Books from the past three months. I somehow managed to finish up the last 8 books of the Dresden Files. Could be from newfound free time that I should be using to be more productive, or maybe re-reading is always faster. I wouldn't know, surprisingly since this is my first-time re-reading these books.
Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
"Black magic means a black practitioner of some kind, and they tended to be the sorts of people who were both happy to kill and interfering wizard and able to manage it."
"'Rule number one of the wizarding business,' I said. 'Never let them see you sweat. People expect us to know things. It can be a big advantage. Don't screw it up by looking like you're as confused as everyone else. Bad for the image.'"
Harry Dresden is given an ominous message from a senior member of the White Council that someone is using black magic in Chicago. As a newly recruited/drafted warden of the council, it is Dresden's duty to hunt down the practitioner and deal with him or her. The case becomes personal when all signs point at the troubled daughter of his friend and ally. Dresden steps in to protect her from fear-eating monsters that she called upon, but can he also protect her from the judgement of the White Council?
The cases that become personal to Dresden are typically my favorite since it doesn't just become a client that could lose, but someone Dresden is familiar with (a friend or family member) could die and that always raises the stakes slightly. It also means that he takes the actions of his enemies personally and acts in a more serious, and typically violent nature, making the action better. Plus, at the end of it all, Dresden enters the next phase of wizarding: taking on an apprentice.
White Night by Jim Butcher
"When he came back out, the smile was gone. We got suited up. Swords and guns and grey cloaks and staves and magical gewgaws left and right, yeehaw. One of these days, I swear, as long as I'm playing supernatural sheriff of Chicago, I'm getting myself some honest-to-God spurs and a ten-gallon hat."
Harry Dresden has been busy with his new duties as Warden of the White Council fighting the war against the Red Court Vampires, training new wardens, and hunting down warlocks, as well as training his new apprentice. Too busy, unfortunately, to notice female practitioners turning up dead throughout Chicago. Others are being seen in the company of a tall man in a grey cloak before they vanish, a man very much resembling a warden, Dresden himself, or his brother Thomas, a White Court vampire. Could his brother be back to hunting humans as his family does? Or are there other monsters on the prowl?
Do you want vampires to be the pale, beautiful creatures depicted in Twilight compared to the monstrous bat-like creatures usually featured in The Dresden Files? Well, you'll like this book in the series. Though it isn't the first time the Vampire White Court is introduced (see Death Masks), it does go further in depth into the different Houses that make up the White Court as well as how they operate compared to the other Vampire Courts. The Whites feed upon human emotion (Thomas and his family prefer lust, other Houses feed on fear and despair). And not only does this one have an actual, formal duel, but the best team-up: Dresden and Gentlemen John Marcone, the infamous Chicago mobster.
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
"At one time in my life, a shapeshifted, demonically possessed maniac crashing through a window and trying to rip my face off would have come as an enormous and nasty surprise.
But that time was pretty much in the past."
"I followed the trail of smitten fiends. Smiten fiends? Smited fiends? Smoted fiends? Don't look at me. I never finished high school. Maybe learning the various conjugations of to smite had been in senior-year English. It sure as hell hadn't been on my GED test."
Harry Dresden is given the opportunity by Mab, Queen of the Winter Fae, to settle the second of three debts he owes to her: investigate the kidnapping of John Marcone, crime lord of Chicago's underworld and a newly signed baron of The Accords. When it's discovered that the kidnappers were the Knights of the Blackened Denarius, Dresden sets out to rescue Marcone despite their differences. If fighting against Fallen Angels wasn't hard enough the Summer Fae have sent their own champions to foil Dresden's efforts.
This book felt like a jumble of different storylines blended together as if a lot of things either needed to be tied up from previous books or needing to be set up for future stories. That said, I did like seeing how the supernatural Powers/Nations interact with each other. I think it is one of the first books that we get to see a lot of the different supernatural entities at once instead of just presented one at a time. Introduced in previous books, The Accords is a document that governs the relationships between supernatural entities as a way to keep the peace. In this book we get to see the Denarians violate The Accords by abducting Marcone, the first mortal to have signed onto the Accords. Though Mab is acting against this violation, the Summer Fae still must send someone to oppose her efforts as summer must always oppose winter. And, since the Denarians are involved, of course, the Knights of the Cross also arrive to oppose them. By involving Dresden and the White Council, Mab brings in another Accorded Nation to resolve the challenge.
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
"'They aren't invulnerable. They can be killed.'....
'How'd you do it?' I asked, without looking behind me...
'It was the fifties,' he said. 'Started in New Mexico. It followed me to Nevada. I lured it onto a government testing site, and stepped across into the Nevernever just before the bomb went off.'
I blinked and looked over my shoulder at him. 'You nuked it?'"
"If I was going to die, it was going to be a bloody and spectacular mess.
'Bring it!' I screamed back at the naagloshii, my terror and rage making my voice sharp and high and rough. I cupped my right hand as if preparing to throw a baseball, drew up my will, and filled my palm with scarlet fire. I thrust out my left hand and ran my will through the shield bracelet handing there, preparing a defense, and as I did I felt the power of the land beneath my feet, felt it spreading out around me, drawing in supportive energy. 'Bring it! Bring it, you dickless freak!'"
Warden Morgan pursued Harry Dresden for most of his life, suspecting him of dabbling in black magic and a potential, if not already, warlock. When Morgan shows up bloody and beaten at Dresden's home looking for sanctuary from the White Council's wardens, Dresden lets him in. Knowing Morgan's fanatical commitment to the White Council and the Laws of Magic, Dresden believes Morgan's innocence and sets out to find who framed Morgan. Of course, life is never as simple as dealing with one problem at a time as Dresden must also deal with a naagloshii, a Native American shapeshifting monster, that is also hunting down the injured warden.
Though the main plot is figuring out who the real traitor within the White Council really is, my main interest in the story was the fight against the naagloshii. Besides the Fallen Angels, the naagloshii was the most formidable foe Dresden has faced in a while. Not only can it shapeshift into different animals, but it transform different parts of its body to suit its needs; it is almost impervious to magic and can cast spells as well; it is physically superior to not just human beings but other supernatural entities such as vampires; and, worst of all, all it cares about is inflicting pain against others.
Changes by Jim Butcher
"Monsters who had taken my child.
The man once wrote: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. Tolkein had that one mostly right.
I stepped forward, let the door bang closed, and snarled, 'Fuck subtle.'...
Silver-white fire howled down the hallway and bit into the corner ahead, blowing through it as easily as a bullet through a paper target."
"I growled as a column of pure rage rose up my spine and made my voice rough. 'I will make Maggie safe. If the world burns because of that, then so be it. Me and the kid will roast some marshmallows.'"
When Susan Rodriguez calls Harry Dresden to let him know that the Red Court vampires have kidnapped their daughter, Dresden immediately knows what he's going to do - he's going to get his daughter back no matter the costs.
To compare this book to TV shows, this is the season finale of The Walking Dead when Shane gets back up as a zombie despite not being bitten; it's the season one finale of Killing Eve when Eve stabs Villanelle as they're lying in bed together; it's this past season finale of Prodigal Son when Ainsley slits Endicott's throat. It's that "Holy Shit!" episode that just keeps you reading because you need to know how this whole thing ends. Changes wraps up the ongoing war between the Red Court vampires and the White Council that started in book three, so of course, this is the epic climax.
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
"Besides, there was one more thing that made me certain that I wanted to go back. At the end of the day ... some son of a bitch had freaking killed me
That's not the kind of thing you can just let stand."
"'Aaaaaaaagh!' I screamed, emerging from the wards and onto Murphy's front lawn, chock-ful of new insight as to why ghosts are always moaning or wailing when they come popping out of somebody's wall or floor. Not much mystery there - it freaking hurts."
In the aftermath of Changes, Harry Dresden finds himself a ghost in Chicago months after his death. Given a chance to either move on to the hereafter or return to the mortal realm to investigate his own death, Dresden returns to Chicago especially if it means helping his friends. He'll need to navigate his new situation and surroundings quickly if he wants to stop a horde of murderous ghosts and one particular ghost determined to re-enter the land of the living.
As I said of Grave Peril, I'm not a fan of ghost stories. Having Dresden drop in power level as he navigates a temporary existence as a ghost made for a slower read. This book mostly felt like a reflection for Dresden to come to terms with the events of Changes and the hard choices he needed to make, as well as set-up the next season of The Dresden Files with a new enemy and new allies.
Cold Days by Jim Butcher
"Mab made a low, hungry sound in her throat as she leaned down, until her lips were almost touching my ear.
'I have no use for weakness, wizard.' She shivered in a kind of slow, alien ecstasy. 'Rest. Heal. Sleep. I shall most likely kill you on the morrow.'
'You? A Princess Bride quote?' I croaked.
"'Thwart,' I said. 'To prevent someone from accomplishing something by means of visiting gratuitous violence upon his smarmy person.'"
Harry Dresden is back in the world of the living to fulfill his bargain with Mab, Queen of the Winter Fae, as her Winter Knight. Her first task is an impossible one: kill another immortal. At the same time, Dresden discovers the new enemy literally at their gates: The Outsiders, a collection of entities not of this universe seeking to come in and kill everyone. Dresden needs to figure out how to get the job done quick as he's being pursued by enemies both within the Winter and Summer Fae Courts but also by The Outsiders and their allies.
Honestly, Cold Days was kind of forgettable in terms of plot. The newest revelation is the coming of the Outsiders as the new Big Bad Enemy. Dresden takes time to get used to being alive again and once again meeting with old friends. My favorite part comes with the return of the Wild Hunt, a supernatural phenomenon depicted as hunters on horseback surrounded by hounds that sweeps along the mortal world unseen either killing anyone it encounters or forcing them to join in the hunt.
Skin Game by Jim Butcher
"'Who?' I asked him. 'Whose vault are you knocking over?'
'An ancient being of tremendous power,' he replied in his roughened voice, his smile widening. "You may know him as Hades, the Lord of the Underworld.'"
"Michael approached me with his eyes wide and said, 'Dear God in Heaven, Harry. That was amazing. I've never seen you move so quickly.'
'Yeah,' I said. 'There aren't many perks to being the Winter Knight, but that's one of them.'
'Did you shout 'Parkour'?' Michael asked.
'Well, sure,' I said. 'That was kinda Parkour-like.'
Michael fought to keep a smile off his face. 'Harry,' he said, 'I'm almost certain one doesn't shout 'Parkour.' I believe one is supposed to simply do Parkour.'"
To fulfill a debt to Nicodemus (leader of those possessed by Fallen Angels), Mab loans out the services of her new Winter Knight, Harry Dresden. The job is a simple one: break into a vault and steal the contents inside. Except the vault they want isn't on the mortal plane, it's in the Underworld ... and it belongs to Hades. Of course, whatever Nicodemus has planned for the contents of the vault can't be good, and so Dresden must find a way to foil his plans while still fulfilling his queen's word.
It had to come eventually and it didn't disappoint: a supernatural heist! Of course, there's the standard, introduce the team and their abilities, plus Dresden gets to bring in some friends to watch his back. As usually, something will always go wrong and Dresden will need to find a way to save his friends while still maintaining his cover within the group. And of course, the thing that the group is after isn't really what the job is about.
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