This is the second in a series of six and this entry was every bit as exciting and thrilling as the first (Furies of Calderon). This book takes up two years after the events in the first book (Tavi is seventeen now). Many of the same players from the first book are back and there are many more new villains. Butcher keeps the action going strong and the interest level high which makes for a fast and fun read. The Codex Alera is fast becoming one of my favorite fantasy series. This book also delivers some cool plot twists/revelations. Highly recommended. ( )

Love this series almost as much as I love Dresden! ( )

I'm a big fan of Jim Butcher and am happy to admit to it. I first discovered him (like many others) by picking up his Harry Dresden series. When I discovered he'd also written a classic fantasy novel - Furies of Calderon - I was very excited,,since classic fantasy is one of my loves. This, the second book in the series, is where the story really gets moving. Book one is more of a scene setter, introducing the characters etc, but Academ's Fury just blew me away. The characters have depth and are completely three dimensional, and the story leaves you with the desire to read on and find out what's happening.

Fantastic work and I can't wait for the fifth book (at this time of writing) First Lord's Fury. ( )

Academ's Fury is the second novel in the Codex Alera sequence by Jim Butcher. Although he is far more well known for the Dresden Files novels, here in the second book of the Codex Alera series, he starts to really show he can do epic fantasy too.

The novel takes place some time after the events of the first novel. Tavi, as promised in the conclusion of the first novel, is now a student at the Academy in the capital city, and serves Gaius Sextus, the ruler of Alera, as a page.

The political threats that ring Gaius threaten to draw Tavi in, especially given his relocation to the heart of the Empire. And then there is a mysterious rising of strange creatures in the north that threaten his uncle Bernard and his lover, the cursor Amara, and the Marat as well. And then there are the savage Canim, who through their Embassy are clearly up to something...

As ably as he showed the pastoral Calderon Valley, in this novel, the partial change of venue (although there are plenty of scenes in this novel too) to the city shows good worldbuilding, and a whole host of new characters, intrigues and venues.

The old characters grow and develop, too. Tavi, Kitai, Amara, Bernard and even Gaius are not set in stone, but grow and change. Come for the world building, stay for the characters and their personal stories.

The appetite that was whetted by listening to the first novel has only been fueled by this one. Readers of the first novel will definitely want to read this one. And, probably like me, will want to read the third one in short order. ( )

Behold the inherent difficulty of plotting a fantasy epic: balancing the scale of the work against the movement of plot. Two common outcomes from this tension are: plodding along under the padding of over-world-building; and low-stakes/low-importance conflict. It would appear that the Codex Alera depends mightily upon the major characters (Bernard, Amara, Tavi, Kitai, Isana, Fidelias, and Gaius) surviving through several volumes until they can be positioned for the final confrontation. But, in order to hold reader interest, there must be conflict, so we get early volumes in the series like Academ's Fury.

Don't mistake me, I enjoyed reading this book. Butcher's penchant for world-building and a keen ability to write action sequences more than make up for what I feel are serious shortcomings of the mundane aspects of any fantasy epic. The characterizations established in the first volume are strong and the interactions between characters are intriguing. Old antagonists are cast into new, uncertain light. Even the introduction of the Borg...sorry...Vorg provides an interesting enemy, especially given the typical standard fantasy warty things with clubs we all know about.

Butcher even kills some characters this time, but nobody you really need to worry over.

Still, Academ's Fury provides the reader with another heart-stopping confrontation (two, actually) with beyond-impossible odds of success, only to whisk the key players into safety. At least in this volume, Butcher didn't kill people and then have them pop back up afterwards none-the-worse for wear. Much. (I'm looking at you Kitai). ( )