Review - Furies of Calderon - Jim Butcher

Title: Furies of Calderon
Author: Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher, author of the highly imaginative "Dresden Files" books, has created a fantasy world with a novel system of magic.  In this world, all humans have some level of magical ability -- well, all but one human, a teenage boy named Tavi.  People, in their adolescent years, find a fury (or more than one) which is an elemental being which binds itself to the person for life, and responds to the person's wishes by allowing the person to perform actions according to the ability of the fury.  For example, an air fury can help a person by controlling air and wind, even to the point that the strongest Air Furycrafters can fly.

Now, many people don't have much power with their fury, but everyone has some -- except, as I said, for Tavi.  And so, of course, as fantasy hero stories go, Tavi is our hero.

But as Butcher tells the story, Tavi is only one of several major characters.  We get to know some of the villains from their viewpoint, and we get to know several other heroes, as the world of the humans comes in conflict with the neighboring civilization, the Marat, who, while human-like in some respects, are definitely not human, and who have a history of war with the people of the human empire.

Yet, as with many empires, there are people who want power for themselves, and they prove to be as dangerous as any outside force.

Like the Dresden novels, the pace of Furies of Calderon is fast.  Our "good guys" (once we figure out who they are) do not have time to stop and plan, let alone get any rest.  Danger and death are a part of the story, even in a land where Water Furycrafters can perform amazing healing magic.

As the first story in what is clearly meant to be an epic, this is a good start.  The characters involved are fleshed out.  There are clearly secrets to be unraveled over time, and only a spare few of them are revealed in this first book.  Yet we don't feel cheated, because the world is well designed, the story is entertaining, and the narration pulls us in.

I like it.  I'm going to keep going.