Captain’s Fury
I just finished Captain’s Fury by Jim Butcher and I’m going to have to give it a hearty thumbs up. There were sections in the middle where I was concerned. Jim Butcher is on my short list of authors I follow, but his forte is not really action, its more politics and maneuvering. I think that’s why I love his work so much.
The middle of the book is sort of an action scene/travel log that lacks the political pressure that I look for in Butcher’s work. But the climax delivers in spades.
I’d grown a bit concerned, because his last Dresden File book, White Knight, felt like a set up book. Which I’m okay with, you do ten books in a series and occasionally you need to move some pieces around to set up what comes next. While reading the middle of this book I was made to wonder whether White Knight was a set up or if Butcher lost his touch, but I once we got passed the middle, the Butcher I’ve come to know and love was back.
With minimal spoilers the middle consists of flipping back and forth between Amara and Benard slogging through a swamp and Tavi traveling to and from (and the actual) prison break. During that whole period of time there wasn’t really any tension and no meaningful conflict. All the foes were nameless mooks, and I never really thought either group would ultimately fail at their tasks. The events had to happen for the end to come together, but it should have been edited down or some meaningful conflict added.
The beginning that establishes Tavi as a capable commander and tactical thinker was good stuff. The series has come to a place that reminds me of the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. At the center of both series is a crazy little bastard who finds himself in the center of trouble, always with more than himself at stake and manages to pull it out of the fire by will, audacity and cleverness. Miles was practically incapable of physical action, while Tavi is at a serious disadvantage compared to his allies and enemies (though he’s catching up). They both deal with threats which can’t just be swatted away by physical or magical power. The more I think about it the more similarities I see between the two heroes.
Despite the hiccup in the middle of this book, I give it a thumbs up. I recommend this book and have no reservations about recommending the whole series.