Furies of Calderon

Codex Alera, Book 1

By: Jim Butcher

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

In the realm of Alera, where people bond with the furies - elementals of earth, air, fire, water, and metal - 15-year-old Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. But when his homeland erupts in chaos - when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies - Tavi's simple courage will turn the tides of war.

©2005 Jim Butcher (P)2008 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Epic fantasy in the best way, inspired by Tolkien.” (New York Times best-selling author Simon R. Green

“A stay-up-all-night-’til-you-finish-it-book, Furies of Calderon is a marvelous read.” (Number-one New York Times best-selling author Patricia Briggs)

“Absorbing...Butcher does a thorough job of world building, to say nothing of developing his action scenes with an abundance of convincing detail.” (Publishers Weekly)

Great Book

One of the interesting things about this book is that there's no clear-cut duality between good and evil like in Lord of the Rings for example. There are multiple groups that end up positively or negatively affecting one or the other - sometimes initiated by what seems like chance alone. You could say it's complex characters but to me it seems that chance alone has a lot to do with whether someone is good or bad on a particular day. Then there is a grand mix with unpredictable results but not in a way that is unbelievable or that goes against character. This is the first one in the series that I have read, and I really look forward to more.

Difficult start

This book was difficult to get started but was well worth it after I did.

Another read through of a great beginning of a series

Love the action in this book and I think it really sets the stage for the rest of the series.

Great story with many twists

Well developed characters, exciting scenes and believable saves! I very much enjoyed this book, looking forward to listening each day.

Fabulous Furies of Calderon

I liked this book very much indeed. The characters are well written and the narrator is my favorite, Kate Reading. She’s wonderful in her storytelling.

Not bad, but names are similar

You’ll catch yourself asking who frequently during the story. It isn’t a bad story, but not up to par with Dresden.
Triggers of rape

Wow

So very amazingly read. I love the story, the characters, and how well this sorry was put together. amazing idea for how to generate the usages of magic.

Very enjoyable

I was a fan of Jim Butchers Dresden Files when I saw that he had written a new book series. I deeply enjoyed the new world he has created. The story flows well and the characters are interesting. His trademark wit is apparent in the pages.
The audio could be better. The reader needs a bit more inflection and animation in the reading group but overall it is a solid performance.

Oh, how I HATE the horns!!!!

I love Jim Butcher. I love the Dresden Files. I love this story. I like the narrator fairly well. But I HATE HATE HATE the horns that sound at crazy times during the story. Get real, Audible, there has to be an easy way to get rid of those stupid horns.

I'm a New Devoted Jim Butcher FAN!

Jim Butcher is every bit as talented and awesome as everyone says he is! This series kept me riveted from the first book until the last -- with engaging characters, a new magical world, and brilliantly interesting new species. I'm not a big fan of warfare, even magical warfare, but the action in this series, and the characters involved, were so well written that they kept me invested in the outcome. If you're looking for a new fantasy series to dive into, look no further. The Furies will amaze you.

Great narration by Kate Reading, as always, really brought the story to life. Everyone else should just give up and go home, and let her read everything. She's the BEST.