Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
The Furies of Calderon was a chore. I pushed on seeing glimmers of a dawn, but the sun never broke the horizon. For me, there are a few clouds that grayed out the potential of this story. First, the characters are flat. They never come alive. The same basic description can be used for almost every character - prone to internal soliloquy of self-doubt, fear and indecision. Each one also suffers grievous injuries and is rescued by another casualty. The constant rumination of the cast also throws off the pace of the narrative. Battles and clashes screech to a halt with pages of woe-is-me. And there are glaring inconsistencies particularly in the magic system. A character skulks through the dark in terror to sneak away from an enemy only to powerfully take down another a few pages later. All in all a disappointing read.
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
Love it, I've read it 5 times now. The whole series is amazing.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The basic plot is Fidelias and the other faction are out to remove the current head-leader-dude (I’m not even sure what his title is – it may have been mentioned once). They are convincing somehow (not explained well) the Marat to attack this specific fortress/castle/ruler’s place (but not the main dude, some side dude that’s also important?). Amara is trying to get the local steadholdts to believe her that this is about to happen. Tavi and Bernard and Isana get tied up in this plot as chaos ensues.
Basically, I’m still a bit lost on the basic world details. It wasn’t unclear enough to not be able to follow the story, but the whole story line is oh no something is happening!-action, fighting, running-uh oh now something else-more crazy action battle scene furies swooping down whoaaaaaaaaa. I kept telling Nick that I felt like I just needed time to breathe. So much action, so little explanation, and I need a break before I read the next one.
I’ll admit I was very surprised I feel this way about this book. I’ve been meaning to read this series for years and keep putting it off because my mom sort of said the same thing about them. I LOVE Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series and I LOVE the Wheel of Time series so I figured I’d love this series too. Not so much the case! I do plan to read the next one, but I’m taking a break with another lighter book or two first. Also, it’s the last couple days of the school year, and I’m exhausted! I need something a bit lighter right now.
I’ll go 6 of 10 overall and 2 of 5 for readability. I do plan to read the next one but I don’t think it’s the best of signs when I want to immediately pick up another book for a break from the series. I will say I’m incredibly interested to learn more about the Marat in future books.
You know what this book did make me want to do? Reread the Wheel of Time. So when I find a year or so of time, I’ll get right on that!
-Holly
For more of this review, and other reviews, see: https://bedroopedbookworms.wordpress.com/2018/05/15/furies-of-calderon-by-jim-butcher/
Basically, I’m still a bit lost on the basic world details. It wasn’t unclear enough to not be able to follow the story, but the whole story line is oh no something is happening!-action, fighting, running-uh oh now something else-more crazy action battle scene furies swooping down whoaaaaaaaaa. I kept telling Nick that I felt like I just needed time to breathe. So much action, so little explanation, and I need a break before I read the next one.
I’ll admit I was very surprised I feel this way about this book. I’ve been meaning to read this series for years and keep putting it off because my mom sort of said the same thing about them. I LOVE Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series and I LOVE the Wheel of Time series so I figured I’d love this series too. Not so much the case! I do plan to read the next one, but I’m taking a break with another lighter book or two first. Also, it’s the last couple days of the school year, and I’m exhausted! I need something a bit lighter right now.
I’ll go 6 of 10 overall and 2 of 5 for readability. I do plan to read the next one but I don’t think it’s the best of signs when I want to immediately pick up another book for a break from the series. I will say I’m incredibly interested to learn more about the Marat in future books.
You know what this book did make me want to do? Reread the Wheel of Time. So when I find a year or so of time, I’ll get right on that!
-Holly
For more of this review, and other reviews, see: https://bedroopedbookworms.wordpress.com/2018/05/15/furies-of-calderon-by-jim-butcher/
eh. i just don't think i vibe with butcher. just doesn't work for me. didn't like the characters or the plot. the concept is cool so i'm sad.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think because my previous two books were such fantastic reads (and recent releases by female or nonbinary authors…) that Furies of Calderon felt especially dated and the male gaze felt particularly prominent. In that way, it reminded me a lot of the Revival series. I forgot how the Dresden Files read this way early on and didn’t consider that Butcher’s writing of this era was like to have subtle (and not so subtle) misogyny woven throughout. Almost all of the violence that comes to mind when thinking about Furies of Calderon (rape, the slave collar, cannibalism, etc.) takes place against women. While there are instances of women facilitating their own rescue, oftentimes it is the male characters who are the saviours. Again, it is very much a product of the stereotypes from this era, and does not hold up to the standards that I would expect from a book published today. I did enjoy the ending, however, and I appreciate the way Butcher wrapped up the arc of one antagonist while setting the stage for the books to come. I can see myself continuing on with this series if I spy the sequels at second-hand book sales or perhaps borrowing through the library, but it’s not a series I’m going to go out of my way to find and finish.
This was definitely not my cup of tea. I was looking forward to beginning one of Jim Butcher’s series because I’ve only heard good things about his writing, but I was very disappointed. I read this series mainly for the magic system, which is quite similar to the one I am crafting for my novel and found that aspect of the book interesting, but there were so many slow moving parts, I kept putting the book down for days on end to read different material. I normally don’t skim read but found many of the paragraphs unnecessary and skipped large sections to finish the novel faster. The last 150+ pages, however, picked up in an incredible pace, and now I am questioning continuing the series when beforehand, I knew I wasn’t going to.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated