Tag Archives: jim butcher

Book Review of “Cold Days” (2012)

cold days

© James Pyles

This morning I finished reading Jim Butcher’s Cold Days (2012), the 14th book in “The Dresden Files” series.

Chicago’s resident wizard, Harry Dresden, is back from the dead. He’s also now the Winter Knight serving the often cruel Winter Queen Mab, and has to figure out what to do since everyone he’s ever known thinks he’s literally six feet under.

Spoiler Alert: This review’s loaded with them so if you haven’t read the novel and want to be surprised, stop here. I will say that the book is well worth your time as are all the others in the series.

Anyway…

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Book Review of “Ghost Story” (2011), Book 13 in “The Dresden Files” Series

ghost story

© James Pyles

I’ve been systematically going through The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher and late last night, I finished Ghost Story (2011) the thirteenth in the series.

Oh man.

Spoiler Alert!

Stop here if you haven’t read the novel and want to be surprised (and there are a lot of surprises to be had). You have been warned.

This story begins six months after the end of the preceding novel Changes. In that book, everything Harry ever possessed was taken away from him including a daughter he didn’t know he had.

In order to save her from the Red Court vampires, Harry literally sells his soul and ultimately has to murder the love of his life and his daughter’s mother to save his child and really, the whole world.

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Book Review of “Changes” (2011): A Dresden Files Novel by Jim Butcher

changes

© James Pyles

I just finished Jim Butcher’s Changes (2011), book twelve in The Dresden Files series and it is over-the-top great.

Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t read this book yet, are a fan of the series, and want to be surprised STOP READING HERE!

You have been warned.

One of the dangers any series faces is falling into a pattern or formula. After all, as a writer, if you’ve found something that works, you tend to repeat it over and over for the sake of success. Publishers like success too, so they might even encourage such repetition for the sake of profits.

But as we’ve seen in all forms of entertainment, becoming “formulistic” can also mean the death of creativity and the loss of readers.

So Butcher changed all that.

Here’s the “spoilers” part.

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Book Review of “Turn Coat” (2009), a “Dresden Files” Novel

turn coat

© James Pyles

Last night I finished Jim Butcher’s 2009 novel Turn Coat, the 11th book in “The Dresden Files” series.

You’d think that in eleven books, Butcher would turn in a turkey now and then, but he is the gift that keeps on giving. That said, there’s always the danger things will start to get repetitive, especially as the reader becomes more familiar with the Dresden universe.

There is some of that, at least a little. After all (spoiler alert), the climax of this novel occurs on the same piece of magical real estate as the last one.

But there are surprises throughout.

Remember, I said spoiler alert.

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Book Review of the Dresden Files Novel “Small Favor” (2009)

small favor

© James Pyles

I finished Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files novel Small Favor a week or more ago, but I’ve been so busy (largely with granddaughters) that I haven’t had time to write the review before now.

Just when I think everything that can happen to wizard Harry Dresden has happened, something new comes up.

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Book Review of “White Night” (2008), Book Nine in the Dresden Files Series

white night

© James Pyles

I was going to review another book before this one, but when I was halfway through that other book, my request for this one came through at my local public library. Library books have to be returned at a certain date, so this one got priority.

Jim Butcher’s White Night is the ninth novel in his Dresden Files series. Harry Dresden is a functioning and advertised wizard working in Chicago. It’s urban fantasy like Sam Spade meets Lord of the Rings, only sort of.

We last left Harry as a newly promoted Warden of the White Council, basically a police officer/enforcer for a conglomerate of good wizards who defend their laws and protect the world of mortals from the supernatural.

They are currently engaged in a war with the Red Court vampires (there are several courts, all with different characteristics). It’s a war that Harry inadvertently started and so far, things have been going badly for the White Council.

Add to that Harry’s new apprentice Molly. Molly is a late teen girl and daughter of devout Christians (her father Michael is literally a Holy Warrior, magic sword and all) but she, having inherited some magic ability from her mother (long story), used her powers badly and was nearly executed by the White Council. Harry went to bat for her and now either Molly plays the straight-and-narrow as his student, or the Council executes them both.

All caught up?

Good. Spoiler Alert!

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Review of “Proven Guilty” (2007), Book Eight in Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files” Series

proven guilty

© James Pyles

This morning, I finished Proven Guilty (2007), Book 8 in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files novel series.

Warning! Spoiler Alert! Stop here if you don’t want to know more.

As you may recall if you’ve read my other reviews of this series, Harry Dresden is Chicago’s only advertising wizard. This is sort of like crime noir meets urban fantasy. Harry’s not quite the “hard-boiled” type of detective he wants to be, but he’s a good guy. He also gets in trouble a lot.

In the previous book, he was made a Warden by the White Council. The White Council is a group of wizards who enforce the laws of magic and are charged with keeping the “normal” world safe from the supernatural. A Warden is an enforcer of those laws, and they are brutal in their duties, the laws being pretty inflexible.

Harry is treated to just how inflexible, when, at the beginning of the book, he’s present at the execution by beheading of a young Korean guy. He was found guilty of using his magic to take control over other people’s thoughts, up to and including getting them to commit suicide.

Outside of the heinousness of these acts, Harry still feels compassion. The “Warlock” was young, inexperienced, and had no one to guide him.

Too bad.

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Review of “Dead Beat” (2006), Book Seven in the Dresden Files Series

dead beat

© James Pyles

Yesterday, I finished book seven in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series Dead Beat. Like the rest of the books in this collection, the title is a play on words. This time, Harry Dresden faces the threat of necromancers, users of magic of the dead.

Harry’s life gets increasingly worse with each book and sometimes I marvel that he’s still alive.

Oh, before I go on, since this book was published in 2006, there are spoilers aplenty.

Harry’s detective friend Karrin Murphy goes off to Hawaii on vacation with a man (or being) of great power who Harry doesn’t trust. By now, the readers of this series know that at some point, Harry and Murphy are going to become lovers, but currently, he’s too noble and self-righteous to object to her plans.

He’s contacted by Mavra, his deadly vampire foe, who threatens to reveal certain illegal acts Murphy committed (all performed while helping Harry) and destroy her life if Harry doesn’t find and bring her something called the “Book of Kemmler.”

As it turns out, this book holds the secret to summoning a vast number of the spirits of the dead and focusing the energy in order to turn one necromancer into basically a god.

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Review of “Blood Rites” (2004), Book Six in “The Dresden Files” series

blood rites

© James Pyles

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Yesterday, I finished Jim Butcher’s novel Blood Rites, the sixth book in The Dresden Files series.

Harry Dresden is the world’s only publicly advertised investigative wizard. He operates out of Chicago and is on contract with the Special Investigations unit of the Chicago P.D. to help solve the really weird crimes that sometimes happen thanks to ghosts, demons, fairies, and vampires.

“Blood Rites” continues the war between Harry (and by inference the White Council) and a group of vampires called the Black Court (vampires that most resemble “Dracula”). However, Harry’s life is always complicated. He is encouraged by his “White Court” vampire associate Thomas to take a job protecting the owner of a porn film company from what amounts to “the evil eye.” Two women associated with the production have already died.

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Review of “Death Masks” (2003), Book Five in “The Dresden Files” Series

death masks

© James Pyles

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.

Jim Butcher’s Death Masks, the fifth in his “The Dresden Files” series is the darkest and most intense story yet.

The Shroud of Turin is missing and a Catholic Priest from Rome hires wizard/investigator Harry Dresden to find it, believing the Shroud is now somewhere in Chicago. At the same time, the feud between the wizard’s White Council and the vampire’s Red Court has taken a strange turn. To resolve the “cold war” between them, a vampire lord and expert duelist Ortega challenges Harry to a duel to the death. Harry can’t refuse because if he does, vampire and mortal assassins will target and kill everyone Harry cares about.

While mortal thieves originally took the Shroud, supernatural forces known as “The Fallen,” mortals possessed by demons, are after it for their own purposes. This brings in the Knights of the Cross, lead by Michael Carpenter who we saw in a previous novel. He is accompanied by Shiro and Sanya who are more adept at fighting the Fallen than Harry ever could be.

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