Back in the early eighties, I read a lot of Block and thoroughly enjoyed them. I don't know why I stopped. I simply fell out of the yen for mystery/thBack in the early eighties, I read a lot of Block and thoroughly enjoyed them. I don't know why I stopped. I simply fell out of the yen for mystery/thrillers. But I looked back on Block's books as being a cut above most mystery writers. On the level of, say, Elmore Leonard or Ross McDonald. A cut above Robert Parker and slightly below Hammett, Chandler and Cain.
Just recently, I decided to go through my Goodreads and see how many series I've read, or started to read without finishing. (Total is 216; 79 I DNF'd; and 98 I Finished at least once). That leaves 39 series that I left unfinished, but am either actively reading or have decided I would like to revisit and perhaps finish.
The Scudder series is one of the latter. When the Sacred Ginmill Closes is one of my favorite books, and I remember the books as being consistently very good. And this one did not disappoint. The basic plot contrivance is both simple and maybe a little trite: there's a club of men who meet once a year, and someone may be killing them off, one by one over many years. Their death rate is simply way out of the norm, but most of the deceased appear to have died by accident or suicide. Scudder is asked to look into it.
The thing that sets these books apart from other mysteries is that Block does not try to make the mystery element that important. What matters more is Scudder, and the state of his life and his relationships. (On a side note, one of the reasons I'm biased in favor of this series is because Scudder's ex-wife lives in Syosset, on Long Island, which is where I grew up.) Thus, this book is as much a meditation on death, and the obsession with death, as it is a mystery. And the book explores the issue without ever appearing to take a stand. Instead, it provides a fair bit of food for thought, which is a bit unusual in a mystery.
I will definitely be returning to this series, and am considering hunting down the Burglar and Tanner books of Block's that I haven't read. It makes me wonder about my other favorite past authors who I abandoned for no apparent reason (Anne Tyler, Peter Straub, Larry McMurtry, and so forth..)...more
This book sits a little uncomfortably between several genres. It's part old school mystery, the type where there is a genteel murder which is just shoThis book sits a little uncomfortably between several genres. It's part old school mystery, the type where there is a genteel murder which is just shocking enough to cause some excitement over tea. From this, we get the gallery of suspects, the unprofessional detective, the reliance on "clues", and the general lack of any deep rooted problems stemming from the murders.
It's also part thriller, in that we get the point of view of the serial killer, so we know what he's after and why, and the tension comes from whether the innocents will figure it out and escape.
And we get a kind of angsty high school drama/comedy, where the main issue is the family and friends of the main character(s) and whether they are going to fit in.
None of these aspects was done particularly well (or badly), especially considering that this is very much a YA book. But at the same time, I did not feel like they fit very well together, especially the veering between it being a traditional mystery and a thriller.
The story involves three misfit high school students who meet while volunteering in Portland's Search and Rescue service. On their first actual mission, to locate an autistic person lost in the woods, they stumble upon the body of a dead girl instead. Of course, the local police are totally inept at solving this crime, so it is up to these three to do it instead.
All three of them are socially maladapted, lack friends, and think of themselves as outcasts. So basically we have Hercule Poirot meets John Hughes, with a slight touch of Hannibal Lecter thrown in. Before stumbling on the body, they run into five different men along the path. This is the gallery of suspects. It's not clear why the killer couldn't have hidden in the woods, or left by some other path, but one of these guys must be the killer because that's the way these mysteries go.
Then, early on, we get the killers point of view, showing that he would really like to kill the redhead among our group of three. At first, this intrusion just struck me as weird. Later, the author uses one of the killer's POV chapters to give away the mystery, which would be terrible except that it was already pretty obvious. Thus the mystery/thriller part of this book didn't work that well for me.
The interesting thing in the book for me was the exploration of normality/dysfunction. Ruby knows she is not normal, but she would like to be and her parents are pushing very hard for her to behave in a way that they consider normal. We, of course, take sides with Ruby on this. Alexis is very "normal" but her mom suffers from some mental illness, probably bi-polar. Alexis wants her mom to be normal, and we are pre-disposed to side with her, though there's a tension between this and what's going on with Ruby.
The third main character doesn't fit in so well with this. Nick wants to be seen as brave and a hero, though it appears at the beginning that he is a bit of a coward. He's living up to the memory of his father, who died in military service. On the other hand, the killer, who is our final POV, does fit with this theme very well, because he's decidedly not normal. Unfortunately, we learn little about him except what is needed to drive the plot.
Overall, this made for on OK, but not particularly interesting YA mystery. Apparently, it was good enough to spawn at least one more, since it's advertised as a "Point Last Seen" mystery. And for me, they have that right, its the last I will see of this series....more
I'm a big fan of Ellroy's, and still am. I've seen a bunch of reviewers criticizing this book for being too in love with its own style, and too over tI'm a big fan of Ellroy's, and still am. I've seen a bunch of reviewers criticizing this book for being too in love with its own style, and too over the top. On the one hand, that's sort of the point. And then, it's nowhere near as difficult as Blood's a Rover. For my taste, he was at his best with The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential, White Jazz and American Tabloid. It's all been sort of a step down from there, but not as precipitous, for me, as for some others.
This one involves Dudley's pursuing his plans to make a bunch of money by trafficking heroin and Japanese slaves from Mexico into LA and the Valley. It involves the mystery of two dead cops in a hangout for Fifth Columnists, a Gold heist that occurred 11 years prior, and a fire in Griffith Park that occurred two years after that. These are all somehow tied into an alliance between fascists and communists who can unite behind the idea that democracy needs to be destroyed. While the plot details are very intricate, I didn't actually find it that hard to follow what was going on.
There are the great recurring characters: Dudley Smith, Hideo Ashida, Kay Lake, Buzz Meeks, etc... There are also some good new characters, notably Joan Conville. She is a forensic biologist who enlisted in the Navy, but gets roped into working for the police department, and then gets spellbound by the prospect of the gold from the gold heist, while simultaneously treading a very fine line between Dudley Smith and his nemesis, Captain Parker.
There were a few things in the book that struck me as oddly anachronistic. There is a chapter where Hideo, a Japanese American who works in the crime lab and has escaped the internments, is repeatedly referred to as a "running dog." This hit a wrong note for a few reasons. First, the expression is of Chinese origin, and not Japanese. And its other Japanese who are saying/thinking it. Thus, it's not a product of any general racism. Second, the expression is one that in its modern usage is of Communist origin, and comes from Chairman Mao. The people who are using it in the book are likely fascists, if anything, and the expression postdates 1942. This is not the sort of mistake I would expect Ellroy to make.
There's another factor that sort of troubles me with these books, when considered as a whole. The development of Ellroy's style, becoming more and more extreme, happened with the passing of the years through the LA Quartet, and then Underworld U.S.A. Thus, as the years pass, from post WW2 to 1972, the prose becomes more stylized and the manner of description becomes more over the top and hyperbolic. That development seemed to fit the advancing mania of the times. Thus, I think it would make more sense for these books to return to a more staid style. We get that, to some extent, in the Diary entries of Kay Lake, but otherwise not at all.
Let's put it this way - a lot of people have compared/critiqued his writing as being too be-bop. But this is 1942. Be-bop isn't going to be a thing for another three years. Count Basie is playing at the New Year's bash. This book should swing, and in some chapters it does. But the Elmer Jackson and Dudley Smith chapters, for me, sound decidedly ahead of their times. (It's funny, I don't remember having these thoughts about Perdido.)
Anyway, I'm still a big fan of Ellroy, and will probably pick up Widespread Panic pretty soon. Even when he is hard to follow, he manages to make me care about a handful of his despicable characters....more
This is one of the Vorkosigan books that treads the line between Sci-Fi and Mystery. It also, like these others, has the riddle at the center of the bThis is one of the Vorkosigan books that treads the line between Sci-Fi and Mystery. It also, like these others, has the riddle at the center of the book also deeply entwined with intergalactic politics. Bujold seems to make these things come off easily and naturally. This one also delves deeply into the implications of a technology that would allow people to freeze themselves, with the expectation that they will be revived in a future where they could perhaps live forever, especially in a scenario where that technology is also tied to private corporations.
Overall, I found this one to be more interesting that some of the other Vorkosigan books from the pure Sci-Fi/speculative aspect, but less engaging from a character standpoint. Miles is away from home turf, so we have fewer of the returning characters that have grown so well throughout the series. There is, fortunately, a brief and quite good cameo by Mark - Miles' clone/brother.
A rather breezy installment in the series, which appears to be winding down. Nowhere near as good as A Civil Campaign, Captain Vorpatril's Alliance or Memory, but very enjoyable on its own, slighter terms....more
On their way back from their honeymoon, Miles has to stop off at a space-station where there has been a diplomatic crisis, involving a murder mystery.On their way back from their honeymoon, Miles has to stop off at a space-station where there has been a diplomatic crisis, involving a murder mystery. As these Vorkosigan books go, this one was decidedly middle of the road, which still made it a pleasure to read. But it was kind of a letdown after A Civil Campaign, lacking the humor and wit that loaded that book. It also suffered by limiting the recurring characters to only a handful. Even so, it was a perfectly fine book, and a decent mystery....more
Bujold keeps getting better. This is a pretty slight book, but its thoroughly enjoyable. She has a great way of mixing genres. This one is sci-fi, mysBujold keeps getting better. This is a pretty slight book, but its thoroughly enjoyable. She has a great way of mixing genres. This one is sci-fi, mystery, and romance all rolled into one. She shifts believably back and forth between two perspectives, and makes all of it more or less seamless.
The basic set-up is that, in his new role as Imperial Auditor, Miles accompanies a colleague to Komarr to investigate the crash of a freighter into a big space mirror, which has messed up Komarr's plans to terraform the planet. His colleague's niece is married to the head of the Terraforming division, but her marriage is extremely unhappy.
There's lots of intrigue and betrayals. Miles falls in love along the way. The underlying "accident" turns out to be a plot which jeopardizes the entire political stability of the Empire. And Miles is crucially, but not solely, responsible for saving the day and the Empire. In its basic form, this is all pretty standard for a Vorkosigan novel, so it's truly amazing how different Bujold makes these books seem from each other, how the best of them involve fairly deep thematic developments, how much character growth there is from book to book (in Miles and other characters), and how consistently entertaining she is. Good stuff....more
This novella tells the story of how Emancipor Reece became the manservant to Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. The are characters who appear briefly in MeThis novella tells the story of how Emancipor Reece became the manservant to Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. The are characters who appear briefly in Memories of Ice, most notably in one of Quick Ben's best scenes. Of course, they are necromancers. Bauchelain has a veneer of sophistication and does the talking for them. Broach is the silent partner. Think of them as real magicians a la Penn and Teller, only a lot more gruesome.
Reece needs a job since a serial killer has just killed his employer. Mainly he needs the job because he is supremely henpecked, and needs to temper his wife's temper. This one has the added perk of offering lots of travel outside of the city.
At the same time, the best investigator in the city is on the trail of the serial killer (and it's not much of a secret who it might be). As with Memories of Ice, the scenes featuring Bauchelain in dialogue are tons of fun. There is always a suggestion of incredible horror attaching to Broach, but Erikson never goes much further than broaching the subject.
I liked this story quite a bit, and will definitely read more in their continuing misadventures. If anyone knows, I would be curious to know how much these characters were an outgrowth of Erikson's gaming with Esslemont. The gaming aspect seems less apparent here, and I suspect that these simply provide an outlet for Erikson to engage in some fun, dark humor and some experimentation with genre smashing. I guess I'll know more as I read more....more
Not McDonald at his best. There are a few good moments here, but nothing like the hilarity of Confess, Fletch. This felt slight, even for a Fletch booNot McDonald at his best. There are a few good moments here, but nothing like the hilarity of Confess, Fletch. This felt slight, even for a Fletch book, of a Fletch book as I remember them (I read them about 30+ years ago). And Fletch, as a character, here seems even more wooden than Chevy Chase made him out to be....more
This is one of the monsters that has been staring me down on my shelves for the last 30+ years. I started it, and made it through about 200 pages, wayThis is one of the monsters that has been staring me down on my shelves for the last 30+ years. I started it, and made it through about 200 pages, way back then. It was, and remains, an easy book to put down. From then, I distinctly remembered a scene where Slothrop is eating British candies. It is one of the funniest scenes I've ever read, and remains so. But I also remember being hopelessly confused. This year, I decided I would actually finish some of the books that have been haunting me for so long (Finnegans Wake is almost half done, and will probably take a few more years.)
Sometimes I thought this book was positively brilliant. Sometimes I thought it was incoherent mess. There are even times when it is both at once. Pynchon is clearly an enormously talented writer, and there has been a ton of thought and care put into this. It would be difficult, and maybe impossible, to write a book that is so confounding without that level of talent. But the question remains: Why do it? And I'm not sure I have a satisfactory answer to that.
There are not many writers who are capable of writing perfectly fine, coherent sentences that are engaging and funny, and still leave you wondering what the hell is going on, or what you just read even means. That happens sometimes here, even when I know all the words, and even when the sentences are grammatical. I read it, read it again, and am at a loss. I have the sense that, with a whole lot of work, maybe this would make some more sense -- but probably not. So I don't know what to make of it.
I also have some problems with the book on the level of its obsessions. It's supposed to be set from the Blitz through the beginning of the Occupation by the Allies after WW2. But it feels very much like a child of the late Sixties and early 70s. There may be stuff that is historically accurate, but it does not feel like its taking place in the forties at all, with some minor exceptions. Then there are the twin pre-occupations with meaningless sex and drugs (sound like the late 60s?). There are penises everywhere, all the time. Real penises, fake ones, bananas, harmonicas, and of course, the Rocket. And there are drugs of all kinds - amphetamines, depressants, hallucinatory drugs, hashish. They are the twin continual presences in the book, more constant and reliable than any of its characters. And then there is the specter of paranoia which drives almost everything in the book. That one I didn't mind so much, but it also is something that strikes me as more early 70s than late 40s.
In the end, I don't know what to make of it. Moment by moment, when I could deal with it moment by moment, I liked it a lot. But when I tried to make sense of it, not so much. My favorite parts are the poems and songs that Pynchon inserted. They are almost universally a hoot. And I rather liked some of the more hallucinatory or unrealistic passages (though the story of the immortal light bulb was a little much). I'm sure that I would get a whole lot out of re-reading this, but I don't feel compelled to do it in the way that Ulysses did, or Infinite Jest does (I'm fairly certain I will be re-reading that again in the near future.)
I'm also unsure whether I want to read any more Pynchon. I've heard really great things about Mason & Dixon, for example. But it's huge, and daunting, and I'm afraid that it would be haunting me from my shelves for another thirty years, if I live that long....more
Harry, having been assassinated in the last book, gets met not by St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, but by Murphy's father who makes him Spoilers abound.
Harry, having been assassinated in the last book, gets met not by St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, but by Murphy's father who makes him an offer. He can go on to whatever is next, or he can return to the world as a ghost/spirit to find out who killed him, and if he does, he will help save three friends from catastrophe.
It turns out that its not only the Fairies of the spirit world who use literal truths, or stretched truths, to deceive people into making choices they otherwise would not. Thinking he has no choice, Harry comes back to the world to find his killer, as a ghost. And he finds that he is basically stripped of his magic and unable to communicate with anyone except for sorcerers who have an affinity for talking to ghosts.
That's the set-up, and it makes for one of the best stories in the series so far. Butcher manages to bring many of his best characters back in this. Especially good are the scenes with his fairy Godmother, and the further developments of Butters and Bob. There is also an effectively touching scene where Harry gets to say goodbye to his dog, Mouse, who has become the guardian of Harry's little girl.
The best stuff in this book, however, is the development of Molly, Harry's apprentice. She's the daughter of Michael, whom the White Council wants dead, because she used some mind magic in a misguided effort to help a friend. Harry vouched for her and thus saved her life, making her his apprentice. Now, without Harry, the Council will kill her if they find her. And she has taken to becoming a kind of vigilante loner, killing off bad guys using her powers of illusion, and establishing her reputation as the "Rag Lady." She has also become a badass, and is on the verge of insanity. And she has become a very cool character.
The main thrust of the plot is that things have gone to hell because of the power vacuum created when Harry destroyed the Red Court of Vampires. Smaller time bad magic actors are working to fill the vacuum. Chief among them now, in Chicago, is Corpsetaker, the magician that Harry narrowly defeated with Butters' help in Dead Beat. Corpsetaker is now a very powerful ghost who is trying to find a way to manifest in the world, so that she can steal a body and continue her career.
Butcher does a fabulous job of tying all of this together, having it appear to make some sense, keeping things lighthearted, while at the same time tugging some powerful emotional strings. I won't spoil more, in the unlikely case that someone reads this who is trying to decide whether they want to read the 13th installment of this series. But if you are out there, then yeah, you do. But you already know that you do....more
One of the best in this series. Harry discovers that he has a daughter, and that she has been kidnapped by the Red Court of Vampires, who are going toOne of the best in this series. Harry discovers that he has a daughter, and that she has been kidnapped by the Red Court of Vampires, who are going to ritually sacrifice her. In earlier books, there has always been a tension about using dark and forbidden magic in the service of doing things that are "good." In this book, the gloves come completely off. Harry has always been reluctant to make deals with the devil (either figuratively, with Fairies, or literally, with fallen angels). This time, he is pushed into doing whatever it takes.
The results are thrilling to read, cathartic, and quite satisfying. I could write more details, but I don't want to spoil anything here, and there is a lot to spoil. And I would end up basically by summarizing an incident and saying how cool it was. If there was anything in this book that was not up to some of the others, it was surprisingly less funny. There were still funny moments, but for the Dresden Chronicles, this book felt much more serious. Still, great stuff....more
After finishing White Knight, I picked this up at the used book store and started it almost immediately. (I buy used books from authors who are dead, After finishing White Knight, I picked this up at the used book store and started it almost immediately. (I buy used books from authors who are dead, or who have made TV or Movie deals. I figure that these guys -- the dead and the media-produced -- don't need royalties from me.) I liked this better than White Knight, but then I didn't go out immediately to buy the next in the series. I'm not sure what that says.
Here, Johnny Marcone has been kidnapped. In a perfect world, that would be a good thing. Harry's world is somewhat less than perfect. Also, Harry owes Mab, the Queen of the Winter Court of Faeries, a favor. And you don't back out on favors owed to Faerie Queens. Mab wants Harry to find and rescue Marcone. Harry doesn't have a clue why Mab is so interested, but if she is, then the kidnapping was done by something supernatural, and that means that the Accords have been broken. So there are now two good, but dangerous reasons, for him to do it.
The Summer Court opposes the Winter Court in everything. They immediately send hit squads after Harry -- the form of Billy Goats Gruff. In very good Butcher form, their appearance has nice helpings of action, terror, and hilarity.
It also turns out that the Denarians (actual Fallen Angels) are involved. Much calamity ensues. Not as much gets blown up here as in the last book. But its close. There is some minor character development. Basically, as Bob the skull puts it, Harry is really in the big leagues now, whether he likes it or not. And he both does and doesn't, which is a good thing, because it makes it much easier for the reader (or this reader) to like it.
I will get to the next book at some point. Unlike some series, I don't seem to lose a lot by letting time pass between installments here. And its good to know that there is something worthwhile to look forward when I can't figure out what to read next....more
Someone is killing people who are adept at magic, but who are not powerful enough to become wizards. It looks like it's Harry's brother, the vampire fSomeone is killing people who are adept at magic, but who are not powerful enough to become wizards. It looks like it's Harry's brother, the vampire from the white court. Harry sets out to discover who it was, and to get as much stuff blown up in the process as he can. He succeeds.
Not sure why its such a big deal about these practitioners. The Wizard Council kills these people anyway, as soon as they break a law about which they were totally unaware. But they are women, and Harry doesn't like anyone hurting women.
A fun read, but I read it long enough ago now that it is a blur. I can say that I am starting to like the character of Molly. And the series does still seem to be building towards something. But this one adds little more than another brick to one wall....more
This book is a lot of fun, but for Ellroy, its not really all that good. It feels like he has settled into his staccato style, and is coasting on it. This book is a lot of fun, but for Ellroy, its not really all that good. It feels like he has settled into his staccato style, and is coasting on it. The book is told from four points of view, all thoroughly dislikable people, and that is fine. But, after the opening sections, which are quite good, the four voices merge into one overriding voice - that of Ellroy's deeply disturbed narrator, and without hints of content, you would be hard pressed to distinguish one of the points of view from any of the others. And that's too bad, because the people behind these sections are very distinct from each other.
The book follows four people. There's Dudley Smith, who it appears here is a psychopathic speed freak who is also addicted to opium. He's a genius, of course, and he is Ellroy's evil genius through many of his books. In this book, the emphasis is much more on the evil. Here, he has only two things in mind: arriving at an acceptable resolution to the murders of four Japs, one that will play well in the papers; and figuring out how best to profit over the looming internment of Japs around LA at the beginning of WW2.
Then there is Hideo Ashida. He is the sole Japanese American on the LAPD. He is a forensic genius and a double PhD. He's also a repressed homosexual, in love with his childhood friend Bucky Bleichart (who goes on to narrate the Black Dahlia). Hideo tends to keep some evidence for himself, for reasons that I could never quite figure out. He also gets bounced back and forth between the other three narrators, and seems to either lack a will of his own or is supremely passive aggressive. He is the only one of these viewpoints that is from a character first appearing in this book, and his viewpoint is the freshest to read (though it sometimes is not clear why he is doing what he's doing).
Then there is Kay Lake. In The Black Dahlia, she is Bucky Bleichart's wife, so there is an interesting tension between her and Hideo. But her narrative, for me, is the weakest. It is supposed to be a Diary, and it starts off reading like a diary. But it soon turns into prose that is indistinguishable from the other points of view. Lake is interesting only because she is so full of herself, and high on her own powers of observation. This makes her totally unlikeable, but it turns out that she is probably right to be so pleased with those powers, because she gets to the heart of the matter and the heart of the evil better than anyone else in the book.
Finally, there is William Parker. He is pure ambition. He pretends to be righteous, and thinks of himself as such. But he is just as manipulative and evil as anyone else in the book. The tension probably has led him into his alcoholism. His sections are easily the worst in the book. He is based on a real life person who became chief of the LAPD, and indeed, he is chief at least by the time of LA Confidential. But he is not really that interesting in this book.
Anyway, the book revolves around the murders of a Japanese family, the day before Pearl Harbor. It is tied to some land grabs in LA, which in turn is tied to some massive corruption. In the end, the main characters have a pretty good understanding of what happens, and some people end up paying for their sins, but no-one is brought to justice, or at least not for anything that the person actually did. In this way, it fits well with other books, and I enjoyed it.
But I had some serious reservations about how Ellroy portrayed characters we already know from books which take place at a later time in his universe. For example, the younger Ward Littell seemed like a cut out of the character from American Tabloid and The Cold Six Thousand. Buzz Meeks gets similarly short shrift (but here it makes sense given the points of view). Ultimately, I thought Ellroy was coasting here, and the writing seemed kind of lazy. But even that is better than what you find in almost any other books. So, while not up to the level of White Jazz or The Big Nowhere or his other spectacular books, it was still a great read....more
Harry's back, and he's a reluctant warden. He doesn't exactly relish his role in executing the practitioners of black magic. It turns out that there hHarry's back, and he's a reluctant warden. He doesn't exactly relish his role in executing the practitioners of black magic. It turns out that there has been some black magic thrown around in his district, and its up to him to find and arrest the culprit.
This brings him to a horror movie convention where things are going haywire. Seems that the movie monsters are coming to life and going on killing rampages within the convention. And the murders only draws bigger crowds.
Trying to stop it involves him in going to the NeverNever, and to the heart of the Winter Fairy Court. It also leads him to the culprit, and makes for a very nice double ending.
This book is plotted and paced really well. And then, when you ask who the central bad actor is, its very hard to come up with a satisfying answer. I think that's deliberate, but its also a little unsatisfying. What is satisfying here is that Harry is no longer (completely) the knight in shining armor who can't bear to see any damsel in the slightest danger. Here, he is assisted, and ably so, by a few very strong women. The action is fun, as it usually is, and the resolution is satisfying even if it is incomplete. Oh, and Harry may have the coolest dog ever....more
This is easily my favorite in the series so far. I liked basically everything about it. Bob, the skull who advises Harry, gets soPolka will never die!
This is easily my favorite in the series so far. I liked basically everything about it. Bob, the skull who advises Harry, gets some character development. Mouse develops. Butters is one of the best characters in the series so far. And even Morgan doesn't suck in this book. Butcher has a good knack for making interesting villains, and he is doing a great job of expanding the story. And the climax of the book is both hilarious and terrifying. To top it off, the title is a really nice pun; it makes me realize how tight, clever, and well thought out this whole thing was. Easily the best yet, and did i say?
Lot's of people say that these books take off after book 4 or 5 or some arbitrary number. This is book six and I don't see it yet. I like them, and I Lot's of people say that these books take off after book 4 or 5 or some arbitrary number. This is book six and I don't see it yet. I like them, and I can see some development in an overarching story, but for the most part they seem remarkably consistent to me, and quite good. Here, there are some obvious developments, as Harry acquires both a brother and a puppy.
The plot seems relatively simple. Someone's knocking off the porn stars (instead of knocking them up, I suppose) and Harry's enemy, the vampire/succubus Thomas, enlists his help in finding out who, since it appears that the dead women are victims of an entropy curse. In the meantime, Harry needs to take out a nest of black vampires (the really bad kind, as opposed to the other, nice vampires), and enlists the help of Murphy and Kincaid. Since a vampire has asked for Harry's help, and Harry is trying to take down some other vampires, and the wizards in general are now at war with vampires, it's not too surprising when a connection develops between the two plots.
Harry gets in some nice wizardry, some decent wisecracks, some disingenuous self-deprecation, and gets beaten up and tortured beyond any one wizard's endurance. Which is all par for the course. He also learns some cool stuff about his background, his mother, and about the man who raised him. And all of it happens at a break-neck pace. I'm not sure, but I think the main action of the book occurs over the course of maybe three days.
One thing bugged me more than the typical stuff that bugs people. Harry's self-righteous anger and his chivalry seem the things that bother most people. I just take both of those things as character flaws. What bugged me has more to do with the plot set-up. In film school, we were taught that you never put a loaded puppy into the first act of a movie, unless its going to go off by the third act. (I think it was a loaded puppy, but film school was a long time.) Anyway, Harry gets a loaded puppy at the beginning of the book. It has instincts that, early on, give him just enough warning of an attack by a Black Court Vamp. Through most of the book, we know the whereabouts of the puppy, and who is caring for it. But then, as the action builds, we lose the puppy. And when the final showdowns occur, the puppy plays no part. Badly done, Mr. Butcher. If you are gonna load that puppy, you have to have someone fire it at some point.
As before, I enjoyed this book, and I like many of the ongoing characters. But I still haven't hit a book that makes me think I have to rush out and get the next. ...more
I've generally liked Furst's books and this is the one I've enjoyed most. All of his strengths are on display. Strong atmosphere, nice characterizatioI've generally liked Furst's books and this is the one I've enjoyed most. All of his strengths are on display. Strong atmosphere, nice characterizations, genuine intrigue. This book felt crisper to me than some others....more
This series is a mash-up of hard boiled detective fiction and urban fantasy. Sometimes those elements mesh very nicely, and at other times they feel lThis series is a mash-up of hard boiled detective fiction and urban fantasy. Sometimes those elements mesh very nicely, and at other times they feel like they are grinding worse than the gears on Harry's Blue Beetle. About half way through this book, I thought "How often do I read a fantasy book and think that I really ought to go reread The Long Goodbye, or Farewell, My Lovely?" Then, within thirty pages or so, I was in the throes of Nevernevegeddon. The shades of Marlowe are gone, and the mood of the book has somehow shifted radically.
Piece by piece, I like it. But I'm still not completely persuaded how well it all fits together. I contrast this, for example, with Brust's Vlad Taltos books. Those mash up something like James Bond and high fantasy, and for some weird reason, it all seems to fit into place. With Butcher, on book four, I get the sense that he is still feeling out where he wants this series to go. By the end of this book, I had the feeling that the direction was finally fairly clear. Harry, as a kind of fairy Phillip Marlowe, will be occupying a larger role in this cosmos than his yellow pages ad would indicate.
And I don't think that's a bad thing. The world Butcher is creating is a fun, interesting place. And I was getting tired of Murphy arresting Harry book after book. I also like that Harry is finally, grudgingly willing to accept a little help, even if it (gasp!) puts someone in jeopardy. And I loved the idea that the wizards are so focused on their own petty war with the vampires that they could not even be bothered to do anything about a Faerie war that could end the mortal world.
I'm almost definitely in this series for the duration. I liked this one better than the last two, but maybe not so much as the first. But in it, I can definitely see the seeds of good, and very fun, things to come.
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