Synopsis:
In this novel in Jim Butcher’s #1 New York Times bestselling series, an old debt puts Chicago wizard Harry Dresden in harms way…
Harry’s life finally seems to be calming down. The White Council’s war with the vampiric Red Court is easing up, no one’s tried to kill him lately, and his eager apprentice is starting to learn real magic. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow.
Mab, monarch of the Sidhe Winter Court, calls in an old favor from Harry. Just one small favor he can’t refuse…one that will trap Harry Dresden between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and one that will strain his skills—and loyalties—to their very limits.
And everything was going so well for once…
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Heidi’s First Thoughts
Heidi’s Hot Take:
Small confession, I read this WAY out of order. I didn’t want to wait to buy the books between this and Fool Moon, and he did such a great job recapping in Fool Moon from Storm Front that I figured I’d be fine so I jumped from book 2 to book 10. I was
And I totally wasn’t! Oh my goodness, so much happened between 2 and 10 and while Butcher did a fantastic job just weaving in what was needed for this story, it still left me chomping at the bit to read the other books and answer more questions that were burning in my brain but were not necessary to this story. For example, when did he get a half-brother? Why did Murfy get demoted? How did he get on the Council? Why was he in a fight with the fey? How did he end up in Molly’s life? And so very many more story lines that I cannot wait to dive deep into. Alas, I must as my book budget is already spent this quarter 🙁
I would say that all those swirling questions made it a bit more difficult to stay as immersed in this story as I would’ve been if I’d read it in proper order. But Butcher leaves no downtime to forget where you are. Those longings are what occupied my brain between reading sessions, but during the reading I was completely immersed. The story line is far more complex and convoluted than even Fool Moon with the multiple possible villains. These many plots weaving together left Dresden running almost non-stop through the story, and by extension left me exhausted after each reading.
My only fear is that Butcher can’t keep ramping up like this and keep it feeling grounded. I mean, I know Dresden is a very powerful wizard and that has been evident from the very first book, but we’re running into a bit of a Die Hard Conundrum. Die Hard 1- John MacClane is your average beat cop put in an extraordinary situation but by Die Hard 4, he is launching cars over helicopters in ways that even trained elite professionals could never do. At what point do we start feeling that Dresden’s powers are so great that even with 50 baddies fighting at the same time and for different reasons no longer excite us because we know Dresden can’t be beaten? I will say, I’m thrilled to see how much Dresden has evolved emotionally and that makes me so happy, but I fear that we will have to experience further growth through a whole heck of a lot of loss and grief. At what point will that loss and grief maybe make him the villain?
I am very much enjoying this series and look forward to it being the next slew of books I buy once my book budget opens up hopefully in Q-2.
Have you read the Dresden Files? What are your thoughts? Which is your favorite book? Let us know in the comments below!
Until next time,
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