Review: Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Of course I (along with all Jim Butcher’s other fans) have been absolutely dying to read this book ever since finishing Changes. Sam Chupp and I have been talking about how there could possibly be another book that occurs after Dresden’s death. Of course, the novella included in Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files was very good and got along quite well without Dresden, but that probably wasn’t going to work for an entire novel.
Sam hasn’t even started Ghost Story yet, so I can’t gloat at home. I was actually right in some of my speculation! I’m being non-specific so as to not give too much away, even though I am hiding this review behind spoiler warnings on GoodReads in case he does read it and remember what I had said (which is highly doubtful). But I feel like bragging somewhere, so you, dear readers, have to put up with it.
Jim Butcher deserves major praise. Ghost Story is amazing. Dresden has become such a powerful wizard that few enemies are truly a challenge, and wiping out the entire Red Court with one spell was an amazing feat. What do you do for an encore to that? Having Dresden immaterial and operating without magic does seriously push him, and that makes for a fascinating tale. Being able to keep a series fresh in its thirteenth volume says a lot for Butcher’s talent. I think Ghost Story is the best Dresden Files book yet, and I’m looking forward to book fourteen even more!
Tags: Books, Dresden Files, Jim Butcher, urban fantasy
Review: Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Blood Oath is an interesting and fairly refreshing variation on the vampire riff. Most of the current tales give us a suave, sexy predator who mesmerizes his or her prey, leaving humans pining for their presence. They might even fall in love with a human. Nathaniel Cade, however, refers to humans as food, saying, “Would you have sex with a cow?” That makes much more sense to me. It’s a good thing he isn’t interested, either, as the typical reaction people have to encountering him is utter panic, often involving the loss of bladder control. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Blood Oath, CHristopher Farnsworth, Fantasy, Jim Butcher, Robert Damon Schneck, Sam Chupp, Science Fiction, The Dresden Files, The President's Vampire, vampires
Book Review: Changes by Jim Butcher
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I do not give out many 5‑star ratings, but for this book I couldn’t do anything else. That is despite the fact that Jim Butcher did something I honestly didn’t think he would do to his legions of loyal readers, something that I absolutely detest. Something that I will not tell you about, because I loathe spoilers. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Dresden Files, Fantasy, Jim Butcher
Review: Mean Streets
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mean Streets is one of the best anthologies I’ve read in a while. It only has four different pieces in it, but they’re all novellas, and all by strong, experienced writers. I don’t think any of them are here riding on someone else’s name on the book cover.
Jim Butcher’s “Warrior,” the first piece, is very good. It follows Harry and the Carpenter family after they experienced some major changes in the last Dresden novel. I could have stood a little more Molly, but Harry and Michael were the focus characters and they worked out some things that really needed to be dealt with. I’m glad I read this before the next Dresden novel, because I feel there’s important character development. I seriously recommend this book to all Dresden fans.
I haven’t read any of Simon R. Green’s novels, though I’ve heard of the Nightside series and thought about picking one up. If “The Difference a Day Makes” is typical, though, I may not bother. He is a good writer, so I’m not sure what it is that bothered me so much. I know that something framed as one of the nastiest things people could choose to do in this piece isn’t even in my top 10, but I feel there’s something else that I just can’t quite articulate yet.
I’ve read all three of Kat Richardson’s Greywalker novels and enjoyed them enough that I plan to keep reading. “The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog” is my favorite piece of her work, hands down. There’s more light, somehow, and that’s important to me.
“Noah’s Orphans” is my first exposure to Thomas E. Sniegoski, as far as I can recall. It was an interesting piece. I found myself wondering about Remy Chandler’s past, about how the character has developed. If there are novels featuring that character, I may give them a read. In any case, it brought up some interesting questions about faith and obedience. I think it would have been more personally relevant to me about 20 years ago, though.
Tags: Greywalker, Harper Blaine, Harry Dresden, Jim Butcher, John Taylor, Kat Richardson, Mean Streets, Nightside, Remy Chandler, Simon R. Green, Thomas E. Sniegoski
Books Books Books!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
Yes, the girl and I managed a library run (to the GOOD library) on Friday. It took more time and energy than expected, of course, but we got a bunch of very good books.
I read My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon last night, with much giggling. The stories were a bit uneven (normal for an anthology), but worthwhile overall.
I especially liked “Heorot,” the Harry Dresden piece from Jim Butcher. I love the way he brings in mythology from so many different cultures.
Kelly Armstrong’s “Stalked” was fun, too. Her werewolves are just more wolfish than most, in my opinion.
P.N. Elrod’s “Her Mother’s Daughter” wasn’t bad at all. I’ve obviously missed some of her Jack Fleming novels, and I’m looking forward to catching up.
I want to find some of Marjorie M. Liu’s longer works, as “Where the Heart Lives” isn’t the first of her short stories that have impressed me. What’s even better is that WtHL is a total departure from the earlier stories I remember.
Tags: Harry Dresden, Jack Fleming, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, library, Marjorie M. Liu, Otherworld, P.N. Elrod, Vampire Files
Disappointed!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
(I’m hearing Gary Oldman in The Fifth Element when I read the subject there. Yes, I probably could have found a sound clip and included it, but I’m counting on your imaginations and memories here.)
Well, I finally got around to reading the rest of Fledgling, the Liaden Universe novel published by serially by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller in 2007 using the storyteller’s bowl concept.1 Sam has recorded the final chapters for podcasting and is editing the recording this week.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Anne McCaffrey, Crystal Dragon, Crystal Soldier, Diane Duane, Elizabeth Moon, Eve Dallas, Gary Oldman, Harry Dresden, Heinlein, Jim Butcher, Korval, Liaden Universe, Rant, Sharon Lee, Steve Miller