Furies of Calderon (The Codex Alera series) by Jim Butcher

I’ve been a fan of Jim Butcher for a number of years now, having poured through the Dresden Files books and stories. While waiting for more to come out, I decided to give this series a try as well, having heard many good things about it.  I always wonder if an author that is known for a certain style of writing (modern day humorous urban fantasy) can pull off a switch to something else (traditional epic fantasy).  Some might think these categories are both “fantasy” and conclude they really aren’t that different, but I would disagree.  Writing a crime/action thriller akin to Steve Berry or David Baldacci would be closer to a Harry Dresden novel than traditional epic fantasy.

So does he pull it off?  I would answer with a resounding “yes” to that question.  This is the first novel in a series of six books but is a complete story in itself with a beginning, middle, and an end.  In my mind many fantasy writers today forget that and write a single story spread over three or four books. This one certainly has lead-ins to follow-on books but if a reader were to stop here, I think they would be quite satisfied.

The magic system is pretty interesting and reminds me a lot of the sort of stuff Brandon Sanderson would devise.  It’s not fully explained but we know enough to follow along with the action.  That goes for the world building in general too.  I feel like I know a little about one corner of this world and that works well here.  No big info dumps to wade through on geopolitical systems or religious hierarchies or lengthy explanations of the flora and fauna.  The characters were well developed and I felt drawn to them, even the bad guys.  There is some gray here, fortunately.  I always appreciate it when antagonists are fully realized and may only be “bad” because they have different perspectives than the “good” characters.

There are some lengthy battle scenes, which may bog down the narrative for some people.  I’ve noticed this with the later Dresden books too.  Seems like Butcher can get carried away with those and sometimes they seem too long.  But the characters’ individual stories are all tied in to the action and the unexpected relationships that develop during these action sequences are a treat.

All in all, this was a wonderful beginning to the series and I am looking forward to following on with these characters in their adventures to come.