Series Review: Codex Alera (6 book series) by Jim Butcher

A spoiler free review for the Codex Alera series following my recent binge read

I have to say I did really enjoy the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. It was consistent through out the series. As for finding it to be a good series to binge, that I am not so sure. I found the pace at which I was reading definitely slowed as the series progressed, which is not always the case, sometimes on a binge read, its actually the opposite.

It begins as what seems a coming of age story about Tavi, an orphan boy raised by his aunt and sheep herder uncle. He is small for his age, and considered a “freak” by the other kids and people he has grown up with as he does not have any ability to fury craft. Fury craft is an elemental magic system that allows people to use the earth, or water, or wind, etc to their purpose. Everyone has some basic ability to do this, and the higher they are in society, the more powerful they tend to be. Tavi is the only Aleran to have no fury craft at all. He is an outcast and an underdog, but has an ability to think outside the box and use clever ideas to compensate.

Tavi’s growth over the course of the series is considerable. It’s strange to think back to him being only 15 when the series began. There was often a couple of years gap between the end of one book and the start of the next, so over the course of 6 books, I would guess the story spanned at least 10 years. Each book in this series broadened the scope of the story. , taking it beyond just a coming of age story to one that eventually seems to encompass the entire world. In the beginning, it was basically set in Calderon, where Tavi grew up. The second book opened it up Alera Imperia and the Academy. The third book opened it up to where Tavi was sent to war, etc. It was interesting in that the reader did not have to immediately learn all the regions of the world, they were exposed as the story grew over time. It let us focus on getting to know Tavi better in the beginning.

Overall, I think this worked as a binge read with maybe a couple of hiccups. I always keep in mind that series like this are not usually written to be binge read. Typically what I notice is brief recaps at the beginning, sections of the book that make sure to remind the reader of what they may have forgotten in a previous book. While I might not need it as part of a binge read, I appreciate it knowing that when I have had a year or more between books in the series, its helpful. But sometimes reading them back to back you pick up on omissions as well.

Tavi’s parentage was a mystery in book one, well, I think it was obvious, but wasn’t officially revealed to the reader until a couple of books in, and then revealed to the world until over halfway through the series. For some reason, it bothered me that I never had a reaction from his uncle Bernard. Either confirmation that he knew who Tavi was, or some sort of singular thought on the subject. It just rolled in to the next book, set a couple of years later, where it was just known. No reaction. If I had waited a year before reading the next book, I would never have given this a single thought. And honestly, it doesn’t even matter, I don’t think it was important, it was just something that nagged at me a bit that I know without a doubt I would never have even considered had I read these books further apart.

Another thing I ran into is the descriptive battle scenes and strategy went on a bit longer than I personally was interested in reading. I’m not sure I can hold this against the books too much as I feel its a feature that some readers will really appreciate, but just not catered to my personal preferences at the moment and so reading six books in row like this, I noticed my reading pace definitely slowed down a bit. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a huge or overwhelming part of the books, but it is definitely a trait seen through out the series.

So overall, I am happy with having read this series. It was one that I somehow had not heard of before having it recommended on r/fantasy when I specifically asked for good (completed) series to binge read. I can absolutely see why it was recommended, and while I enjoyed it as a series, I can’t say it was my favorite series to binge read.

Individual Reviews For the Series:
Book 1: Review: Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

Book 2: Review: Academ’s Fury by Jim Butcher

Book 3: Review: Cursor’s Fury by Jim Butcher

Book 4: Review: Captain’s Fury by Jim Butcher

Book 5: Review: Princep’s Fury by Jim Butcher

Book 6: Review: First Lord’s Fury by Jim Butcher