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Petrik's Reviews > Fool Moon
Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, #2)
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2.5/5 stars
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden has a new case to solve: The werewolves are here.
Fool Moon is the second book in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Although the story takes place six months after the end of Storm Front, I do think that it worked great as a standalone. If someone was to, accidentally, start their journey with the series from here, I doubt they’ll feel like they miss anything crucial. As far as the quality of the book goes, I’ll say that this is slightly weaker the first book, and the overall reading experience still aligns with my expectations; I did enjoy Storm Front more, though. Since I posted my Storm Front review, many people have mentioned to me that Fool Moon is one of their least favorite book of the series. I’m still very early into the series, but I’m inclined to agree that this, at least, wasn’t as enjoyable as the first book.
It doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a good time reading it; I did. Fool Moon was readable, but in my opinion, it wasn’t as page-turning as Storm Front, and I wasn’t bored with this novel but I also never had the feeling of eagerness to continue reading whenever I put the book down. It felt to me as if I was reading this book just to make sure that I don’t miss anything important before I get to the good installments of the series.
There are several things to learn in this book, though. Readers learn more about Harry’s magic, his deepening relationships with Murphy and Susan, and his attitude and personality. Plus, we also get to learn a bit about Harry’s mother. However, the clash between Harry’s tendency of being chauvinist and Murphy’s reluctance towards being protected did get annoying and repetitive after a while. Fortunately, this wasn’t something that went on too long; Fool Moon is action-packed, and the majority of the pages were spent on actions rather than bickering. My favorite part of the book was definitely the intense last few chapters of the novel; the climax sequence was very well-written, and I hope this is a taste of the greatness to come in future sequels.
I’m very thankful for readers and fans of the series who have encouraged me to be patient with the early parts of the series. Overall, I do think that Fool Moon is an okay to good sequel to Storm Front. If what the majority of the fans of the series claim is true, I should be only one book away from the series to hit the real “beginning” of its glory.
Picture: Fool Moon by Vincent Chong
You can order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Devin, Hamad, Joie, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas.
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden has a new case to solve: The werewolves are here.
Fool Moon is the second book in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Although the story takes place six months after the end of Storm Front, I do think that it worked great as a standalone. If someone was to, accidentally, start their journey with the series from here, I doubt they’ll feel like they miss anything crucial. As far as the quality of the book goes, I’ll say that this is slightly weaker the first book, and the overall reading experience still aligns with my expectations; I did enjoy Storm Front more, though. Since I posted my Storm Front review, many people have mentioned to me that Fool Moon is one of their least favorite book of the series. I’m still very early into the series, but I’m inclined to agree that this, at least, wasn’t as enjoyable as the first book.
“Alone. It's one of those small words that means entirely too much. Like fear. Or trust.”
It doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a good time reading it; I did. Fool Moon was readable, but in my opinion, it wasn’t as page-turning as Storm Front, and I wasn’t bored with this novel but I also never had the feeling of eagerness to continue reading whenever I put the book down. It felt to me as if I was reading this book just to make sure that I don’t miss anything important before I get to the good installments of the series.
“There's more magic in a baby's first giggle than in any firestorm a wizard can conjure up, and don't let anyone tell you any different.”
There are several things to learn in this book, though. Readers learn more about Harry’s magic, his deepening relationships with Murphy and Susan, and his attitude and personality. Plus, we also get to learn a bit about Harry’s mother. However, the clash between Harry’s tendency of being chauvinist and Murphy’s reluctance towards being protected did get annoying and repetitive after a while. Fortunately, this wasn’t something that went on too long; Fool Moon is action-packed, and the majority of the pages were spent on actions rather than bickering. My favorite part of the book was definitely the intense last few chapters of the novel; the climax sequence was very well-written, and I hope this is a taste of the greatness to come in future sequels.
“My magic. That was at the heart of me. It was a manifestation of what I believed, what I lived. It came from my desire to see to it that someone stood between the darkness and the people it would devour.”
I’m very thankful for readers and fans of the series who have encouraged me to be patient with the early parts of the series. Overall, I do think that Fool Moon is an okay to good sequel to Storm Front. If what the majority of the fans of the series claim is true, I should be only one book away from the series to hit the real “beginning” of its glory.
Picture: Fool Moon by Vincent Chong
You can order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Devin, Hamad, Joie, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas.
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Reading Progress
December 18, 2019
– Shelved
March 31, 2020
–
Started Reading
April 1, 2020
–
Finished Reading
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I liked this book the least, weakest of the series imo.
Derpa wrote: "I'm doing my re-read of the series prepping for the two new books this summer. What I noticed is I enjoyed this specific book much more listening to it while doing other stuff. But yeah, I feel th..."
It's so exciting isn't it? 2 books in a year after a long hiatus is a godsend! Glad to hear that this is the weakest in the series, it was still enjoyable! :)
Em Lost In Books wrote: "I liked this book the least, weakest of the series imo."Very good to hear that! That seems to be a common reception. I look forward to reading Grave Peril this month!
I'm planning on tackling this right after I finish Storm Front (which I'm currently enjoying), so it's good to know that this is the least liked book from the series. Reducing my expectations is a great way to enjoy a book more than I expected.
Manisha wrote: "I'm planning on tackling this right after I finish Storm Front (which I'm currently enjoying), so it's good to know that this is the least liked book from the series. Reducing my expectations is a ..."Storm Front was fun despite the formulaic standard. I agree with you, knowing the right thing to expect can really affect reading enjoyment! :)
I read that one. So many interesting ways to become a werewolf.
I'm glad you're finally reading Dresden. I love the series. I would by no means ever declare it as one of the best written fantasy series, but for me it's one of the most fun. I felt like every book was hard to put down because I was enjoying myself. Butcher also has a great knack for writing incredibly gripping climaxes. Really excited for the next book later this year! Now, if only Rothfuss and Lynch would hurry it up!
Basically with the dresden files the first 3 books are pretty weak imo but they are so easy to read and short enough that you can blitz through them very quickly. And generally speaking even though the quality of the first coupe of books isn't so high its still a little bit of fun.
L.E. wrote: "I read that one. So many interesting ways to become a werewolf."Hahaha I know right? Quite interesting!
Bennett wrote: "I'm glad you're finally reading Dresden. I love the series. I would by no means ever declare it as one of the best written fantasy series, but for me it's one of the most fun. I felt like every boo..."That's very great to hear, Bennett! I was honestly reluctant on trying this at first because I was so disappointed with Codex Alera. However, as I said, many fans of the series have mentioned they're disappointed with Codex, so I thought maybe this will work for me! And so far, fun is the right word to describe this series! :)
Hahaha, I have a feeling book 4 of Gentleman Bastard will come out next year, Scott Lynch has finished the draft last year, so it should be in editing stage now. As for Rothfuss.... Yeah no one knows on that one xD
Daniel wrote: "Basically with the dresden files the first 3 books are pretty weak imo but they are so easy to read and short enough that you can blitz through them very quickly. And generally speaking even though..."Exactly! You pretty much have summarized what I think of the first two books so far! Even if the books are so-so or just okay, at least they're short. Unlike Wheel of Time... :)
Tommye wrote: "I finished this book yesterday and while I thought it was pretty good, I'm mostly burning through the first few to get to the (supposedly) better books further on in the series."Yup! That's what I'm doing as well! Well, if all goes well, we should only be one book away from the better books! :)
I think that if you found this book worthy of four stars, you’ll be very pleased once you get to the later volumes. I seem to remember the series really getting good around the end of book three, and really taking off in book 4. So if you’re enjoying them this much during the weakest books of the series, you have a lot of enjoyable reading in store. It’s a pretty wild ride from book 4 on. I plan on a reread soon, and intend to skip book 1 & 2, and just start with book 3.
The series does get better because Butcher's writing gets better with practice and whatever learning he has done. More supernatural beings too. But I think they were all good.
Just started my journey through Dresden at the beginning of this crazy going on. Eight books later and I'm hooked. Really looking forward to reading your thoughts on the series, if our tastes continue to align, you're in for a treat.
Josh wrote: "I think that if you found this book worthy of four stars, you’ll be very pleased once you get to the later volumes. I seem to remember the series really getting good around the end of book three, a..."Yeah, I'm so excited to get to the alter volumes. I've heard so many incredible things about them. Good to know that I have only one more volume before it supposedly get so good! :)
L.E. wrote: "The series does get better because Butcher's writing gets better with practice and whatever learning he has done. More supernatural beings too. But I think they were all good."I look forward to reading them! :D
Sean wrote: "Just started my journey through Dresden at the beginning of this crazy going on. Eight books later and I'm hooked. Really looking forward to reading your thoughts on the series, if our tastes conti..."Eight books already!? Haha I love how everyone is reading this series this year, it's truly year of Dresden Files! :D
I did like the characters introduced in this book, who show up occasionally later. The books kind of all blur together in my mind. The audio is narrated by James Marsters, who does an excellent job after the first two or three.
Audrey wrote: "I did like the characters introduced in this book, who show up occasionally later. The books kind of all blur together in my mind. The audio is narrated by James Marsters, who does an excellent job..."Nice!! Hahah I think that could happen!
I tried the audio and I think the narrator did a great job in narrating, actually! Maybe one day I'll try it again, I'm not an audiobook person, sadly! :/
Nearly half my books are audiobooks now; I rely on them much more heavily now for all the driving and chores where I can't sit and read.
But yeah, I feel this is the weakest in the series.