Furies of Calderon

Executive Summary: A fun but trope-heavy fantasy story that combines a Lost Roman Legion with Pokemon. Yeah, you read that right.Audio book: I've long heard both good and bad things about Kate Reading. I actually got to meet her last year for the [b:A Memory of Light 7743175 A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time, #14) Robert Jordan https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1336055749s/7743175.jpg 10558806] book tour as she and her husband both live near me, but had never listened to a book by her before now.Personally I think she's a really good reader. However, she may not be well suited for this book as it has many male characters (then again what fantasy series doesn't?) and her male voices aren't as good. They aren't bad though, and eventually I got used to her so I wasn't thinking about the fact that it was a woman attempting a man's voice even though it was always apparent.I think her theater background is apparent with the variety of inflections and voices she uses as well as the emotion and inflection of her reading.Full ReviewUntil maybe 2 years ago I didn't really read that much anymore. I wasn't well-read in fantasy. In late 2006 I discovered [a:Jim Butcher 10746 Jim Butcher https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1205261964p2/10746.jpg] and the Dresden Files. I devoured all the books that were out until I was stuck waiting like everyone else. Then I noticed in the back of the books that Mr. Butcher had 3 books in another series though, called Codex Alera. Unlike the Dresden Files, it wasn't Urban Fantasy, but closer to “traditional” or epic fantasy. I picked it up and devoured those books as well.For awhile I liked this series better than Dresden Files, but it was a close thing. One thing was for certain, [a:Jim Butcher 10746 Jim Butcher https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1205261964p2/10746.jpg] wrote the kind of books I liked to read. For 3 glorious years I had 2 new Butcher books/year to look forward to.Fast forward 7 years or so and I recently did a re-read of Dresden Files in audio, but haven't read this one since it ended back in 2009. I'd consider myself much better read in Fantasy than when I first discovered this. I was a bit apprehensive about a reread. Would the series live up to my memory of it? Or would I find all the tropes tired and boring? The answer is a little of both it seems.It took me a bit to get back into this book. I was starting to get nervous that I was ruining my memory of this series. However once things really got going, I remembered why I enjoyed it so much.This is a “chosen one” story through and through. However most chosen one stories tend to have a protagonist who is suddenly great at everything. This one does not. In a world where everyone posses at least a little magic, Tavi has none. He is considered a “freak”. That notion of being an outsider is something I've always identified with. I liked that Tavi had to use his wits to make it in a world where he was always at a disadvantage. That said, a 15 year old shepherd boy who saves the realm has been done. A lot.The book also has some “mustache-twirling” bad guys. Mr. Butcher does a good job at making me hate those characters, but at the same time they feel a bit cartoonish. That said, there are other antagonists in the series who are much more complex. They aren't evil necessarily, but are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals. Those goals happen to be set against our young protagonist and his family, so they come out looking evil. But are they really? That's an ongoing question that won't be answered here.I didn't know it until many years later, but Mr. Butcher was challenged to write a story based on a “lame idea”. He countered that he could it using 2 Lame ideas, that of “Lost Roman Legion” and Pokemon. It sounds really stupid, but it somehow works for me.I know almost nothing of Pokemon apart from the whole capturing magical creatures thing. There may be more to it. I don't know. The strongest furycrafters in the book have the ability to summon powerful elementals ala Pokemon, but they aren't the only part of it. His magic system is really fun and creative, though you really don't get the full experience in just this book. To this day though, it's one of the magic systems I've most enjoyed reading.So if you can get past the heavy trope use and magic system based on Pokemon, the only other thing that may turn people away is battles. This series is battle heavy. I'd guess most of the last 25% of this book or so is one long battle. I loved it. People that aren't into that kind of thing, may find it tedious.I think the story is pretty well self-contained. There are a lot of bigger questions looming, but all issues of the book are wrapped up pretty nicely in my opinion.I had originally planned on alternating the books in this series with books from another, but by the time I got to that battle, there was just no way I could stop. I jumped right into the next book, and may continue on all the way to the end without a break.