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Codex Alera
Nov. 2nd, 2008 08:22 pmI'm currently reading Jim Butcher's Cursor's Fury, the third book in the Codex Alera series. (The first two are Furies of Calderon and Academ's Fury.) I've been meaning to talk about the books for a while, but something just struck me, prompting me to write.
The series is fantasy, set in a quasi-Roman society. There are hints that this is not an accident, that the Alerans are, in fact, descended from Romans transplanted to another world. Many of the structures of that society are familiar on that basis: the organization of the army, some of the governmental structures, and so forth. There are differences as well: some parts of Aleran territory are rather thinly settled, and society there is structured like a cross between the old American frontier and early feudalism. More to the point, the Alerans are not the only inhabitants of the land. There are at least three other races, all more or less hostile to them - although something of a rapprochement with the nomadic Marat seems to be developing.
Again - this is a fantasy, after all - there is magic. Specifically, the world is alive with elemental spirits, called "furies", which can be persuaded, coerced, or even befriended. Everyone has some talent for this; the most powerful are likely to rise high in the military or the government. There are furies corresponding to fire, earth, air and water, of course, and also to metal and wood. (There may be others; those are the types which have been mentioned.) They offer more than the obvious abilities; water furies, for instance, have healing talents. The result is an intricate and well-balanced magic system.
Everyone has some talent - except one of the central characters, Tavi. He has no furycraft, and must get by purely on wits and physical skill. Wits he has, in abundance; physical skill, he acquires as the series progresses. He comes to the notice of the Aleran ruler early on, and demonstrates his worth repeatedly. To be honest, he reminds me of Miles Vorkosigan. He doesn't have Miles' specific debilities, nor his specific advantages, but he has enough of each on his own, and there is something Miles-ish about his style.
I don't want to make too much of this. Butcher isn't even close to Bujold in wordcraft. (Sometimes his word choices make me wince.) Still, it's an entertaining series. If you've read any of Butcher's Harry Dresden books, you know his authorial style, and the general tone - dark, shot with a bit of humor, and full of those who will not quit, no matter how beat up they are or how long the odds.
[Thanks, again, to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kattsune, who introduced me to the series.]
The series is fantasy, set in a quasi-Roman society. There are hints that this is not an accident, that the Alerans are, in fact, descended from Romans transplanted to another world. Many of the structures of that society are familiar on that basis: the organization of the army, some of the governmental structures, and so forth. There are differences as well: some parts of Aleran territory are rather thinly settled, and society there is structured like a cross between the old American frontier and early feudalism. More to the point, the Alerans are not the only inhabitants of the land. There are at least three other races, all more or less hostile to them - although something of a rapprochement with the nomadic Marat seems to be developing.
Again - this is a fantasy, after all - there is magic. Specifically, the world is alive with elemental spirits, called "furies", which can be persuaded, coerced, or even befriended. Everyone has some talent for this; the most powerful are likely to rise high in the military or the government. There are furies corresponding to fire, earth, air and water, of course, and also to metal and wood. (There may be others; those are the types which have been mentioned.) They offer more than the obvious abilities; water furies, for instance, have healing talents. The result is an intricate and well-balanced magic system.
Everyone has some talent - except one of the central characters, Tavi. He has no furycraft, and must get by purely on wits and physical skill. Wits he has, in abundance; physical skill, he acquires as the series progresses. He comes to the notice of the Aleran ruler early on, and demonstrates his worth repeatedly. To be honest, he reminds me of Miles Vorkosigan. He doesn't have Miles' specific debilities, nor his specific advantages, but he has enough of each on his own, and there is something Miles-ish about his style.
I don't want to make too much of this. Butcher isn't even close to Bujold in wordcraft. (Sometimes his word choices make me wince.) Still, it's an entertaining series. If you've read any of Butcher's Harry Dresden books, you know his authorial style, and the general tone - dark, shot with a bit of humor, and full of those who will not quit, no matter how beat up they are or how long the odds.
[Thanks, again, to
kattsune, who introduced me to the series.]
