I got into the Dresden files books early last year, due to various recommendations here. It turned out to be a highly entertaining series. It's not ground-breaking stuff but very enjoyable with a good cast of characters. So after finishing Ghost Story a while back, I decided to give Jim's "traditional fantasy", series a chance. I always noticed the Codex Alera books listed under his name when picking up a Dresden book. I figured he's such a good read that I will try his traditional fantasy series.

Wow, I don't know any other way to say this but...it sucks. I'm very disappointed. This series reeks of amateurism. It's so chalk full of cliches that I don't even know where to start. To be fair, I'm only halfway through the 3rd book but I thought I would stop here to write down my thoughts. So I guess the obvious place to start is to compare the first-person POV of the Dresden files versus the traditional third-person alternating POVs. I think the limited scope of the Dresden books helps to hide Jim's flaws as a writer. He really has Harry Dresden nailed down. His humor, in particular, is really rather good. Harry is a likable character. We only see inside his head and, I believe, it helps make the supporting characters more of a mystery, and thus, very likable. It's strong characterization, for a first-person POV style.

Now contrast Jim's style with the Dresden books with this traditional fantasy series he has created. He switches POVs of 3 to 4 characters. The main character starts out as a teenage orphan with mysterious parentage (insert groans here). We also get POVs from some kind of secret agent of the kingdom, her mentor, and the main character's Aunt. So far each book is self-contained, ala the Dresden Files. We spend about equal time between the main POVs. This is where I started to notice that his third-person narrative is really quite weak. We don't have all book inside the head of one character. As a result, each one of the main POVs are bland, carbon-copies of typical fantasy. He can spend 2 pages in exposition but only a few seconds have passed in real time. The page count of the Dresden books helps keep his writing concise and the action non-stop. Sadly, when writing for the typical length of a fantasy book, Jim exposes more of his flaws.

What's one of the main features of traditional fantasy? Some type of underlying mystery, right? Well, when it comes to mystery, Jim Butcher is about a subtle as a sledgehammer. It's almost like he drew arrows on the pages and said, "This is a mystery right here! Look!" I kid you not, it's that blatant. There is a scene where we are in the head of the main character's Aunt and she is thinking about the past. She then thinks something like this, "Except for...no, no she won't think about that." Seriously, every hint of the mystery is blatantly given like that. There is no subtle hints or winks here. By God, Jim Butcher wants you to know that there is a mystery.

Put aside the typical cliches, the bland characters, the weak plot, etc. Jim's writing itself is pretty bad. Right now, I'm reading the 3rd book of the series. In it, a character is given military command the he is not prepared for. He has to issue orders and he thinks his voice will come out as scared as he feels. But, alas, he is surprised that he sounds smooth and steady. What once was a surprise ceases to be a surprise when this is repeated 3 or 4 times in a span of a few chapters. You see a lot of this type of repetitive writing throughout the series.

I could go on all day but there is only 1 more aspect that I want to touch on. Magic. After all, this is a fantasy series. 2 1/2 books in, I still don't know how the magic is supposed to work. So how does Jim "Sledgehammer" Butcher let you know who is a powerful magic user? He constantly tells you! Because there is no way to figure it out on your own. The magic system is ill-defined and hardly touched upon. The POVs where you see magic used is not very enlightening. You somehow sense using "furies" of earth, fire, wind, water, (cliches?) wearies you physically. But you don't really know why. These "furies" are sentient beings. What kind of partnership is there? Why do you get physically exhausted using them? The First Lord (king) of the realm is almost unparalled in his power, because he commands huge furies, whereas normal mortals command tiny furies, evidently. Why is he special? You can see how questions like these can go on and on.

I would give Jim Butcher's Codex Alera 1 1/2 stars out of four. His characterizations are surprisingly weak, his trademark humor is absent, his writing is amateurish at best, the plot is hackneyed and turgid, and his magic system is vague and confusing. Stick to the Dresden Files, Jim.