Academ's Fury

By: Jim Butcher

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 21 hrs

Publisher's Summary

For 1,000 years, the people of Alera have united against the aggressive and threatening races that inhabit the world, using their unique bond with the Furies - elementals of earth, air, fire, water, and metal. But now, the unity of the Alerians hangs in precarious balance. The first lord of Alera has fallen in his efforts to protect his people from the vicious attacks of their enemies. Now, the fate of the Alerians lies in the hands of Tavi, a young man who must use all of his courage and resourcefulness to save his people.

©2006 Jim Butcher (P)2008 Penguin Audiobooks

Solid Follow-Up to Book 1

Academ's Fury picks up about two years after the conclusion of the previous book, Furies of Calderon. Our hero, Tavi, is now a student at Hogw--oops! Um--at the Academy in Alera Imperia. Along with his new position as the High Lord's page, Tavi is making new friends and new enemies right and left. There's treason in the air and assassins around every corner. Meanwhile, back in Calderon Valley, the nastiest enemy of all is taking root. Not the strongest book in the series but not the weakest either. I love Jim Butcher and I enjoy his style--warts and all--and this book certainly does nothing to change that. It introduces some great characters who will play important roles in the books to come, so it is a must-read for that reason alone. Some events feel a bit contrived, and there are plenty of Harry Potter parallels; don't let any of that dissuade you. Lot's of fun to be had here, so I suggest you ignore the minor bumps in the road and just enjoy the ride.

25 of 25 people found this review helpful

missing 1/2 of chapter 50

What disappointed you about Academ's Fury?

The book is amazing, however 1/2 chapter 50 which contains arguably the most important information in the book , is missing. I was increadbly confused for the last 4 chapters as I had missed the result of an important battle. Had to buy the book and read though to figure it out. I was very disappointed and wonder if this happens more often than I notice in audible in less noticably parts of the books.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kitia. She's a bad ass.

Would you be willing to try another one of Kate Reading’s performances?

I love Kate Reading in this series as well as the wheel if time series. I doubt very much this mistake was caused by her reading. More likely an error of audible cutting and pasting to mp3 formate.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

All of the above. Great book. Wonderfully written.

Any additional comments?

fix the cut and paste in leaving out 1/2 of chapter 50 and purposely cut out the annoying horns!!

53 of 55 people found this review helpful

Excellent Book But Missing End Of Chapter 50

What did you like best about Academ's Fury? What did you like least?

Loved the story, the growth of the characters and the developing relationships. Really disappointed by the fact that the Audible version is missing the crucial end to Chapter 50. The end of that chapter ties up a major plot line while helping to set up a dynamic that is pivotal for the rest of the series. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR SOME TIME NOW. Come on Audible, step up.

14 of 14 people found this review helpful

Awful Recording

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I can see other reviews complaining about this, and I'm not sure why it's not a headliner for every single review... the quality of the sound is awful. I don't really care that they were too lazy to remove the "end of disk trumpets," but I DO care that it sounds like I'm listening to a skipping CD, and I know I'm missing chunks of the story.

Seriously, fix the audio.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Ok, getting better

If you read my review for the first book of this series, it was not too kind. However, the story has gotten better and has more teeth to it. Better development in story and style. Kate Reading is a good voice for this and can keep each person separate in her intonations and styles. Although I still do not like Issana, even though she is one of the good guys. She is just too much like a limp noodle that has drama. My opinion only, of course. I will give a spoiler alert in that I have now finished the whole series (Except #6 that just came out) and ended up loving the series. Stick with it, each one gets better through #5. Enjoy!

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

1/2 of chapter 50 is missing

Any additional comments?

I kept wondering what happened to the 2nd Vord Queen. I went back to re-listen to several chapters thinking that I somehow missed something. I read several reviews that reference 1/2 of Chapter 50 is missing. I would hope that Audible would fix this issue.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Great Story, great reader

You won't be disappointed. Each book in the series is good as a stand-alone book but are great as a series. You can tell that Jim Butcher had a direction from the first book on where he wanted the series to go. My wife and I travel a lot and like fantasy. Very entertaining. Plot is split between different characters, but not so much you can't keep up.

The different races in Butcher's world and their customs are interesting. As the series continues, the relationships that develop are realistic and heart-warming.

Kate Reading is a very good reader. Usually, female readers make the characters sound the same. She brings many different voices to the story so that you can tell who is speaking when the text doesn't mention it.

17 of 18 people found this review helpful

Butcher gets better and better!

and that's really saying something. Academs's Fury finds our intrepid hero, Tavi, living the dream as a student at the academy, and getting sand kicked in his face by the bullies with furies. It takes off from there with the same amazing originality as the first book. What can I say, I'm a Jim Butcher fan.

Also: Kate Reading is the best reader. EVER. But this time I envied her being able to read such amazing material.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Wonderful series

If you like the Miles Vorkosagan Series by Lois McMaster Bujold then you will like this one as well. Each has a main character with a major handicap that uses his brain to overcome tremendous odds and do amazing things. The characterization and plots are both really fun. I highly recommend this entire series to any one who likes the Vorkosagan series and vice versa.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

Missing 1/2 of chapter 50.

I originally gave it 5 stars all the way around till my wife pointed out that 1/2 a chapter was missing. For $20+ I expected a full book, and not to miss out on the finish of an AMAZING battle. Other than that a great audio book.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful