Blood Rites
Ratings277
Average rating4
The main and B stories are interesting.
There are major changes in Dresden's back story in this book.
Given all that history and family stuff, maybe there was too much
of the supernatural mysteries.
Or probably spread out all the character stuff over a couple of books.
This one was much better and easier for me to follow. This one makes me want to continue the series, although it is still a bit formula driven
Allez ju, weer maar eens een 3/5 sterren-boek. 't Is niet alleen met mythologie en world building dat Butcher elke boek dingen toevoegt, maar ook in het opbouwen van zijn personages.
We komen in dit boek zowaar meer te weten over Dresden's familie, te beginnen met zijn moeder, die bij zijn geboorte schielijk was komen te gaan.
Verder in dit boek: shenanigans bij de Witte Vampiers (dat is de emotionele soort — ze drinken geen bloed maar gevoelens). Een pornoregisseur met drie ex-vrouwen die bedreigd wordt. Een nest Zwarte Vampiers (van alle soorten in de Dresdenboeken de soort die het meest op die van Bram Stoker lijken) dat uitbreekt in de stad. En een ingehuurde kracht die blijkt eeuwen en eeuwen oud te zijn en bijzonder gevaarlijk.
Ja, 't was niet verkeerd. Het was eens te meer zeer snel uit.
Maar ik heb het heel voorlopig even gehad met Dresden. Tijd voor wat afwisseling.
Executive Summary: Mr. Butcher ramps things up with this story, and continues to break away from the formulaic style of the previous novels.Audio book: Nothing really of note for this book, although James Marsters does get to try his hand at a Greek accent, which to me sounded pretty good. At this point in the series, I can't imagine anyone else reading it.Full ReviewSo for me, the turning point for the series starts with the last book [b:Death Masks 91479 Death Masks (The Dresden Files, #5) Jim Butcher http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345557713s/91479.jpg 2183], but if that one didn't impress you, this one should. Otherwise, why exactly are you still reading the series?Gone are the mysterious and attractive females that bring Harry's sense of chivalry to override his better judgement. That doesn't mean he's still not taking cases, or working as a Wizard for hire, but he's tackling bigger problems, with larger implications than he once was.Thomas has come to Harry to call in a favor for helping him in the past and help a friend of his who appears to be under attack from dark magic.The underlying plot of the last few books takes a bit of a break with novel with the return of other baddies, along with introducing some excellent new ones.We see the return of what are becoming the main stay supporting characters of Thomas and of course Murphy, as well as Ebeneezer.This book has several very large revelations that have a major impact on the course of the story in futures novels.The humor gets better with each book, although Harry's smart mouth in the face of mortal danger can get a bit tiring at times.Also, Mouse! (Any of you who have read past this book, should understand that, any of you haven't will just have to scratch your heads).It's getting harder to write these reviews in my normal spoiler-free fashion, or at least without discussing spoilers from previous books. This may be the last book that I can manage that.This is another fast and fun read, and I can't wait to jump into [b:Dead Beat 17683 Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, #7) Jim Butcher http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345667776s/17683.jpg 6614452], which probably sealed this as one of my favorite series.
Harry's troubles with the various courts of Vampires continue, with him battling against Black, Red, and White courts at various points throughout this fun read.
The key to this novel is you learn more about his family and mentor in ways that I expect will have long-running impact in upcoming novels.
Enjoyable, with a few tantalizing revelations concerning Dresden's family, this volume isn't among my favourites, but was a still a good read.
Update 11/11/24
This can serve as a reminder that rereads are a good thing to do every once and a while.
I had read this book years ago, and I had not loved it (see older review below). I think the main issue was I was not able to understand the character development at that time, mixed with how the events in this book shaped later installments to come.
Years later, I can confidently say that this is another great Dresden Files book. There are a few reasons why.
Firstly, there is the development of Harry and how he grows closer to Thomas. When secrets are revealed, I really liked how it emphasized how important this was for Harry, as he is now feeling emotions he has never felt before. For spoilers sake, I won't say more, except that I can sympathize with this since I have grown closer to certain people in passing years for similar thematic reasons.
I also liked Mouse. Even as a puppy, he is saving Harry's life in this book, and multiple times to boot. I liked seeing how this small, cute dog would become the key member of Harry's team in the future.
Then there is how this lays the groundwork for things to come. We have Harry being able to work with the White Court vampires, two new members to Harry's team being given more prominent roles, and also, more characters get their backstory revealed in this book.
I also liked seeing Karen Murphy's family here. It is nice, amidst all the hustle and bustle of Harry's magical world, to see a normal family, for all its faults.
One could suppose that the only major thing that is ‘wrong' with this book is how the characters describe sex in the book, especially between Harry and Murphy. It just comes off as...wrong, and I'm unsure why. Perhaps it is because we have known Murphy for so long as a Police Lieutenant who has been in a strictly working relationship with Harry, or maybe it is Butcher's writing style. The point is that overall, these scenes seem to make me uncomfortable, both when that is intentional and otherwise.
Still, consider this a minor complaint in a review of a book that has changed my opinion with time. I think this is an excellent book that makes me excited for, arguably, one of the best books in the series, Dead Beat. I give it a five out of five.
Original Review 2018
Blood Rites:
When it comes to urban fantasy, with the exception of books like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, I can't really think of a series I've stuck with longer than Harry Dresden. I think this is because the novels manage to hit the right amount of humor and fun that I am looking for in a book series without getting overly pretentious at their fantasy politics. With the 6th book, I was expecting to have a fun time, and I did, for the most part.
The best part of this book is easily Dresden himself. He is as funny and cool as ever, especially with the situations he manages to get himself in. The humor was something that I really enjoyed, and the puppy he comes to are for was very cute, if a little tame in terms of how puppies can be.
Saldy the rest of this book just felt...boring. I think this is because the book feels so formulaic at this point. There is the main case that Dresden has to solve (how the women on a porn set keep dying) a B cast case that all of Harry's friends have to combat (the vampires of the black court who are after Harry), and then there is the girl problems and Harry having almost no money...again.
Also, none of these stories seem to advance anything. Harry is still broke, girlfriendless, and lacking in character development. He still wants to protect women, even with evidence to the contrary that women need to be saved. I can't decide if I'm supposed to take that seriously, or as a character flaw for Harry. Either way, it is still something that he should get over by now, since there are plenty of women who could kick his butt.
In the end, this book was fine, but it felt as if it was going through the motions. This makes me want to rate it three out of five. I'll still read this series, but it will be some time before I do.
Dresden come on already im feed up with vampires. More of the worlds other creepy sourcerers and monsters please