A review by ikon_biotin_jungle_lumen
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
DNF.
TW for SA. I am ANGRY about this book, even weeks after putting it down.
I don't give star rating for books I don't finish, but this would score an easy 0 from me. I was FURIOUS at this book and increasingly horrified at the content until quitting near the 60% mark. (My DNF ratio is about 1 in 100, for reference.) Boring, one-dimensional characters. Lazy tropes. Backward moral tone. 'Noble savage' racism. You might say "I suppose that can be overlooked. Fantasy in the 80s was all pretty awful." Except, "Furies" was published in *2004.*
I'm willing to accept the possibility that Jim Butcher has come a long way since 2004. The only book of JB's I have for comparison, "The Aeronaut's Windlass" (p. 2014) is just fine. But "Furies" set off every creep alarm I have. Before I bailed around the 60% mark, there were more references to and descriptions of sexual assault than in my top 15 Fantasy books *combined.* And the protagonist of this book is a non-magical teen boy so the tired empowerment/revenge justification doesn't hold.
Fantasy is a genre for exploring stories beyond the bounds of the real world, including the laws of thermodynamics and civil society. A lot of Fantasy content is obscene and offensive, and many people respond by writing off the genre entirely. I'm an avid fantasy fan with broad context for this evaluation, and I consider "Furies" an inexcusable example of reckless and even deliberately gratuitous sexual violence. Detailed descriptions of adult women with magically immature bodies? Magic-assisted sexual torture and violence against said women? Not to mention the abrupt scene change from rape to a relationship between an injured 23/yo apprentice magic user masquerading as a slave and... a powerful landowner twice her age. (Surprise, the situation is also a rape fantasy.)
Beyond that, the writing for every female character, with one exception, is full of casual sexism. Women are objectified within seconds of being introduced. Female bodies are described with incredibly creepy language, frequently being compared to children's bodies. What the fuck, Jim? Women's conversations fail the Bechdel test and are filled with petty fights over men's attention, and one discussion of SA too disturbing for me to write.
Some argue that the Fantasy genre is a designated safe space for exploring societal taboos, SA included. After all, they say, the characters aren't real so what happens to them doesn't matter, right? I do not agree with that position. Social responsibility is important, and "Furies" is an example of gross irresponsibility with the freedom afforded to the genre.
TW for SA. I am ANGRY about this book, even weeks after putting it down.
I don't give star rating for books I don't finish, but this would score an easy 0 from me. I was FURIOUS at this book and increasingly horrified at the content until quitting near the 60% mark. (My DNF ratio is about 1 in 100, for reference.) Boring, one-dimensional characters. Lazy tropes. Backward moral tone. 'Noble savage' racism. You might say "I suppose that can be overlooked. Fantasy in the 80s was all pretty awful." Except, "Furies" was published in *2004.*
I'm willing to accept the possibility that Jim Butcher has come a long way since 2004. The only book of JB's I have for comparison, "The Aeronaut's Windlass" (p. 2014) is just fine. But "Furies" set off every creep alarm I have. Before I bailed around the 60% mark, there were more references to and descriptions of sexual assault than in my top 15 Fantasy books *combined.* And the protagonist of this book is a non-magical teen boy so the tired empowerment/revenge justification doesn't hold.
Fantasy is a genre for exploring stories beyond the bounds of the real world, including the laws of thermodynamics and civil society. A lot of Fantasy content is obscene and offensive, and many people respond by writing off the genre entirely. I'm an avid fantasy fan with broad context for this evaluation, and I consider "Furies" an inexcusable example of reckless and even deliberately gratuitous sexual violence. Detailed descriptions of adult women with magically immature bodies? Magic-assisted sexual torture and violence against said women? Not to mention the abrupt scene change from rape to a relationship between an injured 23/yo apprentice magic user masquerading as a slave and... a powerful landowner twice her age. (Surprise, the situation is also a rape fantasy.)
Beyond that, the writing for every female character, with one exception, is full of casual sexism. Women are objectified within seconds of being introduced. Female bodies are described with incredibly creepy language, frequently being compared to children's bodies. What the fuck, Jim? Women's conversations fail the Bechdel test and are filled with petty fights over men's attention, and one discussion of SA too disturbing for me to write.
Some argue that the Fantasy genre is a designated safe space for exploring societal taboos, SA included. After all, they say, the characters aren't real so what happens to them doesn't matter, right? I do not agree with that position. Social responsibility is important, and "Furies" is an example of gross irresponsibility with the freedom afforded to the genre.