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)

Jim Butcher is an amazing author!

I've finally found my next series to emerse myself in! Book one has laid the foundation for what I expect to be a fantastic story. After just finishing book one, my ONLY disappointment is that there are only five more books in the series to go!

Real Magic in an Ancient Greek or Roman Setting

What did you love best about Furies of Calderon?

The magic. And Tavi. And his Uncle. And Marcus. Well, you get the picture.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Furies of Calderon?

Tavi running from the storm fury and hiding in the temple.

Have you listened to any of Kate Reading’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

So many. She's a prolific voice actor, and one of the best. Her presence on a title will sway me to download it if I'm on the fence.

Any additional comments?

Great series. Not Harry Dresden. Don't read this for that. Read it for its own sake- you won't be disappointed. Come on! Magic! In an Ancient Roman setting! Fabulous!

TAVI!

Some folks have asked, "why have a female reader when this story is clearly about a young man?". I say: because she is such an awesome reader that this book comes to life through her voice!
I love this series and I'm happy that it's around. This is a series you can listen to over and over because even though you know what's happening, it's so alive that you start missing all the characters after a few months!
Get this series. You won't be disappointed. I swear it by all the furies great and small!

why the horns

the narrator is excellent but the performance is horribly marred by the bloody horn noises every chapter. the story is excellent but please remove the horn noises.

What's with the horns?

There are horns that seem to play at random and are so so loud when using headphones. Horrible idea. Everything is good though.

Jim Butcher is a master story teller...even on a b

Any additional comments?

After an arrogant forum member dared him to back up his claim that "A great author can write a good story from a bad idea better that a bad author could write a good story with a great idea."Jim Butcher proceeded to create a six book tale that is eight kinds of incredible.

Though a word of caution: Jim broke from traditional story telling by not telling the reader how the world of furies works. Most authors would pause to explain, very early on, the rules and physics of the world their story is set in (he does this in the Storm Front, The Dresden Files) and further enrich this knowledge as the book and series progress. Butcher doesn't do that here. Instead the reader is treated like a visitor to the world of Alera and learns the rules by observing the events that surround Tavi and others. Much like discovering nuances and subtle flavors in a good wine as you sip, you are taken on a journey of discovery as you follow the story, each new revelation a flavor for the mind to savor.

As another reviewer said, the Lost Roman Legion and Pokémon made for an amazing adventure. Cheers Jim.

Not a "Dresden Files" kind of story!

What made the experience of listening to Furies of Calderon the most enjoyable?

It was a "DUNE" kind of story not a "Dresden Files". I was expecting something different.

Great intro to story

Really did enjoy this first book. Jim Butcher is entertaining as always. This is my second time listening to the series.

Pokémon + Lost Roman Legion = WOW

Jim Butcher crushes it in this epic inspired by the Roman empire. Pacing builds slow at the start but quickly picks up steam. Adventure, action, romance, revenge; everything you could want in a story. Wonderful rendition by Kate Reading. This gets 4/5 stars on performance because of awkward trumpets; it does not reflect any fault in the narration of this story. Still worth the "read" though (haha little audiobook humor there).

Holy freaking shitaki mushrooms!

This book was awesome I'm a massive Dresden fan and I was very scared that this book would be bad and make me hate JB but is was AMAZING!! I loved it and I'm so happy there are more books ahhhhh so good