A review by fyri
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

3.0

I started this book with great excitement for the concept. Elemental abilities are My Jam, and the style which these powers were presented was super refreshing for me. I went in with the knowledge that this was written due to a challenge that included pokemon, and it was really neat to see how Mr. Butcher brought that concept to life in his own original way (which also gave me some nice Avatar TLA vibes)! The first scene with Isana healing Bernard was probably my favorite, to be honest. It was intense and unique! I loved the versatility of how each element worked and how each mixed with parts of the human body/experience. Water=can feel emotions, fire=can manipulate emotions, earth=can give more resilience, wind=erm, cant remember if wind connected with the human body, but probably. Was interesting!

I did have some issue as things went along--I wasn't able to connect with the characters as well as I wanted. I think I would say this is because the balance of action and character was off for me (too much action, not enough character to stab me with a fishhook and troll me along with the action, like I much prefer XD). The last fight seemed to go on foreeever and it felt like it took forever to get there too, but after finishing, I did find myself happy and curious about what will happen next.

It did very much feel like your typical "peasant's quest" story. Peasant boy makes farming mistake and has to face great evil (usually magic that he doesn't have/dragon) to save town and returns home a hero. I wonder if this too is what gave me a sort of bland taste at times while reading. The world and magic (especially the magic ❤) felt original, but the characters and plot felt predictable/cookie cutter. To me. Idk.

Though I am intrigued enough to see what happens for book 2! Here's to the future!