This fantasy book mixes elements of ancient Rome with an interesting system of elemental magic in the form of furies, elemental creatures everyone in Alera seems to be able to use, with the exception of 15-year old Tavi, one of the protagonists of the book. He lives in the peaceful Calderon Valley and herds sheep, but it doesn't remain peaceful, because a rebel Lord is using the Valley as staging ground for his rebellion against the First Lord of Alera, by aiding the barbarian Marat with an attack on the valley.

I'm usually a sucker for any vaguely Roman or Greco setting, but didn't really feel this book. It's entertaining enough to read, but the characters are all fairly cardboard-ish. The villains are villainish, without any real depth behind it that I can tell, the good guys are all very good, and again, are not presented with any real character depth.

The final battle scene at the Garrison was so long and plodding that I started skimming, which is never a good sign. Because I am a mellow reviewer, and the Dresden Files started out not that great either, here's three stars from me. Let's hope Tavi gets some depth in the next book, instead of continuing to be just a super-smart cookie.