or into - situations. Usually in fantasy novels, any sort of magic is regarded with suspicion, à la X-Men. Someone with crazy powers and inhuman strength is usually incredibly frightening to the layman. In these novels, however, Tavi is the only weak character without magic, and he's the weirdo and regarded with suspicion. This flips my thoughts on magic and powers on its head, and I like that. I can't help but be gut wrenchingly involved whenever Tavi is in the middle of the action. I always want THIS to be the moment when his powers manifest.
I could have done without the weird women's rights story line. I know I know, I'm always touting about how sexist fantasy is and give me my strong female characters dammit. But in this case, it just came across as schmaltzy and a thoroughly fake story line to throw some pretend politics into the mix. Without it, there would have been next to no politics in the novel, and Butcher obviously wants us to be aware of the political situation in the realm.
The love story between Amara and Bernard was uncomfortable at best and gag worthy at worst. Here's my favorite quote from page 453:
Please! Hopefully it picks up a little in subsequent books.
Pick this up if you want a fun romp with non stop action, with little consequence but also small reward. It definitely improves on the first novel, but not enough for me to legitimately like it on its own.
On second thought, let's not blame me. The names just aren't very memorable. I was 3/4s of the way through this book and explaining it to a friend and I had to grope for the main character's name. T...t...it's T-something I swear! Tavi? No wonder he's powerless, he sounds like it.
From the first page, Butcher sets up the story, and from there on out it is non-stop action. I like a good action scene as much as the next bloke, but in this case it really started to grate on me. The characters are never given a chance for introspection, besides sparing a thought or two for "I wonder where this other character is right now? No matter, off to another near death situation!" So once again, one of my main problems is the lack of character development. I know what the author wants the characters to be, but they never seem to get there on their own. We're just told they do, and I am baffled at people who say these characters feel "alive." Only alive in the sense that fire is alive; expanding the story and going new places but leaving nothing behind to appreciate. Honestly, the only character I felt became a little more interesting in this novel was Fidelias, who I hated in the first book, so that's saying a lot. I always like it when bad guys become likable.
What really interests me about this series is the weak (well, relatively) main character. Tavi uses his brains and quick wit to talk himself out of - or into - situations. Usually in fantasy novels, any sort of magic is regarded with suspicion, à la X-Men. Someone with crazy powers and inhuman strength is usually incredibly frightening to the layman. In these novels, however, Tavi is the only weak character without magic, and he's the weirdo and regarded with suspicion. This flips my thoughts on magic and powers on its head, and I like that. I can't help but be gut wrenchingly involved whenever Tavi is in the middle of the action. I always want THIS to be the moment when his powers manifest.
I could have done without the weird women's rights story line. I know I know, I'm always touting about how sexist fantasy is and give me my strong female characters dammit. But in this case, it just came across as schmaltzy and a thoroughly fake story line to throw some pretend politics into the mix. Without it, there would have been next to no politics in the novel, and Butcher obviously wants us to be aware of the political situation in the realm.
The love story between Amara and Bernard was uncomfortable at best and gag worthy at worst. Here's my favorite quote from page 453:
Amara let out a nervous little laugh, and her cheeks flushed hot. She took two steps to Bernard and leaned up to kiss him again. He returned it, one hand touching her waist, a possessive gesture.
Please! Hopefully it picks up a little in subsequent books.
Pick this up if you want a fun romp with non stop action, with little consequence but also small reward. It definitely improves on the first novel, but not enough for me to legitimately like it on its own.
March 31, 2014
Academ's Fury was a truly excellent book. The characters all showed great depth, the struggles they faced kept me tearing through the pages to see what happened next, and the new dangers were terrifying.
I wish I could say more, but even with the spoilers I feel like I'm giving away too much of the story. I'm definitely looking forward to starting to the next book in the series.
I wish I could say more, but even with the spoilers I feel like I'm giving away too much of the story. I'm definitely looking forward to starting to the next book in the series.
October 22, 2017
Rating a solid 4 stars
I like these books much better than I like the Dresden books. Between the Dresden books and now the Codex Alera books I have come to the conclusion that Jim Butcher has an over-the-top writing style. There is basically non-stop action throughout all his books. One could argue that there is almost too much action. What I mean by over-the-top writing style is that he makes the odds against the good guys terrible from the beginning and then throughout the story makes them worse and worse. It seems a little redundant to make an impossible task even more difficult. I enjoyed reading about the fighting and the different ways in which the magic can be used. However, in my mind I am trying to keep track of the odds and how the overall fight is progressing, and in my mind what is being described is impossible. There are multiple battles both in this book and the first book with many waves in the fighting. Keeping track of the total number of people fighting from the beginning, and the number of people lost during each skirmish, would have left no people able to fight a long time ago. So, while there is great heroism in the fighting and I do think the fight scenes are very well written, I don't think they are very realistic. However, since I know that going into the story, I can just go along with it and enjoy the book - which I did.
The story takes place 2 years after the last book. Tavi is in the capitol studying to be a cursor. I love all stories that talk about training and how things are done. To be honest I wish the story had more on this subject, because again it is one of my favorite parts of any story. Tavi's Uncle Bernard also has a big part in this story as well as his Aunt Isana. Without giving too much away, Everyone is in trouble at the same time and needs help. Some of the problems are related and some of them are separate, which just coincidentally happen at the same time (see what I mean about over-the-top story telling?).
By not focusing too much on the impossibility of the story, I was able to sit back and enjoy it much more. While I do think Jim Butcher does a great job at "in the moment" writing, I don't think he does a great job at intrigue. Or to be more specific, I think I can see from a mile away where the story is going (at least on a big picture sort of way). I think I have figured out, even before starting this book, the secrets that are being kept. I also wish the Jim Butcher would spend a little more time on world building as the world that he has created is so interesting. I just think it could use a little more detail. He does do a great job with his characters though, and I really feel for the people that he has created.
Overall this book is better than the first one and while not perfect, it is a very good read and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I like these books much better than I like the Dresden books. Between the Dresden books and now the Codex Alera books I have come to the conclusion that Jim Butcher has an over-the-top writing style. There is basically non-stop action throughout all his books. One could argue that there is almost too much action. What I mean by over-the-top writing style is that he makes the odds against the good guys terrible from the beginning and then throughout the story makes them worse and worse. It seems a little redundant to make an impossible task even more difficult. I enjoyed reading about the fighting and the different ways in which the magic can be used. However, in my mind I am trying to keep track of the odds and how the overall fight is progressing, and in my mind what is being described is impossible. There are multiple battles both in this book and the first book with many waves in the fighting. Keeping track of the total number of people fighting from the beginning, and the number of people lost during each skirmish, would have left no people able to fight a long time ago. So, while there is great heroism in the fighting and I do think the fight scenes are very well written, I don't think they are very realistic. However, since I know that going into the story, I can just go along with it and enjoy the book - which I did.
The story takes place 2 years after the last book. Tavi is in the capitol studying to be a cursor. I love all stories that talk about training and how things are done. To be honest I wish the story had more on this subject, because again it is one of my favorite parts of any story. Tavi's Uncle Bernard also has a big part in this story as well as his Aunt Isana. Without giving too much away, Everyone is in trouble at the same time and needs help. Some of the problems are related and some of them are separate, which just coincidentally happen at the same time (see what I mean about over-the-top story telling?).
By not focusing too much on the impossibility of the story, I was able to sit back and enjoy it much more. While I do think Jim Butcher does a great job at "in the moment" writing, I don't think he does a great job at intrigue. Or to be more specific, I think I can see from a mile away where the story is going (at least on a big picture sort of way). I think I have figured out, even before starting this book, the secrets that are being kept. I also wish the Jim Butcher would spend a little more time on world building as the world that he has created is so interesting. I just think it could use a little more detail. He does do a great job with his characters though, and I really feel for the people that he has created.
Overall this book is better than the first one and while not perfect, it is a very good read and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
October 30, 2019
Actual rating: 4.00
November 25, 2022
I read this 10 years after reading the first one and I did not go back and read the first so it was a bit of a slow start remembering what went on. I find this series slightly trending towards YA which I usually try to point myself in the opposite direction but...it is a good couple of books. The sword battles are a bit tedious and some of the situations are somewhat too transparent but the characters are great and the main premise of success and greatness can be acheived by anyone including the magically disadvantaged is well donel.
November 7, 2016
Jim Butcher's first two books in his Codex Alera are fascinating - weighted with capable, yet flawed female and male characters, and full of political intrigue and adventure. The very concept: an alien world populated by future descendants of the Roman people is intriguing. However, at times the writing itself feels 'too neat' and the suspension of disbelief falters.
The book follows Tavi, a young man in a world of furycrafters, who cannot furycraft. Furycrafting is the magic system of this world, whereby each citizen has possession of one or more elemental spirits called furies. This concept is of course, based upon the Roman mythologies and the concept of the one 'freak hero' in a world of magic who has none himself. In this book in particular, however, the reader witnesses the development of Tavi as a man - whereas in the first book he was a young adolescent. This develops Tavi as an interesting character and leads the reader to want to follow his journey onwards across the continuing novels.
As far as fantasy works travel this is a 'nice' book. It is a neat distraction that allows the reader to pass away the time without every being anything grander. Yet it is for this reason that the novel works entirely. It is polished escapism.
At times Jim Butcher weighs his story and world down with various political machinations which add a depth of realism to his characters and story but which drag down the entertainment value. Which leads me to consider that I must complete the entire series before making an appropriate judgement of where the entire narrative is leading towards.
The book follows Tavi, a young man in a world of furycrafters, who cannot furycraft. Furycrafting is the magic system of this world, whereby each citizen has possession of one or more elemental spirits called furies. This concept is of course, based upon the Roman mythologies and the concept of the one 'freak hero' in a world of magic who has none himself. In this book in particular, however, the reader witnesses the development of Tavi as a man - whereas in the first book he was a young adolescent. This develops Tavi as an interesting character and leads the reader to want to follow his journey onwards across the continuing novels.
As far as fantasy works travel this is a 'nice' book. It is a neat distraction that allows the reader to pass away the time without every being anything grander. Yet it is for this reason that the novel works entirely. It is polished escapism.
At times Jim Butcher weighs his story and world down with various political machinations which add a depth of realism to his characters and story but which drag down the entertainment value. Which leads me to consider that I must complete the entire series before making an appropriate judgement of where the entire narrative is leading towards.
August 17, 2016
What a sequel!!!!! It is always a nail biter when it comes to the second book in a series because normally they fall flat and don't live up to the awesomeness that was the first. That is not the case here with Academ's Fury the second book in the Codex Alera!! This books was everything the first was and so much more. I am absolutely having a blast with this series! The story is engaging and the characters are riveting to read about. Butcher also has a way with writing action sequences that leave you completely immersed in the battles that take place. I am so looking forward to continuing on with series but for right now I am going to step back and read some other books before my back log becomes even more back logged!!!!!
December 29, 2016
When the first Lord of Alera Gaius mysteriously falls unconscious after drinking Spirit fire, Tavi and his friends must come up with a plan to cover for the ill Lord before the realm ends up in chaos. Can he succeed? Will his Uncle Bernard be able to save the realm from the Vord demons before it is too late? The answers you seek lie in this book when you read it for yourself.
This was a pretty good second installment of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. It was action-packed and the dialogue and story was great too. If you enjoy fantasy stories, definitely check this series out for yourself. The Codex alera series can be found at your local library and wherever books are sold. I look forward to reading book III in the future.
This was a pretty good second installment of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. It was action-packed and the dialogue and story was great too. If you enjoy fantasy stories, definitely check this series out for yourself. The Codex alera series can be found at your local library and wherever books are sold. I look forward to reading book III in the future.
June 24, 2015
I don't spend much time on reviews for later books in series' and this won't be any exception. If it's utter garbage then I'll lay out more details but as you can tell from my rating, I enjoyed this second book in the series. It had been quite a few months since I read the first book so I was a little concerned about getting back into the world. It took a few chapters but fairly quickly I was thrust back into Alera with Tavi, Bernard, Amara, Isana and my favorites, Doroga and Walker. Some political intrigue, elemental magic, an ancient nemesis of the Marat and the writing style really moved this story along at a brisk pace. I'll definitely be continuing on with the series.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
March 23, 2010
4.5 stars. Outstanding follow up to the excellent Furies of Calderon. The expansion of the world introduced in the first book and the new races and characters introduced, together with the internal politics and geo-political forces dealt with at length, made this a superb story. Can not wait to read the next one.
February 9, 2020
I actually enjoyed this more than the first novel. The characters are better developed, and strands of politics are finally being drawn together to lay the foundation for what will hopefully be a complex, integrated rest of the series.
Actual Ratings:- 4.5 stars
Actual Ratings:- 4.5 stars
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