About the Author

A martial arts enthusiast whose résumé includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives mostly inside his own head so that he can write down the conversation of his imaginary friends, but his head can generally be found in Independence, Missouri. Jim is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera novels, and the Cinder Spires series, which began with The Aeronaut’s Windlass.

Reviews

“High adventure with engaging characters and a satisfying conclusion.”—Locus

“A fun romp of a book...the action is fast and furious.”—SFRevu
 
“[A] cleverly constructed world.”—Chronicle 

“Solid world-building, intriguing characters and vivid action make this a solid addition to a marvelously entertaining series.”—Publishers Weekly

“The author of the Dresden Files series demonstrates his skill with epic fantasy...A fresh approach to magic and a cast of appealing characters make this an exciting read.”—Library Journal

“A fine coming-of-age, fantasy-action novel. The characterizations are excellent, and the plotting is very well developed.”—Booklist

“Jim Butcher is a brilliant world-builder.”—Midwest Book Review

Best known for his Harry Dresden fantasy noir novels (Dead Beat, etc.), bestseller Butcher shows he's equally adept at epic fantasy in the second Codex Alera book. Two years after the events of Furies of Calderon (2004), the First Lord of Alera, Gaius Sextus, struggles to control a realm facing growing border troubles and civil strife as High Lords scheme to advance their own causes. Fortunately, Gaius has loyal supporters such as his nephew Tavi, now a 17-year-old Academ, a student of Alera Imperial's great Academy, who also serves as Gaius's page and is secretly training to become a Cursor, one of the First Lord's elite spies. Then Gaius falls ill, leaving those closest to him, including Tavi, desperate to keep his weakness secret. With Cursors being murdered, an ancient menace known as the "vord" heading for the capital and civil war on the horizon, Tavi has his work cut out for him. Butcher skillfully weaves in the necessary back story without slowing the pace. Solid world-building, intriguing characters and vivid action make this a solid addition to a marvelously entertaining series. Agent, Jennifer Jackson at DMLA. (July 5) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

"High adventure with engaging characters and a satisfying conclusion."-Locus

"A fun romp of a book...the action is fast and furious."-SFRevu

"[A] cleverly constructed world."-Chronicle

"Solid world-building, intriguing characters and vivid action make this a solid addition to a marvelously entertaining series."-Publishers Weekly

"The author of the Dresden Files series demonstrates his skill with epic fantasy...A fresh approach to magic and a cast of appealing characters make this an exciting read."-Library Journal

"A fine coming-of-age, fantasy-action novel. The characterizations are excellent, and the plotting is very well developed."-Booklist

"Jim Butcher is a brilliant world-builder."-Midwest Book Review