Books I Read in 2010: First Lord's Fury and Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages
Spoilers will be happening in both of these summaries, so proceed with caution!
First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher is the 6th and final installment in the Codex Alera series. For some reason, the Publisher's Weekly review that can be found on the Amazon page has completely missed several points. They call this book out for being confusing to new readers. Well, duh. No one should reasonably expect to come in on the 6th book of a series and not be a little confused! It also claims the story and characters develop no depth whatsoever. Well, again, if you'd read the previous five books (as you are expected to, in a series), you would have a much better appreciation for just how far many of these characters have come indeed. I highly enjoyed the book--the stakes were as high as they could be, the complete extinction and destruction of the human race in Alera, and the action was constant and intense and well-written. I highly envy Butcher's ability to write action. He's very good at it, keeping it fast-paced, intense, well-written, and well-executed. BIG SPOILER: The human race is saved, but at great cost, and Alera is a new world altogether in the end. But our heroes live pretty darn happily ever after. Which they worked damn hard for, yes, and earned, but it still felt slightly unbalanced.
A few more people should've died. This is in a world where quick healing is possible and frequent, but at least one character whom we've known for 4 books prior to now was allowed to pull a fast one with death, where we and the other characters believed him gone, but then it turned out he was okay. A few of the favored good guys from the High Lords and Ladies also came back from immense damage. To name names, Ehren, Lord Placida and Lord Raucus all should have perished. Ehren especially, however, is at the top of that list. Had he implied or been shown to have a backup plan in case he were gravely injured (which, clever lad that he is, I wouldn't put past him), and then gone on to add more to the story when he came back, I would've been okay with it. But he didn't present any evidence thereof or add anything else of note to the story. He's a very crafty and intelligent character, one of the best Cursors there is in the setting, but he went in against too heavy odds in a physical fight, was fatally wounded, and passed out before his healing treatment even began, implying that he was dead to one and all. It should've stayed that way--his death had more impact than his surviving after that point. He was there only to clarify that yes, he had indirectly lead Gaius Attis to a situation that would almost certainly end in his death, and so it did (later on, anyways). The Lords and Ladies who were fatally wounded in the Vord Queen's hive were important for supporting Tavi later on in his reign, yes, but apart from Lady Placida whom Isana was able to begin healing immediately, the others should have perished from their wounds.
I like a happy ending, don't get me wrong. And I overall liked the ending of this story, I liked how Tavi remade his world and came so far and earned all of it with both physical training and skill, long overdue talent for furycraft, and most importantly, being damned clever and intelligent. Kitai, too, has come a long way, and even her amusingly haughty but smart attitude was finally shown to have some cracks in it, for the first time since Academ's Fury. She has fears, and they were warranted, and even she acted a little silly trying to cover them. Admittedly, too, the clever twists and turns were beginning to wear on me, but not so much I got annoyed with them--six books of them, however, was just exactly enough for my tastes. Butcher's developed a very rich world in Alera, and I'd gladly pick up another book set later on and focusing on perhaps a new generation of heroes set therein.
Fables, Volume 12: The Dark Ages is aptly titled. We are introduced to the next Big Bad, Mister Dark. The reviews on Amazon have a number of people wondering where Mister Dark comes from in terms of fables and fairytales. I'm pretty sure it's both "none" and "all," myself. My take on this powerful, pervasive and downright creepy entity: he is, simply put, the Dark. The Dark without that we're all afraid of, the things that lurk there, the horrors we are sure we'll find there, and what's more, the Dark within that scares us, that whispers sometimes the things we could do if we dared, if we didn't care, if we just plain wanted to. The sequence shown while Mister Dark gains power makes this clear: Santa's naughty list is suddenly growing by the second as children everywhere give in to darker impulses, and the child looking fearfully at the dark shadows creeping out along his bed, seemingly larger than they've been before. Mister Dark is the Dark.
And everyone is afraid of the dark.
The Dark Ages is also an apt title because of the state of the Empire. Bereft of the real Adversary and even the fake one, and with anyone else in position to take over trapped by Sleeping Beauty's curse, the kingdoms are falling to the lesser captains and lieutenants of leftover armies. We begin to see the effects of this, from the amusingly idiotic goblins of Indu to the mercenaries of Freddy and Mouse slaughtering anyone between them and treasure for the looting in the leaderless power vacuum. And they're not the only ones--Fables in Fabletown are blatantly asking and planning to hit up the kingdoms so they can get a piece of the unguarded action themselves. Of course, thanks to this, Mister Dark is unleashed from his prison by the looters, who no doubt quickly regret their actions (or at least their final one).
Lastly, the title implies a time of loss, sadness, and depression. Indeed, many have been lost. From Prince Charming's surprisingly un-selfish sacrifice that helped end the war, to the countless nameless Fables who gave their lives, to, in a final and heavy blow, the tragic and slow death of Boy Blue, the reluctant hero. Thanks to his wound in the last volume by a magic arrow, a thread of the Witching Cloak was stuck in his arm. So when Mister Dark began to unravel the cloak from afar, his spell caught up poor Boy Blue, too. A favorite character who only ever did the right thing and the good thing withers away before everyone's eyes, and they are all powerless to help him. Rose Red realizes she does love him (or, does she? Only time will tell if Blue has broken her string of adrenaline junkie relationships) and is bluntly turned away, sinking the redhead into her own depression, even while Colin the Oracular Pig's Head tries to tell her now is when she will be needed most by her community. Boy Blue's death really is heartbreaking for everyone--undeserved, slow and lingering, preceded by the loss of his arm, and all this happening to one of their beloved and unassuming heroes without whom the campaign against the Adversary would never have succeeded.
I'm with Stinky and Pinocchio on this one: I want Boy Blue to come back. He's one of the important...and they always come back, right? Right?
Current totals:
Books: 4
Graphic novels: 2
First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher is the 6th and final installment in the Codex Alera series. For some reason, the Publisher's Weekly review that can be found on the Amazon page has completely missed several points. They call this book out for being confusing to new readers. Well, duh. No one should reasonably expect to come in on the 6th book of a series and not be a little confused! It also claims the story and characters develop no depth whatsoever. Well, again, if you'd read the previous five books (as you are expected to, in a series), you would have a much better appreciation for just how far many of these characters have come indeed. I highly enjoyed the book--the stakes were as high as they could be, the complete extinction and destruction of the human race in Alera, and the action was constant and intense and well-written. I highly envy Butcher's ability to write action. He's very good at it, keeping it fast-paced, intense, well-written, and well-executed. BIG SPOILER: The human race is saved, but at great cost, and Alera is a new world altogether in the end. But our heroes live pretty darn happily ever after. Which they worked damn hard for, yes, and earned, but it still felt slightly unbalanced.
A few more people should've died. This is in a world where quick healing is possible and frequent, but at least one character whom we've known for 4 books prior to now was allowed to pull a fast one with death, where we and the other characters believed him gone, but then it turned out he was okay. A few of the favored good guys from the High Lords and Ladies also came back from immense damage. To name names, Ehren, Lord Placida and Lord Raucus all should have perished. Ehren especially, however, is at the top of that list. Had he implied or been shown to have a backup plan in case he were gravely injured (which, clever lad that he is, I wouldn't put past him), and then gone on to add more to the story when he came back, I would've been okay with it. But he didn't present any evidence thereof or add anything else of note to the story. He's a very crafty and intelligent character, one of the best Cursors there is in the setting, but he went in against too heavy odds in a physical fight, was fatally wounded, and passed out before his healing treatment even began, implying that he was dead to one and all. It should've stayed that way--his death had more impact than his surviving after that point. He was there only to clarify that yes, he had indirectly lead Gaius Attis to a situation that would almost certainly end in his death, and so it did (later on, anyways). The Lords and Ladies who were fatally wounded in the Vord Queen's hive were important for supporting Tavi later on in his reign, yes, but apart from Lady Placida whom Isana was able to begin healing immediately, the others should have perished from their wounds.
I like a happy ending, don't get me wrong. And I overall liked the ending of this story, I liked how Tavi remade his world and came so far and earned all of it with both physical training and skill, long overdue talent for furycraft, and most importantly, being damned clever and intelligent. Kitai, too, has come a long way, and even her amusingly haughty but smart attitude was finally shown to have some cracks in it, for the first time since Academ's Fury. She has fears, and they were warranted, and even she acted a little silly trying to cover them. Admittedly, too, the clever twists and turns were beginning to wear on me, but not so much I got annoyed with them--six books of them, however, was just exactly enough for my tastes. Butcher's developed a very rich world in Alera, and I'd gladly pick up another book set later on and focusing on perhaps a new generation of heroes set therein.
Fables, Volume 12: The Dark Ages is aptly titled. We are introduced to the next Big Bad, Mister Dark. The reviews on Amazon have a number of people wondering where Mister Dark comes from in terms of fables and fairytales. I'm pretty sure it's both "none" and "all," myself. My take on this powerful, pervasive and downright creepy entity: he is, simply put, the Dark. The Dark without that we're all afraid of, the things that lurk there, the horrors we are sure we'll find there, and what's more, the Dark within that scares us, that whispers sometimes the things we could do if we dared, if we didn't care, if we just plain wanted to. The sequence shown while Mister Dark gains power makes this clear: Santa's naughty list is suddenly growing by the second as children everywhere give in to darker impulses, and the child looking fearfully at the dark shadows creeping out along his bed, seemingly larger than they've been before. Mister Dark is the Dark.
And everyone is afraid of the dark.
The Dark Ages is also an apt title because of the state of the Empire. Bereft of the real Adversary and even the fake one, and with anyone else in position to take over trapped by Sleeping Beauty's curse, the kingdoms are falling to the lesser captains and lieutenants of leftover armies. We begin to see the effects of this, from the amusingly idiotic goblins of Indu to the mercenaries of Freddy and Mouse slaughtering anyone between them and treasure for the looting in the leaderless power vacuum. And they're not the only ones--Fables in Fabletown are blatantly asking and planning to hit up the kingdoms so they can get a piece of the unguarded action themselves. Of course, thanks to this, Mister Dark is unleashed from his prison by the looters, who no doubt quickly regret their actions (or at least their final one).
Lastly, the title implies a time of loss, sadness, and depression. Indeed, many have been lost. From Prince Charming's surprisingly un-selfish sacrifice that helped end the war, to the countless nameless Fables who gave their lives, to, in a final and heavy blow, the tragic and slow death of Boy Blue, the reluctant hero. Thanks to his wound in the last volume by a magic arrow, a thread of the Witching Cloak was stuck in his arm. So when Mister Dark began to unravel the cloak from afar, his spell caught up poor Boy Blue, too. A favorite character who only ever did the right thing and the good thing withers away before everyone's eyes, and they are all powerless to help him. Rose Red realizes she does love him (or, does she? Only time will tell if Blue has broken her string of adrenaline junkie relationships) and is bluntly turned away, sinking the redhead into her own depression, even while Colin the Oracular Pig's Head tries to tell her now is when she will be needed most by her community. Boy Blue's death really is heartbreaking for everyone--undeserved, slow and lingering, preceded by the loss of his arm, and all this happening to one of their beloved and unassuming heroes without whom the campaign against the Adversary would never have succeeded.
I'm with Stinky and Pinocchio on this one: I want Boy Blue to come back. He's one of the important...and they always come back, right? Right?
Current totals:
Books: 4
Graphic novels: 2