White Night

It's a solid book in the series. Yes, Butcher can get a little redundant, but I can skim over his descriptions of Dresden's beetle, dog, and brother. It was nice to have some more insight into his past, that aspect of his story has been ignored since he found Thomas. It feels like the story is moving forward a little more. Butcher does a good job of keeping me interested in and caring for his characters. It hasn't gotten stale for me yet.

Executive Summary: This is one of three books from the Dresden Files series I've given 5 stars to, and if you follow my reviews, you know that's something I try not to do lightly. I really enjoy it start to finish.Audio book: I could just copy paste this section from book to book. James Marsters is great. If you've been reading my previous reviews or listening to this series yourself you know that. Highlights in this book include him actually yelling during one scene and this crazy french accent.Full ReviewSo I finally arrived to what was for years my favorite Dresden book. I'm still not quite sure, but I think [b:Changes 6585201 Changes (The Dresden Files, #12) Jim Butcher http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1304027244s/6585201.jpg 6778696] edges this out for best in the series.This is the book that turned me into a herald for [a:Jim Butcher 10746 Jim Butcher http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1205261964p2/10746.jpg]. I couldn't shut up about this series for awhile. I would tell anyone who would listen they should read this series. (NOTE: This happened a second time after [b:Cold Days 12216302 Cold Days (The Dresden Files, #14) Jim Butcher http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345145377s/12216302.jpg 17189468] last year.)Now this isn't a life changing book or something. It just one of those books I have trouble putting down. Page-turning fun. In fact I spent at least 2 hours doing nothing else but listening to the ending. Normally I'm driving, riding my bike, running errands or doing stuff around the house. I ran out of stuff to do to keep listening, so I just sat in my easy chair and finished it.Gone is the stranger coming to Harry's office. Gone is the introduction to some new characters/aspects of Harry's world. Mr. Butcher simply takes all the building blocks he established in the previous books to tell a really fun story, with a truly awesome ending.I'm probably overselling this book. Only one of my friends I've since recommended this to seems to love this book as much as I do, and he stubbornly refuses to admit [b:Changes 6585201 Changes (The Dresden Files, #12) Jim Butcher http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1304027244s/6585201.jpg 6778696] is a better book. Still, if you don't thoroughly enjoy this book, why are you still reading this series?Murphy calls Dresden to check out a crime scene off the books. A woman is dead. It turns out a lot of them are. They appear to have committed suicide, but something just seems off.If you know this series, you know if there is one thing that turns Harry Dresden from well reason detective to charge in first ask questions later neanderthal, it's when someone is hurting women. Especially in his town.Harry is going to do whatever it takes to put a stop to it, even if it kills him. We finally get to see Harry be a true badass in this book. There have been glimmers before, but nothing quite like this. With my vague memory of the next few books, it's something we won't quite see again until [b:Changes 6585201 Changes (The Dresden Files, #12) Jim Butcher http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1304027244s/6585201.jpg 6778696] either.This book shows that both Harry Dresden and Jim Butcher have both matured into something more then when they started.

Super stuff especially the way the Denarian was handled. But if there is any book that embodies the crux of the series its this one simply because it brings out “free will” the best. Being a second read it also is an important book for the rest of the series as the network is created here. I love the way small pieces from each book make their appearances across the series. Onwards

Jim Butcher's writing just seems to be agreeing with me this spring. For those of you who do not know, I am usually not the kind of person who likes to read books in a series one after the other. I usually get bored and move off to read something else. This time, though, I seem to just be really enjoying the Harry Dresden series of books, and the ninth installment, White Night, is no exception. This novel builds on the character of the previous books and makes me excited for what is to come for Chicago's only Detective Wizard.

One of the major elements of this novel is how Harry is viewed by the rest of the world. In the last book, we found Harry understanding that using power can have a negative outcome, accidental or not. Now, that viewpoint on power is switched from the introspective to the outside world, as people confront Harry to understand that everyone sees him differently than how he sees himself. This is a fascinating theme to explore, especially since we have always seen things from Harry's POV. Harry has been a powerful wizard, and his problem with anger management issues do not endear him to the city. Couple this with his joining the White Council, an organization that the magical community does not always like, and trusts even less, and people often see Dresden as more of a threat than a help. This forces the reader to re-evaluate all of the actions done in the last few books. We have always seen things for Harry's POV, so we do not get the whole story, and this idea of absolute power makes us see him not as a lonely but powerful wizard who lacks close friends, but as a mysterious man who walks around in an intimidating leather duster with a propensity for setting things on fire. This is a cool way to think about our experiences up until this point with Harry, and I am excited to see where this takes his character.

Relationships are explored and get more development in this book. Molly is showing herself to be a good apprentice by the end of the novel. Ramirez also gets a lot of depth here, with him not only showing us another style of magic, but is also possibly the only person to call Harry out on being so reserved when it comes to trusting anyone within the magical community. This all helps to reinforce the theme stated above, which is nice to see.

There are some things that, for me, weakened this novel by the end (don't worry, I'll be vague for spoiler's sake). One of which are some of the events that happen in the novel. Throughout the book, the characters keep mentioning an event that happened with Harry and some young wizards out in the south west. I thought that this was going to be a case where we would have to read a separate short story to find out what they are talking about, but I was wrong. Butcher, thankfully, goes through the event in a detailed flashback. It reinforces the themes stated above, is a riveting action scene, and so on. My problem with it is that this flashback happens right in the middle of an action scene. It seemed so abrupt, I thought I had missed a part or something. Then after the flashback it goes right to where we were in the main plot, making the transition feel clunky.

Another problem is how badly paced the third act was. The story seemed to be adding so many characters to the mix at the final reveal of whodunnit, that the pacing seemed to slow down a little too much for my taste. This made me wonder if these scenes could have been shortened or better written overall with another round of editing.

Also, Thomas' story line was handled poorly compared to the rest of the cast. It seemed a little too convenient with how he was involved with what he was doing, and it just happened to effect Harry and the case. His ending storyline, while funny, did not seem to fit with his character.

Still, I really liked this book. It was very fun and enjoyable with Harry's dry wit, and humor. The character development that is here is excellent and I am excited for where this story goes from here. The extra icing on the Dresden cake for me, though, is how I am still thinking about this book in my daily life almost a week after finishing it. This is rare for me, and if that is not the sign of a good book, I do not know what is. I give it a five out of five.