Books #6

Another few weeks have passed, and another few books have been read. This is what I have finished in the last while. (Note, I have been on a lot of planes lately and have had much more time to read than I normally do)

Side Jobs
Jim Butcher
Side Jobs is a collection of short stories written in the Dresden Files universe and throughout the whole timeline of the novels. The stories were written for various other collections and provide small snapshots of the more regular type of work Dresden deals with when he is not trying to save the world. There are also stories written from other characters' perspectives - something we don't get to see in the normal novels - which provide great background to the characters. My favorite stories from this collection involve Thomas, Dresden's vampire half-brother, and his own activities when he is not confronting evil with Dresden. They are also some of the more hilarious stories I have read in the Dresden Files universe. This is a great collection of short stories, although some of them are written with less flare and ingenuity than others. As a final note, don't mess with Mac's beer. Ever!

Cold Days
Jim Butcher
The latest Dresden novel made its appearance around Christmas of 2012, but I waited to pick it up until it was in softcover on my last trip to Portland. In this action packed adventure, Dresden has one day - Halloween to be exact - to save Chicago and the surrounding United States from the magical equivalent of an atomic bomb while dealing with both the Winter and Summer Fae. This was a great story that added a lot of plot development to Dresden's personal "island paradise" Demonreach and its purpose. I also liked how it constantly kept the action and tension moving forward without getting slogged down as certain chapters have in the last couple books. Unfortunately, I have to wait until July 2014 until the next novel is release in softcover. That is such a long time in the future, Games Workshop may have even released a Wood Elf army book by then.

Cursor's Fury
Jim Butcher
The third novel in Butcher's Codex Alera series. (I know, I know, I have been on a Jim Butcher kick lately but I find his novels interesting, fun, and quick to read) This installment sees our stalwart hero Tavi sent off to a newly created legion as an officer in order to gain some military experience. But, as Tavi's luck would have it, he is quickly thrown into control of the new legion against an army of Canim and their mysterious magical powers. Old and new characters join Tavi on his adventure. This novel was the first in the series where I felt that the focus was appropriately placed on Tavi and his portion of the story. It was nice for the rest of the outlying story lines to take a back seat to Tavi's real coming of age as it made him a much more central figure and future hero of the series.

Captain's Fury
Jim Butcher

The fourth novel in the Codex Alera series finds Tavi as Captain of the First Aleran Legion and still facing the Canim. This time, however, the political machinations of others have come to remove the "meddlesome" captain from his position and his allies. Although this book was not as action oriented as Cursor's Fury, it was still a fine addition to the story line. It read more like an adventure mystery in which Tavi was trying to understand who his really is while also trying to figure out who all of his enemies are. The novel ended on a great set-up for the next book and I am anxiously awaiting the conclusion of this six-novel series.



Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels
Antonio Santosuosso

This is a non-fiction book (crazy, I know) about medieval warfare. It covers the time period after the fall of Rome through the middle ages. This was a really interesting read that focused on the shape of warfare and how changes to warfare influenced the rise of various powers. It covers the fall of Constantinople, the establishment of Normandy by the Vikings, the rise and fall of several French and English kings, and lots of other civilizations. I especially liked learning about the use of horses (and camels) in combat and the rise of the mounted knights. I recommend this book for anyone looking to gain a decent insight into this period of history and learning why some armies defeated others many times their size and experience.


Gotrek & Felix: Lost Tales
Author Anthology

I love the Gotrek and Felix novels. I love the world that Black Library has built around these heroic characters and I enjoy reading them in all of their adventures. That said, I found this particular anthology a little middling. There were two stories at the beginning that I thought were absolutely fantastic. They exemplified the spirit of the novels wonderfully and kept both characters within their defined character arcs. The other stories, however, failed to maintain these basis identities. In one story in particular, Felix (alone and prior to his introduction to Gotrek) engaged in a series of sword duels and mystical confrontations that he would he hard pressed to match in his current character equipped with a magical elven blade and with 30 years of fighting under his belt. This was a hard story to swallow.