Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8) by Jim Butcher Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8)
Book Review: FANTASTICAL......................
Summary: 5 Stars
What can I say about Harry,plenty. Harry gets caught up with Michael's family again only this time Molly,his young daughter is caught in the Fae clutches. I have to say that I never enjoyed Charity, Michael's wife but after this book I have great respect for Charity, and her strength and love for her family. Molly comes across as a good and sympathetic character in her own right. We also find out about Charity's and Molly's great power and how dangerous they can be. For some reason even Karrin came across well in this book and even Thomas. Loved seeing Mouse take center stage as well. Now I have the grueling task of waiting another whole year for the next great book in this fantastic series. Hurry up Jim, I can't wait for the next book. The only great mystery will be who be the new in Harry's love life. The only unsolved piece of this great puzzle.Book Review: Awesome as usual
Summary: 4 Stars
Jim Butcher's usual multi-threaded plots and offbeat humor sat me through this novel in one sitting. That is excellent. Butcher finally puts a lot of unresolved threads together from the previous novels, which means it isn't a good idea to read this one first. For example, he blantant spoils the ended to Summer Knight when Harry has a meeting with high ranking memebers of Titania's court.
The pace is blistering. The action is gripping. So why do I give it only four stars?
Well I really wanted to give it five. However in the early chapters a mishap with Harry's Volkswagon, the Blue Beetle takes it out of commission. This is a minor point, but it does mean when Harry takes his large dog Mouse out with him, they are using cabs.
After the beetle's demise, Harry takes Mouse to a police station, then over to long forgetten friend's house, then to a horror film convention, then a hospital. Sometime during these escapades, all mention of the dog disappears. Mouse winks back into existence at Harry's house the next morning. From what I could tell during a re-read, the dog goes MIA around chapter eight, and shows up around chapter thirteen. So many other things are going on, the reader just forgets the dog. It's just during a transition scene, I was suprised the enormous dog wasn't mentioned. It doesn't majorly upset any plots, the incongruity just jangled against my sense of disbelief.
It could be I'm blind fool, but I think the paragraphs with Mouse's contributions were edited out somehow. That prevents me from bestowing the final star. This reason alone makes me believe Dead Beat is Jim's best published novel so far. Though Proven Guilty is worth buying, and it raises new disturbing questions about the bad guys. The title is very appropriate, but as to who is proven guilty, I'll leave you to read for yourself.
Book Review: Dresden takes off yet again
Summary: 5 Stars
After the events in Dead Beat, Harry Dresden is now a Warden of the White Council, and one of his first official acts you see him perform is to bear witness to the execution of a young warlock, no more then a child, corrupted by his own power. From that moment on you should be able to chart where the book will take you.
If you know anything about Harry Dresden you will figure out his feelings about what happened to that young man. If the previous novel was a showcase Harry's slow decent to darkness, then this book will show his firm resolve to the do the right thing and accept the consequences for all of his actions.
Like Dead Beat, Butcher takes pains to pick almost forgotten threads from previous novels and weave them into his story with great care, this time it is not quite as obvious.
This time out Harry is warned of dark magic being afoot, and a request for help by the daughter of the last man on earth he wants to be involved with, Michael Carpenter Knight of the Cross. With Harry sharing his brain with one of the Denarii, Lasciel he fears that Michael may take issues with this as well as the recent events and his downward spiral to darkness. Harry reluctantly gets involved, and nothing plays out the way he thinks.
The book is shorter then some of the previous installments, that only means Butcher cut out a lot of loose talk and got right too it, Zelazney style. He manages to flood in detail after detail without drowning you in it. New readers beware, while Butcher attempts to get people caught up by giving brief recaps, they do not do the stories justice.
Butcher also dusted off a couple of unused characters and made them shine like jewels, just as he made Waldo Butters a hero in Dead Beat. He is absent in this book, but you can feel the polka beat whenever you turn the page.
The humor level is high, and while things are grave, it is nowhere near as grave as they are in Dead Beat or Blood Rites. Proven Guilty did not give us that feel of time running out and the world would end soon. It forshadows, very effectively, that things in Harry's world will become very, very big and even more dangerous in the near future. As again the traitor in the White Council seems to strike, the Vampire War takes another turn, the affairs of the Sidhe are revisited with catastrophic consequences for those involved, and Harry's personal life.....well you will have to read the book for more.
Without a doubt this is my favorite novel beside Summer Knight, and it may even surpass it. The story was well told, dialogue was spot on. Murphy seemed a bit too relaxed but after her disappearance in the last book I didn't realize how much I missed her presence. Once again I thank whatever muse made me pick up that loneley looking paperback sitting on a bookshelf six years ago in Waldenbooks. Well done Mr. Butcher.
Book Review: unique and spellbinding Dresden tale
Summary: 5 Stars
Although Harry Dresden, the only wizard who outed himself, has been at odds with the White Council of Wizards, he finds himself in the position of being a regional Warden. The war with the Red Court vampires has decimated the ranks of the wizards and every full powered one is needed to protect mortals from the supernatural. Harry, like every other wizard, is wondering why Faerie hasn't gone to war with the Red Court since they entered the land of the Faerie without permission.
Harry has contacts in both courts of Faerie and is asked by his superior to find out why at least the Winter Court hasn't gone to war. Harry eventually learns that the White Court wants to go to war against the vampires but has to protect its borders from the Winter Court. Harry also has to find out why supernatural entities from Nevernever wearing the faces of monsters from horror films are entering the mortal realm and feeding off the fear of humans. When one of the entities take someone Harry cares for into the Winter Court, he and his allies risk their lives to bring her back.
Mix elements of fantasy, mystery and horror and readers will have an idea how unique and spellbinding the Dresden novels really are. PROVEN GUILTY is one of the best books in the series because as much action as there is in the book, the protagonist with his vulnerability makes the audience care about him and want him to find happiness in his personal life and peace in his professional one. Jim Butcher is one of the best authors writing urban fantasy today with his refreshingly original tales.
Harriet Klausner
Book Review: Just one little thing...
Summary: 5 Stars
When Timothy Zahn finished off the Bantam-Spectra Star Wars books, he tied off many lose ends, while simultaneously setting the stage for a wider view. Jim Butcher does this for Dresden's Chicago in Proven Guilty. While not all is settled, there are many new directions and twists and mysteries still to be solved and discovered. In fact, the only thing that bothers me about this book is the fact that now, we must wait a year for book nine.
While this book is excellent, it is not a stand alone book, nor should it be. To make sense of much of this book, one should at least have read from Grave Peril on.