Wow.  Jim Butcher manages to continue amaze me with his writing.  I’d grown addicted to The Dresden Files, and now I’ve been drawn into The Codex Alera series hook, line, and sinker.  My only hope is the fact that there are only six books in the series, so I have a definite end in sight.

The first book slowly drew me into the canon – having not read a book of this genre in so long, this took a bit of time – but leveraged my sense of intrigue to.  The second book kept pulling me through on the hooks of anxiety and anticipation.  This third book had plenty of intrigue and dramatic tension, but most of the draw through this story came in the form of excitement and elation.  There were so many small pay-offs through the story (and some big ones towards the end), that I found myself becoming outwardly happy and almost giddy as I progressed through the book.

In this volume, we are once more taken a few years forward.  Tavi, the primary protagonist, is studying some ancient Romanic ruins – the reminiscent of a preceding civilization that did not have furycrafting abilities (which sort of suggests that this realm is an alternate progression of Earth history) – and is then retasked to join a newly formed legion as an officer (despite his lack of military experience or requisite furycrafting).  In this he manages to blend in more than well and the turn of events presents him with unexpected challenges.

Cursor’s Fury is an exciting and satisfying read from start to finish.  It is full of compelling twists and turns and is both fantastic and believable.  And the end, in true Jim Butcher form, leaves you salivating to dive into book #4 (which I most likely will do shortly).