Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12)

Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12) Review

Calls from ex-girlfriend Susan are never good news for wizard Harry Dresden, but this time she drops a bombshell. His daughter has been kidnapped by the vampires of the Red Court. That would be bad news under any circumstances but the news is complicated by the fact that Susan never let Harry know he had a daughter. With the Red Court currently pushing for a truce with the White Council of wizards, Harry is on his own.

He may be shocked to learn he has a daughter, but Harry has to deal with it. To save his daughter, he realizes he's willing to make decisions, compromises, sacrifices he would never make to save his life. And one of those involves asking for help from the Fae winter court. He's resisted their offers, insisted on being his own man, but his independence means nothing compared to the life of his daughter. Still, what help they can offer seems inadequate compared to the power of thousands of vampires, vampires who virtually rule South and Central America.

Although Harry thinks he'll be on his own, his friends don't see it that way. Although his cop-friend Murphy may lose her job if she helps, she won't let him go alone. Nor will his half-brother/vampire, Thomas, or his apprentice, Molly. Of course Susan and her dubious sidekick, Martin are coming along. But getting there is half the challenge. Because Arianna, princess of the Red Court, has every intention of stopping him before he can arrive at Chichen Itza where his daughter's sacrifice is on schedule. The vampire assassins she's sent to stop him aren't particularly effective, but they are powerful and persistent.

Author Jim Butcher continues his Dresden Files series with a story that really does lead to CHANGES. Harry's relationship with Susan, with Murphy, with Molly, and especially with the Winter Court and his 'godmother' all evolve as he adjusts his priorities toward saving his daughter. A father should do what he needs to do to save his daughter, especially from a band of vampires who intend to use her in a blood sacrifice, but Harry crosses lines he's never crossed before.

The Dresden Files series has always been a bit dark. Survival means making compromises, acknowledging that evil cannot be defeated, recognizing that ancient gods have far more power than any mortal and that confronting them is an act of simultaneous folly and hubris. CHANGES escalates this darkness. This isn't a light story. Harry becomes less likable even as he fights to save his daughter. The resolution to the battle with the Red Court is particularly painful.

A frequent problem with long-running series is that the story doesn't really move forward, that a reader could have skipped a volume without really missing much. That certainly is not the case for CHANGES. Harry and everyone around him is changed. I doubt that Molly will ever again be the light and fun person she was. as for Harry...well, that would be a spoiler but certainly he's put himself in a position where his life can never be the same. Fans of the series will want to read this one, even if it leaves them, like me, feeling more than a bit uncomfortable. Then again, easy answers so often are not answers at all.

Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12) Feature

• ISBN13: 9780451463173
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12) Overview

The new novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series.

Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it.

Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it-against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world...

He's fighting to save his child.

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Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8)

Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8) Review

Aside from being a devastatingly good read, Dead Beat introduced four very important elements into the Dresdenverse: the revelation that there is a traitor in the White Council of Wizards, a real hint (in the form of Cowl) of the larger Game, the introduction of Lasciel as a character and Harry being made a Warden. While those were introduced in Dead Beat, aside from Lasciel, none of those elements are really addressed until Proven Guilty.

It is, therefore, little surprise when the eighth book in the Dresden Files opens with Harry witnessing his fellow Wardens in action. Unfortunately, not in the battlefield, but in the courtroom. Now that he is a Warden, Harry is more privy to the nastier side of the job: executing rogue practitioners of the Art. Not killing in self-defense, or in the heat of the moment, but summary execution Guillotine style. Obviously this kind of thing does not sit well with our Hero, but you know it will inform the action to come. Oh yeah, Harry also gets a little "heads-up" from the Gatekeeper that there is Black Magic afoot in the old town.

While the other elements I mentioned earlier develop and unfold over the course of the book and mentioning them would be too spoilery, I will say that they are explored in much more depth in this book. Lasciel continues to have a key role in Harry's adventures, though not as prominent as in Dead Beat, and she and Harry's interaction continues to be one of the more intriguing aspects in the series. Dead Beat sent Murphy off in the opening pages, so that book needed Lasciel to fill a role for Harry, and she did it admirably (if deceitfully), but now that Murphy is back, it was only natural for Lasciel's role to be less prominent (though still important).

I am talking about Lasciel so much because the last time we saw the Carpenter family was the celebration at the end of Death Masks where Harry first acquired Lasciel's Coin trying to save Michael's infant son. We readers are not the only ones who have not seen Michael since then, neither has Harry. Worried what his friend will think, worried that he will sense the Denarian taint, Dresden has avoided Michael for nearly three years. Of course Fate intervenes and sends Michael's oldest daughter Harry's way seeking his help for some trouble of the weird kind. While Proven Guilty brings Michael back into the fold, it is actually more about his wife, Charity and daughter, Molly.

Proven Guilty is a book very much about reconciliations. While the newest book set to come out, Changes, indicates in its title a change in direction, Proven Guilty is a transitional novel in its own right. It was not as evident before, but in re-reading the books, Proven Guilty really feels like the beginning of a departure from the more singular story-telling that dominates the first seven books, and a subtle transition into the more Lore heavy later books. I would point to Dead Beat as the last Dresden Files book you can read out of order without it affecting your enjoyment. But the plot, characters and actions in Proven Guilty are SO driven by events in earlier books, the story's depth is largely dependent on already knowing what has gone before (one of the primary plot points, Horror movie monsters coming alive, was actually a throw away line in Dead Beat, or so we thought!). While it draws them into its loop, and makes them feel as if all the books were connected all the while, it is the first book that FEELS that way while you are reading. I actually read Proven Guilty before Dead Beat the first time I went through Dresden, and for the first time since I had been reading the series, felt as if I was really missing out on something by not reading the previous book. I guess by eight books in, it is hard to summarize so much action and plot development efficiently.

The book itself is quality, however, for whatever reason, it is just not one of my favorite books in the series. I will admit that I just LOVE both Dead Beat and White Night though, so part of it may be the "sandwich syndrome" that I mentioned with Blood Rites, where it is just between two better Files books to me. However, even in that comparison, I would say it falls short of Blood Rites as well, and I would rank it in the lower half of Dresden on the whole. I think part of the problem was the first half of the book just did not flow as well for me as other Dresden books. Setting the book largely around a Horror Convention for the first half might be part of that, as I have read other Urban Fantasy books set around conventions that did not draw me in as well as other books in their series (the Repairman Jack book Conspiracies comes to mind). Another thing I was not as enthusiastic about was the focus on Charity, as even after this book I just am very "eh" on her as a character. However, once Harry starts putting things together, the second half opens up and is a lot more entertaining. In fact the last 150 pages or so is comparable to any 150 pages to be found in the Dresdenverse. I just feel like other books in the series have that kind of stretch in them without taking so much time to get going.

As a transitional book Proven Guilty is excellent, as it reconciles many relationships that will be important later, as well as interweaving disparate allies (such as Thomas and Charity) and forcing them to work in concert out of a mutual respect for Harry. This is something that Harry very much shares with his Butcherian counterpart Gaius Octavian. It is one of Tavi's greatest skills to bring former enemies together and get them to work towards a common goal. It is something that Harry has in him as well, and it definitely will become more of an issue going forward, as Harry continues to accrue both allies and enemies, and it will not always be easy to tell them apart.

404 HC pages. 4 out of 5 stars

Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8) Feature

• ISBN13: 9780451461032
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8) Overview

The White Council of Wizards has drafted Harry Dresden as a Warden and assigned him to look into rumors of black magic in Chicago. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in the Windy City, but it's all in a day's work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob...

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