Reviews

Furies of Calderon: Book One of the Codex Alera by Kate Reading, Jim Butcher

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narcissia's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5

shandyt's review against another edition

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3.0

Uncomplicated and uninspired, despite its unusual premise and origin. I found it just interesting enough to continue on with the series, in the hopes that things get better over time.

Among the things I disliked:
-Repetition of words, occasionally 3+ times within one or two sentences.
-Lots of characters talking about how afraid they are, or opening their mouths to scream.
-Strange word choices, redundant descriptors, and extraneous phrases, like, "a sort of [thing]" and "she felt the sensation of her arm being wrenched back", when "a [thing]" or "her arm was wrenched back" would suffice.
-Several characters spend a significant portion of the book struggling with either fevers or foot injuries, to the point of ridiculousness. I suspect this may have been to make Tavi's furylessness seem like less of a handicap by comparison.
-Amara and Bernard

Spoiler

fall for each other far too quickly, especially considering Bernard's previous marriage, and at the time of their first kiss, they'd been at each other's throats only hours before.

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Because so little about the premise or the story stands out, the flaws in the prose drag it down from "pretty good" to "tolerable." I give it 2.5 stars, rounded up because I'm feeling generous.

pipernme's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

tai16's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

5.0

yodamom's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5 stars.
I love Jim Butchers writing. I especially love them on audio. This Audiobook was fantastic, never a dull moment and read so perfectly. I lost track of time and got so involved in the story I dreamed about it while I slept. It is a full rich book that gave me hours of great story telling.
I loved the characters and cried and cheered along with them in their battle to save their way of life. There are great battles, betrayals, giant beasts, other worldly beings, magical abilities and love. There was a whole world written in these pages waiting to be discovered and I'm glad I finally found it.
I'm continuing the series.