White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9) by Jim Butcher Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9)
Book Review: Dresden is growing up
Summary: 5 Stars
What I like most about this series is that Butcher manages to keep Dresden's character growing and developing. If you haven't read any of these books yet, be warned: you can't read them out of sequence. Harry Dresden isn't the same wizard or the same man that he used to be. The questions aren't black and white anymore (if they ever were), and it's getting harder and harder to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In most series featuring a recurring main character, one book is pretty much like any of the others. Butcher's accomplishment is that he has managed to make each of the Harry Dresden books unique. White Night is the best so far (the sub-plot involving the complex relationship between Dresden and a fallen angel is wonderful, and I hope we haven't seen the last of it), and I have a feeling that the series is only going to get better. Book Review: Dresden at his best
Summary: 5 Stars
If someone told Chicago wizard Harry Dresden that he would one day be a warden in the White Council of Wizards, he wouldn't have believed them. Many of the council think he is too much of a troublemaker, but with the war with the Red Court Vampires, the ranks of the powerful wizards are needed. Harry had no choice but to accept the mantle of responsibility.
His friend Sargent Murphy (yes she got demoted) calls him to look at a dead woman. He opens his inner sense to find she was murdered and was a mid level practitioner of magic. When another corpse is found dead, killed in the same manner by someone, who left her to die, Harry believes it has something to do with the White Court Vampires who feed on emotions rather than the blood like their red court cousins. This makes no sense to Harry because the white court is seeking peace with the wizard's council. Across the country at least thirty-six were killed in the same manner. It soon becomes evident that some of the white court members don't want to make peace with the wizards and at each scene men in a grey suit that the warden's wear is seen. If the peace treaty is to take effect Harry and his allies have to find out who the rebels are and defeat them in the traditional manner.
Each novel starring Harry Dresden is better than the one that precedes it as Jim Butcher is a great world builder who makes the reader believes the hidden supernatural community is very real. Harry has changed and grown with the passage of time and now is part of the establishment that once wanted to destroy him. He handles responsibility as if to manor born with his dry wit and self deprecating humor which is part of the plot as it keeps him focused while using his adept skills. As Dresden goes the TV route, Mr. Butcher is a first class talent in the supernatural mystery fantasy genre as this book shows he remains true to his protagonist's roots.
Harriet Klausner
Book Review: I loved this book!
Summary: 5 Stars
The newest installment in the Dresden Files is brilliant! It drags a little...sometimes a lot...in places, and the flashback with the ghouls sort of distracts from the story, but it's awesome other than that. I'm a bit of a book perfectionist that way. But other than that, this book is amazing! It's well worth the money!Book Review: I didn't think Butcher could improve after "Dead Beat"
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes, it's good to be wrong. Jim Butcher has more than earned hardcover publication for his "Dresden Files" series. In my opinion, "Dresden" is one of the best urban fantasy series around.
What to the casual eye looks like suicides of magical practitioners turns out to be a serial killer using the quote from Exodus, "Suffer Not a Witch to live," as a calling card. There are several practitioners dead and more missing. Worse, it's not just Chicago that's been hit.
When clues start piling up implicating Harry's younger brother, Thomas, who is a vampire of the White Court, Harry has to work hard to clear his brother's name.
"White Night" should have a warning--don't pick this book up unless you have several hours to devour it. Like most of the Dresden Files, I struggled with the impulse to read the book right now--or just a few pages at a time and savor it. Devouring won.
"White Night" is very tightly paced. You have very little time as a reader to contemplate what's going to happen. This is also one of Butcher's more intricate novels. He's definitely improving with each book. Kudos to him, his publisher and many fans would still read him for a long time if he didn't challenge himself--and us. In my opinion, Butcher has reached the point with the mystery and crime portion of the series that regular mystery readers would cross over to him.
Of course, the stable of characters is excellent. I still prefer the novelizations of the Dresden Files to the series--with one notable exception. Bob in the novel now seems 'flat' to me once I have seen Terrence Mann bringing Bob to life.
Overall, this is an excellent book by a writer who ages very well. Kudos to Jim Butcher and the Dresden Files.
Book Review: A Grand Slam
Summary: 5 Stars
I too obtained both my copy of White Knight AND my copy of the audio book of Summer Knight at I-CON. Those sweet ladies at the Buzzy Multimedia tables must have thought we were all a bit daft because we lined up on Friday before the convention was even official opened. I was able to get both autographed by Jim Butcher. He is as nice as he is smart and he is plenty smart :) Well that was Friday and by Saturday morning I was a bit bleary eyed but happy and then I started listening to Summer Knight. My God does James Marsters "get" Harry and he absolutely rocked with the voices of all the Fae folk.
On to the the review. As with all the Dresden Files books there are some fight/battle scenes that leave me breathless. I can feel the pain, the despair, the exhaustion as well as the on-the-fly tactics in addition to those well laid plans of mice and men. Love the way Jim Butcher not only comes up with characters that are interesting but has them evolve. He doesn't leave us hanging forever to see issues that were addressed a couple of books ago get resolved. I was a bit worried about the whole apprentice thing but Molly has grown on me and I have this feeling that she and Mister will be the best of friends. Good thing too, because although I adore Mouse, Mister seemed to have be sort of w-a-a-y in th background and I have a soft spot for Mister as well.
So if you haven't bought this book yet, hurry up. So what if it is a hard cover. Friends have a way of forgetting to return paper backs but I haven't had one forget about a hard cover ...yet. Plus you know they'll all be coming out in hardcover eventually and won't they look nice on the shelf ? As for by Dresden Files audio books, no one gets those on loan from me. They'll have to pry them out of my cold, dead fingers.
All Hail Jim Butcher !!! Hip, hip hooray !!!