The third in the series, Cursor’s Fury takes place two years after the events of the previous Codex Alera book. Tavi is now a full Cursor, going undercover as a military officer in a new Legion that is soon sent to a distant corner of Alera to fight a much larger invasion force of Canim while the rest of Alera’s Legions have their hands full putting down an assault from Kalare.

Cursor’s Fury matches its predecessor for political intrigue and unexpected plot twists. The ending, especially, has a revelation that comes out of nowhere during the last few pages, as well as an unexpected character development right at the end. (You don’t want spoilers, trust me.)

Once the story gets going, the action doesn’t stop and you won’t want to put the book down. Jim Butcher has a real talent for that.