Furies of Calderon Written by: Jim Butcher

Imagine a world where the world is still green, still wild, and imagine that spirits of nature are at your call, really your companion for life. Nothing of our reality is overtly present, of course there are humans and some similar ways of life if we go back to the middle ages, other than that Jim Butcher has created a magical world where people can call upon the elemental spirits called Furies. This book takes place in the Aleran Empire, which contains "crafters", the people who control the elements: water, air, earth, fire, wood, and metal, through a person's bond with an element's fury. If you are fans of the television series The Last Air Bender you may be able to draw some similarities and understanding how these crafters live and work. I can see similarities and Jim Butchers other writing and how his characters are being flushed out in this book. So much detail and so unique is each character it is classic Butcher for sure. The world is quite amazing in how the Aleran's are a strong folk in Bernard Holt, and even though they are strong women are seen as those to be mothers, healers, protected, Ick! You see several female characters who break that mold and prove they can be just as strong and brave as any man. Classic Butcher again. Then Butcher introduces us to the "Savages" the Murat who appear to bond with their animals and mimic traits of their particular clans. Horse, Wolf, Gargant, and Herdbanes a type of giant bird. These Savage folk have no furies to call upon. There are a great many twisty plots and side plots going on here, as if Jim Butcher has a much bigger plan in store for this world and at the heart of it is the boy with no Fury to call Tavi a smallish boy for his age of 15, and who is as brave as any legion warrior and as Kind as his Aunt and Uncle. I really enjoyed this book thought it felt like so much happened and like I was only given a very small piece of the puzzle of what is to come. I have some theories, but it should be interesting to see what happens to the people, spirits, and the whole of this world Mr. Butcher has crafted with ink and paper.