varjohaltia | Jim Butcher: Codex Alera (Furies of Calderon, Academ's Fury, Cursor's Fury)

When I read Butcher's first Dresden Files novel, I wasn't very impressed. I liked the short-lived TV show, and from the urging of my friends picked the series back up, ending up enjoying it quite a bit. So, with those books read I went to explore his fantasy series.

The setting is relatively original, an interesting mash-up of Roman, barbarian and feudal systems, with magic that is pretty exclusively based on controlling elementals of sorts. It's pretty obvious from the first few books that there's something deeper afoot and a hidden history underlying everything, but we get few concrete clues. As expected from his Dresden Files days, the pacing and prose is very proficient.

It takes a while, but eventually a core group of protagonists emerge. The characters are likable enough, some more than others, but never really get properly rounded. This likely has to do with the other primary shortcomings of the series: Butcher is using it as a major military geekfest. It reminded me a bit of Elizabeth Moon's Sheepfarmer's Daughter in that regard; the characters were just a means to an end and they and their relationships seem almost forgotten at times while pages upon pages are spent exploring military tactics.

So, once more I'm conflicted. I dropped the series, and don't intend to continue it. Yet there's nothing particularly wrong with it, not nearly in the same way as with Hobb's trilogies. It just doesn't manage to keep my interest. Two and a half out of five.