Death Masks (The Dresden Files, Book 5) by Jim Butcher Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Death Masks (The Dresden Files, Book 5)
Book Review: Back on track
Summary: 4 Stars
I was a bit disappointed in Summer Knight (The Dresden Files, Book 4), as it just didn't seem like an adequate follow up to the cataclysmic events of Grave Peril (The Dresden Files, Book 3). Fortunately with Death Masks Jim Butcher puts this series back on track.
Death Masks is the logical successor to Grave Peril, picking up the pieces in the aftermath of that book's events. The war between the White Council of Wizards and the Red Court of Vampires is in full swing, and may come to a conclusion when a Vampire Warlord offers to duel Harry in single combat. As if that weren't enough, the Shroud of Turin has been stolen and everyone from the mafia to fallen angels to the Knights of the Sword and of course our boy Harry are in a free-for-all to acquire it. Oh, and Susan, Harry's half-vampire beloved is back in Chicago. Just another day for everyone's favorite down on his luck wizard.
This book has a lot going for it. Fallen angels make for far more compelling villains than a bunch of faeries, and the Red Court always keep things interesting. The tension between Harry and Susan is powerful (even though I was never really convinced by their relationship), and their troubled interaction gives the book a much needed emotional core. The best part (to me anyway) is the return of Michael and the addition of two more Knights of the Sword. These characters are interesting enough that I'd almost rather read a series based on their adventures. Butcher hits just the right note with Harry's relationship to Michael, his family, and his sworn brethren, and hopefully they will continue to play an active role in Harry's future adventures.
Death Masks isn't perfect though. Like the other Dresden Files novels, its rapid-fire pace doesn't leave much room for character development. I think if Butcher devoted the word count he uses on describing everyone's clothing and food choices to more introspection and character interaction, the books would be more effective. I get it; Harry's got a cool coat. How about more of that subconscious stuff from Grave Peril? That kind of thing made Harry less of a 2-dimensional character and more like a real person.
That aside, Death Masks was a very solid entry in the Dresden Files series, second only to Grave Peril. At this point I have to take myself off the fence and declare myself a fan. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and order Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, Book 6).
Book Review: Hooked on Harry
Summary: 5 Stars
Jim Butcher is a great writer. His Dresden Files series is as fresh at Book 5 as it was at Book 1. The books can stand on their own, but really flow beautifully when read in order. Death Masks contains references to religious articles (in particular, the Shroud of Turin)and religious faith, but manages to treat different ideaologies and beliefs with respect. You have to respect an author who can do that!Book Review: The Vampires, the Fallen and the Shroud
Summary: 5 Stars
Death Masks (2003) is the fifth urban fantasy novel in the Dresden Files series, following Summer Knight. In the previous volume, Elaine helped Harry reach the Table. The spell on Lily Unraveled. Meryl took out Talos and Toot-Toot had his pixies gang up on Aurora.
Dresden woke up in his own bed in a very clean apartment. The new Lady Summer had provided him with a Brownie cleaning crew and the new Summer Knight had fixed the Blue Beetle. Elaine kissed him on the cheek when she left.
In this novel, Harry is on the set of the Larry Fowler show, trying hard to suppress his magic. He had been trying to talk to Mortimer Lindquist and the psychic had insisted on meeting here. In a few minutes, they are going to be interviewed by Larry. Later two more mystery guests will join them.
Larry and the audience enjoy laughing at the guests's babble of seances and magic. During the break, Harry asks Mort about Susan and learns that she is definitely alive and has been in Peru. After the break, Larry introduces the other two guests. One of them is Duke Ortega of the Red Court vampires. Harry's control slips and his magical field takes down one of the TV cameras with a flash and smoke.
While the stage crew rolls off the defunct camera, Ortega tells Dresden that he has come to talk to him. Then the host conducts a little more discussion of the superstitious belief in magic. A second camera blows out and Ortega continues his conversation with Harry. He has come to face Harry in single combat. The suppression spell finally breaks down and the whole studio goes dark. Harry agrees to the challenge and then the emergency lights come on, but the fire alarms start whooping.
Outside the studio, the other mystery guest -- Father Vincent from the Vatican -- also wants to talk with Harry about a job. Father Forthill of Saint Mary of the Angels has referred him to Harry. As they walk toward the Blue Beetle, some gunman starts shooting at them with a silenced pistol.
Harry digs his shotgun out of the trunk and the gunman retreats, but still fires hid pistol in their direction. When that weapon runs out of shells, Harry hustles the priest into his car and putts out of the parking garage. On the way out, Harry notices several armed man and recognizes one as an enforcer for Johnny Marcone.
Father Vincent directs Harry to a motel near the airport and explains the case. The Shroud of Turin has been stolen and is probably in Chicago. Father Vincent wants Harry to find it.
In this story, Susan returns to Chicago with Martin, a coworker in the organization that Susan has joined. She has changed and is now strong enough to fight off a Red Court vampire. But she still has the Hunger and lusts after Harry. Of course, a really good wizard should be able to work around these difficulties.
Murphy calls and asks Harry to come to the Cook County Morgue. Murph introduces him to Waldo Butters and then they view a corpse without head or hands. The man had been found under a freeway overpass. Despite the horrible mutilations, he had apparently died of the Plague and other diseases. Harry examines the corpse more closely and finds a tattoo on the inside of the biceps.
As Harry is leaving the hospital, he encounters a bear-like thing and runs back toward down the alley. The thing chases him, but an old man steps out into its path and swings a katana at the beast. Then a young Russian joins the fray with a saber. Finally, a large man with a broadsword drops in and cuts off Ursiel's head.
Harry has been rescued by the Knights of the Cross, including his friend Michael Carpenter. The other two Knights -- Shiro Yoshimo and Sanya -- have come to Chicago to protect Harry from the Denarians, an order of Fallen Angels bound to thirty pieces of silver. The Denarians want Harry's soul and the Knights want him to drop the case to save himself.
This story takes Harry from the harbor to the downtown Marriott to Undertown to Wrigley Field to the O'Hare chapel. Then he gets to take a train ride. He finds himself fighting with vampires and the Fallen. Although the scenery is great, the creatures are really bad.
Highly recommended for Butcher fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of Fallen Angels, preternatural creatures, and a really stubborn wizard.
-Arthur W. Jordin
Book Review: Beginning to find a deeper, darker direction
Summary: 4 Stars
Faster paced than Book 4 of "The Dresden Files", "Death Masks" seems to set Harry on a darker path. With the return of some favored characters from past books (Both Thomas and Michael appear), the plot moves along quickly as the mythology of the series as a whole develops a new facet.
The series as a whole seems to be more confident in its footing and to have greater direction in those earlier in the series...and it's still a fun ride.
Book Review: One of a Kind
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been a long time since I've read a book this amazing. To be more specific, it was when I first read "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." That was seven years ago.
I forgot how good it feels to fall in love with a book.
Jim Butcher has managed to weave together everything I could possibly want from a story. His plot is well-paced, his hero is astoundingly witty, and his action scenes make me grip the pages of the book with sweaty fingers. There's beauty in every paragraph.
In "Death Masks," many of my favorite characters make a return, such as Michael (*finally*, a Christian character who is neither evil nor insane) and Thomas (how can anyone *not* love an ambiguous vampire?). We're also introduced to several new characters who are every bit as delightful as the protagonist himself. I even enjoyed the presense of some returning characters I did not like in previous books.
When I finally put "Death Masks" down, I sat in silence for several minutes, just thinking about what a great story I'd finished. Thank you, Jim Butcher.