I just finished Jim Butcher's The Furies of Calderon last night. Don Miller let me borrow the book and told me that Jim was a local author. I went into it a bit hesitantly. I just don't really like to get caught up in multi-volume fantasy tomes, especially if they are still being written. The last one I got caught up in was George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. I was given A Game of Thrones and was halfway through A Storm of Swords before I realized that the next book still had not been published (this was a couple of years ago). Even now, A Dance with Dragons has not been completed, and his website promises two more after that. I realized that the plots and subplots were so complex that I would need to reread the series each time a new book came out just to follow what was going on. I thoroughly enjoyed the series and look forward to reading it in its entirety some day. I'm just going to wait until it's completed before I start.
I mention George R. R. Martin's series because it influenced how I approached (and appreciated) this book. I love the world that Jim Butcher has created! I think his use of furies rather than the more conventional sorcery is extremely innovative. In addition, this is a world where nearly everyone has some level of "powers."
Yet, I found myself inexplicably disappointed with Jim Butcher's tenacious desire to create a happy ending. Time after time, he puts his characters in mortal peril, and, time after time, he rescues them. It's not that I want to have characters dying left and right, but George R. R. Martin's series had me on the edge of my seat. Martin will kill off or maim a character. His world is brutal, and it kept me guessing. The result was heightened conflict. No one was sacred. Even main characters die. The world mourns and moves on.
Butcher, however, rescues the characters. At the last moment, someone helps out. **Warning: major spoiler coming** Even at the end when I expected someone to die just to keep it somewhat realistic, everyone survives. Even when we see them die, they are brought back. The result is that the book is a bit more predictable. By the end, I expected that Tavi would somehow save the garrison with the help of the Marats, and he does.
Don't get me wrong. I liked the book and have, in fact, moved on to the second in the series (even though the series is also not complete). I like the world, and I like the characters. I also find Jim Butcher to be a fine author. Yet, the tenacious happy ending despite all odds cause me to mentally classify the series with the Harry Potter books. Of course, this is hardly bad company.
