J's Pages

This one's the first book in The Codex Alera. I had been hesitant to pick this one up, as I was fearing it might just be a reworking of The Dresden Files with different names and a different setting. Thankfully that's not the case.

Furies of Calderon is set in a fantasy word which includes creatures called furies. A fury is an elemental spirit that can control a particular "element"--earth, air, water, fire, metal, and wood. Some humans in the realm of Alera can link up and control one or more of these furies with varying degrees of ability. The story follows a young man, Tavi and his family who discover a plot by some renegade Alerans to assist the savage Marats in attacking the Valley of Calderon. Tavi is one of the people who can't control any furies, but his handicap doesn't prevent him from acting with courage to defend his homeland. 

The story contains other characters' plotlines as well, woven together in an entertaining adventure. Which is good, because some of those plotlines are left open ended and I hate to be wondering what happened next in a mediocre book.  

Check it out.
LibraryThing link

Labels: CheckItOut, CodexAlera, JimButcher

// posted by John @ 10:32 PM 0 Comments

This one's a "Traditional Story from the Sulu Archipelago", illustrated by Danilo CG, an 11-year-old kid. The story is about how a conflict with a cranky neighbor got out of hand. It's a good morality tale, but it wasn't as entertaining as Agasi Kidnaps Weensy, the other Sama book in my library. Where I think The Monkeys & the Sea Cucumbers really excels is the artwork. The characters are expressive and Danilo has created some nice compositions. The colors and textures really caught my eye. Check it out! 

LibraryThing link

Labels: CheckItOut, KaumanSamaOnline, SamaStories

// posted by John @ 10:19 PM 0 Comments