The Reading List: May 2013 Batch

Time to start organizing my reading priorities. I got a whole battery of still unread books gathering dust on shelves, and it’s about time I go through them. So here is a list the first three books that I have to finish before the end of the month.

Codex Alera: Academ’s Fury by Jim Butcher

The second book of the troperific fantasy series by Jim Butcher. This was the series that reintroduced me back to classic fantasy after I’ve been too overdosed with the genre’s urban counterpart. I’ve immensely enjoyed the first book, which I’ve recently written a review on, and I’m hoping to see more in this installment.

The Family Corleone by Ed Falco

I’ve discovered the Godfather saga when I had tried to play the video game adaptation, and to say that I’ve fallen in love with it was an understatement. It had also conveniently made me interested in crime drama and film noir. So I went on to find a bootleg DVD copy of the three films and a regular-priced edition of Mario Puzo’s book. Now, I got Edward Falco’s adaptation and here’s hoping that he had managed to capture the spirit and themes of Puzo’s masterpiece.

Something from the Nightside by Simon R. Green

Here’s my regular dose of urban fantasy. I’ve spent months looking for a copy of the first book of Simon Green’s Nightside series because, apparently, it seems to be rare in my country. I got lucky after I’ve tried to reserve a copy from three different Fullybooked branches when they have stock, and I would’ve tried other branches if not for the call telling me that there’s finally one. And here it is, so I hope the wait was worth it.

Classic fantasy, an urban fantasy, and a crime drama. This would be a good month.

Book Review: Codex Alera, The Furies of Calderon

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.

 

Discovering the Dresden Files

Something wicked this way comes. Harry Dresden at large.

 

There has always been something about an urban landscape that appeals to me, even more so if there are magical and fantasy elements at play. Strange combination for some, but it’s the kind of setting I’d love to caught in.

Urban fantasy have captivated me the moment I first had my taste of it. The stories of people caught in some fantastical conspiracy  and engaged in magic battles amidst a bustling modern day metropolis… My kind of action, my kind of drama. Just add some film noir into the mix and I’m one happy reader.

So, I’ve searched the shelves of my usual bargain  book outlets if they have anything of that sort. Just little luck. The closest I can get to what I want to experience is a bunch of Hellboy, Angel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off books. I’ve outgrown them eventually. Since I’ve gotten into my mid-20’s, I can’t really be satisfied with something marketed for people a decade younger than my age. And there’s little else to go on with my regular bookshops, so I decided to try out other outlets.

Then I found the Dresden Files. Recommended, referenced, and put on a pedestal by the people who do so in TVTropes.com. After buying and reading the first three books, I’m already joining on the fan-wagon. And it looks like I already got one of my friends into it too. I’ve lent them to her and she’s willing to put plastic covers on the books before she returns it to me. Two birds with one stone.

The series have around a dozen books released – and there’s the latest one (Cold Days) that recently came out – so maybe I can complete the collection of the available books before the end of the year.

I’ll also write a review for each of the books I got soon. Something this good cannot go uncommented.