What a series!
I think the whole 6 books have been excellently put together.
Quite often after such a build up the ending comes too quickly and can feel a bit anticlimactic. I think these books have been done well with the Vord not really being present as the main threat in most of the books and only really picking up in the last two books.
Tavi's development was done really well, with different environments and opponents in each of the books so it never got boring or seemed to drag on.
It did start feeling a little predictable in the fact that none of the main characters seemed to die, although peripheral good guys and those who were less likable were all expendable in the story line.
This being the last book, it was felt that anyone could die, even some of the very main characters...so the tension felt higher than the previous few books. ( )

Phooey—now I don't have any more Codex Alera books to read. Loved this one like the others—wish there had been more post-struggle narrative; I would have liked to see Tavi interact more with his family that he's been mostly separated from the whole series. Still, I consider this one of my favorite fantasy series and will force everyone I can to read it too. ( )

An insanely good finish to the six-book series. Lots of things explained, loose ends tied up, and nearly nonstop action as everything is about the final battle or preparing for the final battle.

I struggled to “get into” the series as the Romanesque setting wasn’t of great interest to me, but the storyline had so many hints and mysteries that I had to stick around until the final unraveling. I am really glad I stayed. I highly recommend reading the entire series. ( )

I liked the whole series. But, maybe I’ve read too much GRRM, but all the major characters made it through. Still a worthwhile read. ( )

Life, Tavi reflected, seldom makes a gift of what one expects or plans for.

It's darkest before the dawn.

Things have been going badly for the Alerans for a while now. The Vord are here and they're winning, driving the Alerans back time and time again. If only there were a brilliant leader with a known tendency to come up with sideways solutions to impossible problems... Unfortunately, Tavi is stuck on the other end of the world. So what's next.

Structurally, [b:First Lord's Fury|6316821|First Lord's Fury (Codex Alera, #6)|Jim Butcher|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327903582s/6316821.jpg|6502096] really feels more like the second half of [b:Princeps' Fury|2903736|Princeps' Fury (Codex Alera, #5)|Jim Butcher|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1315082776s/2903736.jpg|2930878]. If not for the sheer size such a book would have been, I wouldn't have been surprised had they been a single book originally.

At this point, if you've made it this far, you're going to read this book. And you know they're going to win. But in this case, take the journey before destination[^oath] and see how things get there. There's crazy action, mad plans, traitors and battles galore. It's a solid conclusion to a wonderful series. Well worth reading.

Oh, and my comment about Fidelias? It works. I still don't like him and wouldn't have been terribly sad had he not survived this long. But there's something to be said for redemption...

There are some people who will never understand what loyalty means. They could tell you what it was, of course, but they will never know.They will never see it from the inside. They couldn't imagine a world where something like that was real.

[^oath]: I should re-read Oathbringer again at some point. ( )