Book Review: "Cold Days" by Jim Butcher

Cold Days by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My husband got this book for Christmas, and we both have finished reading it. Yes, the book is that good, that engaging, and that... well, for lack of a better word, that awesome.

Spoiler Alert: If you have not read through the end of "Ghost Story", please stop reading this review.

Okay, for everyone else, Harry Dresden is most definitely not dead, though he feels that way in the beginning of the book. After being in a coma for several months, Harry needs some time to recover. It's a rather strenuous recovery, though, because there is trouble building up that needs attention from Harry. Pronto.

Jim Butcher has revived Harry Dresden from the clutches of certain doom (otherwise known as jumping the shark) in the reading universe. Up until now, every book introduced newer, tougher, smarter, and more powerful villains, until it felt to me as though Harry only won through luck and trickery. Or if felt like a contrived win, instead of a natural flow of events. In "Cold Days", Harry now is fighting villains who might outgun him, but who lack Harry's tactical thinking and wit. Harry also faces a few people with major mojo, but as the Winter Knight Harry now has some major mojo as well. So the story is less of running around trying not to die, and more running around trying to figure out what is going on.

While Mr. Butcher included several people from previous stories that I remember clearly, I ended up researching Harry's relationship with a few characters because I just did not remember enough of the character to make sense of the current interactions. But Mr. Butcher did a great job with continuity, which is not easy with such a large series.

I laughed out loud several times while reading, because Mr. Butcher included so many good jokes and one-liners. I love that about Harry Dresden; he has such a good sense of humor, an achievement when you consider his life so far.

If you like the series so far, I think you will love this book. I don't want to include any real spoilers, because there is just so much goodness here you need to read it yourself.

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Book Review: "Ghost Story" by Jim Butcher

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! Just when I wonder if Jim Butcher has written himself into a corner, "Ghost Story" pops out of thin air and suddenly I feel more hooked to the Dresden series then ever before.

At the end of the last Dresden book, Harry Dresden is fatally shot by a mysterious assassin. This novel begins with Harry going to a way station for souls or spirits, where he gets a chance to return to Chicago to investigate his own shooting. Returning as a ghost, Harry realizes that some bad stuff is currently going down, which he must deal with during his investigation.

Mr. Butcher pulls together threads from the entire series again in this particular novel. Details that I had not even realized were left unfinished get mentioned/explained here. In the end, Mr. Butcher created a way to write more Dresden novels without making the plot feel contrived.

Now, I want Dresden #14.

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