Princeps' Fury

Tavi and his companions are escorting the Canim back to their home across the sea. When they arrive they find that the Canim???s land has been invaded by the Vord. Back home in Alera, unbeknownst to Tavi, his countrymen are also being overrun by the Vord and Amara, Isana, Bernard, and the First Lord are on the front lines. Will the Vord conquer both Alera and Canim, or can Tavi and Isana negotiate alliances with a couple of Alera???s enemies so they can fight the Vord horde together?

Princeps??? Fury is the fifth book in Jim Butcher???s CODEX ALERA series. For the most part I???ve thought that this traditional epic fantasy was diverting but ultimately forgettable, though the fourth book, Captain???s Fury, actually elevated CODEX ALERA into the ???enjoyable??? category. It was better than the first three books ??? the writing was better, the action was more exciting, and it focused mostly on the more likable characters. I had high hopes for the rest of the series.

Unfortunately, Princeps??? Fury doesn???t maintain the quality of Captain???s Fury, but mostly regresses back to the level of the previous books. The writing has continued to improve, but the other problems are back. They???re all minor issues, but they add up. Most noticeable is the way the good guys are able to make outlandish but correct guesses about the enemy???s??? intentions and plans. I can???t lose myself in the story when I am thinking, at several critical points, ???that would never happen.??? Also, characters that should be dead (after having been dealt a deathblow) don???t stay dead. Battle scenes lack any tension because even if one of the main characters gets a sword in the belly, they???ll be healed. Another problem is the nature of the enemy. The Vord is one of those insectoid species that???s ruled by a hive queen. They???re inhuman, impersonal, and even though there are thousands of them, they feel like one entity. As enemies go, they???re pretty boring.

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9/10

Executive Summary: Princep's fury was more enjoyable than I remember. Like it's predecessors, it's a blend of war, politics, romance, humor and magic that makes for a fun read.Audio book: Kate Reading once again does gives an enjoyable reading. I'm pretty much repeating what I've said for the last 4 books. She's becoming one of my favorite readers now.Full ReviewMy recollection was this book was a step down after [b:Captain's Fury 346087 Captain's Fury (Codex Alera, #4) Jim Butcher https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1315083292s/346087.jpg 6614434]. However I find myself changing my mind on this reread. Unlike that book all of the subplots in this book greatly interested me. There was no slowdown in the middle and this might be the only book where anyone's story was more interesting to me than Tavi's. I think this series shines best when dealing with internal politics of the Alerans followed closely by the interactions with the Canim. This series has large amounts of both. We learn a lot more about the Alerans, and see that people can be just as petty towards their fellow man under even the most dire of circumstances.My least favorite parts have to do with the Vord, but in this book they are still mostly relegated to the setting. In other words they are a looming threat hanging over everything and impacting the interactions between the characters, while not really being on screen all that much.Tavi still has to rely on his ingenuity more than his personal strength to overcome most obstacles which I think is what makes him such a likable character to me. The interplay between him and Max and Kitai are always my favorite scenes.Overall a pretty fun book, although compared to [b:Captain's Fury 346087 Captain's Fury (Codex Alera, #4) Jim Butcher https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1315083292s/346087.jpg 6614434], this ends on a pretty bad cliffhanger such that I jumped right into [b:First Lord's Fury 6316821 First Lord's Fury (Codex Alera, #6) Jim Butcher https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327903582s/6316821.jpg 6502096] immediately.