With all of the attention on Harry Potter, I keep neglecting my other favorite wizard named Harry and forgetting to review his latest attempts to keep Chicago safe from the creatures of the night in White Night. As it's spoilery, I'll put my detailed comments in the comment thread, as usual. It's been long enough since I read it that I'm a little fuzzy on the details, anyway; but I do remember that it wasn't my favorite book in the series. It's a good story and has plenty to love--it just didn't wow me on the same level as Blood Rites or Dead Beat. Even so, it has some great character development and manages to water seeds planted in previous books for an über-arch involving an über big bad, the identity (or identities) of which have yet to be revealed. It also has great continuity, as usual, an some excellent character moments. Butcher doesn't disappoint. Neither does Harry Dresden, for that matter, who can give that other Harry kid lessons on how to be a total woobie.By the way, Buzzy Multimedia has an interview clip with Jim Butcher on their main page. Quote: "At my age I learned you really should stretch out before you do the Snoopy Dance." Hee!
But seriously, he offers some fantastic insights into his writing process, and that alone makes it worth checking out. (And he's funny, too!)
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While we're on the subject, I think the majority of my regular readers already know about James Marsters narrating the Dresden Files audio books (Yay James!), and that preview chapters are available online for free. But you may not have known--at least, I didn't--that my beloved Ben "Crazy Crichton" Browder is the narrator for Alan Dean Foster's Interloper? Free preview downloads are available for that, too, and he's doing a fantastic job. Man, I loves me some Browder. I really hope he and Claudia will be in the Farscape webisodes that SciFi is planning to do, otherwise, what's the point?
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Like I said, it's been a few months since I read the book, so this is going to be a bullet list of the things that stand out in my memory.
- Toe-moss. Hee! I never lost any faith in Thomas, and with his suspicious behavior in the last book, I figured that he was being all covert because he was doing something humiliating. My guess was that he'd gotten a job as a male stripper, which I still think would have been hilarious, but "gay" hairdresser is pretty funny, too. Also, I love it when Thomas gets to be a full-on vampire badass.
- Murphy. Still awesome. Still an idiot, and so is Harry for letting her off the hook so easily. They both acknowledge feelings, but they're both too cowardly to do anything about them. SO frustrating. And painfully ironic, considering how courageous they both are in every other area.
-Mouse. I wish Butcher would stop faking us out with near-death experiences for Mouse. Those kill me, and also make me think he's just trying to get us to be all complacent so we won't see it coming when he really does decide to off the doggie. How disturbing was it when he mauled the Black Court thrall to death? Vicious wehn necessary, but still lovable. Just like Harry. What's that about dogs resembling their owners?
Molly - I'm still on the fence about her. She's still got a lot of growing up to do, but she had done a lot of it by the end of the book. She's far from one of my favorite characters, though, and I'm irritated that we see so much of her and hardly any of her father, whom I adore.
Marcone - I liked the look we got into his back story and motivations. I always suspected he had it in him to be a sympathetic character, as well as a powerful ally, and I was right on both counts. I don't condone his methods, and he's obviously still dangerous, but with the things they're dealing with, and with what's coming, he's definitely the lesser of two evils. Here's hoping he keeps fighting on the right side.
Lasciel - I've grown pretty fond of Lasciel and her interactions with Harry, so I'm sad to see her go, but glad that the pull the Denarius had on Harry has been severed. I never really believed he was in real danger of taking up the Denarius and giving into its power, anyway, so I felt it was a good and timely resolution to that subplot. I even teared up a little at her sacrifice.
Harry - oh, my dear, sweet Harry. Like Mouse with the thrall, he was pretty scary dealing with the ghouls. He's definitely got some issues that are leaving him all dark and twisty inside, but as long as he's got his friends, family and duty to keep him balanced, I have faith that he'll work it out and be a better man for it, if not necessarily a better (more powerful) wizard. I continue to love this guy, and can't wait for his next installment.
That's about all I can definitively remember. I wanted to say something about the Black Council, but I can't say much without re-reading parts of the book. I have no idea who it is, or is made up of, anyway, but that's okay. I'm happy to be taken along for the ride.
Yes. My love for Harry is infinite. Infinite, I say. And ditto Molly--not sure how I feel about her, and I wish we saw more of Michael. Like you, I cried when Lasciel died. Butcher is good at that.
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