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kittyg 's review for:
Captain's Fury
by Jim Butcher
To me, this book has been the most fun in the series so far, which is great! I read this as part of the #Rainbowthon and I found myself managing to get through this is just 2 days, very exciting.
This is set in a world where magic is the norm and everyone has at least one weak Fury (kind of a magic spirit). If you are very proficient with the Fury or Furies that you control and use then it's more likely that you're a noble or someone who has a position of power, although some keep the true extent of their powers hidden.
There are three major races in this book who we follow. The Aleran's are the main race that most of our central character's are from. We then have the Marat race which is largely based on tribes and customs, and have very different ways to the Aleran's. Finally we have the Canim who are a super large wolf-like race. They're often seen as the 'bad-guys' and in this book they're against the Aleran's, but some of them are more reasonable than others.
So this story once more follows Tavi as the lead character with others also taking leading roles. Tavi is a young man by the time we meet him in this book and he's been masquerading as Scipio, the young Captain leading troops against the Canim. The war against the Canim has been going on for a while and it's only now that Alera are at full strength and ready to really take them on (and *hopefully* win). Tavi is stuck leading troops and soldiers whilst all around him people are jealous of his position and envious of the men loyal to him. He's in a fair few deadly situations and close calls across the book, but this doesn't stop him from showing us his determination and skilful planning, and resourcefulness when things (inevitably) go wrong.
Isana is Tavi's aunt and has basically cared for him from his birth. She's one of the closest people to him, but she's kept a secret about his heritage for a long long time, and she's reluctant to tell Tavi even though he's now old enough. This secret has been the worry of her life, and she's tense and worried about his reaction to it. She's also kind of a pawn in another's game (Lady Aquitine) who wants her to do her bidding in return for earlier help. Overall Isana is also put into some tough predicaments, yet she actually relishes these once they're done with and the unburdening seems to help her expand herself and her powers.
Amara is a Curser who is working for the First Lord, Gaius as she has done for much of her life. She's a clever character who knows how to act quickly and do her job well. She's very competent and one of the best wind Fury controllers out there when it comes to flight. She's loyal to Gaius beyond a doubt, and she's happy to accompany him on a very mysterious mission without too much explanation.
Despite all this she has a secret which is to do with the man she loves. She's trying to fulfil her role to Gais at all times, but sometimes she wishes things were different and Curser's could get married and live a simple life...
Marcus is a member within the troops working with Tavi. He's a man who has a very shady past, but due to some events of the previous books his earlier alliances with the Aquitine's may now be tested and he's not sure who he should root for. He's manipulative and very good at guessing what may come to pass so he's a dangerous character to be on the wrong side of. He also doesn't like to be controlled. His story certainly interested me a lot more as the book went on and we saw him as a more major viewpoint character.
Kitai was, once more, my favourite character as she's quick and sharp in all senses of the words. She's funny and can make jokes, but she's also been raised in a way that's very different from the people of Alera because she's a Marat. She's fun to read about and imagine and I feel like she's the sort of person you'd like to be friends with (because being her enemy would be deadly).
Finally Gaius himself deserves a fair mention as he's one of the most powerful men in all of the land with many Furies under his command and a long time of ruling and experience. He's a fairly old man by this point of the story but the events of the ongoing conflicts from two sides have forced him to act and take matters into his own hands. At some points of this book his frailty was wonderfully shown and at others his power and immense strength of will and magic was also brilliantly shown. Overall I think he's a bit of a bad-ass :)
On the whole this book was just the type of book I was looking for right now. It was fun, fast-paced and a return to character I already knew and enjoyed. Slipping back into the world was very easy and it felt like I could remember everything that I needed to even though it had been a fair time since I last picked up the book before. I thoroughly enjoyed the read through for this and would give it a 5* rating. Recommended as a very fun and fast high fantasy series.
This is set in a world where magic is the norm and everyone has at least one weak Fury (kind of a magic spirit). If you are very proficient with the Fury or Furies that you control and use then it's more likely that you're a noble or someone who has a position of power, although some keep the true extent of their powers hidden.
There are three major races in this book who we follow. The Aleran's are the main race that most of our central character's are from. We then have the Marat race which is largely based on tribes and customs, and have very different ways to the Aleran's. Finally we have the Canim who are a super large wolf-like race. They're often seen as the 'bad-guys' and in this book they're against the Aleran's, but some of them are more reasonable than others.
So this story once more follows Tavi as the lead character with others also taking leading roles. Tavi is a young man by the time we meet him in this book and he's been masquerading as Scipio, the young Captain leading troops against the Canim. The war against the Canim has been going on for a while and it's only now that Alera are at full strength and ready to really take them on (and *hopefully* win). Tavi is stuck leading troops and soldiers whilst all around him people are jealous of his position and envious of the men loyal to him. He's in a fair few deadly situations and close calls across the book, but this doesn't stop him from showing us his determination and skilful planning, and resourcefulness when things (inevitably) go wrong.
Isana is Tavi's aunt and has basically cared for him from his birth. She's one of the closest people to him, but she's kept a secret about his heritage for a long long time, and she's reluctant to tell Tavi even though he's now old enough. This secret has been the worry of her life, and she's tense and worried about his reaction to it. She's also kind of a pawn in another's game (Lady Aquitine) who wants her to do her bidding in return for earlier help. Overall Isana is also put into some tough predicaments, yet she actually relishes these once they're done with and the unburdening seems to help her expand herself and her powers.
Amara is a Curser who is working for the First Lord, Gaius as she has done for much of her life. She's a clever character who knows how to act quickly and do her job well. She's very competent and one of the best wind Fury controllers out there when it comes to flight. She's loyal to Gaius beyond a doubt, and she's happy to accompany him on a very mysterious mission without too much explanation.
Despite all this she has a secret which is to do with the man she loves. She's trying to fulfil her role to Gais at all times, but sometimes she wishes things were different and Curser's could get married and live a simple life...
Marcus is a member within the troops working with Tavi. He's a man who has a very shady past, but due to some events of the previous books his earlier alliances with the Aquitine's may now be tested and he's not sure who he should root for. He's manipulative and very good at guessing what may come to pass so he's a dangerous character to be on the wrong side of. He also doesn't like to be controlled. His story certainly interested me a lot more as the book went on and we saw him as a more major viewpoint character.
Kitai was, once more, my favourite character as she's quick and sharp in all senses of the words. She's funny and can make jokes, but she's also been raised in a way that's very different from the people of Alera because she's a Marat. She's fun to read about and imagine and I feel like she's the sort of person you'd like to be friends with (because being her enemy would be deadly).
Finally Gaius himself deserves a fair mention as he's one of the most powerful men in all of the land with many Furies under his command and a long time of ruling and experience. He's a fairly old man by this point of the story but the events of the ongoing conflicts from two sides have forced him to act and take matters into his own hands. At some points of this book his frailty was wonderfully shown and at others his power and immense strength of will and magic was also brilliantly shown. Overall I think he's a bit of a bad-ass :)
On the whole this book was just the type of book I was looking for right now. It was fun, fast-paced and a return to character I already knew and enjoyed. Slipping back into the world was very easy and it felt like I could remember everything that I needed to even though it had been a fair time since I last picked up the book before. I thoroughly enjoyed the read through for this and would give it a 5* rating. Recommended as a very fun and fast high fantasy series.