Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher Series: Codex Alera #2
Published by Ace in July 2005
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For centuries, the people of Alera have relied on the power of the furies to protect them from outside invaders. But the gravest threat might be closer than they think.
Tavi has escaped the Calderon Valley and the mysterious attack of the Marat on his homeland. But he is far from safe, as trying to keep up the illusion of being a student while secretly training as one of the First Lord's spies is a dangerous game. And he has not yet learned to use the furies, making him especially vulnerable.
When the attack comes it's on two fronts. A sudden strike threatens the First Lord's life and threatens to plunge the land into civil war. While in the Calderon Valley, the threat faced from the Marat is dwarfed by an ancient menace. And Tavi must learn to harness the furies if he has any chance of fighting the greatest threat Alera has ever known...
**SPOILER ALERT: This review may contain spoilers for the first book in the series. Please do not read this review if you have not yet read Furies of Calderon. You may click here for my review of Furies of Calderon.
After reading Furies of Calderon, I was hoping the story would pick up the pace. I felt like I was starting to get a handle on the world and the characters, but I was WRONG. I was very wrong. Academ’s Fury brought new and old characters, the Canim, and the Vord. Academ’s Fury delves into the complex political world of Alera and presents new enemies. I should have known there would be a lot more to learn before the story really took off. Codex of Alera is a six-book series after all.
If I remember correctly, there are about three main storylines in Academ’s Fury following Tavi, Isana, and Bernard and Amara. Bernard and Amara are in Calderon Valley and with Doroga entering a battle with a new enemy that the Aleran’s have never encountered. Isana heads to Alera Imperia for Wintersend. She goes with the hope of meeting Gaius to send help for Calderon Valley, but truly her appearance becomes a political pawn. Tavi is at the Academy learning to become a Cursor and also working for Gaius. Gaius becomes suddenly ill, and Tavi along with others work to hide his illness from becoming public knowledge.
To be honest, I liked Academ’s Fury just as much as Furies of Calderon, but it failed to wow me. I was so hoping for that wow factor! I wanted the plot to pick up the pace and for there to be tons of action. Instead, I got new characters, new enemies, and a lot of politically charged plot twists. Academ’s Fury definitely helped solidify the policial storyline of the Codex Alera series. Using Isana as a political pawn was actually pretty genius, but goodness, I hate politics. It can be so confusing.
Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of action in Academ’s Fury. There were also a ton of surprises. (There’s an especially big surprise toward the end.) I just felt like there was too much to learn in this new book. It wasn’t as easy as just diving right into the story and knowing who everyone is and who’s the bad guy. With that being said, it was also difficult for me to follow along with the audiobook with new characters. Hence, I ended up listening to parts of Academ’s Fury and reading parts as well. On the bright side, I now know I pronounced some names wrong in my head.
I’m thinking from here on out the Codex of Alera series should be picking up, and I think I’ll start enjoying this series more. (To be honest, I’ve already read Cursor’s Fury before writing this review, and yes, that book is AMAZING!! Review to come.)
Sorry once again for the word vomit. I’m coming to realize the Codex Alera series is very complex. However, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it is considering it is a SIX-BOOK series. Oh my goodness… What have I gotten myself into?
Let me know your thoughts on Academ’s Fury or the Codex Alera series in general. Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts? You can let me know in the comments. 🙂
