Pokemon meets Roman Legionnaires. And it works.
There once a discussion online that debated on where the skill of the writer should lie: in thinking of a good idea to start a story? Or in making a good story out of a bad idea. During the discussion, one guy dared a certain writer in the forum, this one defending the latter argument, that he can’t write a good story out of – not just one but two – two ideas so overused and seemingly incompatible: the Lost Roman Legion and Pokemon.
The writer who had taken on that bet was Jim Butcher and this was the result.
The Codex Alera series is set in the fictional realm of the Aleran Empire, a society seemingly based off ancient Roman civilization which is nearing the brink of civil war, where its citizens have the ability to summon and command powerful elemental spirits called Furies. Just to make matters worse, the empire is also besieged by danger from almost all sides. Cannibal-barbarians to the east, wolfmen to the west, icemen to the north. And then there’s a race of alien-like bug creatures hidden somewhere behind the scenes…
And to make things more interesting, the fate of the empire just happens to rest on the shoulders of the one person in the whole continent who doesn’t even have a Fury.
I like the odds.
The first book in the series, the Furies of Calderon, is a whole new dose of fantasy for me. It’s far from the usual setting that I’m used to. Countryside, frontier towns, and a Roman-like empire in its decline. A time and place so far removed from our own but still so familiar that it feels like a good change of place. Classic fantasy. Only this time it’s with attitude.
The elements of magic though, I’m more familiar with. Butcher’s concept of the Furies, elemental spirits the characters can summon and command, is nothing new. It’s a callback to some systems of regular and summon magic I’ve encountered in some videogames. Well, the story had taken some ideas from Pokemon so it’s justified. But it’s more expanded here, where people can use their Furies’ abilities for stuff other than just dueling matches. Like cooking food, building forts, political maneuvering…
Yes, political maneuvering. It isn’t Roman society without it. Apparently, Butcher likes to write high-stakes powerplays with a display of attitude and genre savvy that is nothing short of jaw-dropping. I could trace these sorts of scenarios even back to his Dresden Files series. Only this time, said political powerplays also includes a display of power that, if taken to extremes, could remodel the landscape.
“Holy shit” is guaranteed to be the least of your reactions.
Also, like any typical fantasy, this one follows some regular story conventions. Farmboy looking for a better life? Check. Coming-of-age scenario included? As always. Kingdom or empire or whatever in danger? Check. Said farmboy inadvertently gets involved in plot? Typically, yes. Said character somehow resolves the problem? Hell yeah. Hints of something special about that boy? You better believe it. As well as plenty of other classic fantasy stuff that checks out. But Butcher had done a good job in making these familiar conventions look fresh so I’m not complaining.
Also, the Lost Roman Legion and Pokemon elements that were supposed to be basis of this thing? Yeah, he made it work. So, back to the question: can one write a good story out of a bad idea? After reading through this, I have to say yeah. Here’s the proof already.
And somewhere out there someone had lost a bet.
The Bargain Book Reader 