Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This is the 1st in a series of fantasy books by the author of The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher. I'm a big fan of the Dresden books, so i had high hopes for this one...and i was not disappointed. Butcher adopts a very different style and tone for this series, but his writing is still well paced and imaginative...perhaps not the crispest prose in the world, but not bad either. This series is set in a slightly Roman world where humans generally have the power to control some or all of the elements, i.e. fire, earth, air, water...this is a pretty interesting and novel premise for me. the fantasy and world building are reminiscent of Tolkien, Terry Brooks and Feist...with a good dose of the modern GRR Martin-esque politics and intrigue to move along the plot. a really great battle to wind up the first book in the series and very plausible plot twists to keep the reader hooked into the next one...highly recommended for fantasy fans.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Why, oh, why did I ever wait so long to read this series? Jim butcher takes us on a incredible journey throughout the valley of Calderon. It follows Tavi a young sheep herder who stumbles onto a plot to over throw the current government. In a land where, Furies, elementals that aid the people of the land a with no fury must rise to the challenge.
I really wanted to love this book because I love Jim Butcher's Dresden Files... But sadly I really am not a Fantasy Epic kind of person :/
This was more of a 4.5* book being a thrill ride the entire way through. I loved the fast-paced tempo of this story line and the way that it touts along as its such an easy read even though it's so long.
This story is set in a fantasy world where the people all have furies, spirit-like creatures who relate to an element and who can be controlled by their human counterparts to varying degrees of power. Some people have very limited use of their furies whilst others have a strong control over them and are very capable with them. So extraordinarily normal are these furies that they are used daily in the day to day routine of life making people more efficient at a variety of different skills.
Tavi is a young farm boy who lives with his aunt and uncle, both of whom are very powerful furycrafters and who are in charge of the steadhold where he lives. Tavi is unusual as he doesn't have a fury, he never received any and this is so strange that everyone sees him as a little bit useless. He is a bit naïve and young but he is kind and gentle with the animals, his family and his friends. He is a character whom I found it easy to like and appreciate from early in the story.
The other main character is Amara who is a Cursor for the Crown. She is a very powerful aircrafter and she has a very strong sense of duty, care and passion for what she sees as right. She had high strung morals and at times I found it harder to like her, but she did grow on me as time went on.
Bernard and Isana, Tavi's uncle and aunt are also big roles and they each love and care for Tavi far more than Tavi can always see. They are leaders and they are strong but this brings them burdens throughout the story and gets them both into some tricky situations.
Fidelias is the final major character along with his sidekicks Odiana and Aldrick. They are the rather more sinister characters with darker pasts, deeper mysteries and colder hearts. They scheme and plot with one another against everything the other characters believe and stand for and the are the driving forces behind the evil is much of the story.
There is also Kord. A very dark and evil to the core character who tends to be more of an annoyance to begin with but then turns even nastier and plots the unthinkable...
The whole host of characters was very fun and vibrant because you follow different characters at different points and the parallel storylines all come together in the end to form a strong ending ti the tale.
The Marat were a race whom I found to be truly interesting as their culture is so vastly different to that of the men and they had their own version of everything and ways of handling everything. I think that they were brilliantly crafted and I hope that they reappear in the next books.
The furies were very, very interesting as they seemed to have their own personalities too which I hope we shall see more of in the following stories. I also want to find out more aboutbwhat the furies are and why the function as they do and if the furies affect their owners in more than the 'magical helper' way but also in the personality etc. This lack of complete explaination keeps me wanting to know more and is the only reason I have not to give it 5*s but I did want to know more from such a long book. Very good descriptions of their abilities though!
This series has got off to a very promising start with this installment and I look forward to when I can purchase book 2 and start that as I am sure it only gets better. On the whole a story which is highly worth the time to read it and is very enjoyable throughout. Highly recommended!
This story is set in a fantasy world where the people all have furies, spirit-like creatures who relate to an element and who can be controlled by their human counterparts to varying degrees of power. Some people have very limited use of their furies whilst others have a strong control over them and are very capable with them. So extraordinarily normal are these furies that they are used daily in the day to day routine of life making people more efficient at a variety of different skills.
Tavi is a young farm boy who lives with his aunt and uncle, both of whom are very powerful furycrafters and who are in charge of the steadhold where he lives. Tavi is unusual as he doesn't have a fury, he never received any and this is so strange that everyone sees him as a little bit useless. He is a bit naïve and young but he is kind and gentle with the animals, his family and his friends. He is a character whom I found it easy to like and appreciate from early in the story.
The other main character is Amara who is a Cursor for the Crown. She is a very powerful aircrafter and she has a very strong sense of duty, care and passion for what she sees as right. She had high strung morals and at times I found it harder to like her, but she did grow on me as time went on.
Bernard and Isana, Tavi's uncle and aunt are also big roles and they each love and care for Tavi far more than Tavi can always see. They are leaders and they are strong but this brings them burdens throughout the story and gets them both into some tricky situations.
Fidelias is the final major character along with his sidekicks Odiana and Aldrick. They are the rather more sinister characters with darker pasts, deeper mysteries and colder hearts. They scheme and plot with one another against everything the other characters believe and stand for and the are the driving forces behind the evil is much of the story.
There is also Kord. A very dark and evil to the core character who tends to be more of an annoyance to begin with but then turns even nastier and plots the unthinkable...
The whole host of characters was very fun and vibrant because you follow different characters at different points and the parallel storylines all come together in the end to form a strong ending ti the tale.
The Marat were a race whom I found to be truly interesting as their culture is so vastly different to that of the men and they had their own version of everything and ways of handling everything. I think that they were brilliantly crafted and I hope that they reappear in the next books.
The furies were very, very interesting as they seemed to have their own personalities too which I hope we shall see more of in the following stories. I also want to find out more aboutbwhat the furies are and why the function as they do and if the furies affect their owners in more than the 'magical helper' way but also in the personality etc. This lack of complete explaination keeps me wanting to know more and is the only reason I have not to give it 5*s but I did want to know more from such a long book. Very good descriptions of their abilities though!
This series has got off to a very promising start with this installment and I look forward to when I can purchase book 2 and start that as I am sure it only gets better. On the whole a story which is highly worth the time to read it and is very enjoyable throughout. Highly recommended!
A fantastic book that begins off what promises to be a great series. Jim Butcher works using familiar themes with his own signature tweaks, and in spite of the characters/themes being common, his superb skin in story telling and the genuineness of characters makes his book a great read.
Looking forward to finishing the series over the Weekend. I recommend the book and series if you are a lover of magic and the hero who does not ever give up, whatever the challenge.
Looking forward to finishing the series over the Weekend. I recommend the book and series if you are a lover of magic and the hero who does not ever give up, whatever the challenge.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No