Codex Alera

The Marat had their homeworld destroyed by the Vord. They managed to flee to another world, losing much of their culture and technology on the way. The Vord managed to find them again, and wiped out /that/ civilization too. The Marat were scattered again and some of them wound up fleeing to Alera. By the time they got there, their culture had been reduced to a nomadic iron-age culture, similar to the Mongols.

Alera is sort of a dump chute for the Bermuda Triangles of the universe. All kinds of weird things show up there, which is why you've got a bunch of very different sentient species competing and clashing and really incongruous forms of wildlife.

The Vord are all over the place, adapting to each world as they manage to gather DNA to let them adapt. Go over that first scene in the Wax Valley. It's a meteor crater. :)

Huh. So the Marat and Vord figured how to world-jump? That opens up some possibilities...

Also, hi!

The Vord go with a spore-dispersal style of planetary travel. They are a seriously advanced parasitic species. The Marat knew what they were doing the first time, but by the time they had to do it again, those Marat who survived and got away did it more or less accidentally—much like the Romans who marched onto Carna by mistake.

Also, hi! :D

edited 10th Jun '12 7:54:59 PM by JimButcher

Word is that Jim agrees that there are lots of other stories to tell in that universe/setting and that it is well within the realm of possibility that he will write them... sometime in the future. For now, Tavi's story is over and Tavi would not go fight the Vord right away even if he thought he could win. They provide the perfect reason/impetus for the other races to band together.

Word is correct!

Tavi and all of Alera and all of the Canim and all of the Marat and all of the Icemen /might/ be able to take on the Vord over in Canea. Canea is /huge/, and the number of vord it took to wipe out the Canim was simply ridiculous. Going over there and taking them on would be a real meat grinder, and no one is eager to make that kind of war happen.

On the other hand... the Vord now have a very, /very/ limited amount of reproduction they can accomplish, so their ability to adapt further is going to be similarly limited. They couldn't cross the sea to Alera without facing a similar meat grinder of an outraged Alliance. So there's something like a balance of power in the world at the moment.

There's much more story to be told. The backstory of the nigh-unto-death-cult the Romans turned themselves into to survive Carna would be depressing and bloodthirsty, but it could be a readable novel. It's possible that I could do more story with Tavi and company if, say, a new species came tumbling down the chute into Alera. I also might roll things forward a generation or three and see how wildly Alera has changed, thanks to Tavi and crew, which would leave some of the Canim characters still alive and carrying on. I think that would be a much steampunkier Alera. But we'll have to see what the future brings. :)

If you're still commenting in this thread, I've got a quick question - which of the major intelligent races (Alerans, Marat, Canim, Icemen, Vord) has been on Carna the longest by the time of the books? I'd guess Canim, myself, just going on the size of their territory and population and the fact that they're apparently the only ones established well enough to have entirely separate nation-states (In fact, I initially had them pegged as Carna's native form of intelligent life, until Alera grouped them together with the others as "Lost Travellers" in FLF).Just curious, and thanks for stopping by!

I won't ask this question directly because I believe that it would get an "I'm not going to tell you" (seen at least one interview where you did that a few times). However, I seem to recall that your next series will have a steampunk theme... "That opens up some possibilities..."

Also, thanks for stopping by. I can completely understand why you have never made it through The Dresden Files trope page are probably want to avoid that thread unless you are pointed to something in it. It's gotten... quite large and you showing up would probably induce a torrent of questions.

(Though I am proud to say that I started The Dresden Files thread to work on the character pages. My original break-down of the different character types is even still in use! /fanboy cred moment)

edited 11th Jun '12 8:00:29 AM by Belian

You guys think there's any chance that's the real Jim Butcher?

I was wondering the same thing...

I'm willing to believe it is. Jim definitely knows of TV Tropes and is responsive to/appreciative of his fandom. Not to mention that I can't see many people/fans saying "The backstory of the nigh-unto-death-cult the Romans turned themselves into to survive Carna would be depressing and bloodthirsty, but it could be a readable novel"

Those are the reasons I haven't completely dismissed him as not Jim Butcher, but I would imagine that he might choose a handle other than his name, while a pretender would be more likely to us JB's actual name... Basically, there's enough evidence this is the actual thing for me to believe, but it's all circumstantial, and none of it is hard evidence, so I still have reasonable doubt...

Well it'd be cool if it is him. If I ever get my books published I know I'll probably drop into random forums to talk to fans.

edited 11th Jun '12 11:17:08 AM by Bluespade

Same here, and JB seems to be that sort of person as well...

I hope so. Man's one of my favorite authors. Oh, and does this mean that the "worlds" alluded to are planets rather than dimensions?

If I ever get published I will most certainly drop in on fan discussions....and then troll the living hell out of them, most likely by being completely anonymous. There is nothing better then insane fan speculation.

Anyway if it really is Jim....howdy, er wait no that does not sound very intelligent. Salutations, yes salutations I like that.

Now back to your regularly scheduled discussion as to which I have nothing really to contribute. But if I must. I could see "world's" meaning planets, which would be really interesting, but I personally would not like. One of the things I really like about this series is how well fantastical it is. Its one of the few really well written High Fantasy series and turning it into some sort of world hoping thing (picturing Warcraft here for some reason) is just a big turn off for me.

Course Jim is a good author and could no doubt pull it off.

edited 12th Jun '12 7:36:31 PM by syvaris

It's really me. :)

But then, any decent troll would say the same thing, so this is going to have to be one of those things you take on faith—or don't take on faith. I really don't mind much either way.

I do try to use 'jimbutcher' or 'jimbutcherauthor' as a username as much as I can, because I'm on a metric fuckton of various sites, and I just can't keep track of all the usernames if I don't group them into a fairly small number of variations. Back when the Dresden Files was still a fairly tiny series, I used 'harrydresden' as a username a lot, but these days I have trouble finding a place where it isn't already taken. For gaming, I generally use a Dresden Files character handle, or else my standby of "Heckhound."

And why the hell wouldn't I actually be here? I will fly my nerd flag alongside anybody's. :)

To answer the above Alera question, the Canim have indeed been the most successful survivors of Alera's genetic cuisinart, but were essentially isolated on their continent due to the high risk of getting eaten by sea monsters if they sailed around on the ocean too much. The Icemen have actually been around the longest, but they've essentially maxed out their culture up there in the wild arctic. You don't really develop railroads and opera houses and senates when you get everything you need out of life from the carcass of a small-tonnage whale.

And yeah, if I go back to Alera, a steampunked version of the place, set after Gaius Tavarus's forced integration of Aleran Furycraft with Canim engineering has had a few centuries to develop into full blown airships, railroads and steam-powered velocipedes. I think that one would be a lot of fun. I also had an idea for a series set maybe 20 years later, that would basically be a PI-story structure starring the first Marat to bond with one of the Canim, a pair that essentially wound up blood brothers who were incapable of ignoring hopeless but just causes and who continually got into increasingly deep levels of trouble.

I'm actually planning a new steampunk series, as yet unnamed, but the characters in it are really working for me, and I plan to write up the first book of it as soon as the Cold Days manuscript is done. It's sitting at an estimated 77 percent complete right now, so I'd better get back to the salt mines. :)

I'll try to drop in every so often to answer questions and whatnot. :)

It would be great if you could hurry that up ASAP. I'm even more eager to know what will happen next than I was for Changes :P

On one hand, it's an honor to have you here. On the other hand, every moment you spend here is a moment you're not spending on Cold Days, so...

@Jim Butcher: Well I think I'll go ahead and believe it's you. Worst case scenario I get laughed at by a troll, I think I can live with that. I'd just like to say I'm grateful that you're willing to come and speak with us and I really appreciate the wonderful books you've written for us.

Unfortunately I don't have anything to ask about Alera, considering I have yet to completely finish the first book. I read through all of the Dresden Files first and have only just started on Alera. It certainly looks like it's going to be a good read though.

Shakes fist BUTCHER!!!!!

Immediately throws all notes for a pseudo-Victorian Steampunk fantasy thing into a fire.

Digs out his notes dealing with Communist Elves conquering the world.

Also it seems it might be a bad idea to read a thread only having read 2 1/2 books in the series when the author is talking about the series as a whole...Ohh well spoilers are fun.

edited 16th Jun '12 6:03:18 PM by syvaris

Read quicker. You'll enjoy it.

That PI series sounds like fun, I hope you get down to that someday. For now, finish that Dresden book!

I never did get around to posting my thoughts on the first book did I? I just really didn't feel like writing up a big thing about it. Suffice it to say that it felt very slow to me at first but when it got to the climax it was amazingly good.

Anyway, I've been reading Academ's Fury and I just got to the part where Isana talks about how her sister fell in love with a soldier and they both died in the battle of Calderon, and that for some ridiculous reason she now hates Gaius personally. After considering it, I've come up with a theory that I will now post for you all to either laugh at or... I dunno, nod appreciatively at? Here goes: the "soldier" Tavi's mother fell in love with was in fact Gaius's son, making Tavi the First Lord's grandson and possible heir to the throne, depending or not on whether he actually is a bastard. Even if he is, I imagine that Gaius could legitimize him if he felt like it. Gaius is possibly training him for command now, which explains why he has him working for him personally. That's my theory for today.

Also, you guys, seriously? Jim Butcher himself drops in to talk and all you guys do is tell him to get back to writing? Have some patience, you rush a miracle worker you'll get rotten miracles.

edited 21st Jun '12 8:09:49 PM by Bluespade

*nods appreciatively*

Does the version you're reading have the rest of the books listed?

Hmmm... (don't read if you haven't read the whole series) largely accurate, except that it was Isana herself who was in love with Septimus and had his kid, and she hates Gaius because he failed to protect his son/the man she loved/the father of her son. Honestly, it just ocurred to me that Isana and Attis have issues with Sextus for essentially the same core reason (letting Septimus die)- and here I'd always thought of Invidia as Isana's Shadow Archetype...

edited 21st Jun '12 9:17:01 PM by MasterGhandalf