Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher Series: Codex Alera #5
Published by Ace in November 2008
Format: ebook
Source: Library
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Tavi of Calderon, now recognized as Princeps Gaius Octavian and heir to the crown, has achieved a fragile alliance with Alera's oldest foes, the savage Canim. But when Tavi and his legions guide the Canim safely to their lands, his worst fears are realized.
The dreaded Vord - the enemy of Aleran and Cane alike - have spent the last three years laying waste to the Canim homeland. And when the Alerans are cut off from their ships, they find themselves with no choice but to fight shoulder to shoulder if they are to survive.
For a thousand years, Alera and her furies have withstood every enemy, and survived every foe.
The thousand years are over...
**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 Calderon, Academ’s Fury, Cursor’s Fury, and Captain’s Fury.
Princeps’ Fury was packed! There was a ton going on with the plot, but overall I thought Princeps’ Fury felt very different compared to the previous books in the series.
In this story, there are yet again multiple storylines. (Here’s a link to the Codex Alera map. It may be useful to orient you as we go through all the storylines.) You have Tavi that has traveled to Canea, escorting the Canim. Isana is traveling to Antillus, hoping to gain assistance from the north to battle against the Vord invading in the south. Bernard and Amara are heading into enemy lines in hopes of gaining intelligence about the Vord. Finally, First Lord Gaius is at the battlefront against the Vord.
I thoroughly enjoyed this action-packed book. There were so many things going on plot-wise, it was a bit difficult keeping up. In particular, I was extremely shocked by Bernard and Amara. I thought their storyline in the last book was a bit boring, but this time around Amara thoroughly shocked me with her forethought and skill as a Cursor. (Even though she’s no longer a Cursor.) Personally, I thought she was making some stupid moves, but it turned out she had it all under control.
It was interesting too to see Gaius at the front-lines for once and to have a storyline featuring him without any of the other main characters. I feel like he criticized Tavi with his choices in the last book, but this time he helped make the decisions on the battlefield. For the first time, it felt like he was actually fighting for the future of Alera. Perhaps he isn’t completely bad after all.
In the end, however, I think this book felt like a filler book. (Kind of like the middle books in a trilogy that aren’t as good as the first or the last book.) Butcher packed Princep’s Fury with so many storylines, any character development definitely took a backseat. I feel like its main purpose was to drive the plot to where it needed to be for the finale, First Lord’s Fury. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It just made this book a bit difficult to follow at times and a bit frustrating at others. Sometimes I don’t want to switch storylines at every chapter, especially when the chapter ends on a mini-cliffhanger.
Did you think Princeps’ Fury felt a bit like a filler book? What did you think of Princeps’ Fury? Also, what did you feel about the ending? The ending had a completely different feel to it compared to the previous four books. Let me know! 🙂
