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A review by soofsaphony
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
I DNF'ed this book a little over 300 pages. Initially, I was interested in what type of story Jim Butcher would bring to the table in high fantasy. The book has the same hallmarks of his strengths as the Dresden Files - fast-paced action scenes, characters that are pushed to the limits of their abilities time and time again, etc.
Other reviewers have already pointed out some of the flaws in this book such has the repetitiveness of the prose and dialogue, the shallow characters and the fact that this book is WAY thicker than it needs to be. So, I'll just rant about my main pet peeve for this book: the way Jim Butcher writes women here.
If I have to read one more description of Odiana's "shapeliness" and how she behaves like an extremely horny murderous cat-child in the body of a gorgeous woman I will hurl. Isana, Amara and Odiana don't feel like actual humans, much less female ones. It was painful to constantly be reminded of Isana's barrenness, as if she wouldn't have anything else going on in her life as the chief's sister who is also an extremely powerful waterbend- ahem - I mean watercrafter. I found the romance between Amara and Bernard off-putting, all she needs is a touch from a man and she's completely smitten (why is this even happening when they're constantly running/fighting/recovering from running and/or fighting? Isn't she a lot younger than him? Why do they even like each other when their personalities are paper thin?)
The rape/subjugation/torture chapter was the final straw for me. I skimmed through it as much as possible, I don't think it's worth including rape scenes in your book when the only point is to highlight how evil/depraved your villain is by traumatizing your raped characters. It reads a bit too much like a rape fantasy, as opposed to a thoughtful reflection on/deconstruction of rape and everything that accompanies it. Thanks but no thanks.
Other reviewers have already pointed out some of the flaws in this book such has the repetitiveness of the prose and dialogue, the shallow characters and the fact that this book is WAY thicker than it needs to be. So, I'll just rant about my main pet peeve for this book: the way Jim Butcher writes women here.
If I have to read one more description of Odiana's "shapeliness" and how she behaves like an extremely horny murderous cat-child in the body of a gorgeous woman I will hurl. Isana, Amara and Odiana don't feel like actual humans, much less female ones. It was painful to constantly be reminded of Isana's barrenness, as if she wouldn't have anything else going on in her life as the chief's sister who is also an extremely powerful waterbend- ahem - I mean watercrafter. I found the romance between Amara and Bernard off-putting, all she needs is a touch from a man and she's completely smitten (why is this even happening when they're constantly running/fighting/recovering from running and/or fighting? Isn't she a lot younger than him? Why do they even like each other when their personalities are paper thin?)
The rape/subjugation/torture chapter was the final straw for me. I skimmed through it as much as possible, I don't think it's worth including rape scenes in your book when the only point is to highlight how evil/depraved your villain is by traumatizing your raped characters. It reads a bit too much like a rape fantasy, as opposed to a thoughtful reflection on/deconstruction of rape and everything that accompanies it. Thanks but no thanks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexism