Book Review Wednesday: Restoration of Faith (Dresden Files 0.2) 5 stars

I’ve heard that the author didn’t like this short story much. It follows Dresden back when he worked with Nick, and they worked to find missing children. So it’s set before any of the books in the Dresden Files series. He’s looking for a girl who is definitely not happy to be found.

This is also the first time Dresden meets Murphy, and she’s as kickass as always. Plus we meet a troll. A big ugly troll out to eat naughty little children.

The kid in question; a girl called Faith is a neat character. She’s rough and tough, and gives poor Dresden a hard time for trying to rescue her. But when you find out her reasons you understand why.

They eventually form some kind of bond, what with all the danger about and Dresden being the only one who can practice magic. An action packed little story with some sweetness and a newbie to the paranormal shell-shocked Murphy. If you loved the Dresden series, then I recommend this one.

For more reviews on this book go to: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15732549-restoration-of-faith

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Book Review Wednesday: Changes (Dresden Files book 12) 5 stars

This one is the twelfth book in the series.

Links to my reviews of the previous Dresden Files books:

One: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-storm-front-5-stars/

Two: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/book-review-wednesday-fool-moon-dresden-files-4-stars/

Three: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-grave-peril-4-stars/?preview=true

Four: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-summer-knight-5-stars/

Five: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/book-review-wednesday-death-masks-dresden-files-book-5-5-stars/

Six: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/book-review-wednesday-blood-rites-dresden-files-five-stars/

Seven: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/book-review-wednesday-dead-beat-dresden-files-5-stars/

Eight: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/book-review-wednesday-proven-guilty-dresden-files-book-8-5-stars/

Ninth: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/book-review-wednesday-white-knight-dresden-files-book-9-5-stars/

Tenth: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/book-review-wednesday-small-favor-dresden-files-book-10-5-stars/

Eleventh: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/12/10/book-review-wednesday-turn-coat-dresden-files-book-11-5-stars/

I’m going to assume by this point you know what this series is about. So here’s the blurb for this particular book:

Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden’s lover—until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it.

Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it—against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry’s not fighting to save the world…

He’s fighting to save his child.

Yup, you read that right. Harry Dresden has a kid. Everything changes. I do feel for these action hero guys. It seems like they hardly ever have a kid the traditional way. Instead it’s a baby ending up on your doorstep, or an until then unknown child being kidnapped by their enemies. Poor Dresden gets landed with the second option. There is quite a bit of wondering on his part of what could’ve happened if he’d known about her before this, and had the option to be around for all those moments he missed out on.

Given his protective instinct over The Archive recently, and his slight pining over Michael’s family life, I think he would’ve made a great father.

There are big, seemingly impossible stakes in this book, but Harry has even more reason to fight given it’s his daughter’s life on the line. He gives up a lot, and has to make some big deals with nasty people in order to give him, and his daughter a fighting chance. He loses a lot too. There’s this moment at the end when someone close to him dies (I won’t say who.) It was the only way to save the day, but what it must have cost him is indescribable.

There’s some neat banding together of characters in this one, as all Harry’s friends who can fight come to do so. Mouse of course is one of them, and has some great moments. As usual there’s lots and lots of action, but in this book there’s more tension than usual since the odds seem so insurmountable. And at the very very end there’s a twist that came out of nowhere. I didn’t see it coming, and usually I do.

My verdict. One of my very favorite books in this series so far. Definitely five stars.

For more reviews on this book check out: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6585201-changes

Book Review Wednesday: Turn Coat (Dresden Files book 11) 5 stars

This one is the eleventh book in the series.

Links to my reviews of the previous Dresden Files books:

One: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-storm-front-5-stars/

Two: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/book-review-wednesday-fool-moon-dresden-files-4-stars/

Three: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-grave-peril-4-stars/?preview=true

Four: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-summer-knight-5-stars/

Five: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/book-review-wednesday-death-masks-dresden-files-book-5-5-stars/

Six: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/book-review-wednesday-blood-rites-dresden-files-five-stars/

Seven: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/book-review-wednesday-dead-beat-dresden-files-5-stars/

Eight: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/book-review-wednesday-proven-guilty-dresden-files-book-8-5-stars/

Ninth: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/book-review-wednesday-white-knight-dresden-files-book-9-5-stars/

Tenth: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/book-review-wednesday-small-favor-dresden-files-book-10-5-stars/?preview=true

I’m going to assume by this point you know what this series is about. So here’s the blurb for this particular book:

When it comes to the magical ruling body known as the White Council, Harry keeps his nose clean and his head down. For years, the Council has held a death mark over Harry’s head. He’s still thought of as a black sheep by some and as a sacrificial lamb by others. But none regard him with more suspicion and disdain than Morgan, a veteran Warden with a grudge against anyone who bends the rules.

Like Harry.

So when Morgan turns up asking for help, Harry isn’t exactly eager to leap into action. Morgan has been accused of treason against the White Council, and there’s only one final punishment for that crime. He’s on the run, he wants his name cleared, and he needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog.

Like Harry.

Now Harry must uncover a traitor within the Council, keep a less than agreeable Morgan under wraps, and avoid coming under scrutiny himself. And a single mistake may cost someone his head.

Like Harry…

In the very first book Morgan was stalking Harry, looking for an excuse to cut his head off. Understandably since then their relationship has been a little shaky. What I love most about this series alongside the humor and oh so cool action are the deep characters. See, I wouldn’t call Morgan a bad guy, but because of their spotty history me (and Harry) spent this book going ‘OK Morgan, I want to trust you, but I just don’t trust you.’

A lot happens in this book. We’ve spent a number of books before this one seeing everything build up. The Red court against the White council, and more importantly the traitors operating behind the scenes in the White council. In this book that plot gets a big shove forward, and some of the traitors (but I really doubt all of them) come to light. If you’re on your toes you might get to guess who the traitor is before the reveal since there are some neat hints dropped.

Of course we get lots of snark, lots of action, and lots of awesome Mouse the wonder dog. There’s a nice amount of struggle for Harry to get to the bottom of the mystery, and some of the consequences of what he finds out hit him some pretty heavy blows. Poor guy. He always ends up banged up by the end of a book, but in this one he gets a few emotional hits to go with the physical.

He’s always been haunted after being demonized for killing his guardian in self defense. He was sixteen years old, and the guy tried to kill him. It all seems pretty clear cut until you consider the addictive nature of black magic. This book helped him look at that again, and I think helped him come to terms with it a little more. Harry turned out good, but this book shows us more the other side of things, and why the council acted like they did. It was interesting and helped humanize Morgan more.

Another great addition to the series. For more reviews on this book go to: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3475161-turn-coat

Book Review Wednesday: Small Favor (Dresden Files book 10) 5 stars

This one is the tenth book in the series.

Links to my reviews of the previous Dresden Files books:

One: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-storm-front-5-stars/

Two: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/book-review-wednesday-fool-moon-dresden-files-4-stars/

Three: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-grave-peril-4-stars/?preview=true

Four: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-summer-knight-5-stars/

Five: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/book-review-wednesday-death-masks-dresden-files-book-5-5-stars/

Six: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/book-review-wednesday-blood-rites-dresden-files-five-stars/

Seven: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/book-review-wednesday-dead-beat-dresden-files-5-stars/

Eight: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/book-review-wednesday-proven-guilty-dresden-files-book-8-5-stars/

Ninth: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/book-review-wednesday-white-knight-dresden-files-book-9-5-stars/

I’m going to assume by this point you know what this series is about. So here’s the blurb for this particular book:

The new novel in the New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series. No one’s tried to kill Harry Dresden for almost an entire year, and his life finally seems to be calming down. For once, the future looks fairly bright. But the past casts one hell of a long shadow. An old bargain has placed Harry in debt to Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, the Queen of Air and Darkness-and she’s calling in her marker. It’s a 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. It figures. Everything was going too well to last…

Like some of the previous books in the series, if you jump in on this one without reading the others you’re likely to get confused.

This is classic Dresden at his best. Lots of lovely snark, his giant dog, giant cat, white court vampire brother, and lots of evil and scary creatures. There are a few storylines weaved together to make a complex but enjoyable plot. Mab comes to collect on her debt in all her frightening glory. Only, what she asks for doesn’t seem too bad. Marcone (the gangster guy who’s Dresden’s sometimes ally, sometimes enemy) has been kidnapped. Mab wants Dresden to find him. Doesn’t seem too dangerous, right? After all, saving people in trouble is what Dresden does best.

Wrong. Things rapidly get more complicated. His allies in fairy land start trying to kill him, and he finds himself stuck right in the middle of a conflict between the Winter and Summer fae. Michael is having doubts about Dresden’s trustworthiness. All bad news, and of course no one seems nice enough to tell him why he’s suddenly on everyone’s hit list.

Cue lots and lots of action, while scrambling to find out what happened to Marcone, and what’s going on. The Archive gets a big role in this one (that little girl with hundreds of years of knowledge.) She is of course as adorable as ever, and even Kincaid her bodyguard gets a few sweet moments. There’s some struggles of loyalty and morality going on in this book, with Dresden’s choices sometimes putting him at odds with allies. It added an interesting theme to the book, and I think forced Dresden to do a bit of growing up.

For more reviews on this book check out: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/927979.Small_Favor

 

Book Review Wednesday: White Knight (Dresden Files book 9) 5 stars

This one is the ninth book in the series.

Links to my reviews of the previous Dresden Files books:

One: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-storm-front-5-stars/

Two: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/book-review-wednesday-fool-moon-dresden-files-4-stars/

Three: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-grave-peril-4-stars/?preview=true

Four: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-summer-knight-5-stars/

Five: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/book-review-wednesday-death-masks-dresden-files-book-5-5-stars/

Six: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/book-review-wednesday-blood-rites-dresden-files-five-stars/

Seven: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/book-review-wednesday-dead-beat-dresden-files-5-stars/

Eight: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/book-review-wednesday-proven-guilty-dresden-files-book-8-5-stars/

I’m going to assume by this point you know what this series is about. So here’s the blurb for this particular book:

In Chicago, someone is targeting magic practitioners–the members of the supernatural underclass who don’t possess enough power to become full-fledged wizards. Some have vanished. Others appear to be victims of suicide. But now the culprit has left a calling card at one of the crime scenes–a message for Harry Dresden.

Harry sets out to find the killer, but his investigation turns up evidence pointing to the one suspect he cannot possibly believe guilty: his half brother, Thomas. To clear his brother’s name, Harry rushes into a supernatural power struggle that renders him outnumbered, outclassed, and dangerously susceptible to temptation.

And Harry knows that if he screws this one up, people will die–and one of them will be his brother…

First things first, if you haven’t read the previous books you’re going to be very confused. This one relies heavily on knowledge of the books before it. If you have read the previous books then you’re going to eat this one up like candy.

Murphy calls Harry in on a case that may or may not be supernatural. People appear to be killing themselves. Harry decides it is supernatural, and off the plot goes. We also get to see Elaine; Harry’s first love, who is now a private eye in LA specializing in the supernatural. And Molly; Harry’s apprentice is in this one, and less big headed than the last time we saw her.

We get a huge complex puzzle to unravel with Harry firmly in the center of it. Then there’s added drama when several clues suggest Harry’s brother Thomas may be involved. Cue lots of suspicion and sleuthing and not being able to just talk things through like a couple normal human beings. Idiots.

There’s big bad guys, and a lot of action. In the middle of all this we learn some more about the politics of the current battle between the White council and the Red court, and how Harry could possibly tip the balance. It’s all very fun to read, but quite episodic. We get a mention of the secret group plotting in the White council, but no movement on that plot in this book. Still, a fun read and definitely a five star book for me.

For more reviews of this book check out: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91475.White_Night

Book Review Wednesday: Proven Guilty (Dresden Files book 8) 5 stars

This one is the eighth book in the series.

Links to my reviews of the previous Dresden Files books:

One: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-storm-front-5-stars/

Two: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/book-review-wednesday-fool-moon-dresden-files-4-stars/

Three: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-grave-peril-4-stars/?preview=true

Four: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-summer-knight-5-stars/

Five: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/book-review-wednesday-death-masks-dresden-files-book-5-5-stars/

Six: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/book-review-wednesday-blood-rites-dresden-files-five-stars/

Seven: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/book-review-wednesday-dead-beat-dresden-files-5-stars/

I’m going to assume by this point you know what this series is about. So here’s the blurb for this particular book:

There’s no love lost between Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, and the White Council of Wizards, who find him brash and undisciplined. But war with the vampires has thinned their ranks, so the Council has drafted Harry as a Warden and assigned him to look into rumors of black magic in the Windy City.

As Harry adjusts to his new role, another problem arrives in the form of the tattooed and pierced daughter of an old friend, all grown-up and already in trouble. Her boyfriend is the only suspect in what looks like a supernatural assault straight out of a horror film. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in Chicago, but it’s all in a day’s work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob….

Another good sequel. Definately five stars from me. In this one we get another minor character fleshed out. This one is the teenage daughter of Michael who we’ve seen in previous books. We also get a deeper look into their family. It’s really cute to see all their kids grow up over the course of the books, even if most of them stay in the background.

While there are other problems to deal with, like that pesky fallen angel stuck in his head, most of this book revolves around dark magic. This is really neat because though we’ve heard about dark magic and how addictive it can be, and how kids aren’t taught not to use it but are punished once they use it anyway (totally unfair), this really delves deep into that moral dilemma and the damage dark magic causes both to caster and castee.

Dresden undergoes a lot of growth in this book. Most of the previous books have been pretty cut and dry. You find something bad, epic fight scenes, and you destroy said bad thing. This book still has plenty in the way of creepy monsters to kill and bad magic to stop, but once that’s done the source of all the badness requires a lot more thought. And with Dresden working for the council now he’s got a whole heck of a lot of thinking to do to try and solve it.

Our new character is pretty neat. In a lot of ways she’s your average slightly whiny teenager who thinks the world is against her, but beneath that she has a lot of heart. She has a lot of character growth over this one book, so I’m looking forward to seeing how she grows over the next books. From previous books we’ve already learnt what an honorable guy her father is, but this book gives her mother a chance to shine as well. She is one scary lady when her children are in danger.

The characters are really fleshed out in this book. The action is at a high, and the book seems a lot deeper than some of the previous ones. I think the only thing I didn’t like that much about this book was how much Dresden was attracted to Michael’s daughter. It’s a little creepy given how young she is. On the plus side he thinks it’s a little creepy too and doesn’t allow himself to pursue those feelings in any way.

For more reviews on this book check out:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91474.Proven_Guilty

Book Review Wednesday: Dead Beat (Dresden Files) 5 stars

This one is the seventh book in the series.

Links to my reviews of the previous Dresden Files books:

One: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-storm-front-5-stars/

Two: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/book-review-wednesday-fool-moon-dresden-files-4-stars/

Three: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-grave-peril-4-stars/?preview=true

Four: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-summer-knight-5-stars/

Five: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/book-review-wednesday-death-masks-dresden-files-book-5-5-stars/

Six: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/book-review-wednesday-blood-rites-dresden-files-five-stars/

I’m going to assume by this point you know what this series is about. So here’s the blurb for this particular book:

 There’s an entire world that exists alongside the everyday life of mankind. There are powers, nations, monsters, wars, feuds, alliances – everything. Wizards are part of it. So are a lot of other things you’ve heard about in stories, and even more you’ve never heard of…Vampires. Werewolves. Faeries. Demons. Monsters. It’s all real.

Harry Dresden knows full well that such creatures exist. Paranormal investigations are his stock-in-trade, and Chicago is his beat as he tries to bring law and order to a world that exists on the edges of imagination. Luckily Harry’s not alone in this struggle. And though most inhabitants of the Windy City don’t believe in magic, there’s a department that’s been set up within the Chicago PD to deal with “strange” cases: the Special Investigations department.

Karrin Murphy is the head of SI and a good friend of Harry’s. So when a deadly vampire threatens to destroy Murphy’s reputation unless Harry helps her, he has no choice. The vampire wants the Word of Kemmler and all the power that comes with it – but first Harry has to determine what the Word of Kemmler is. Now Harry is in a race against time – and six necromancers – to find the Word before Chicago experiences a Halloween night to wake the dead.

I’m finding that as the books go on, the writing gets better. This one was definitely a five star book for me, so no exception to that rule.

We spend a lot more time with medical examiner Waldo Butters, who was introduced in previous books. He finds himself right in the middle of trouble this time, poor guy, He’s a very different character to our usual ones, and his interactions with the other guys is interesting. He’s a little guy with a big heart who is not made for all the scary stuff Harry deals with every day, so of course he ends up with a bunch of really frightening zombies and their crazy leader chasing him around.

This book is a little like a previous one in the series where we meet werewolves. It ended up that there were a lot of different kinds of werewolves, and we met pretty much every type. In this book it’s necromancers. So you’ve got the old fashioned dull brained zombies listening to their leader, all the way to ghosts. A few different groups of necromancers fight over this book that contains the code they need to perform this ritual that will kill hundreds and hundreds of people.

Cue Harry sticking his nose in and making a whole bunch of big powerful enemies as usual. Lots of action and puns commence.

I really recommend this book and the series. It’s definitely getting even better as the series goes on. The writing in this one is full of energy and humor, even more so than I’ve come to expect from the author.

For more reviews on this book go to: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17683.Dead_Beat

 

Book Review Wednesday: Blood Rites (Dresden Files) (Five Stars)

This one is the sixth book in the series.

Links to my reviews of the previous Dresden Files books:

One: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-storm-front-5-stars/

Two: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/book-review-wednesday-fool-moon-dresden-files-4-stars/

Three: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-grave-peril-4-stars/?preview=true

Four: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-summer-knight-5-stars/

Five: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/book-review-wednesday-death-masks-dresden-files-book-5-5-stars/

I’m going to assume by this point you know what this series is about. So here’s the blurb for this particular book:

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, takes on a case as a favor to his friend Thomas-a vampire of dubious integrity-only to become the prime suspect in a series of ghastly murders.

This was one of the better books of the series so far. Five stars. We meet Thomas again who I’ve grown very fond of over the past few books. He’s very centric to this book, and we end up finding out a lot more about him in this one. Thomas is a soul sucking incubus (otherwise known as a vampire of the white court), but he’s quite a nice one and Harry likes him, even if he doesn’t really trust him.

There’s been a series of murders at a film studio. Oh no. So Thomas asks Harry if he can go help. It’s only later that he finds out said film studio is an adult film studio, which is an interesting development. There’s some real bad mojo going on, and each time Harry fails to stop it someone else dies.

But of course that’s not enough peril for our hero, so enter new bad guys : the black court vampires. Now the black court vampires kind of seem like a real creepy mix of vampire and zombie. They remind me of those scary floating guys who grin while they cut peoples hearts out in that Buffy episode where no one speaks. They go around all corpse-like with dry skin peeling off and kill people, and this time they seem to have a plot that involves killing Harry.

This doesn’t come as a big surprise since we met Marva, the leader of the black court vampires in a previous book. And of course Harry did what he does best meeting new (people?), he pissed her off. He’ll never learn.

So, a lot of action in this one, the usual high stakes. We also meet more white court vampires, and learn a big secret concerning Thomas. That one’s pretty neat. I won’t give it away, but it plays a huge part in the next books in the series.

The characters were fleshed out as always, even the more minor ones. The book starts out right in the middle of action, and continues from there. There’s a lot of humor, and a lot of cuteness. Harry gets a new fluffy member of his family, so cue a liberal amount of cute precocious baby animal moments.

If you want to read more reviews about this book, follow the link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99383.Blood_Rites

Book Review Wednesday: Death Masks – Dresden Files book 5 (5 stars)

Links to my reviews of the previous Dresden Files books:

One: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-storm-front-5-stars/

Two: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/book-review-wednesday-fool-moon-dresden-files-4-stars/

Three: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-grave-peril-4-stars/?preview=true

Four: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-summer-knight-5-stars/

 

At this point I’m going to assume you know the basic premise of the Dresden Files books and leap forward to the blurb for this particular book:

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But now he’s getting more than he bargained for.

A duel with the Red Court of Vampires’ champion, who must kill Harry to end the war between vampires and wizards…
Professional hit men using Harry for target practice…

The missing Shroud of Turin…

A handless and headless corpse the Chicago police need identified…

Not to mention the return of Harry’s ex-girlfriend Susan, who’s still struggling with her semivampiric nature. And who seems to have a new man in her life.

Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. No matter how much you’re charging.

We get more Michael in this book, this time in his true role : going after fallen angels. Michael is one of three knights of the cross (as in the one Jesus died on), who we met earlier in the series.  He’s just about the most decent guy you’ll ever meet. And we get to meet his fellow knights, one of whom is agnostic. It’s an interesting take on it.

As well as old enemies, we meet some new ones. Enter fallen angels. Scary, scary, scary things. They basically tempt humans into joining with them, and then take over their body. There’s a bit more to it than that, but I don’t want to give too much away. They’re our major bad guy, with the red court vampires doing their best to join in.

There’s also a new good / neutral character: The Archive who I won’t give too much away about other than to say it’s a bit of a surprise when you get to see what she’s like. She comes with her personal bodyguard Kincaid who is one of those people, I at least loved on sight and was terrified of at the same time. All the new characters play big roles in the next books. It’s great to see the larger mysteries unfold throughout the series.

The plot was action packed with very high stakes. To say that the guys he’s going up against in this book are heavy hitters is an understatement. And worse, they have brains and use them! I think the enemies: the fallen angels, are by far the most formidable enemies introduced in the series so far.

These books are brain candy which is why I love them. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and yet Harry always seems to pull through and get out the other side somehow. This was a five star one for me. Enjoyed every minute of it, and I’m not sure I have anything bad to say about it.

For more reviews on this book check out the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91479.Death_Masks

Book Review Wednesday: Dresden Files: Summer Knight (5 stars)

This is book four of the Dresden Files series. For my reviews on books one, two and three, check out the following links: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-storm-front-5-stars/ and: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/book-review-wednesday-fool-moon-dresden-files-4-stars/ and: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/book-review-wednesday-dresden-files-grave-peril-4-stars/?preview=true

I’m really enjoying this series, and I think this one is my favorite since the first book. The bad guys are at their biggest and scariest, and everyone seems to be gunning for poor Dresden. The plot is awesome, the action is awesome, and the lines are really funny.

Here’s the blurb:

HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD

Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment

Ever since his girlfriend left town to deal with her newly acquired taste for blood, Harry Dresden has been down and out in Chicago. He can’t pay his rent. He’s alienating his friends. He can’t even recall the last time he took a shower.

The only professional wizard in the phone book has become a desperate man.

And just when it seems things can’t get any worse, in saunters the Winter Queen of Faerie. She has an offer Harry can’t refuse if he wants to free himself of the supernatural hold his faerie godmother has over him–and hopefully end his run of bad luck. All he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen’s right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen’s name.

It seems simple enough, but Harry knows better than to get caught in the middle of faerie politics. Until he finds out that the fate of the entire world rests on his solving this case. No pressure or anything…

After the events of the last book Dresden is at his lowest. Then of course he finds himself in the middle of a war that will determine the fate of the world, not to mention that other war he set off in the last book that everyone is still all angry about. Not a good time for Dresden, but it makes for an action packed book.

We finally get to see the White Council in this book – something that’s been mentioned for a while. Plus we meet our old friend Morgan: enforcer for the White Council, who is just as pigheaded as ever. The Council doesn’t disappoint. Wizard politics is scary!

While the plot is great, the characters really make this book. We get to see Toot Toot the fairy and his friends. They’re awesome and so cute. They have adorable military rank names like Caption and Star Jump, salute by slapping themselves on the forehead, and carry around random scavenged things as weapons.

The bad guys are definitely bad. The vampires fit into this category, as do some of the White Council, plus we have the faeries. The faerie queens are great; scary, but different enough from each other to be interesting.  They’re tricky things, and it seems like all of them could be hiding something. There’s also an interesting parallel between some of them and various myths that I noticed, as well as stories (like Alice in Wonderland – there’s the Summer and Winter queens for one thing, and the epic faerie battle takes place on a giant chess board). The world the author has been building in the previous books really gets shown off here. I’m fascinated with all the links to various other myths and stories he’s made possible. Did anyone who read this book or the previous one notice the link to Peter Pan? The ghostly realm the faeries live in is called the Nevernever. Sound like Neverland to you? And there are all kinds of worlds there, so it’s plausible one of them could have lost boys, pirate ships and mermaids.

We also meet changelings in this book which we haven’t come across yet. There’s a female changeling who is not stunningly beautiful like a lot of the females we’ve met so far in this series. She turned out to be one of my favorites and plays a big role in the finale.

So, plot = great, characters = great, world = great, action = great. Five stars. Nothing bad to say about this one. For more reviews on this book, go to the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91478.Summer_Knight