Women are dying in Chicago. They are ruled as suicides, but Murphy suspects differently and brings in Dresden to have a look. When he finds a Bible verse written in such a way that only a wizard can find it, there's no doubt that the "suicides" are actually murders. As Harry digs deeper, his discoveries don't make the job any easier. An old enemy rears its head, the war between the White Council and the vampires hangs in the balance, and his half-brother becomes a suspect. He must unravel the mystery to protect those he cares about without tipping off an unknown informant in the Council or getting himself killed while also still keeping the fallen angel Lasciel at bay. It's just another day for Dresden....
Impression: I love the Dresden Files series and look forward to picking up the next book when it comes out, but White Night was a bit disappointing for me. It was still a fun read, I still enjoyed it and devoured it like the other books in the series, but it falls among my least favorite among the Dresden books. The writing felt off--less concise and polished than in previous books, and there were issues in the way the story was written that didn't sit well with me.
The plot was pretty simple, which has worked in previous books, but didn’t work so well in this one because I was able to figure out the bad guys before the main character did. Since I'm not the brightest with figuring these kinds of things out, the transparency bothered me; the fact that I had it figured out before Dresden bothered me even more. And there were, not so much holes in the plotting, but little bumps that puzzled me. For example, there's a point in the book where Dresden opens a doorway into the Nevernever and he herds a group of people through but never makes it through himself. It's never really clearly explained how these people got out of the Nevernever. As a reader of the series, I can pretty much figured out who helped out, but a new reader doesn't have that benefit of experience. Considering the amount of words that were extraneous in the novel, some of those words could have been cut to allow for a clear explanation of how people got out. (However, I will admit that it could have been slipped in and I missed it since I was reading quite late.)
On the upside, Dresden is as wonderful as ever and, even with the bloated feeling of the writing, the story does still pull you along. There's always a concern this far into a series (especially after the Anita Blake books) that the character changes will make the character unrecognizable, or the plotting will fall apart, and neither of those happen here. Dresden is recognizably Dresden, and the plot works despite the bumps. And I do love the interaction between Dresden and Lasciel--I was worried when she first showed up in his life, but now I'm sad to see her go (assuming she's really gone). And it's going to be interesting to see how the end events affect the Dresden world. So I'm not totally turned off by the book, just not nearly as impressed as I have been with previous books. I can still recommend it, just not for a first time Dresden Files reader--there's too much that requires someone who is familiar with the world setting.
When a local horror film convention is attacked by phobophages, creatures who feed on fear, Harry must help defeat the creature and discover who is responsible for their appearance. Unfortunately, his search for clues cleads him to his best friend's daughter or her boyfriend. When she is taken into the Nevernever and Harry follows to save her, with her mother, his brother, and Murphy at his side, he also discovers that the fairy Queens are manipulating the situation and that the White Council itself is at risk. By the time he's done, he's saved more than one life, but his standing with the Council is even more precarious, he's aware that there is an unknown traitor on the Council itself, and there's at least one new player on the scene whose identity is unknown.
Impression: Butcher wastes no time getting right into it in Proven Guilty. Dresden is knee-deep in the kimshe before the phobophages show up, and their attacks on the convention only dig him in deeper. The story kept me engaged though -- often past my bedtime. There's some real nice character advancement in here, in their relationships as well as for the individual characters. It was really nice to see Charity finally make some kind of peace with Harry, and seeing Michael at the end, however briefly, was very cool. Butcher nicely ties up the current story, but leaves some intriguing loose ends for a future novel or two. The enemies Harry must stand against aren't necessarily more powerful than in previous books, so there's no continuation of this building of Harry's power we've seen in previous books, but neither are they easily defeated. I think perhaps the only "problem" I had was that I knew who was bringing the phages long before Harry did -- it was just too obvious. Still it didn't ruin the readability and enjoyment of the book. Probably not one of my favorites in the series, but pretty close.
When Mavra, the leader of the Black Court vampires, makes a deal with Harry that he cannot refuse, he discovers that Murphy may not be the only one in trouble if he doesn't succeed in finding a book that more than one person who's into the dead wants. The search for the Word of Kemmler becomes a race for power between Harry and Kemmler's remaining apprentices while the Red Court battles it out with the White Council. At the same time, Harry must deal with a fallen angel, demons, and more undead than he ever thought he'd meet in the space of three days.
Impression: The Dresden Files tends to be a little inconsistent in the writing (although they are all good), but Dead Beat definitely falls in as one of the best in the series -- better than Storm Front, maybe even better than Grave Peril. I think my only concern about the novels at this point is that all this wanting Harry won't pay off later in the series It's been shown time and time again he's not the best mage in town -- both in raw power and control there are definitely bigger fish in the magical pond, and yet he seems to have more than a few who want him on their side in some formal capacity. As more offers come out of the woodwork, you really have to wonder why. The guys who want him dead make sense, now Butcher needs to make the guys who want to give him a job make sense too. Of course, this is a concern only those who have read the whole series. For anyone reading just Dead Beat, there are other issues.
Dead Beat definitely needs to be read only after reading previous books in the series, or the events will seem too fantastical, too overdone. For those who have read the previous books in the series, however, the novel fits right in where it should. There is one lapse at the end -- something Harry said he would do that he didn't, and I wonder if that was deliberate or if Butcher will need to deal with/fix it later. Regardless, this was a fun, can't put it down read for me.
One of the stronger books in the Dresden Files, I didn't find any "holes" and wasn't distracted by anything being too obvious or too obscure. Butcher manages to keep making Harry's life more and more complicated without losing who Harry is (which is one of my major complaints about the Anita Blake books -- her life gets more complicated, but rather than using those complications to reveal Anita's character, the author has Anita do an about face and practically become a different character; it was disappointing and eventually, combined with the steady decline in the quality of writing, made me stop reading the books), and I definitely look forward to seeing how these additional complications work out. And I got to admit, I loved Sue. The writing from book to book may be inconsistent at times, but the Dresden Files is still a rare series that keeps improving with each additional book. Dead Beat definitely at the top of my recommendation list, both as part of the Dresden Files and as a dark fantasy book in general.
Btw, I did read the 2 books between Summer Knight and Dead Beat. I have no idea why I didn't review them -- probably busy because of work and all that. My plan is to reread them and do the missing reviews. They'll be out of order, but they'll be done. ;)
When the Shroud of Turin goes missing, a Red Court vampire challenges Dresden to a duel, and Harry's ex-girlfriend, Susan, comes back to town, Harry's already less than simple life reaches a whole new level of complication. Harry's hired to find the Shroud and discovers it's the key to a demonic plan, and his only clue is a headless, plague-ridden corpse. And Harry isn't the only one hunting for the Shroud. It's not long before he's dodging bullets, matching wits with the local crime boss, Marcone, and barely surviving encounters with a special kind of fallen angel known as the Denaraians. Even three Knights of the Cross might not be enough to get Harry through this one alive.
Impression: Almost from the first page, there's no rest for the wicked -- or for Harry, for that matter. Death Masks is engaging from the first word, with plot twists and a breathless, nonstop pace -- which actually works well. The reader is pulled in and kept in the story from start to finish. More than once, the reader is placed on the edge wondering if Dresden will survive the current encounter. The changes in Susan are fascinating, but go well with Butcher's take on vampires. While Death Masks isn't my favorite novel in the series, it's definitely up there.
Dresden has been spending every moment searching for a cure for his girlfriend's near vampirism, letting everything else fall by the wayside. Then it rains frogs and the White Council comes to town. Dresden's on trial and the only way to save himself is to settle a dispute between two Fairy Queens. When their disagreement goes global, time becomes pressing and a lot more is at stake than the Council and his girlfriend's taste for blood.
Impression:Summer Knight slips back a little, more at the level of Fool Moon than Grave Peril. The war with the vampires begun at the end of Peril is almost completely ignored. Its affects are mentioned, but it only minutely complicates the plot despite the fact that the vampires want Dresden very, very dead. The Fairy Queens, whose motives are supposed to be beyond human understanding, are portrayed as very human. The mystery at the heart of their dispute is well done, and the writing itself is very solid, but certain events at the end of the book puzzled me. There's no sense of depth as there was in Peril and none of the characters really stood out for me. Which is not to say it's not an enjoyable read, it is, but Butcher has slipped back into fluff entertainment rather than something that engages the mind more fully.
The ghosts of Chicago are on the loose and it's up to Harry to find out why. With the help of his friend, Michael, who carries one of the swords of God, Harry tries to discover the meaning for the tempest in the spirit world while trying to protect and save those he cares about. Unfortunately, Harry is just a bit slow in coming to the right conclusions, even slower in finding a way to deal with it, and his solution may land him in even more hot water with both the bad and the good guys!
Impression: I actually enjoyed this one a bit more than the previous Dresden Files books. There was a bit more depth to me, and the character movement was very well done - changes were made, but they were made within the character instead of turning the character around 180 degrees the way at least one series has done in my recent reading past. And I really enjoyed Michael, although the similarities to a certain archangel were a bit heavy handed. I did come to the conclusions about who was responsible for the problems with the ghosts before Harry did, but that didn't make the ending - which was rather spectacular - any less satisfying as the author did make sure to have a few surprises left for his readers.
I like that the Dresden books seem to be getting less "fluffy," and that they are turning into deeper, more complex books. The plots are more developed and the characters are interesting. This whole series could have easily remained light, throw-away reading entertainment, and I'm very glad to see that Butcher has opted not to go that route. Instead, he's aiming for some thought provoking reading that entertains, but definitely isn't light or throw-away.
Things haven't been going so well for Harry Dresden. Business is next to dead and he doesn't even have his usual bread and butter work as a consultant for the cops since irritating the captain with a previous case. But the murder case that gets dropped in his lap isn't the one to wish for: one or more werewolves are on a killing spree. Desperation brings the police knocking on his door asking for help, miring Harry in a tangled web of death and deceit. Just when Harry thinks he's found the killer, more werewolves crawl out of the cement works. Soon Harry isn't just worried about innocents getting killed, but for those he cares about and himself.
Impression: I liked this one better than Storm Front. the plot was deeper and more convoluted, the characters were more complex with a few unique and intriguing folks thrown in. My one complaint is when the murders are solved, there hadn't been much of anything to point to the killers except the most tenuous thread. While a surprise ending can be a good thing, a reader should be able to look back and see the little clues initially missed and how the author revealed the smallest of fragments to reveal the culprits. That can't be done with Fool Moon, at least not for me.
Despite this, I would still recommend Fool Moon as a fun read. The story keeps moving, digging Harry in deeper and deeper as it progresses, and the ending, while aggravating in the feeling that it comes out of nowhere, is still satisfying in all other ways. It's complex enough to keep a reader's attention, not an overly difficult read, and entertaining. This makes it great filler for between the deeper novels that require a little more from readers . . . or to read while preparing for testing since it's easy to read and won't interfere with any thought processes that need to be directed elsewhere.
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a mage. A real one who uses real magic in the real world in modern times. He's also a private detective. On the same day he's asked by the police to help with a double murder and by a woman to help find her missing husband, both of which sound more simple than they really turn out to be. By the end of the day, the local mob boss has warned him off the police case. By the weekend, he's neck deep in trouble that tangles both cases and could easily get him killed, if not by the murderer or the mob boss, then by the White Council - the wizard council whose job it is to make sure all mages obey the laws of magic.
Impression:Storm Front isn't overly engrossing and not very complicated, but it is a fun read. The opening didn't draw me in that well, so it was easy to set the book aside. However, as the story built up to its climax, it became much harder to put down. I ended up reading the last half of the book in one night. Harry is an interesting character, the world the story is written is well drawn even with the changes made. However, the "mystery" was a little too easy to figure out (although I admit I didn't have it till closer to the end - I still had it before Harry) and I felt the author's use of coincidence wasn't well explained - it was just to pat. Fortunately, I like the character enough and the story was a fun enough read despite its problems that I will more than likely pick up the remainder of the series. Not a highly recommended read, but one that I would suggest to anyone looking for something not too deep and fun.
