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jedibuttercup) wrote2009-03-28 04:39 pm
jedibuttercup) wrote2009-03-28 04:39 pm
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Reading List 2009: # 11 - 13
Well, you all know what I've been reading this last week. The real question is, can I finish the rest of them before the new one hits shelves? Stay tuned.
11. Storm Front by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 322pp. 1st of the Dresden Files. Reread.
12. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 342pp. 2nd of the Dresden Files. Reread.
13. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 378pp. 3rd of the Dresden Files. Reread.
Last time through these books, I was all about charging through them to get to the "good stuff". This time, I'm savoring them a bit more; yes, this was what life in the Dresden-verse was like before all heck broke loose, isn't it nostalgically sweet and relatively trouble-free? Kind of fun, at least until the last few chapters of GP, juxtaposing the cluelessness of these books versus the revelations and growth of later. Perfect example thereof being Harry's first meeting with Thomas in GP; that particular secret isn't revealed for, like, another three books, but reading into those intial conversations the fact that Thomas already knows and also knows that Harry doesn't adds a whole 'nother fun layer to the worldbuilding. Plots ahead well, that Butcher does.
I'd forgotten just how entirely innocent, and how sure in their own beliefs, all of the main characters were that early on in the series. Not just Harry, but others too, even the ones I tend to think of as "hardened veterans" in the later series: Murphy, Michael, Marcone. Harry's flippant about Michael's faith, and Michael is righteous and preachy about Harry's lack thereof; Harry's overly protective of Murphy, and Murphy goes nuclear every time he fails to give her every last detail of information; Harry has no respect for Marcone, and Marcone is still under the impression that Harry can be bought and subordinated if only he can find the right incentive. None of that will remain true by the end of Book 10.
And Harry's floundering just as much skill-wise this early on, too, despite his obvious raw power: in the first book, he's never seen a NeverNever-type demon or a dragon, knows nothing about werewolves, and has barely even heard of Red Court vampires, nevermind the other vampire species. He's physically nauseated by his first encounter with a magical murder, by the concept of it at least as much as the physical effects. He knows a bit about Faerie, how to build a complex spell or potion, how to pick at the threads of a mystery until it unravels, and how to throw a few cheap evocations around, but that's about it. Compared to his status when the soon-to-be-released Book 11 opens, that's-- well, an actual decade's worth of growth in a war zone, I suppose. I am amazed all over again by Butcher's grasp of character evolution.
And a war zone it's about to be, now that the scene setting's over. *reaches for Book 4*
~
11. Storm Front by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 322pp. 1st of the Dresden Files. Reread.
12. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 342pp. 2nd of the Dresden Files. Reread.
13. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 378pp. 3rd of the Dresden Files. Reread.
Last time through these books, I was all about charging through them to get to the "good stuff". This time, I'm savoring them a bit more; yes, this was what life in the Dresden-verse was like before all heck broke loose, isn't it nostalgically sweet and relatively trouble-free? Kind of fun, at least until the last few chapters of GP, juxtaposing the cluelessness of these books versus the revelations and growth of later. Perfect example thereof being Harry's first meeting with Thomas in GP; that particular secret isn't revealed for, like, another three books, but reading into those intial conversations the fact that Thomas already knows and also knows that Harry doesn't adds a whole 'nother fun layer to the worldbuilding. Plots ahead well, that Butcher does.
I'd forgotten just how entirely innocent, and how sure in their own beliefs, all of the main characters were that early on in the series. Not just Harry, but others too, even the ones I tend to think of as "hardened veterans" in the later series: Murphy, Michael, Marcone. Harry's flippant about Michael's faith, and Michael is righteous and preachy about Harry's lack thereof; Harry's overly protective of Murphy, and Murphy goes nuclear every time he fails to give her every last detail of information; Harry has no respect for Marcone, and Marcone is still under the impression that Harry can be bought and subordinated if only he can find the right incentive. None of that will remain true by the end of Book 10.
And Harry's floundering just as much skill-wise this early on, too, despite his obvious raw power: in the first book, he's never seen a NeverNever-type demon or a dragon, knows nothing about werewolves, and has barely even heard of Red Court vampires, nevermind the other vampire species. He's physically nauseated by his first encounter with a magical murder, by the concept of it at least as much as the physical effects. He knows a bit about Faerie, how to build a complex spell or potion, how to pick at the threads of a mystery until it unravels, and how to throw a few cheap evocations around, but that's about it. Compared to his status when the soon-to-be-released Book 11 opens, that's-- well, an actual decade's worth of growth in a war zone, I suppose. I am amazed all over again by Butcher's grasp of character evolution.
And a war zone it's about to be, now that the scene setting's over. *reaches for Book 4*
~
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The storyline does, at times, get a lot darker for the characters; but they always come through it eventually, and never stop growing and changing and getting more interesting. Not a lot of authors I can say that for.
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