'Victory is mine, victory is mine. Great day in the morning, people. Victory is mine!'
The idea’s pretty interesting- the first book, Furies of Calderon, introduces us to Tavi, who turns the usual fantasy stereotype upside down by being a ‘freak’ due to his lack of supernatural powers in a world where anyone who’s anyone boasts some type of ability. But he is undaunted by this ‘handicap’. Because he doesn’t have the advantages everyone else does, he learns to adapt to situations and use his brain for creative thinking and comes up with crazy solutions to get out of trouble. His MO should be ‘it’s so crazy, it just might work’, heh. Of course, the realm faces danger and he gets caught up in the middle of all the danger and secret plots and political maneuvering, and it’s deliciously wonderful.
This book is what real fantasy is about. I never saw what was so wonderful about JKR, I mean, I appreciate that Harry Potter created a reading frenzy and inspired people, especially disaffected kids, to pick up a book and start reading but her actual writing style bored me to tears. There are enough writers who create interesting stories but they lack talent for the actual writing- although I give JKR the benefit of the doubt because it was aimed for kids, which may be why the books lack the sophistication I expect.
Then there are the authors who are so unbelievably talented that every second line inspires you to stop and read it through twice because it is constructed with such skill and precision that you have to pause and reflect on its perfection. I’m so picky, I like authors who have the brains to read through a dictionary but not the type that litter their work with dozens of obscure tongue-twisters just to show off how smart they are. Jim Butcher gets the mix exactly right, his work is polished but never overdone.
And his control over the reader’s emotions is masterful- he has me crying in a few spots, then giggling madly in others. I do love a writer with a subtle sense of humor, and his is perfectly suited to my tastes.
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TAVI and KITAI:
I really enjoy his unique habit of interacting with different cultures. He always finds a way to come out on top, and I adored his first meeting with the Canim on their own turf, and his reaction when he was introduced, and they went, ‘Kill him’. Bloody crows. HA. I’m way too easily amused but he’s so droll and matter-of-fact and damn if he isn’t cool as. He puts them in their place and then finds a way to build trust and loyalty in the most unlikely of places, it’s incredible.
Kitai, Kitai. She can be a little one-dimensional at times, her role wasn’t too demanding here- at least in comparison to the challenges the other characters faced- but I do enjoy her keeping Tavi down-to-earth. ‘Aleran’. Heh. Her interactions with his friends is also a source of joy- I love her sniping with the boys as a form of bonding, it’s nice that she isn’t just hanging out with Tavi all the time. That bit at the end where he told everyone to let him go face the Vord queen alone and then they executed a last-minute plan without his knowledge or approval was super cool, I loved her breezing through the whole thing like it was Sunday afternoon tea and he’s sputtering in shock and outrage and she just shuts him up and gets him moving. Nice that he got a taste of his own medicine, being kept in the dark, lol.
ISANA and ARARIS:
The Icemen were an interesting addition to the mix. I’d’ve thought the Canim, Marat and Vord were enough of a melting pot but heck, the more the merrier! Isana was kickass as usual, I do so adore her, although I wish she was just simply Tavi’s aunt as she was in the first book. Still, her elevated position offers interesting new challenges and dangers. One of my favorite parts in this book was her issuing Raucus with the challenge to the juris macto and knowing she would die but seeing no other way to get through to that blockhead. I read it through about twenty times or so, and could not move on with the book, just reading those few pages where she’s desperately trying to achieve her goal and succeed in her mission even if it means her life, and being so overwhelmed at her dedication and integrity. Guh. She is in danger of being too awesome.
Okay, so the solution may have been a little too convenient, and I accept there is going to be bickering over how easy it was to resolve the whole decades long hostilities- but you know, everyone’s in danger, it makes sense to agree to a truce and see your enemy march off and take care of the bigger threat, right? What’s a war with your neighbor matter when you’re facing total extinction? It made sense.
Side note: I loved that whole ‘what peace-chiefs say is not always what war-chiefs do’ exchange. Isana repeating those words to explain the situation when she realizes the whole peace negotiations are being threatened is very poignant. I was so angry and frustrated in this scene, it’s so true to real life, I can imagine it happening.
Equally loved the scene where Araris tells her he values her enough not to try and lock her up for her own safety, because she’s made up her mind and he won’t try to change it. Then he adds that she can’t expect him to change his own nature and he will avenge her death, no matter the fallout. That’s so tragic and romantic at the same time. ‘I’ll let you die if it’s your wish but screw the kingdom, I’m killing that frakker and to hell with the consequences’.
And boy, but Doroga is a laugh-a-minute. His presence is minimal but he makes sure it’s felt. I laughed so much at his unique method of presiding over the juris macto, hee! And his exchange with Isana afterwards about never going to war with her in winter…! The thing I love about these books is the humor- people may be deadly enemies and only temporary allies, but there’s so much witty banter about that situation, it’s fantastic.
AMARA and BERNARD
I thought their relationship was very well developed. Usually, I don’t care about couples once the UST is resolved, but Jim Butcher does a good job of making me invest my emotions in all three main couples.
With these two, I was really impressed at the slave collar twist near the end. I wanted to slap Amara for being silly enough to fall into enemy hands but when it was revealed that she was impervious because she already had a collar from Bernard- the fact that she trusted him that much and was willing to put herself under his control…I just wanted to jump up and down, all, ‘IN YOUR FACE, SUCKERS’. Ha. Great moment.
Their rescue of the slaves and triumphant return to the war effort was a grand moment, although I have to say, my enjoyment of it was marred by the bombshell of the new First Lord. Damn, but that sucks. I quite liked Tavi’s grandfather and that he was so calm when he learnt Caria was poisoning him…I wanted to throttle that woman, GOD. *snarls*
Isana reluctantly agreeing to work with Aquitaine was the worst moment in the book. Why, why did he have to ascend to power? I hated that outcome. Because no matter how much he claims to have the land’s best interests in mind and to only be a regent til Tavi’s return and all that crap, I know he’s not going to hand over the reins when Tavi returns and there’s going to be all this political BS and it’s going to be horrendous. Ack.
As much as I loved this book, I’m also saddened by it. I’m always heartbroken when writers build up this world and invest so much time and detail into it, and getting me to care, then they go and wreck it. The old First Lord’s dead, the Canim’s territory is overrun by the Vord, Aquitaine’s made his bid for power while Tavi’s out of the picture and everything’s going to pieces. I am disappointed the Canim were defeated so easily, it was quite a shock that they get there and basically, everyone’s dead or dying and the only solution is to leave. Argh.
The last scene where he meets Alera personified is intriguing. I hate the cliffhanger, though! Jim Butcher’s kept the other books pretty much self-contained, but this one makes no bones about the fact that it’s ditching you at a critical point and you’re going to have to wait a year to find out what’s going to happen. NO!
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Unfortunately, this wonderful book has raised an appetite for fantasy. I say unfortunately, because I am so picky about what I expect that I am rarely pleased and more often disappointed. I've tried a few different fantasies in the past fortnight and I've enjoyed none of them so far.
In the first, the girl gets raped by the second chapter. To be fair, the rape wasn't gratuitous in the sense that it served no purpose, because it did shape her character and inform her actions, which started a series of events that had consequences throughout the rest of the book. But I don't care how brilliantly it's executed, I stop reading once it happens.
In another, it was going so well. Powerful magic dude rescues an urchin with powers of her own, and they work together to overthrow the corrupt system. I have a soft spot for these kinds of ships, ever since Daine/Numair in Tamora Pierce's The Immortals. [Call me deviant, I don't care. Although she was really young, but I'm ignoring that, lalala]. The book was so good that when I saw the second in Borders, I thought about buying it so I didn't have to wait for the library- except I read the blurb, everything came crashing down around my ears. The dude dies and she gets with some other guy. Ouch.
The third was part of a series. Absolutely adored the first book, again had plans to purchase them. But in the second, the chick finds out she's bonded to this vampire- who she has feeling for, I might add- and wants to get rid of the spell so she has sex with another guy. Wtf?! NO. I looked up the plot for the third book, and it's still about her relationship with the vampire and the UST and epic romance of it all, and I'm thinking, 'What's romantic about sleeping with another guy to try and sever the connection between her and the first guy?' So...yah. Down the drain.
The problem I have is that there are, for some reason, a lot of love triangles in fantasy novels. What is up with that? I'm a fan of the OTP so it hurts me deeply. What's so wrong with having the one couple and sticking to that, instead of trying to ratchet up the chick's number of sexual partners?
Please, gods, I have suffered enough. Send me more worthy fantasy novels, I beseech you.