The Princeps' Fury: A Codex Alera Adventure

Paul D Stewart: More fantasy than sci-fi, but a good use of magic with limitations and the hero demonstrates real innovation in magic attack or defense and practical fighting skills to reduce magical advantage. As a morality tale it demonstrates strong leaders who self-sacrifice in favour of broader society, especially the non-elites like farmers and serving staff that make the society function as a whole.
Political intrigue and suspense is nuanced and clever with the smart underdogs facing realistic challenges from more powerful and better prepared incumbents. Good plot twists and counter-points that disrupt expected outcomes and require our hero(s) to think on their feet.

Canada on Sep 14, 2023

anne-marie romelard: Rien à redire

France on Jul 10, 2023

M. Reynard: Alright, so this might be my least favorite in the series so far. It's not bad, it just wasn't as compelling for me as the others. If you've been on the journey this long, you know this is the 2nd to last book in the series. As such, you know the characters, plot line, etc. Not wanting to give any spoilers, I'm not going to elaborate too much as a result.

I think the main thing for me was that this one just felt tedious. Lots of battle/war descriptions, maybe less character building/world building than previous. I just get kinda bored during the battle stuff; I'm clearly not a strategist.

I am eager to see how this series ends though!

Review by M. Reynard 2023

United States on Mar 10, 2023

S. Granquist: I have nearly all of Jim Butcher's books along with collections of short stories. This seemed so different from so much of his other work while being recognizably his. The characters drove the story in a believable fantasy world. The ending was satisfying while leaving the possibility for the continuation of the series later on.

United States on Oct 07, 2022

draxsiss: Great book Jim butcher does amazing stories

Canada on Jul 14, 2022

AzWarp: This series is keeping me entertained by its ingenuity, furious pace, and versatility from one book to the next. I just finished book 5, Princep's Fury, and I still don't know where this story is going. At the end of every book in this series I thought I could tell where the author was taking the reader, only to be surprised time and again but the turn of events. Everyone is a potential enemy, or a potemtial ally. Most characters are shades of grey and you can hate somneone is one book and find yourself liking them in the next one. Some characters are infuriatingly hopeless (Invidia) while others are surprisingly hopeful (Fidelias), and there is simply to telling how it will all end. Bits of the past are being revealed throughout, which makes things even more interesting/confusing.

It has been a very long time since a series has held me hooked like this one has. Another great read from Jim Butcher!

Canada on Nov 26, 2012

javelinx: Tavi von Calderon, der sich offiziell als Thronerbe Octavius zu erkennen gegeben hat, hat sich mit einer Flotte der Canim zu deren Heimatkontinent aufgemacht. Was als diplomatische Mission unter Verbündeten gedacht war mit dem zusätzlichen Vorteil, Tavi vom Hof zu entfernen, bis sich die Gemüter beruhigt haben, entpuppt sich nun als Bumerang: die Machtverhältnisse bei den Canim und ihre Verteidigungsbasis befinden sich in einem völlig anderen Zustand als erwartet, und in Tavis Heimat fehlen dringend seine überragenden taktischen Fähigkeiten, als die Vord sich als immer größere Bedrohung herausstellen, während die Adligen weiter um Macht rangeln, anstatt sich geschlossen hinter Gaius Sextus zu stellen und die drohende Invasion mit vereinten Kräften abzuwehren...

Band 5 des Codex Alera beinhaltet wiederum eine Steigerung der Ereignisse. Zwar scheinen zunächst im magischen Bereich alle Waffen bereits ausgereizt und bringen Tavis graduell hervortretende magische Fähigkeiten keine wirklichen Vorteile im Vergleich zu seiner Intelligenz und seinem taktischen Geschick; gleichzeitig erweitert sich aber sein Verantwortungsbereich und politischer Radius dadurch, daß er...

Germany on Aug 29, 2010

Timothy Fitzgerald: The latest Codex Alera book is arguably the best in this excellent series. I am a big Jim Butcher fan and have been going back and forth as to what his better series is, Dresden or Alera. This most recent Alera book definitely has improved Alera's standing in the race.

I admit I was slightly disappointed in Captain's Fury (still a 4 star book) due to the fact that I felt it was the most "cliched" book in the series. One of the reasons I like Jim Butcher so much is after years of reading Fantasy, he has been able to show me something new and exciting in the genre.

In Dresden it is the Urban Fantasy and Alera utilizes the Roman Empire as a setting. However, Captains Fury felt too much like a synthesis of other great fantasy stories (like LotR). I just felt that I knew what was coming in Captain's Fury and was never surprised when things turned out as they did.

Not so with Princep's Fury. This book really takes the series to a new height and sets up what promises to be an amazing final chapter.

I must say, again, that I am a bit tired of Amazon listing its books with inflated page numbers. PR is only 386 pages instead of 400 ( a minor quibble, but I dont...

United States on Nov 29, 2008

Yungduk: Like many sci-fi/fantasy fans, I have been following various series in real time in recent years (i.e. reading the hardcover first printing and then waiting impatiently for the author to issue the next installment). GRRM's Song of Ice and Fire as well as Patrick Rothfuss The Kingkiller Chronicles. (OK, Rothfuss has only released "The Name of the Wind" in the series... but I think everyone reading this review has probably recognized the promise in his debut). And yes, with some grumbling, I'll be getting the last volume(s) of Wheel of Time whenever Brandon Sanderson gets finished. [..........]

I think it's fair to say that Codex does not reach the literary heights of GRRM or Name of the Wind. (That it betters RJ's long winded and turgid prose should go without saying). And Butcher's characters are not as fully developed or, with some exceptions (Gauis, Fidelias), as morally complex as Martin's. Tavi is the man, and indeed, his absolute genius in every aspect of life is now overtly expressed in the blind faith of those around him. ("Well, I have no idea of what he's going to do to get us out of this ridiculous situation, but he's going to do it so just follow orders.") In...

United States on Nov 28, 2008