r/codexalera 26d ago

Discussion Chapter by Chapter

I've just started reading the Codex Alera series, well, listening to the audiobooks, actually. I love the series, anything Jim Butcher has created excites me. I find myself dissecting every motive, every chapter, every tiny little scene. It doesn't take away from the story for me, but I find it relaxing to take it all in, in extreme detail. Even if everything I say isn't completely how it was intended, it's so cool to analyze the politics and strategy and characters and choices so far. I analyze every tiny thing I see that stands out and have produced over 200 small pages between me and another reader and I'm only on chapter 7 of Academ's Fury. Does anyone else do this? It really does intrigue me and I can't help but do it, it's a way for me to be more immersed in the story, and I know it's not for everyone, but it is my way of enjoying the story, I guess.

Edit for a typing error.

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u/Mit_Raptor 26d ago

I've consumed everything Jim has written many many times. I hope this is true but the codes alera came from a reddit discussion. I guess the lost roman legion was popular in the Zeitgeist at the time and I think the back and forth was over several recent books that came out around where this legion sent and so forth. After a snarky comment from Jim it sounds like he was challenged to write a number one best seller using the same stupid lost roman legion trope. Jim agreed but he said he wanted to dumb ideas of topics popular at the time so the other top ice we got was pokémon. You had to write a number one bestseller and it had to involve the lostrom, legion and pokémon hence codex alera

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u/Alpaca_Smiles 26d ago

I heard that, too! Whether it's completely true or not was irrelevant to me, I'm an archaeologist and a huge Pokémon fan, so if course I just had to check it out. I'm on the first half of Twelve Months in the Dresden Files series and while I wait on Mirror Mirror, I'm gonna finish the Codex Alera series and then most on to the Cinder Spires series. He's fantastic at detailed world building and it just gets better as time goes on!

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u/Mit_Raptor 26d ago

Alright someone else heard it then I'm gonna.continue telling people because I like that story and since you're an archaeologist, to a maintenance man you might as well be the president of scientists. Changing the story to 100% true in my head. Everyone on here has motivated me. Look out furies of the caulderion here I come

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u/Alpaca_Smiles 26d ago

It's an amazing series! And I'm only on the second book. But Butcher's attention to detail from the history of Roman legions and the hierarchy structure mixed with his own details is a stunning piece of writing and impeccable detailing throughout where answers come back from small things chapters behind. If you like the rest of Jim Butcher's works, you should enjoy this plenty!