Review: Captain’s Fury by Jim Butcher (Codex Alera #4)

Review: Captain’s Fury by Jim Butcher (Codex Alera #4)Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher
Series: Codex Alera #4
Published by Ace in December 2007
Format: ebook
Source: Library
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four-stars

After two years of bitter conflict with the hordes of invading Canim, Tavi of Calderon, now Captain of the First Aleran Legion, realizes that a peril far greater than the Canim exists-the mysterious threat that drove the savage Canim to flee their homeland. Now, Tavi must find a way to overcome the centuries-old animosities between Aleran and Cane if an alliance is to be forged against their mutual enemy. And he must lead his legion in defiance of the law, against friend and foe--or no one will have a chance of survival...

**SPOILER ALERT: This review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the series. Please do not read this review if you have not yet read Furies of CalderonAcadem’s Fury, and Cursor’s Fury.

In Captain’s Fury, the main storyline follows Tavi, Kitai, Ehren, Isana, and Arais as they venture to get Varg in order to stop the war with the Canim. There’s a secondary storyline that follows Bernard, Amara, and Gaius Sextus venturing to Kalare. Lastly, there’s a minor storyline following the First Aleran alongside the Senatorial Guard and under Senator Arnos’s leadership.

Captain’s Fury in a way had a different feel to it compared to the previous books in the series. It didn’t have as much action though battles and wars. Tavi, after all, wasn’t captaining the First Aleran at the battlefield though much of the story. Instead, all the action stemmed from Tavi coming up with his plans, Tavi and his group hoping not to get caught, and the small battles that occurred along the way. It was still a fast-paced story, which I enjoyed.

While Captain’s Fury as a whole wasn’t slow or boring, I wasn’t particularly fond of Bernard, Amara, and Gaius Sextus’s storyline. Most of the time they were simply on their journey to Kalare hoping to stay undetected. It wasn’t particularly action-filled, and I’m glad they just had a chapter here and there. However, while the storyline was a tad slow, I do see its value. It allowed Amara to make a decision that I believe was necessary, and it showed a side of Gaius we haven’t seen yet.

In the end, I think Captain’s Fury was the climax of Tavi’s story. Tavi learns about his lineage early on in the book. So there’s a lot of internal conflict and conflict between Tavi and Isana. It was a moment I’ve been anxiously waiting for, and it was interesting to see how Tavi would use his lineage to pursue his agenda. It was fantastic seeing Tavi come into his own. Tavi learning about his lineage will cause a major shift in the political conflicts in the last couple of books. I’m particularly interested in seeing how Lady Aquitaine handles this information.

Captain’s Fury wasn’t my favorite of the Codex Alera series. (Cursor’s Fury still holds that title.) However, it was still a fantastic read. I’m very excited to see how things play out in the last two books. There’s all the political conflict left to be resolved, and the Vord to battle with.

What are your thoughts on Captain’s Fury? Do you agree with my thoughts or do you disagree? Also, does anyone else think that the titles in the Codex Alera series are kind of spoilery? Let me know! 🙂

four-stars