If book two doesn't rate well then he'll have to go into book three knowing he has to end the series. Otherwise he might as well never have proposed the 3/6/9 thing at all.

 

I disagree, I don't see why you can't end a series with an easy lead into making a sequel. If the last book does really well, it'd be stupid to say "sorry no more" because book 2 didn't have the response you hoped for. Take Dresden for example, there wasn't any overarching plot for quite some time. The series could of ended at any point until book 6 or so, the books were basically standalone until then.

You could say the same for this book, the story he set out to tell in it is finished. It's not a particularly good story, but it would work as a standalone.

Anyway, I was just wondering if Jim had said that the decision would be made after book 2 or not though, so I have the answer I was after.

 

Finished this now and was greatly entertained by it. I agree that the story could've done with less points of view (and less cat scenes), but all in all I'm more than satisfied.

Maybe I lack the experience in the genre to get bored by the tropes Butcher used - if so then I'm glad for it, as it made the book into a vey enjoyable experience for me. Gwen worked for me; Addison did; even Grimm, whom many seem to view as a bland character.

Also had goosebumps while reading this moment at the beginning, which sold the character heavily to me:

I read that with music from Two Steps from Hell (Norwegian Pirate), and had a stupendously vivid image of the ship descending in a song of fury, the crew howling, and Grimm standing firm as he locks eyes with his prey below. That more than anything else that came later sold him to me and kept me reading eagerly even through the info-heavy beginning.

Not sure if I should put the quoted passage in spoilers, but as it's so early in the book I decided not to for now.

The introduction of Gwen was done well. On convention panels Butcher mentioned sometimes that he regretted how mundane Harry's introduction had been. In comparison, Gwen's introduction made her interesting and look capable, as well as show her core characteristics, like pride, stubborness, arrogance, but also compassion.

I'd give full stars if it weren't for the over-abundance of cats. Nothing against Rowle, really, or against the concept, but as someone already said, it felt like a joke being stretched too far after a while - especially the long, inner monologs about the inferiority of humans.

Spoiler

Though the part with the second cat clan in Habble Landing was the part which bothered me more. At that point the story became far too focused on them. The battle against the silkweavers had been exciting enough as is without another wave conquering the group of expert bug exterminators and then having to be defeated by an army of cats. It took tension right out of the scene and almost strained my SoD to the point of destruction.

4.5/5 in all for a ride that had me gobbling up this book in two days. If the rating holds up to closer scrutiny after I've read more of the genre and had some distance to the book I can't say. For now, however, it encapsulates my thoughts well enough.

 

Reading any fight scene to Two Steps From Hell is gonna make it better though. That's just what epic music is for

 

At which point I then ask why not everyone is listening to it when reading something like this? ^^

 

So the effect is not wasted on making a crappy fightscene tolerable instead of making an amazing scene even more epic and unforgettable.

edit: crappy was harsh, average rather. Didn't exactly leave an impact or was all that memorable to me.

 

We have different views on what constitutes a crappy fight scene, then. You also can't know if a scene is crappy before reading it, so going by that reasoning you'd never be able to decide beforehand whether to use music or not. Fight scenes are something Butcher has done well in almost everything I've read of him so far, so chances are that I'll always pop epic music when reading a fantasy book written by him.

I'm well aware though that not many here share my enthusiasm about the book.

 

I enjoyed everything about the aerial combat. And Grimm, as a character, is actually quite readable when he's on the ship in a chase or a fight. The problem with him in this book is that out of 800 pages, he's on a ship for about 150.

As for Gwen, her introduction seemed to over-sell her; it felt like a first draft, honestly. I've seen that exact scenario play out in more than a few mediocre teen dramas - THIS GIRL DOESN'T TAKE SHIT FROM ANYONE!!!!! - and then her character arc plays out like a watered-down Taming of the Shrew, as she Learns Humility.

I do have some faith that he laid the ground work for much better stuff to come - On Dresden re-reads, I skip Storm Front and Fool Moon. I've only read Codex Alera once, but Books 3 and 4 were excellent, while book 1 was... okay.

I have a funny feeling I will read the next one, where, hopefully, the character dynamics will already be established and we can get right to the action.

But for the love of Christ, no more cats.