Captain's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 4)
by Jim Butcher
Ace Hardcover $24.95

Jim Butcher is best known for the Dresden Files, but his foray into fantasy with the Codex Alera series shows that he can write more than just Harry Dresden. In the fourth book of the series, Butcher picks up a couple of years after the third novel with his two main characters both thrown into difficult situations. Tavi has been in charge of the First Aleran Legion, but under an assumed name, and has been holding off an incursion by the Canim race. Politics take charge however, starting off a campaign that Tavi doesn't agree with and a new leader that wants to take Tavi out of the picture. Tavi is relieved of command, charged with treason and has to embark on a covert mission to prevent the campaign from ending in disaster. In all of this, he also finds out his true heritage as the grandson of the First Lord of Alera, which puts him in even more danger if it were known by his enemies. Meanwhile, Cursor Amara embarks on a dangerous mission with the First Lord himself and her husband, Count Bernard, in enemy territory. They have to travel and survive without using their furycrafting powers which makes things much more difficult. Butcher does a good job with his main characters, Tavi and Amara, and has a good supporting cast, both good and bad, as well as some working both sides of the fence. He's put together an interesting fantasy world with politics rooted in the Roman Legions and he keeps things moving through the whole book, not giving his characters much of a chance to catch their breath. - Lee Whiteside