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)

It is good. BUT

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Big time Jim Butcher fan. It seems like he was trying to hard to do something different. The magic system was kind of boring. And being at as it was a highlight on the cover it confused me. The story was a 5 star. The character development was a 3 star. Sorry but I never really fell in love with any of the characters. Kate Reading did a awesome job narrating the book. All and all i bought the next book just because Jim does such a awesome ending.

Took a while to get off the ground

Narrated well, but with bad splicing (pauses between splices were truncated, and the trumpets were decidedly odd). Fine story but only got interesting halfway through. Once he got going, though, Butcher delivered.

Good story, weird editing.

The narrator & story are wonderful. The horns that played during the story were odd and disruptive.

Great Story, Questionable Reading

I read this book years ago and loved it. I am a sucker for this kind of fantasy, one that follows the boy of great and yet undefined potential through adventure and sorcery. It was reading the Belgariad (Eddings) as a kid that turned me into a reader. This is a book has a similar narrative to Pawn of Prophecy. I am a fan of Butcher from the Dresden Files and this is a departure from urban fantasy to more swords & magic fantasy. He does a solid job. His development of the world and the system of magic is fantastic. This particular quality he shares with Sanderson, however, he is quite different in many other ways. In short, Butcher does a great job of drawing together great elements of fantasy to make for an enjoyable story.

I generally like Kate Reading. This one is a rare miss for her. I don't get why they made the choice to play British in this novel. She's American and it shows. When she characterizes certain characters that are a departure from her normal speaking voice her British accent goes in and out. Also, one of the advantages of getting a British reader to do British accents is that they don't all have the general standard British accents. Bumpkins will sound like they're from Yorkshire. City dwellers will sound like there from Norf London, that kind of thing. Because she's trying to pass as British, you don't get variation, you get inconsistency.

Confusing start but will suck you in quickly

If you could sum up Furies of Calderon in three words, what would they be?

Non stop excitment

What did you like best about this story?

I loved how the writer made sure you knew everything that happend with all of his characters. It felt as though i was reading several individual stories that were all intagled into this 1 massive story that constantly left you hungry for more of each characters story.

Which character – as performed by Kate Reading – was your favorite?

I would have to say Tavi

Any additional comments?

I just recently started listenting to audio books during my daily commute. This book makes me wish my commute was longer as everything i get out of my car i'm disapointed i have to wait to hear more of the story. This is one of my favorite books.

Brilliant

I went through this series in no time, absolutely love it.
Codex Alera is a fantasy series set in a world with a bunch of different races, the human one being descended from a Roman legion that was dropped on it some 1,000 years before. Since then, Alerans have gained fury craft, while pretty much forgetting about non-fury-based technology. Each book describes a period in the life of Tavi, who starts out as a 15-year old "freak" as he has no fury craft whatsoever, and develops into a smart young man, becoming more and more a central figure in changes happening in Alera and an all-out war against the Vord who threaten to destroy Alera.
Check out the wiki about Codex Alera for more details, or start with the first book to see if you like it :-)
Kate Reading does a fantastic job narrating, I'll be looking for books read by her.

Great book - but the music is awful

Any additional comments?

I read this book on Kindle some time ago and enjoyed it, and wanted an audio book that I could listen to, but avoid the late night fiction hangover from the book you can't stop listening too. I know the ending, so don't need to stay up to hear it ... but the music in-between the chapters is awful.
LISTENERS - good book, good characters and good narration. Jim Butchers stuff is addictive, and this book and telling is no exception. I recommend the book - but not if you like to fall asleep to your audio books as I do.
AUDIBLE - the music in-between chapters in this book serves no purpose and is jarring. It means that the book cannot be listened to at night, which is when I do most of my listening. There is no benefit in the music and I am sure enough people who find it jarring to warrant not doing it. It will probably stop me from buying the others in the series, which I would have otherwise done.

Great series for those looking to explore fantasy

I have read several epic fantasy series. My favorites being The Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire. I would recommend this series for those starting to explore epic fantasy. The characters and plot are intriguing without being overly complex. Jim Butcher uses a unique magic system and the world itself is very similar to our own. For me the series was a bit over simplified but this is after reading several complex, long, and dark series. If this was the first epic fantasy series I had even read/listened to I would have enjoyed it even more. For those looking for a dark intricate series, I'd pass on this one. For those looking for a light fun series, dive in and enjoy! The narration is excellent, Kate Reading (who also reads the Wheel of Time series) is one of the best!

Good book, odd use of music

The reader does the usual great job, but there were odd cuts in the recording, like it was badly edited. I also had to re-download part 2 because it kept crashing on my phone.

I enjoyed the intro/exit music, but there was also music inserted at intervals throughout the recording. It didn't seem to coincide with chapters. It was like it was maybe originally intended to be burnt to cd or something and it signaled the end of a cd.

Still enjoyable.

A series very much worth reading.

Excellent writing. Edge of your seat for the last half, both creative and interesting to begin. Despite one main character being young, there is little in the way of sniveling or teen angst. Decent character development while retaining obvious secrets to be revealed later.uch more enjoyable than the first few Dresden books, the main character of whom I found recalcitrant well past the point of idiocy.

oh, and Kate Redding is a nearly peerless narrator!