He also has to ensure the two armies he travels with remain in alliance and soon discovers a traitor in his own ranks he must deal with. But with the remaining Alerans in retreat and more of the land falling under Vord control, he has to act quickly. Tavi believes that even if furies are to meet on the field on battle, the better tactics and thinking of the Alerans can defeat the Vord, who are largely a single entity controlled by the Queen. Unknown to many, the rightful heir to the position of First Lord, Tavi, is returning from Canea with many of the defeated Canim soldiers with him. This gives the Vord access to Aleran furies, a powerful force that is the Alerans' main weapon. Many Alerans have switched their allegiance to the Vord, sensing that victory over them is impossible and believing that may be the only way to escape death. The First Lord of Alera has been killed in battle and with his son already dead and his grandson away fighting in Canea, there looks likely to be a power struggle within the Alerans themselves.

In First Lord's Fury, the concluding part in Jim Butcher's six-part Codex Alera series, the land of Alera is struggling under the weight of an invasion by the Vord. Being quite a fan of that kind of thing myself, I was keen to find out how good Butcher's take on the genre was. In the most recent novels in that series, there has been a section in back where he talks about his love for the old style swords and horses fantasy genre. I've read several of Butcher's Dresden Files series and enjoyed them. It lacks the humour of some of Butcher's other work, but it's an inventive and exciting end to a decent series. Summary: An action packed finale to the series, which is a great read.

Codex alera book 7