Codex Alera

I agree I never really got the impression that Kita ehmm "filled out". In the first book she's uh....young and passes as a boy (or Tavi is just an idiot), by the second one she is older but I never really got he impression she was overly busty.

Goddam this is an awkward page topper.

edited 21st Jul '12 6:29:10 PM by syvaris

I was under the impression that she filled out somewhat, but it was mostly Tavi's attitude towards her changing that causes him to, ah, notice. Remember, he originally thought she was a rather obnoxious (and male) rival, though the climax of their little misadventure with the Vord caused to to reevaluate that and he wound up with a lot of respect to her. They meet up again, a couple of years down the line, and this time she's a friend (albeit a snarky one) and he knows her gender from the get-go, and so certain things get... noticed (particularly when they kind of crash into each other). I don't recall anyone else mentioning her as being particularly well-endowed (though feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

No, I think you're right. Might be poor reading comprehension about her lack of a nudity taboo.

After bonding to a human, Kitai startet to fill out in terms of secondary sexual characteristica because its what female Humans look like. Just as Doroga has a physically strong build because of his bond mate, Kitai's further physical development was influenced by Tavi's race. She didn't went from AA to DD but simply got from being mistaken for male to a definitly human-like feminine figure.

Just an idea.

edited 21st Jul '12 6:45:21 PM by 3of4

Is it bad that I the first thing I thought upon reading that was, "gee that is a good justification for a weird gender-bent slash fic?" Yeah that may be enough internet for one night.

I agree she may have...filled out a bit, but I thing its more Unreliable Narrator. Tavi goes from a fourteen year old (who is certainly behind the growth/developmental curve for "reasons") to a sixteen-twenty year old. He, and hormones kick in so he starts really noticing things he missed. Namely:boobs.

Plus Kita still sort of gives off a "I could pull off pretending to be a boy" vibe for a bit. Doesn't she don armor intended for men later? For some reason I thought she did, and Tavi comments something to the fact of it not mattering so much because she was still so lithe/not busty.

edited 21st Jul '12 6:53:40 PM by syvaris

Marat are pretty much white haired humans, though. And none of the other ones we've been shown are particularly androgynous, rather the opposite.

Quick question: what's up with the trope page constantly comparing Marat to elves? Do they really seem anything like elves to anyone? I don't see a single resemblance, honestly.

Er, as human-looking nonhuman fantasy critters with a close tie to nature, I guess they're somewhat Wood Elf-y.

Yeah, I thought that was weird. Maybe someone read "pretty light-haired not-human race" and thought "ELVES!". I blame Tolkien.

They're close to nature, with supernatural powers that run in that vein; they're more agile and have better senses than humans, based one what Kitai is shown to pull off; they're a tribal, nomadic people who are presented as morally superior in some* (though not all) ways to the main human culture; white hair, pale skin, and slanted eyes are all features associated with elves in modern fantasy. I wouldn't say Marat are elves, but they do fill the general "wood-elf" niche in some pretty noticeable ways, and I get a strong wood-elf vibe from Kitai (somewhat less so from Doroga, mostly because "muscle-man" isn't really a typical elf thing). However, I only added Marat under Our Elves Are Better for the main Alera page; any other Marat=elves stuff on that page isn't me. And I'd less say they are elves than that they fill a niche in the world/story frequently occupied by a certain kind of elf, with attendant paralells.

• Marat I would consider morally superior in terms of being closer to nature, general spirituality, condemnation of slavery, etc. Alerans I would consider superior in terms of not practicing cannibalism. They're about equal in terms of being warlike, though as nomads the Marat are less likely in general to go for conquest, rather than just raiding.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm only comparing the Marat to the flavor of elf-like being that the Our Elves Are Better article calls wood elves. They have little in common with high elves, and less with dark elves.

edited 21st Jul '12 9:15:56 PM by MasterGhandalf

Still reading Princep's Fury. Isana seems to be going about things in the most needlessly difficult way possible. As First Lady, she has more authority than anyone in Alera besides Gaius himself (Tavi's not currently in Alera). So instead of challenging Raucus to Juris Macto, why doesn't she simply command him to go south or relieve him of duty? She can totally do that, and if he refuses he will officially be committing treason. Oh well, I'm sure Butcher has something awesome planned up his sleeve for the Macto so I can't complain.

I do find this book a bit of a disappointment after the last couple books. So far, each book has had very interesting antagonists for the main characters to face, but now it's all Vord all the time, and the Vord are just big bugs with no personality whatsoever. Not to mention they're so ridiculously overpowered I honestly can think of no viable way that Alera will survive this conflict. I was really looking forward to seeing the Canim homeland, but then they get there and, guess what, all the canim are dead. Yay.

Still much, much better than most fantasy series I've read so don't take my criticism as being an indication of hatred or anything.

edited 23rd Jul '12 11:14:55 AM by Bluespade

And if she condemned Raucus for treason? What would happen? Would his Legions, whom he is capably leading and such really follow her on such a thing as "she is Septimus Baby Mama" when he laughs in her face? Never give an order you know will not be obeyed.

She'd made herself ridiculous and any authority she had would evaporate as a snowflake in a volcano. And get Sextus ANOTHER Lord in rebellion to worry about.

edited 23rd Jul '12 11:28:28 AM by 3of4

Raucus is a military man who is loyal to the realm. I don't see him actively rebelling against the crown.

Not to mention Isana's current actions seem a whole lot like pointless suicide...

edited 23rd Jul '12 11:30:53 AM by Bluespade

A female civilian comes and tells him to abandon the front he sees before his eyes, a direct threat to HIS people. And I'm not saying he would go in active rebellion. I'm saying he would go "screw you." and do his thing.

Think of Raucus as him having a serious case of military tunnel vision.

edited 23rd Jul '12 11:34:13 AM by 3of4

He's already doing exactly that. So it wouldn't hurt to try.

Basically, choosing the most awesome method possible to deal with a situation is Tavi's thing, it just feels really weird for Isana to join in on it. But like son like mother I guess.

The only reason it works so often for Tavi, it comes from BOTH of them.

Bernard didn't get all the awesome in his generation of the family...

Princep's is my least favorite of the series, but it's an excellent book nonetheless. Oh, Bluespade, for when you get to First Lord's, remember this: clouds of acid are for amateurs.

I would consider Calderon to be the weakest, but Princeps' does suffer from being the penultimate book and having to handle the transition from the Kalarus/Canim wars arc to the Vord War arc that will round out the series. I still enjoy it, though, and First Lord's is an excellent conclusion.

edited 23rd Jul '12 5:27:53 PM by MasterGhandalf

I'm probably gonna be really unpopular for saying this, but First Lord was my least favorite. The big climactic battle just went on and on and on and on... By the time Tavi and the Vord Queen were zipping through the air in a duel miles above ground, I'd gotten tired of it and was just waiting for the fight to end already.

HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT YOU- oh wait, I haven't read that book yet. Carry on.

I predictably disagree.

For me, the battles lasting hundreds of pages is one of the things I like most about this series.

So... I know it'd be out of character but... how about Sean Bean for Bernard?

But Bernard doesn't die!