BOOK REVIEW - Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

by Jim Butcher

Blurb Review


A unique mix of Roman and fantasy, paced like a mystery thriller, Furies of Calderon starts slow but quickly evolves into an addicting adventure that is both unique and familiar. It is a solid start to what could be a great fantasy series.

Long Review


The story of where the Codex Alera series came from is an entertaining one. Rumor has it that Jim Butcher was on a panel where they were arguing how important ideas were for a story. Jim argued that the ideas weren't as important as what you did with them, with regard to character development, etc. An audience member was rather violently opposing this, so Jim said, "Give me two ideas that don't work together at all, and I'll write a New York Times Bestselling series about it." The ideas? A lost Roman legion...and Pokemon.

Flash forward to now, where Codex Alera is a bestselling six-book series, starting with Furies of Calderon. Amazingly enough, Jim kept his word: the books are indeed a strong mix of Romans and Pokemon, and it works out quite well.

Except they aren't called Pokemon, they are Furies, sentient magic spirits that tie themselves to individuals during adolescence. They each are tied to different elements, such as earth, air, fire, water, as well as steel and wood. Hilariously, for people who know pokemon, each fury has a weakness to another type, almost exactly the same as the Pokemon games. However, the way Jim uses the furies makes the ideas unique.

Rather than summon them to fight, furies are fully integrated into a person's way of life. Upper class citizens usually don't name their furies, while commoners tend to have a more personal bond. They allow special abilities; for example, watercrafters are healers, and earthcrafters can change their appearance or push on the emotions of others.

All this is set up on a world similar to the Roman empire, complete with legionaries, authentic weapons, and more. At first I thought this would be stupid and wouldn't work, but the more I read the more I realize it is a totally awesome idea. So often fantasy firmly places itself in the middle ages; why have we avoided the Roman Empire? Combining it with pokemon makes the idea completely fresh and unique, and causes the world to be almost as enticing as the story at hand.

The plot of Furies of Calderon follows several members caught up in a growing political war between a rebellious member of the senate and the Great Fury (or Caesar, essentially). This book is essentially the start of the war (though it is by no means boring), and ends in a rather dramatic battle that is both exciting and excellent. Unlike The Dresden Files, it is told in third person, the prose is much richer (rather than Dresden's distinctly modern voice), and it jumps around between multiple characters.

The focus is on Tavi, the only boy without a Fury, Amara, a Cursor who is abruptly betrayed and the only hope for the empire, Bernard, Tavi's uncle and the ruler of a small village in Calderon that is about to be in the center of a huge conflict, and Isana, Bernard's sister and a powerful watercrafter. The story jumps around a lot, but never loses you. Butcher also rarely does that "oh my gosh what is going to happen!? viewpoint switch, sucker!" thing that I completely hate because it is so overused. It does happen, sure, but hardly as much as you'd think from a thriller writer.

The story, as mentioned above, involves a brewing war that centers on Calderon valley, where Tavi and Bernard live. It eventually culminates into a war between the "Romans" and savage men controlled by the intended usurper, but Butcher takes care to make you realize that not everybody good is good, and not everybody bad is bad. Similar to Dresden where there is a whole lot of gray, most of the characters and their motivations (on both the good or bad side, as we have a viewpoint character who is technically a "bad guy") seem completely justifiable. Fantasy often is the "good vs evil" battle, but Calderon isn't necessarily either way (a theme that continues throughout the series). It's more about personal struggles and the good of the empire, which can be hard for a reader to determine seeing every side of the equation (which is why the book is so good; real life isn't black and white either).

My only issue with the book is the fact that, having read 12 Jim Butcher books already, some of the character archetypes are... repetitive. All the girls are long-legged and busty except the one, strong woman who is more masculine than feminine (and looks as much and is unmarried). Males tend to fixate on exposed bosoms, and there is the traditional Butcher women: busty, beautiful, and evil, or busty, beautiful, and insane. And in the one instance where there is a character who is truly evil, he's so bad it's almost a joke. I knew exactly all the awful things he was going to do before they happened, just because I've read so many Butcher books I know what he finds "appalling."

Also, the other thing that Butcher loves: putting tons of sex off screen, and almost putting in on screen, but then having the characters be interrupted. Seriously, I don't even worry I'm going to read something raunchy when the main lovers are ripping each others' clothes off, because I know some soldier is going to announce an impending attack and break it up before I see anything. I KNOW HOW YOU WORK, BUTCHER!

There also a few points where I felt the characters were inconsistent (including an incident that caused Chuck to quit the book completely), but reading the second book this seems to be smoothed over.

Overall, one must remember that Butcher doesn't exactly have a great track record for staring series out strong. However, its the slow burn that he is good at, and once it gets started you can't quit. Already in the second book I'm knowing I'm going to enjoy this series, and even by about half-way through the first book I was sold on the series. If you think Romans + Pokemon at least sounds interesting, you should check this book out.

Though I still think you should read Dresden first.

BOOK REVIEW - Changes by Jim Butcher

By Jim Butcher (Official Webpage)
Buy it here: Changes

Blurb Review


Changes is the reason we read the Dresden files. After 11 books of getting to know Harry Dresden, of suffering, loving, fighting, and joking with him, everything culminates in this book. Unlike many long series that fizzle out in the end, that build up expectations that cannot possibly be met, Changes surpassed all my expectations and gave me more.

The Dresden Files is worth reading every book for Changes alone. It is the capstone on one of the best fantasy series ever written.

Full Review


The reason I first started reading the Dresden books was a simple one. I saw the covers frequently, and was intrigued by them. After reading the first two books, Storm Front and Fool Moon, however, I thought the series had potential but wasn't living up to it. So, I was fully content just leaving it.

About a month after that, Changes came out, and my Facebook was abuzz with how much people loved that book. After a good while of people explaining it to me (and also explaining how the series really didn't start until the third book), I went back. So, in a sense, I gave the series another shot because I heard how completely fabulous Changes was.

Needless to say, you can guess I had HUGE expectations for this book. As the series progressed and I liked it more and more, I felt there was just no way Butcher could deliver what I wanted in Changes. I'd been given blockbuster after blockbuster (Grave Peril, Death Masks, Proven Guilty, and Small Favor all come to mind. Oh, and a zombie t-rex ride), and yet I wanted this final book to be all that and then a lot more. There was no possible way he'd pull it off.

Guess what. He did. Changes is one of the best books I've ever read. Of course, there are reasons for that, which I'll now elaborate on.

Changes, read by itself, would still be a good book. But what elevates it into the "holy crap everyone needs to read this" sphere is the eleven books before it. Because we've had extensive time with Dresden (and in his head, since the books are first person), we know him as a character extremely well. We know what his virtues and vices are. We know what things hurt him the most. We know how, when is back is really to the fire, he might slip up and fail. That possibility is always there. He's human, and he's full of multiple levels of real human qualities and quirks.

It's all the buildup that makes Changes work so perfectly. Needless to say, this is the "Season Finale" of Dresden books, in more ways than you'd think. Nearly every character in the previous series is at least mentioned, with many of them (including a few you wouldn't think would) ally up with Dresden for the final fight. While many plot threads are tied off, lots more are opened, making way for what will be the next "season" of Dresden.

Oh, and about that: Dresden makes some changes (and some very dramatic things happen to him) that will be downright shocking for long-time fans of the series. Butcher isn't afraid to change (pun intended) everything, including ruining things considered sacred and untouchable. It will be very interesting to see where Ghost Story goes, considering the choices Dresden had to make during Changes.

So, here's the most basic, spoiler free version of the plot: Susan calls Harry in the first sentence, saying the Red Court vampires have taken their daughter.

Susan, as you may know from following my reviews, is Harry's almost-vampire girlfriend, who is only spared from becoming a vampire by resisting the urge to drink blood for the first time. She's been gone since Death Masks, which is a good half-dozen years ago, making it fully possible for her and Harry to have a child.

And, if you know anything about Harry, there are a few things that rub him the wrong way. 1. Anyone attempting to hurt his family. 2. Women in distress. 3. People who hurt kids.

Yeah. Harry is going to go Man On Fire on this one.

In preparation for this review, I actually went back and re-read the last 6ish chapters (which is essentially the climax of the novel, and the series) just to make sure they were as good as I remembered when I read them at 3 in the morning.

Good news: They are. Great news: They are actually better the second time.

Butcher is a freaking genius with regards to how well he pulls everything together. As stated, I had expectations that were sky high, and he completely surpassed them. Changes makes me want to go back and start the entire series over again, just to better understand Harry in hopes of gleaning even more from the finale.

While it was already pretty damn high up, Changes pretty much puts The Dresden Files as my #1 favorite fantasy series ever. It really doesn't get much better than this.

Now the hard part: Surviving until 2011 without a new, full Dresden novel.

Bonus: Expect a full series review sometime eventually!

BOOK REVIEW - Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

By Jim Butcher (Official Webpage)
Buy it here: Turn Coat

Blurb Review


With a great premise and a series foundation to back him, Butcher's Turn Coat is both a step forward and a step back, and seems more like set-up for his final novel, Changes, rather than a true book in the series. That being said, it still works on the most basic level as a Dresden files novel, but as the penultimate novel in this series, I'd hope for better.

Full Review


I'm really torn on Turn Coat. The premise is fantastic. Morgan, who has hated Dresden for the most absurd of reasons and is generally considered his biggest enemy on the White Council, shows up on Dresden's door begging for protection. Dresden, being the good person he is, takes him in even if Morgan still is a total jerk to him the entire novel. The Wardens are out for Morgan, Dresden thinks he was framed, and he tries to figure out who is guilty.

Add on one of the creepiest enemies in the series (though I never really figured out why the monster, a Skinwalker from Native American folklore, wants Morgan), a huge conflict in the White Council, and some weird romantic conflict, and you'd think you'd have a great Dresden book.

Hence my conflict. Everything is set up great. What goes wrong?

First off, it just seems formulaic. Dresden's stories have often followed their characters, which have grown throughout the series. Instead, we just learn more about the character, but changes are a slow burn (except maybe Molly, who grows up fast). So, it boils down to us reading these books because we care about the characters, and the conflict gets put into the back-burner of our minds (which is how these book should be).

All that aside, the plot just doesn't seem unique. It follows the same up and down of every other Dresden book ever, and while you can't call the final twists, you very much can predict when it will happen, when all the twists will be revealed, and that Dresden has another plan up his sleeve at exactly the precise moment. You don't worry about the characters (despite one suffering life-changing injuries in Small Favor), because its so formula. You've read Turn Coat before; it was every Dresden book (after the first two) before it.

The other problem is the ending, which is, frankly, terrible. Here's a minor spoiler warning. I'll try and keep it as minor as possible, but just to be safe skip the rest of the paragraph if you want. Ok, during all these previous books, with the White Council fighting the Red Court, Dresden and others have known for sure there was a traitor on the White Council. This is a huge buildup, one that has been mentioned in nearly every of the books. The problem is, when it is at last revealed in this one, it is just stupid. Really, just plain stupid. A huge letdown, and it doesn't even make much sense.

The twist is so underwhelming, it makes what the bad-guy has been doing seem even stupider. Basically, Butcher hit a huge "reset" button on all his characters involved in the White Council. It was meant to be a "holy crap, really?" moment, where you'd go back and read the past few books and try to find the hints. But it isn't, because it isn't really hinted at in the other books.

Which is a huge disappointment, considering how good Butcher is at hinting everything else. Most of the underlying subplots develop over many books, and they often work really well. This one, however, is stupid and doesn't work.

Which is why this book feels like a prologue to Changes. It should have done so much for the mythos and sub-plot of the treachery in the White Council, but instead it just fizzles and dies.

Luckily, Butcher redeems himself in the next book, Changes. Still, sad.

Now, all this aside, anybody who likes Dresden will probably still like most of this book. I still stayed up until 3 in the morning reading it (again, I've done that every night this week), the pacing is very good, and the bad-guys are cool. It just is...underrealized, truthfully. There was so much great stuff to work with, and Butcher faltered.

Plus, having Morgan around Harry should have been way more interesting then it was. Bah.

However, as stated, this book is worth it for Changes. Here's a teaser for that review, which'll probably be up later today:

IT IS AMAZING.

That is all.

BOOK REVIEW - Small Favor by Jim Butcher

By Jim Butcher (Official Webpage)

Buy it here: Small Favor

Blurb Review


Almost a direct sequel to the events in Death Masks, Small Favor brings back all the favorite characters from that book and a few more, and adds a much-needed emotional twist: people close to Harry aren't so lucky this time around in terms of consequences. Probably the strongest book yet, Small Favor is a perfectly paced, non-stop thrill ride.

Full Review


I was actually stuck on this book for quite some time, though it was no fault of Jim Butcher's. See, this book (as well as Turn Coat and Changes) I could only find in hardcover, and hardcovers are harder to take from place to place (such as school). So, while before I'd go Dresden happy at every possible instance, with Small Favor I had to slow down the pace.

Another reason is this book starts a little slower than the others. While most start with a crazy bang, Small Favor eases you into it. This meant it had lots of stopping places, which I would take to play Xbox, write, or do whatever. Once I got about 1/3-1/2 way through, however, I didn't stop for anything, staying up until 3 in the morning trying to finish it (a trend that continued for the next two books; more on that later).

The beginning premise (or the "Small Favor") is that Mab, Winter Queen of the Fairies who may or may not be going crazy, still has Dresden in her debt until he does two more favors for her. As is expected, this story is about Mab calling on Dresden to perform a task, a task that involves rescuing somebody Dresden really doesn't want to rescue. Add that the Summer court keeps sending these demon gruff goatbeasts at Dresden, and he's in for a ride.

Got that? Good. Because that takes a backseat, no, it is hardly even existant once the real plot kicks in.

Nicodemus, the sinister fallen angel from Death Masks is back, and with his group. They tried to taint Harry by throwing one of the thirty pieces of silver at him before (and he touched it, which has caused a considerable amount of inner conflict for Harry the books since), and now they want to do it with some of Harry's friends instead. Add that they are extremely powerful and pure evil (in books that so push the idea of "gray" rather than "black and white," Butcher makes no qualms in saying the fallen angels are the literal definition of "evil" in the truest sense), and you have one hell of a fight.

Luckily, old allies return. The Knights of the Cross, now down to Michael and Sanya, go out to kick some major demon butt. Cue the return of the Archive, her crazy bodyguard Kincaid, Murphy, Molly, and the whole band, and you have quite the story.

As stated, it feels like a sequel to Death Masks directly, because nearly every character (minus Susan) from that book makes a return. As I said before, this causes Dresden's favor to Mab to fall into the back, but since the goals are interconnected it works out for him. I, as a reader, just totally forgot that he was on that job, anyway, as he seemed to be stuck doing his own thing.

I really liked this book, especially for the ending. In some of the earlier books, as it got near the end the chaos was overwhelming. I was never completely blown away to the point of confusion, but it would often take a few times for me to exactly know what was going on. Small Favor, despite being as grandiose as any of the previous books (it is one of the "Dresden saves the world" ones), doesn't fall into the confusion trap. The ending is well explained and well paced, and all the twists work.

There is one thing that bothered me (minor spoiler, maybe). At the end, one of the main characters suffers an extremely serious injury. This is probably the first time in the series we've seen someone this close to Harry get hurt this badly. However, while it is generally stated "yeah, s/he'll be ok," it is never actually said until Changes, which is the book after the next one. I was on freaking pins and needles wondering what happened to this guy/gal, and Butcher left me hanging for a whole freaking book! Come on, dude! This is killing me!

Either way, this was a fantastic novel. I think I'm dividing my favoritism of the Dresden Books into two groups (because, truthfully, there are two types of Dresden novels). The first is the "Dresden saves the world and all hell breaks loose" variety. Then we have the "Dresden is fighting to save somebody important" version. Because both book types are so different (the first runs like a Michael Bay film, only with actual plot; while the former tends to be calmer but have a stronger emotional punch), it is hard to judge between the two.

Anyway, Butcher is only getting better, and because of my investment in this series I enjoyed this book a lot more, yadda yadda. If you haven't read these books yet, you'd better get to your library right now, or I will personally hurt you.

BOOK REVIEW - White Night by Jim Butcher

By Jim Butcher (Official Webpage)
Buy it here: White Night

Blurb Review


Taking the wealth of information and buildup that has been the foundation for the Dresden books thus far, White Night is a culmination of just about everything fantastic in the Dresden files. While it might not discover new tidbits or exciting revelations about Harry's character, White Night is just what it is: another fantastic, riveting adventure starring Harry Dresden.

Full Review


Harry is back. If I remember my history of this series correctly, they were all originally published in paperback only (much like Larry Corria's Monster Hunter books). However, after some point, Butcher's publisher finally realized exactly what a phenomenon these books were, and so White Night was simultaneously published in both hardcover and paperback. Yay!

This is also the only Dresden book that has maintained a perfect 5/5 star rating on amazon.com, based on 150 reviews (link above next to "Buy it here"). So, going into it, I expected a lot.

Hot of the heels of Proven Guilty, Harry as a new apprentice, the war is still going on between vampires and wizards (it's been almost 4 years I believe since Summer Knight), and Murphy needs him to help solve a case. Big surprise. White Night is almost traditional in how it follows the similar style as the first two books, Storm Front and Fool Moon. Unlike these books, however, Butcher has had years of experience in his belt, so he takes the mystery and does it right.

Somebody is killing witches in Chicago, and leaving a trail that only magic can find. This leads Dresden to believe the killer is sending a message to him, which sends him off on yet another crazy adventure. He once again is thrown into a conflict between himself and the White Court of Vampires (the main big, bad monster from Blood Rites, vampires who feed off human emotions). It eventually culminates into a vampire duel (reminding one of Death Masks) as well as a sort of vampire party (ala Grave Peril). It works, very well, though there are a few slight problems.

But back to the good stuff: this book really felt like a "best of" Dresden book. Butcher did little to mix up the formula that has worked so well for his other books; in fact, he is almost religiously loyal to the pacing and setup that made all the other books great. As mentioned above, bits seem taken out of the best parts of previous books, which works too. Also Elaine, Dresden's old flame from his childhood (who was last seen in Summer Knight) also shows up, as well as a lot of other character. I'm pretty sure the only ones not here from other books were Billy and the werewolf pack, and Susan (though she is mentioned). Butcher does an exceptional job with this series: he doesn't throw all the characters in at once; he spaces them out so, once you really start to wonder where they are, they come back. It is a testament to his fantastic planning (minus the first two books).

White Night is very fast, and you learn a few new snippets about Harry and the supporting cast. Molly, his apprentice newly established in Proven Guilty, is back and has grown up a little. Rameriez, one of my favorite Wardens who played a key role in the climactic battle at the end of Dead Beat (you know, the one with the zombie T-Rex Harry rides), is also here in full force. He's sort of a womanizing, arrogant joker, and actually plays very well with Harry's sense of humor (and falls into a rather amusing and revealing joke at the end of White Night that had me laughing quite hard). As a book, it reads very well.

I did have a few complaints, however. As mentioned before, it's a bit formulaic: Butcher just stuck with what worked and rolled with it. This is fine, I suppose, but considering this is the 9th book in the series, I was hoping he'd keep on improving so the formula wouldn't go stale (it was running the risk at the end). I'd also like to point out that the ending was really a lot like the ending of both Grave Peril  and Blood Rites, which again falls into that formula thing. Lastly, I really wanted more Molly. She's his apprentice, and I can understand him sheltering her, but she really just didn't seem to exist for a good 90% of this book. Considering what a key role she played in Proven Guilty, I was sad to see her set into the backburner.

Still, White Night is a lot of fun, and certainly worth reading. Oh; there is one key point I forgot to mention: Something rather monumental that has been hanging over Harry's head since freaking Death Masks (Book 5) FINALLY gets resolved in this book. I spend the last four books wondering how he was going to beat it, and I was very satisfied with how it resolved. The downer is that was my main concern with Harry in terms of internal conflict, and now that it's done I feel a bit sad.

At any rate, if you've followed the series to book 9 at this point, you probably don't care about what I wrote here. Point is: if you love Dresden, you won't be disappointed, just don't expecting as mind blowing in its revelations as Death Masks, Blood Rites, or Proven Guilty.

Book Covers - Some Favorites and Not So Much

Since we are still talking about book covers, I thought I'd make a post about some book covers I like. As stated in my previous post, I consider a title and cover to be one of the most important "hooks" a novel can have, when it is sitting on that boring old shelf at the bookstore. Again, went to Barnes and Noble yesterday, and it was clear some awesome covers stuck out, and some not-as-awesome covers made me just not care.

So, first, let's go by some authors!

Brandon Sanderson


Brandon has had some...really odd covers. First print Mistborn is too easy to pick on, so let's just talk about his first novel, Elantris. 

So, here we have the US cover. Not bad, right? It doesn't scream "generic fantasy," but a casual observer has no idea what's going on. That's what bothers me a lot about covers: in order to know what is going on, you have to get a good 1/3 through the book. But the cover is there for people who don't know what is going on to be enticed. So, in that vein, wouldn't something artistic work better?

Hot damn! This is the German Elantris cover, and I often consider it the best of his (out of all his covers). Elantris is about a cursed city. This cover is simple, clean, easy on the eyes, and gets the idea across. It also looks cool. However, there is another Elantris cover that is also pretty rad...

This is the Japanese Elantris cover. You can see the regional art style influencing it; it has a somewhat "anime" flavor. Plus, there's some weird rodant thing in the bottom right. I don't remember that being in the book. But dude: look how cool Prince Raoden looks! He's like a total badass! Though he does remind me of Cecil from Final Fantasy IV...

Ok, so Elantris has some good covers. What about some awful ones? Pretty much all the Warbreaker covers were pretty ugly.

This is the US release of Warbreaker. Truthfully, it's a decent picture, and I like the colors. The font looks like it was just done using a generic photoshop filter, and Sanderson is starting that whole "my name is bigger than the title" thing that people do when they get big. The problem with this cover is that it just...doesn't make sense. The first thing I thought when I saw it was, "Oh look, it's Storm from the X-Men eating a Fruit-by-the-foot." Seriously. It looks just like that. But somebody thought it was a cool idea, because the audiobook took the fuglyness to a new level.

Ignoring the fact that GraphicAudio advertises it as "A Movie in your Mind!" (hooray for brain invasion!), this picture is essentially like the first Warbreaker cover, except drawn by someone who graduated with an undergrad in pastels. There's just too much crap in this picture. Though, I do like the dress on the girl (I forgot her name; I kind of repressed Warbreaker from my mind). 

But none of this compares to the current (?) Warbreaker cover, or at least the one they are advertising.

I dunno if this is a placeholder or something, but holy crap. I don't think I need to tell you why this cover looks awful. It should be pretty freaking obvious. 

Robert Jordan 

I've never liked the Wheel of Time covers, except the very first one. This is for the hardcover books. They've had the same artist throughout, and the usually depict some unknown scene from the book, and usually it involves them standing around or doing nothing. Seriously, not very exciting. Plus, since the series started like a billion years ago, what was popular for fantasy covers then just doesn't fly now. But, they still use the same guy (guess he signed some deal?) so we won't see the end of it until Brandon finishes the series.

This, however, is excluding the audiobooks. Let's take a look at just one of them, The Shadow Rising.

Well, out of all the Wheel of Time covers, this one at least has nice colors. You have two guys hanging around, smoking, while the woman is cooking. Yeah, ok, it's a bit of a sexist cover (why are the guys standing around while she does all the work? Shouldn't they at least be fighting baddies or something?), but there isn't anything (minus the blatant sexism) that leaps out at you. Compare this to the audiobooks, which all have totally different covers from the regular books.

Holy. Crap. There's Mat, who was previously just sitting around and making a woman cook for him, and is now walking in front of some gnarled old tree with ravens and a HUGE FREAKING SPEAR on his shoulders, looking totally badass. In fact, all the audiobook covers look significantly cooler than their hardcover equivalents. Wow. 

Jim Butcher

If you've been to a store recently, you've seen Jim Butcher's books. All the covers are pretty much the same: the artist picks some background color theme (yellow, green, blue, etc.) and then puts a dark, brooding Harry Dresden in front, staff in hand, hat on his head (he doesn't ever wear a hat!), and with a black background. If you think these get a little repetitive, at least they don't print the original covers anymore. 

Ugh. Look at that title. Each letter is in its own box? That looks freaking awful! All the way up until Proven Guilty (if I remember correctly), they used this style on the covers. It looks terrible. Just look at any of the reviews I've done, and you can see how much better it looks.

Before we move on, however, I'd like to point out a Dresden cover that I really like, a lot. It is actually the book I'm currently reading, and it has stuck out with me before I even started considering the series. 

Now, this isn't much different from the other covers. Brooding Harry, with hat (ugh), and staff, obnoxious SciFi channel logo on the cover...all accounted for. However, you'll notice something completely different: THIS COVER IS WHITE. That's right; every Dresden book up until this point has been black themed, but this is the only white cover. Imagine, looking on a bookstore shelf. You have piles of black Dresden books, and suddenly this one lunges at you like an bastard child. It's brilliant. As of now, there is no other Dresden book that is white, though the next one (Ghost Story), which is a start of the new Dresden "season" is white. Are the next 12 Dresden books going to be white now? Except one, that will be black? I'm really thinking about this too much. 

James Dashner

As a person, I like James Dashner quite a bit. He's got a sort of reserved, biting sense of humor that I totally enjoy. Having him on panels at Conduit and during his guest visit in Sanderson's class last Winter was a real treat. He pointed out then some of his book covers, and I'd like to pull up this horrible gem from his first series. 

This just screams small publisher. Some generic kid's face (who gets flipped and put on the other side for the rest of the series' covers), and some generic landscape they probably googled and then slapped on the cover. Not to mention the title "A Gift of Ice" blends a little too well with the gray snow behind it, while the Jimmy Fincher Saga on top is orange for some god-only-knows reason. Ugh.

Then, he wrote The Maze Runner, and now has a big pool of money a-la Scrooge McDuck. 

Yeah, it's an ok cover. Having the "James" and "Dashner" not line up perfectly gives it a modern feel, as does the odd font. The background picture is OK, though you have to look twice or three times to figure out what is going on, which I never thought was a great thing. Luckily, the foreign rights people knew how to make a cover totally awesome. 

Holy movie poster! It even has a tagline: "Remember. Survive. Run." As we are a nation raised on media, that title is certain to grab you. 

As a bonus, recently posted on Dashner's blog, we have the Brazilian version, which looks straight out of some horror novel. 

Creepy. Though I think "movie poster" up there is still the best. 

John Bellairs 

As stated in my review, The Face in the Frost is one of my favorite books ever. The image I used in the review I considered to be an ok cover...it has an "early 90s" feel to it, but hey...it works. What doesn't work is the re-issue cover, that looks putrid.

Way to take my favorite book, and make it unappealing in nearly every way. This one is worst than the Jimmy Fitcher book above...they didn't even bother blowing up the background image to fill the cover. This doesn't even look "small publisher" bad...it looks "self published" bad. Bellairs deserved better.

Luckily, the picture on the audiobook is totally rad. 

Yeah, there you go. Some sweet wizard looking in the green-glass paperweight and seeing a freaking skull. Plus, there's that cool mouse in the back. I never did figure out what that guy's deal was. Keep in mind, it was this cover, solely the cover, that caused me to pick up the audiobook fromt he library in the first place. So there's gotta be something there. 

Orson Scott Card

I'll be honest: I'm not a fan of Mr. Card's work. I love his writing for the Living Scriptures cartoons, and Ender's Game  and Ender's Shadow are great. I just don't like anything else he wrote (including the rest of the Ender series). 

So, Ender's Game is a great book. But it has never had a good cover. Here's the one it had when I picked up the book (I totally grabbed it by random when I was like 12, by the way. Nobody suggested it; I just thought it was a book I would read). 

Not bad. Plus it has a bunch of awards on it. However, I've read this book like 20 times, and I still have no idea what scene this is from the bok. Is this Ender flying to that space station at the beginning? Or maybe the one at the end? Or maybe on his super emo-journey at the very end so Mr. Card could put out more sequels?

One thing I do know is that it is a billion times better than this cover they put out a while back, when I guess they decided to try and market the book to kids. 

Out of all the terrible covers I've posted, this one is my personal "most despised." Ender's Game is a dark book, about kids playing super-violent games and adults purposefully manipulating them to make them into soulless, killing tacticians. This looks like something out of Tron starring that kid from The Sixth Sense. It makes it look like fun, never mind the fact that they were shooting each other, swearing and intimidating each other constantly, and pretty much being put through kid hell. Just looking at the cover makes me want to punch whoever green-lighted it. Ugh.

Dan Wells

Yeah, these are primarily Mormon authors. I'm Mormon too, so it happens. Shut up. 

Dan's book first made it big in the UK, and while I thought the cover was ok, it was uninspired. 

I didn't think the US version was much better. It lost that super bright, eyeball burning red that just sears into your brain, but it also got really boring.

Better? Yeah. And there's some blood. But...why is it on a sheet of lined paper? What's up with that? No clue. 

Then, Wells US cover artist got CRAZY good, and released two of my favorite covers ever.

Wow! These look great! Mr. Monster is my personal favorite (very minimalist, but surprisingly dark), and I Don't Want to Kill You also looks really fun.

Here's a cool link to his cover artist's walkthrough on how he decided to make these covers. It's a great read!

A few more

Here's a few more random covers I think look cool. Some are from books I've read, some not. I just like them. 

Got some favorite covers? Let me know in the comments!

BOOK REVIEW - Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

By Jim Butcher (Official Webpage)
Buy it here: Proven Guilty

Blurb Review


While it might not be Harry Dresden vs The World like previous installments, Proven Guilty is easily the best book yet, with how it focuses more on "close to home" problems for Harry rather than larger, broader issues. Combining real, raw emotion with moral dilemmas that help define Harry, Proven Guilty has that rewarding feeling you can only get on long book series like this.

Full Review


This is probably my favorite Dresden book yet, passing Death Masks up, if just barely. As I said in previous reviews. Grave Peril was where Butcher essentially goes action crazy, and Summer Knight is the slower, more methodical version of Harry Dresden. It showed both sides of Butcher's writing, tons of action or lots of emotion, and the books since have been trying to find that magical hybrid that would make them perfect.

Dead Beat was extremely close, even though the first bits were slow. But with Proven Guilty, Butcher has completely nailed it. This is exactly the type of book I was thinking of reading when I first went into the series: great action, real emotion, exciting characters I cared and worried about, and moral dilemmas that shape Harry as a character, as well as the people around him. Also, we finally have Murphy and Harry talking about their "relationship" (or lack thereof) which this series has needed since like the second book.

The book also has the best first chapter, I think, of any of the books so far. Harry Dresden is now enlisted as a Warden of the White Council (he was last book, actually), because their war against the vampires has thinned their ranks so much they need all the help they can get. The book begins with a grisly execution of a young teenaged warlock, a boy who unwittingly used black magic. In the White Council's laws, you don't get a second chance (though Harry did, years before), and so he is executed.

As you can guess, this doesn't sit well with Harry, and it sets the tone for the rest of the book. Dark, personal, and full of moral conflict. The book is a rich adventure that puts the characters you've grown to know and care about to their limits.

It also has Michael, my favorite character in it. Actually, the majority of the book revolves around his wayward daughter, Molly, who has gotten herself into more than she can handle.

Seeking out a dark wizard, Harry ends up at SPLATTERCON!!!!, a horror convention partially run by Molly. It is there that they are attacked by monstrous creatures, being of fairy who feed on terror. Harry figures someone must be summoning them, so off he goes to try and figure it out.

Add tons of twisting subplots involving the Red Court, the continuing conflict between Winter and Summer (the fairy realms), and Molly just being a problem child, and you have a fantastic book. While the conclusion isn't as balls-to-the-wall as some others, (Harry riding a zombie T-Rex or fighting a Fallen Angel on the top of a speeding train comes to mind) it is on a more personal level, one that rakes up the tension and really just works. I've never felt more attached to Harry as a character until now, and I really haven't seen his "true colors" (surprise, he's a really good person) until he's thrown into the fire like this. I couldn't put the book down, literally, it was so good.

I really can't think of anything I didn't like about this novel. There was a lack of Butters, who I don't like, so that works. Michael was in it, albeit at the end. You finally figure out why Charity, Michael's wife, totally despises Harry. Actually, that's another good thing: both Charity and Murphy were being close to becoming two-dimensional. This book totally fixes that, and in the best way. Really good stuff.

So, yeah. I'd say this is the perfect Dresden book (if only it had more Michael...). After inventing me in seven of these books, I can say that this (the eighth) is exactly what I've come to expect. Here's hoping the last four can live up to that expectation (I can't believe I have only four left! What am I going to do with my life after I finish this?!).

BOOK REVIEW - Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

By Jim Butcher (Official Webpage)
Buy it here:  Dead Beat

Blurb Review


[Author's Note: I was going to write something big here, but after read the last 50 odd pages this was all I could come up with]

This is Dead Beat, the seventh book in the Dresden Files.
In it, Harry Dresden rides a zombie tyrannosaures rex named Sue.
He rides a zombie tyrannosaures rex.
....
This is the greatest book ever written.

Full Review


Now that that is out of the way, here's the real review.

You already know what monsters Harry fought in the last books, so here's what we got in Dead Beat: Zombies and necromancers. And let me say finally, because I've been wanting zombies from book one, and at long last he's blasting some undead. Fantastic.

At any rate, if you thought Summer Knight bumped off all the main characters for a "Harry only" adventure, this one does it even better. Murphy, the cop who often works with Harry, is on vacation. So Harry's alone, living with Thomas (the white court vampire who is crashing at his house) and his now huge dog Mouse, who was a puppy in the last book (yes, that puppy).

At any rate, things pick up quick when the black court vampire we thought was dead in the last book is (SURPRISE!) not actually dead. And she's blackmailing Harry with Murphy's reputation. She wants him to find some book, which he knows nothing about, and give it to her.

Turns out, the book is like the modern version of the Necronomicon, and like five other necromancers who just so happen to be in town also want it. Crap just got real.

Since Butcher decided to dump all the characters except Thomas and Harry (and Thomas does next to nothing the entire book, despite revelations regarding him in Blood Rites), we get a new character: Butters, the mortician. I don't know why Butcher picked that name for him. Mostly because: 1. Most people who read his books are nerds and 2. Most nerds watch South Park. Butters is a friend of the kids in south park, is sort of a goody-two shoes and a coward. Surprise! Butters in Dresden Files is the exact same. Of course, he goes through the usual transformation of "cowering in fright" at the beginning to "sort of growing a pair" at the end of the book, which is both predictable and stupid, because Butters is just a waste of space. Maybe some people find him endearing. I don't.

Which is where Dead Beat shows its main problem: It starts off so freaking slowly. The first half of the book (or even first two thirds) just seems to drag on and on. There is stuff happening, Harry is facing lots of problems (including one that emerged way back at the end of Death Masks, which I'm finally glad to see addressed), so it technically should be entertaining. But, for some reason, the novel flows thicker than molasses. Unlike the last few books, which I've had problems finding stopping places, I found it hard to come back to this one. Not for lack of revelation, character development, or whatever...it was just a bad idea to dump all the other characters and have stupid Butters as his only sidekick. At least Mouse (the dog) is somewhat interesting.

Luckily, despite the novel being slow (which is too bad, because it has zombies and the premise is actually pretty rad), it makes up for it in the last third. And no, I'm not just referring to the zombie t-rex, though that was a highlight. Tons of fantastic things involving the Wardens (basically the White Council's hit squad and enforcers) show up, tying the war with the Red Court back into this book, and making it much more personal than you'd believe. My only problem with the Wardens is Morgan, a Warden who was watching Harry in Storm Front, and basically doesn't like him at all. His character is so amazingly two-dimensional it's frustrating: no matter what the situation he won't believe Harry. It doesn't matter if Harry proves himself right a thousand times, Morgan will still be stupidly bull-headed. I really hate that character, truth be told. He is like all the adults in the Series of Unfortunate Events books: obnoxious and I want to punch them. Except in Series of Unfortunate Events did it on purpose: to be funny. This just frustrates me.

Butcher's humor works and kept me going, and it really hits full throttle at the end of the book. The issue is just with the first part...it just drags (for the reasons above). Other than that, the premise is solid, the prose is reasonably good, and there are things that happen to the "overarching" plot of Harry's life that I'm certain will have both good and bad consequences in the future.

Oh, and did I mention he rides a zombie tyrannosaures rex?

BOOK REVIEW - Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

By Jim Butcher (Official Webpage)
Buy it here: Blood Rites

Blurb Review


While not as strong as the last few installments, Blood Rites is a dramatic book for Harry. Key elements regarding his dead parents, potential family, and relationship with Murphy and Ebenezer all play vital roles in this novel. While the book is far from terrible, it seems less driven by the book's own story, and plays more as an outlet for Jim to expound on Harry's past.

Full Review


Time for the recap! (ignoring the fact I've done this every review, some of which are only a few hours apart). Book 1: Sorcerer/Warlock. Book 2: Werewolves. Book 3: Ghosts. Book 4: Fairies. Book 5: Fallen Angels.

So, Book 6? Vampires! Yes, while they show up from time to time in other books, they finally get their own book. But they aren't vampires of the Red Court this time (the ones involved in the war). Instead, they are of the White Court, which is significantly different. I'll get to why later.

The book starts with a classical example of why Dresden is clearly a hero and not a villain: he saves puppies from a burning building while being chased by monkeys who throw flaming poo at him. Yeah, really. A bit goofy once you think about it.

You think that's over the top? You haven't seen anything yet. Next thing you know Thomas, a vampire ally (kind of) whom he met in Grave Peril and returned (sort of, more like a cameo) in Death Masks is back and needs some help. It seems he is working with a bunch of guys working on an adult movie (yes, it's a porno) and he needs Dresden to find out what's going on. People are getting offed, apparently by an entropy curse (which is essentially a "bad luck" curse, which usually results in people getting killed in weird ways. I'm guessing Butcher watched the Final Destination movies before inventing that spell) and Harry needs to find out what is going on.

So first he's saving puppies from a building, and now he's hanging out with porn stars. Butcher isn't cutting any slack this time.

To be fair, for him working on a porn site, there is a surprising lack of sex in this book (probably because Susan is gone), and the scenes involving the films are surprisingly tame, and limited to only a single page. While it isn't something I'd show to my mother, I didn't find it nearly as appalling as some epic fantasy I've had the unfortunate pleasure to encounter recently (Rhapsody's prologue is essentially a sex scene between two 14-year-olds. Yeah. Ugh.).

Anyway, stuff goes crazy and it all ends up tying with vampires. See, there are three types of vampires in Harry's world. You have the Black Court, which is traditional "Dracula" type vampires that eat people, have weird powers, and are essentially immortal unless you lop off their heads or stake them through the hearts. Most of these guys are gone because, apparently, the book Dracula promoted tons of vampire killings. Way to go, Stoker. You have the Red Court, who are at war with the White Council and pretty much hate Harry. These guys are more traditional bloodsuckers, who are actually demonic monsters under the fleshy, beautiful "skin masks" they wear over their bodies. The last are the White Court, which Thomas is a part of. These guys are just as sexy/seductive as the first, but they feed differently. Rather than eating blood or body parts, they eat human emotion. The more powerful the emotion, the easier it is to eat, and since they are great at seducing, they usually feed during sex. Yeah, really, they kill with sex. It makes sense, I guess.

Anyway, it isn't bad enough the Reds want Harry dead, a bunch of Blacks from Grave Peril are back and pissed, so they are hunting Harry too. With the help of a bounty hunter from Death Masks, Murphy (Harry's Chicago PD friend and ally), and some others, all hell breaks loose.

One big positive for this one: The humor is much improved. Harry is witty, clever, and his references make sense. None of the jokes seem forced; in fact, I laughed a few times at some of them because they were very well done. The sort of oddly placed jokes in the series is a staple; Harry's ability to laugh even in the face of extreme danger is both entertaining and unbelievable. Butcher has figured it out perfectly (at long last!), making Harry's dialogue a joy to read.

The pacing is also very good, again, and the final fights are exceptionally well done. The reveal isn't as well hinted as in Death Masks, but it works and the synergy between characters is great, though many sub-characters don't get nearly as fleshed out as I'd hoped they would.

Lastly, I love how Harry (and Jim) become self aware at how absurd the situations Harry was in during the previous books. One character mentions, in passing, how Harry essentially saved the world twice (in both Summer Knight and Death Masks), to which we hear about how Harry does other things (between books) that aren't as crazy. It's good that this next one wasn't so insanely "Harry saves the world" again, and is more personal with Harry's life.

A few things bother me about this book. First, the amazon copy of the cover (see link above) as the text as red. But the copy I have and the cover dug up on google images (see above), the title text is purple. What the crap?

Seriously this is weirding me out.

Anyway, back to the review.

As stated, there's TONS of reveals in this book. You can't skip it if you are following the series. The problem is, while the reveals are great (the big one happens in the middle of the book), the rest of the book is just...bland. It almost seems forced. Sure there are some great fights, including squaring off with a villain I've wanted dead since Grave Peril. But when the end rolls around (minor spoiler), you find out she isn't dead, actually. She comes back in Dead Beat (so Jim didn't have to write another villain; just carry the same one over), making the totally rad battle against her moot. Lame.

Also, the whole saving puppies (one of which Harry keeps and drags around in his coat for half the book, clearly showing everybody what a hero he is and leading to adorably awkward moments with the thing), working with porn stars, and just general "look at all these innuendos and sexual references, ha ha" that coat the book seems really forced. We do get a really good scene with Murphy, a character I feel is too neglected and (up until this point) entirely a two-dimensional "amazon woman-cop" character. We get to see another side of her, which is great, though she does slip back to the previously stated "hard-broiled cop with a heart" that is extremely cliche.

As a whole, there are tons of scenes that long-going fans will love. The problem is they don't have much to do with and don't benefit the self-contained story in Blood Rites. It seems tacked on, which is unfortunate.

However, it certainly isn't the worst Dresden book (it's still better than Storm Front and Fool Moon), and I loved all the incredible twists and reveals, mostly because I was curious how they'd influence future Dresden books, rather than the one I was currently in. It's a pity Dead Beat (the book I'm currently in), isn't much better (in fact, based on a 1/2 way analysis, I'd say it's the worst one besides Storm Front). But, for the sake of blog integrity I shall plod on, hopefully making it all the way through Changes before the summer is over.

BOOK REVIEW - Death Masks by Jim Butcher

By Jim Butcher (Official Webpage)

Buy it here: Death Masks

Blurb Review


Taking what he learned from Summer Knight, Jim Butcher throws back in all the main characters you knew and loved from Grave Peril into a brand-new adventure. Showing the best of both Grave Peril and Summer Knight, combined with an improvement of wit easily noticeable in the prose, Death Masks marks a great next book in the already fun and furious Dresden Files series.

Full Review


First off, I don't know why this one is called Death Masks. All the others have some cute connection with the monster of choice, usually some sort of pun (Fool Moon? Get it?), but this one...no idea. I am fully aware of what a death mask is, I'm just not getting the title.

Oh well, on to the review.

So, time for the Dresden monster-killing recap! What have we got so far? Crazy sorcerer, check. Werewolves, check. Ghosts, check. Fairies, check.

What about fallen angels? Agents of Satan? Has Harry fought those? No? Well, we'd better get him on that.

Of all the Dresden books I've read so far, I think Death Masks is probably the best. Not sure if it is my favorite, per say, but it certainly is extremely exciting and does what I want it to do: Brings back all the characters I liked and throws them into a huge mess.

The Shroud of Turith has been stolen. Legend has it the artifact was the cloth used to wrap Christ in during the Resurrection. So, as you can guess, the thing is a pretty powerful relic. But that isn't how the book starts.

It starts in the first few pages with Dresden on a TV show, only to have a "mystery guest" be a devious Red Court Vampire (the Red Court is at war with the High Council, aka, all of wizard-dom, remember?). This vampire warlord makes Dresden a deal: duel him to the death, and the winner wins the war. If Harry doesn't agree, the warlord will systematically kill everybody Harry holds dear. Yikes.

Well, you can guess where that goes. Harry accepts, only to turn around a few seconds later to find Susan, his now semi-vampire girlfriend. She's back in town, and wants to help him. A few seconds after (or was it before? this book starts INSANELY fast), Harry is attacked by a Fallen Angel, only to be defended by a trio of holy knights, one of them being Michael from Grave Peril (who is one of my favorite characters, so: hooray! He's back!), all wielding holy swords. Michael grimly informs Harry that the fallen angels know he's after the shroud, and there's like twenty of them wanting him dead.

So, Harry has a duel with a vampire warlord, a shroud to find, his girlfriend who simultaneously wants to bed him and take a bite out of his neck, and over a dozen near-immortal fallen angels breathing down his neck. Oh wait, the Chicago PD found a corpse without a head or arms, and it somehow seems to be tied with this whole mess. Holy crap. Harry really should move to another city or something.

While Summer Knight showed Jim Butcher learning how to properly pace himself, Death Masks was the book were he figured out how to foreshadow perfectly, with an ending that actually worked. Well, sort of. Here's the thing: all the twists and reveals are handled perfectly. I remember at one point turning to my wife and saying, "All this stuff has happened and I have no idea how it's going to work out." Literally a page later, a huge reveal happened, and everything made sense. You know that feeling when you are reading when you have an epiphany, and you slap your head and say "Holy crap, this author is a genius. How didn't I see that? That was divinely clever!" Well, Death Masks has that kind of ending. While Summer Knight was a bit convoluted once the finale rolled around, Death Masks makes perfect sense. Bravo, Jim Butcher. You are getting real good at these Dresden Files things.

My only complaint about the novel (besides the fact that stupid Michael wasn't in town for like half of the book. Come on! I want more of him!) was that the "final boss fight" was completely ridiculous. Here's a super minor spoiler: a bunch of dudes (including Harry) fight some Fallen Angels. ON THE TOP OF A SPEEDING TRAIN. Yes. I don't know if that is the coolest thing ever, or just completely unbelievable. I'm unfortunately leaning for the latter, but whatever, it works.

The ending itself after that is also the best in the series thus far. It leaves tons of things unresolved, but resolves the main conflict. I really, really thought it was clever, and I immediately put the book down and started the next one, because I had to keep going. This was after the head-slapping part mentioned above. I love open endings. So great.

I also loved the sexual tension between Harry and Susan. Heck, most of this book was full of memorable scenes, made even more powerful because of the previous four book investment I've had with Harry. Really, really great stuff.

I am really enjoying this series. I'm also very pleased that these books are usually between 350-450 pages long, and are very quick moving, because it means I can devour one in a day/day and a half. It's also great that Butcher is solidifying that whole "TV Episode" feeling of each of the books. Each book is self contained, but stuff happens to continuing characters that you know will come up later, making you want to read the next one. Brilliant.

Having already finished Blood Rites (the next book in the series) and working on Dead Beat, expect reviews for both shortly. Just know that I usually shy away from series knowing it contains a whopping 12 books, but now I'm seriously worried that 12 books won't be enough to contain my Dresden fever. Seriously. They are that good.

BOOK REVIEW - Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

By Jim Butcher (Official Webpage)

Buy it here: Summer Knight

Blurb Review


While Grave Peril could be compared to a Michael Bay film in terms of relentless action, cheesy jokes, and blasting fast pacing, Summer Knight takes a different approach. Dropping almost all the staple characters from the previous novel and bringing back old ones, and focusing more on detective work rather than plain action, Butcher shows that he can handle both sides of his craft. A fine balance of action, magic, and mystery; Summer Knight easily outdoes its predecessor in nearly every way.

Full Review

Same disclaimer as Grave Peril: I listened to the audiobook; I didn't actually read the book. However, the rest from here on out (assuming I can get a copy of Changes once I get to it) will be in text format.

I've mentioned in my previous review of Grave Peril how much I liked the novel. The first Dresden book was a good idea but dull execution, the second picked up but didn't hit the nail on the head. The third really starts something fantastic off, with blisteringly fast action, and one thing happening right after the other. It establishes (and does horrible things to) its main characters, as well as introduce a few more: Susan, Dresden's girlfriend. Thomas, a vampire of the White Court who is a bit of an unstable ally for Dresden. Michael, a holy warrior and good counter for Dresden's carefree, "consequences be damned" attitude.

And, in Summer Knight, he dumps all these characters. They aren't anywhere in this book.

Truth be told? It's better for it. Let me explain.

While I consider Grave Peril to be were the series really starts off (seriously, Storm Front and Fool Moon seem like prologues, while the real story is just beginning), I'd argue that Summer Knight is where the series gets good. I don't mean good as in just good reading. Grave Peril was a fun book but, ultimately, it was a popcorn novel. It had lots of fun, one-shot ideas, tons of crazy twists, and was a blast to read...but it seemed to be lacking on substance. It was goofy fun, which made a lot of the more dramatic scenes seem a little jarring or even forced.

Summer Knight takes the world and formula established, and slows it down. Having already read Death Masks (I read it in one day), I can also say that the pacing and style he establishes carries over to future novels, and this is a great thing. It is a sign of a good author that, when faced with all these brilliant ideas, to know he can't put them all in one novel. Summer Knight puts Dresden back doing what he does best - detective work, mixed with magic - rather than having him simply Fuego! (aka fire burn) every supernatural beastie he doesn't like.

So, let's go down the list again. Storm Front was a crazy wizard. Fool Moon was werewolves. Grave Peril was ghosts. So, what can Dresden fight now? What about Fairies?

Yeah, fairies. No, they aren't lame Tinkerbell things (well, a few are). They are manipulative, creepy, and bound to lots of odd rules which Dresden takes full advantage of. Another great point about this series is that it isn't just the magic that feels natural, so does all the rules binding the magical creatures. Fairies can't lie. They can bend the truth, but they can't lie. They like to bargen for things, usually involving trickery. If anything can be said about Butcher, it's that he makes certain you don't get lost in his modern interpretations of beasts of myth. Every new rule is presented in great detail and, for whatever reason, makes sense. It's a sure sign of his skill as an author.

At any rate, Dresden's life is pretty much hell again. In Grave Peril he (potential spoiler) kind of sparked a war between the vampires of the Red Court (read: nasty, demon-looking things wearing human flesh masks) and the White Council (essentially the group of wizards which Harry belongs to). The vampires said they'll stop the war if Harry is delivered to them, so the White Council calls a meeting to figure out what to do. It eventually turns out Harry, in order to save his own neck, needs to prove his loyalty to the wizards by securing an alliance with the fairie kingdom of Winter (the two houses in fairie land being Winter and Summer). Unfortunately, Winter and Summer are currently at war, so it is up to Harry to figure out why, who killed somebody important to both sides, and how he can use this to save both his own skin and a lot more on a much grander scale. Except Harry's a grouch after what happened in Grave Peril, pissed off his girlfriend Susan is gone, and is generally being a useless piece of crap. Hey, we all have bad days. Harry's just usually involve huge supernatural catastrophes.

Something I was glad to see was, despite the fact that none of the characters from Grave Peril made an appearance, the friendly werewolf pack from Fool Moon did. I was beginning to wonder where those guys went, and they don't fail to impress. Especially since they play Dungeons and Dragons. Like, come on. You are werewolves. Pretty sure real life for you is much more exciting.

Summer Knight is a great book that fixes all the problems that I found in Grave Peril. More importantly, Butcher takes a very dramatic and much needed step in the series. He knows where the story is going, and he knows how to deal with it maturely. There are some genuinely dramatic choices Harry and his allies have to make in several dire situations. A lot of the "stupid popcorn flick" from Grave Peril is gone, but it's replaced with a mature voice that really makes these books shine.

As stated, I've already read Death Masks, so I will review that shortly (I'm also about half way through Blood Rites, which is also quite good). Just know that this series only keeps getting better, a fact which I'm very grateful for, since I'm determined to read 9/10 of the books before July 15th.