reading update part 1: Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher and Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

[meganbmoore]

Cursor's Fury is the 3rd book in Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series(more commonly known as "Butcher's other fantasy series")  The CA series is a rarity for me in that, while I like coming of age fantasy series I generally only tolerate(Eragon) or like well enough but prefer other cast members(Harry) to the main character.  However, off the top of my head, the only other character besides CA's Tavi I flat out love is Twelve Kingdoms' Yoko(now, in both cases, neither is QUITE my favorite, but I'm extremely attached to both) The CA series is set in a world where everyone bonds with furies(essentially, elementals) and as a result, works magic to the point where the entire society(loosely based on ancient roman society) depends on it.  Except for Tavi, who has no furies at all.  The thing about Tavi is that he's not "special" he's "abnormal"...Tavi having to live without furies is the equivalent of our being deaf, mute or blind.  He is lacking in something that others consider to be crucial to daily life(pleae note that I'm not saying being deaf muteor blind makes one abnormal, just that that's what Tavi is in his world).  Tavi isn't the kid with special abilities and a destiny to save the world, he's a civilian in a world of superheroes.  To compensate, Tavi has to learn to think one step ahead of everyone...the only thing he has to compensate for his lack of furies is his brains.  He's not supersmart or inherently clever, but he learns to be clever, and to survive.  One other thing about Tavi is that, unlike other "coming of age heroes" who get coddled or praised when being naive or immature(*waves to Eragon*) when he acts immature or naive, he gets called on it.  Why?  Because if he's not and he goes around acting like that, he's going to get himself or someone else killed.  (The fact that he has an awesome OTP to keep him in line helps)  He doesn't get his hand held and magic companions or weapons or powers given to him, he has to rise to the occassion and get things done with nothing but himself and whatever loyalty he manages to inspire.

The first two books have Tavi pretty much accidentally saving the  realm and becoming page to the first lord and a soldier in training.  Cursor's Fury, I understand, came about because Butcher took up a bet someone made with him that a fantasy novel about the Roman Legions couldn't be good(he won by a long shot) so his locks got shorn and the First Lord shipped him off to what was SUPPOSED to be well aware from the battlefronts in disguise as a low ranking officer for safety(not that it works out that way)

 We've seen Tavi have to use his brains to compensate for his lack of furies and keep up, but this is the first time it's been absolutely crucial, because officers are required to at least have the basics of furycrafting down, and Tavi is no exception.  As he can't exactly go "hey, err, we kinda cheated to get me here...I'm that famous farmboy who's about the only person in the world without furies" he has to cover and fake it.  It doesn't exactly help that his friend Max's Wicked Stepmother is there to take up her lifelong quest of offing the boy and is capable of going "avoids furycrafting+chummy with Max+knows capital+knows about farming=Tavi."  Of course, there are also Certain Others the First Lord wanted to notice Tavi who figure it out(hey, he's a smart boy, but he's up against people who've been dealing with intrigue and deceptions for longer than he's been alive)

The book also resolves his origins(though I'm sure most fans already figured it out) and establishes that yes, the First Lord knows EXACTLY who and what he is, and what he's going to do about it.  It also resolves(for now) the storyline between his "Aunt" Isana and Araris, former guard to the First Lord's dead son who's spent the last 20 years as a slave.  Araris, I think, may be my favorite character in the series.  I mean...the man fakes his death, brands his own face as that of a traitor, and spends almost 20 years masquerading a a dumb(in the old sense) slave who can barely speak just to protect Isana(who he thinks will never return his love...stupid man) and Tavi..how d o you not love him.(And frankly, not giving him-or Isana-at least a temporary happy ending is just mean...and Jim Butcher is not a mean man.)

Also read Juliet Marillier's Wildwood Dancing, her first young adult book and(as far as I know) her first standalone book.  I'm actually not quite sure why it's marketyed as YA.  The characters  are in the same age group as the characters in her regular fantasy books, and like her other books, the story is drenched in the society and cultural of the period, as well as the local folklore and mythology.  Granted, the plot isn't as complex as the plots are in her other books, but those are A) longer and B) parts of series.  The plot is, though, much more complex than what I generally associate with YA fiction(though I guess Harry Potter is changing that) and there are elements to it that I'm not sure most teens would uderstand.  I rather think she wrote it then it got marketted as YA.  The book itself is loosely based on two fairy tales:  The Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince.(with nods to others)

The book is about Jena, a young woman in 17th or 19th century(I'm guessing...like all fairytales, the actual time is never stated) Transylvania.  She's the second of 5 daughters and aids her father with the finances.  Ever since she was a child, she and her sisters have been able to cross into the Wildwood...the Otherworld, on the night of the full moon to dance, and have become friends with its denizens.  She also has a pet frog, Gogu, who talks to her(not that anyone else believes it) and has been her constant companion since she was young.  Her father has to leave for the winter because of his health and leaves her and her sisters behind, as his cousin is also a neighbor, and can watch over them.  His cousin dies, however, and his son, Cezar, forces himself into their finances and business and assumes more and more control and authority over the girls' lives, even controlling all correspondence with their father.  Cezar also despises the creatures of the wildwood, and wants to destroy it and them.

Like all Marillier's books(well, I'm assuming the Bridei books are good too...I have the first waiting @ Waldenbooks) the book was excellent.  Marillier's historical and mythological research is extensive and well utilized, but unlike some authors, she doesn't drown you in it, and I think she actually loves fairytales and folkore more than I do.