I almost went crazy waiting for this book to come out, and now I’m going to go nuts waiting for the next one! In each book the plots get more and more intricate, and Butcher’s style of writing always makes me happy – especially since some other unnamed authors write stories I enjoy, but with weak writing. The combination of great writing and amazing stories make me giddy. This latest installment of the Codex Alera series covers a lot of ground.
When last we saw our hero, he was on his way to the homeland of his Canish allies via ship. Unfortunately, we’ve already discovered that our hero is prone to seasickness. At least we know he has some flaws. This book covers the expedition, as well as other moves that are made in Alera to counteract the influence of the Vord, the disappearance of Lady Aquitane, as well as other problems that crop up while Tavi is away with Varg, Max, Kitai, Nasaug, and company. As always, I was amazed by the intricacies of how issues were resolved and freaked out by the death and near-death experiences. I read through this book as quickly as my immersion in finals would allow and if I hadn’t already packed it for my upcoming move, I’d bring out the whole series and re-read them all in order to get a better grasp of how all the puzzle pieces fit together.
Whatever I had been expecting in this book, I was blown away by how everything happened. I can’t go into details since I don’t want to ruin any of the plot points, but I have to say that characters only gain more depth as the series progresses. Several things happened unexpectedly, and I will let you know that a few people died in this that I didn’t want to die. Don’t worry, though, you won’t see me bawling over this book in public.
Thankfully, I will have the next Dresden Files series book to keep me going before the next Codex Alera book comes out and that might — might — keep me sane until then. I’m just glad that I read as much as I do, and that I have such a long list of favorite authors publishing different things at different times. Otherwise, I would be breaking into author’s houses incognito to read their works-in-progress. o.o