Review: The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
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- captainhammerica
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Review: The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
Alright, might as well start out a 4 star review by pointing out how biased I am. But seriously how awesome is Jim Butcher? I mean from a production standpoint alone. He came out with the first book in the Dresden Files in 2000. Sixteen years later there are fifteen books in the series now. Not to mention another six books in Butcher’s Codex Alera series. Translation? Since his first book was published Jim Butcher has produced at least one book every year. I’ve got to say in the long abysmal wait that is fantasy fiction *cough* Martin *cough* it’s a relief to be able to see a writer who is consistent both in quantity and quality.
How could he get more impressive? How about a third series? One thing you have to love about Butcher is the varied approach he takes to world building. The Dresden Files is an urban fantasy series set in modern day Chicago. Codex Alera is a sword and horse fantasy series with a Roman inspired society as a heavy backdrop. And now we have the first installment of The Cinder Spires, a fantasy setting with steam punk, airships, talking cats, and I can’t wait to see what else in future novels.
What does Jim Butcher do well? World building, he makes a unique setting with each of his series. Perhaps this is most seen in each of the series’ magic. Magic interacts different ways and has different origins, different everything. When it can be easy to fall back on what you know, Butcher strikes something new. The diverse group of characters, both heroes and villains, is also extremely entertaining. In a series as macho heavy as The Dresden Files, it’s refreshing to see that Butcher can also create diverse and rootable female protagonists.
I suppose one of the few complaints I have about the novel is the silkweavers. Spider like monsters that are being controlled by someone else to do their bidding. If you’ve read the Codex Alera then this should sound pretty familiar. With a writer awesome as Butcher, and after praising him so much for not falling back on old ideas, it’s something of a shame that…well, that he did the exact opposite of what I praise him for. Fortunately the silkweavers more a side note to the novel, and I don’t think/hope that they won’t be as prominent in future installments.
Also for the sake of making things sound more steampunky some of the names get a little ridiculous sounding. Aeronaut isn’t bad, but then there’s words like verminocitors. Those are the people whose responsibility it is to hunt down violent monsters from the surface that creep into the spire. Really awesome premise, and I hope we see more of them, but the names sounds kind of….well, dumb. Even for a fantasy occupation.
Overall though the few complaints I have are really petty. I very much enjoyed the book and I can’t wait for the next one in the series. Keep up the good work, and I think it’s worth repeating, all hail the Butcher.
Final verdict: 4/5 Stars
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