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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm a big fan of the Dresden File books and decided to try out his "other" series.
This is a good, solid fantasy series with some interesting twists on the genre. The characters are solid and the story is good.
This is a good, solid fantasy series with some interesting twists on the genre. The characters are solid and the story is good.
Чел съм Джим Бъчър и преди и не ми допадна. Раздвоен съм за тази книга. Същата история, написана от Брандън Сандерсън, вероятно щеше да спечели 5 звездички от мен. Светът е уникален - с магия под формата на фурии, разнообразни раси хора, летящи рицари и тн. За съжаление напомня Р.А. Салваторе като насищане с бойни сцени. Пълно е с гадни преходи между главите, в стил евтин екшън-трилър, и е пресолена с deux ex machina и невъзможни случайности.
Вероятно ще прочета и втората част, за да видя какво ще стане с някои от по-харизматичните герои.
Вероятно ще прочета и втората част, за да видя какво ще стане с някои от по-харизматичните герои.
A solid fantasy novel. Like Butcher's Dresden Files books, there is a ton of action and a lot of people getting really beat up. Somehow this wears on me less in the fantasy genre. There are a lot of good, heroic characters and some cool magic done by elemental like creatures. I will keep reading these.
Troupes and chiches abound in this book, but Butcher’s writing elevates it into a fun start to the series.
This is the first Jim Butcher book I've read, and all I really knew about it when I started was that he'd written it to challenge someone who said some ideas are just too bad to write about and that he'd written about two such "bad ideas," Pokemon and the lost Roman legion, to prove it. I was blown away by his talent in storytelling!
I love that the elements of his inspiration are clear but still made his own. It creates a really interesting setting that we don't usually see in fantasy and an interesting magic system. Plus, he doesn't let his characters rely too much on the magic system (unless it's a flaw they have).
Speaking of the characters, I loved the entire cast! There was so much variety and each one had compelling and believable motivations and personalities. Sometimes when I read a book with multiple viewpoints, I get bored with a certain character and can't wait to get back to my favorite. But with this story, I was ALWAYS excited to go back to the next viewpoint character. I enjoyed following all of them!
The plot gripped me as well. I think the Codex Alera books are a little more character driven than plot driven, but there's definitely enough of the "plot aspect" to keep anyone engaged. The way the action is written is superb, too, and keeps things fast paced and exciting.
One thing I noticed is that Jim tends to not use deep POV as much as a lot of authors/editors seem to, and sometimes he would really pause a moment to explain a character's thought process in great detail. This really didn't bug me, though! It all sort of fit into a tone he'd established from the start, and I found myself enjoying the extra insights I got into the characters' motives. But if that's something that will really bug you, be warned: the POV is not always deep.
Overall, this was an incredible read that I couldn't put down! (I listened to the audio book, and Kate Reading did a fantastic job, of course.) I'd recommend this book to anyone.
I love that the elements of his inspiration are clear but still made his own. It creates a really interesting setting that we don't usually see in fantasy and an interesting magic system. Plus, he doesn't let his characters rely too much on the magic system (unless it's a flaw they have).
Speaking of the characters, I loved the entire cast! There was so much variety and each one had compelling and believable motivations and personalities. Sometimes when I read a book with multiple viewpoints, I get bored with a certain character and can't wait to get back to my favorite. But with this story, I was ALWAYS excited to go back to the next viewpoint character. I enjoyed following all of them!
The plot gripped me as well. I think the Codex Alera books are a little more character driven than plot driven, but there's definitely enough of the "plot aspect" to keep anyone engaged. The way the action is written is superb, too, and keeps things fast paced and exciting.
One thing I noticed is that Jim tends to not use deep POV as much as a lot of authors/editors seem to, and sometimes he would really pause a moment to explain a character's thought process in great detail. This really didn't bug me, though! It all sort of fit into a tone he'd established from the start, and I found myself enjoying the extra insights I got into the characters' motives. But if that's something that will really bug you, be warned: the POV is not always deep.
Overall, this was an incredible read that I couldn't put down! (I listened to the audio book, and Kate Reading did a fantastic job, of course.) I'd recommend this book to anyone.
Eh. This isn't my particular brand of fantasy. There was very little humor, so the characters felt fairly flat to me. It's just straight fantasy, and I prefer my fantasy with a twist. Since Butcher can take some time to get going, I'm going to give the next one a chance too, but if it's more of the same, I'll probably quit.
Audiobook.
To be honest, this has three stars because there's nothing really good or bad about it. The characters are generally well-rounded, the story is decently interesting. Nothing was super awful, but it wasn't enticing either. Though the section with the main character in the Lovecraft tree was an exception, which I liked a lot.
I have a huge issue with the narrator. Kate Reading does this thing when she voices male characters where she makes them all sound gruff and vaguely angry. They could be saying something like, "I'd like a cup of tea," and sound as if they're Wolverine's angrier cousin no one knows about. It's the main reason I haven't continued the series, as she narrates the other books. Eventually I'll read them, since I liked the first book enough to continue it, and hope it improves, but can not stand Kate Reading narrating male characters.
To be honest, this has three stars because there's nothing really good or bad about it. The characters are generally well-rounded, the story is decently interesting. Nothing was super awful, but it wasn't enticing either. Though the section with the main character in the Lovecraft tree was an exception, which I liked a lot.
I have a huge issue with the narrator. Kate Reading does this thing when she voices male characters where she makes them all sound gruff and vaguely angry. They could be saying something like, "I'd like a cup of tea," and sound as if they're Wolverine's angrier cousin no one knows about. It's the main reason I haven't continued the series, as she narrates the other books. Eventually I'll read them, since I liked the first book enough to continue it, and hope it improves, but can not stand Kate Reading narrating male characters.
Middling fantasy epic. The magical system is unique; but not much else. It's a little too paint-by-numbers, populated by stock fantasy archetypal characters and turning points. The "more than they appear" characters are somewhat obvious, and the "deadly peril, cannot possibly survive... and yet" moments are a bit overused. I also found most of the characters (especially the female ones) underdeveloped or shakily sketched, and nearly quit the book over the "rape as peril/motivation" subplot.
Not as strong as Butcher's Dresden series, but still enough to make me wanna see where it goes.
Not as strong as Butcher's Dresden series, but still enough to make me wanna see where it goes.
I felt pretty disappointed with the end of this book. It had some interesting ideas, and I'm gonna continue to read the others in the series as I feel Jim Butchers voice tends to come out in the third or fourth book, but the plodding conversation and pacing, combined with lackluster characters bored me. A good example of Meh.