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Fool Moon
Harry Dresden - Wizard
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.
Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work — magical or mundane.
But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.
A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses--and the first two don't count...
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.
Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work — magical or mundane.
But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.
A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses--and the first two don't count...
342 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
4 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Jim Butcher
204 books51k followersJim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
December 31, 2016
I absolutely loved every minute reading this book. I loved the interaction between Harry and everyone around him. There were several moments of jaw dropping surprise that there was no way I was stopping reading. Loved it!!!
October 1, 2011
Harry Dresden continues to be one of my new favourite protagonists and the Dresden Files continue to fascinate and entertain me.
This book was all non-stop, pulse-pounding action from the get-go and poor Harry was battered, pummelled, shot and bitten almost continuously. But, he still managed to maintain his trademark sense of wry humour and sarcasm and still managed to extricate himself from some life-threatening, impossible situations. You gotta love the guy!
The story revolved around werewolves, all kinds of werewolves, some more dangerous than others--hexenwolves, werewolves, lycanthropes and loup-garou. I'm totally fascinated by wolves, so these creatures rank among my favourite supernatural beings. There was plenty of dead bodies, gore, mayhem, and violence, so this book is definitely not for the squeamish.
I'm still not sure if I like Murphy or not. In a way, I can understand her toughness, bitterness and bitchiness, but sometimes she really gets on my nerves. The way she treated Harry, especially telling him she didn't trust him, made me want to slap her silly. I don't think I'd appreciate someone calling me moron, jerk and dummy all the time, especially when I'm trying to save her life! But, Harry, being the great guy he is, generously forgave her for all the insults, mistreatment and snarkiness. I'm not sure I'd be so magnanimous if I was in his shoes!
If you like your fantasy mixed in with old-fashioned noir mystery, then I would highly recommend this series to you. Harry and Bob, the sarcastic spirit who lives in the skull, definitely make it worthwhile and enjoyable.
This book was all non-stop, pulse-pounding action from the get-go and poor Harry was battered, pummelled, shot and bitten almost continuously. But, he still managed to maintain his trademark sense of wry humour and sarcasm and still managed to extricate himself from some life-threatening, impossible situations. You gotta love the guy!
The story revolved around werewolves, all kinds of werewolves, some more dangerous than others--hexenwolves, werewolves, lycanthropes and loup-garou. I'm totally fascinated by wolves, so these creatures rank among my favourite supernatural beings. There was plenty of dead bodies, gore, mayhem, and violence, so this book is definitely not for the squeamish.
I'm still not sure if I like Murphy or not. In a way, I can understand her toughness, bitterness and bitchiness, but sometimes she really gets on my nerves. The way she treated Harry, especially telling him she didn't trust him, made me want to slap her silly. I don't think I'd appreciate someone calling me moron, jerk and dummy all the time, especially when I'm trying to save her life! But, Harry, being the great guy he is, generously forgave her for all the insults, mistreatment and snarkiness. I'm not sure I'd be so magnanimous if I was in his shoes!
If you like your fantasy mixed in with old-fashioned noir mystery, then I would highly recommend this series to you. Harry and Bob, the sarcastic spirit who lives in the skull, definitely make it worthwhile and enjoyable.
March 18, 2018
I did not know there were so many different kinds of werewolves! I mean I know there are more than just the one kind because I read a lot of Urban Fantasy but never so many kind in one place in one story even. It was really good and of course Dresden comes back with his sarcastic wit and keeps you reading till the end. So far this is getting better and better with every book. Murphy has got to learn a little trust and I hope she does now after this one. Dresden though has to learn to trust to and not try to keep everyone in the dark, some times people will surprise you with how resilient and strong they are.
April 22, 2011
Not much to say about this one. I enjoyed it just as much as the first book in the Dresden series. It's nothing spectacular, just an overall fun read. I've heard the series really hits it's stride around book 3 or 4, so I'm looking forward to getting to that point. For now, I'd say it was closer to 3.5 stars than 4, and I'm hoping to eventually be able to rate a Dresden book with a 5.
February 1, 2021
I am amazed how much I am enjoying this series. It's just so refreshingly different than other fantasy I have traditionally read, and it's the first urban fantasy I have truly enjoyed.
August 24, 2020
Fool Moon is the second novel in the Dresden Files, and we find Chicago’s only professional wizard in a bit of financial hardship after his fallout with the police department after the events of Storm Front. While he is attempting to make ends met without that consultation fee, including taking a meal from a budding wizardess that he mentors, Karrin Murphy of the Special Investigation Unit of the Chicago Police Department appears after very little contact for months with a job for Harry. He is quickly pulled into the politics of not only the police department but also the numerous criminal elements in Chicago, some of them not entirely human. Soon, Dresden for running for his life and attempting to solve the mystery of who would want some prominent businessmen and gangsters dead before the Full Moon rises again and more people end up torn to shreds.
Let’s start with the good, I enjoyed that while Harry was shown to have really amazing power in this novel, we once again saw that it had its limits. For the last third of the book, Harry doesn’t have any of his usual magical powers to work with and he physically pays for that both with his attempts at magic physically wracking his body and injuries from outside sources. I will say, Harry doesn’t seem to be able to get any of his novels unscathed, but the number of injuries he sustained this novel was a bit unbelievable even for a wizard. Either he is exaggerating, which is a first-person narration isn’t out of the realm of possibility, or wizards are made of sterner stuff than mere mortals. Still, it made him human and showed that there are forces that even Harry Dresden is not more powerful than. It was Dresden’s no good, very bad, couple of days.
I wouldn’t exactly say there is a mystery in this novel as Butcher is pretty heavy-handed with the fact that there is something wrong with the FBI agents in the first couple of chapters. Much like in the first novel, the why is a bit more complicated than the who, but I am finding that these novels are more about the journey than the destination. Also, I would like to know how the only working wizard in Chicago was unaware that there were no many individuals with the power of wolves running about the city? I get it is a big city, but the Streetwolves have been around for a while and they hadn’t killed anyone? Harry seems very ignorant about the types of werewolves and then runs into four separate types in the span of a week? McFinn is explained, as well as the FBI agents and possibly the Alpha, but again, how has Dresden never heard about the street wolves?
I like Harry, I do, but he was being particularly dense in this novel. It is easy to follow his rational because the novel is from the first-person point of view, but that doesn’t mean that it is good rational. We start off the novel with Harry telling himself that lying to Murphy was a bad idea, yet he does that exact thing a moment later. Then when he is at the crime scene with a person that he knows, instead of telling Murphy that outright, he continues to say nothing and gets arrested for his continued silence. Obviously, Harry is grieving at that moment, but he knew he was already on thin ice with Murphy and just ignores that to be wrapped up in his own thoughts and self-guilt. Harry is a flawed character, which I like, but it is also very annoying at times. Murphy also had some suspect reasoning in this novel, though with the stress she was under I can’t hold her to the same level as Dresden. She has only faced the supernatural on the sidelines until this novel and has to take a lot of what Harry says on faith, so when everything he hasn’t told her is in one place, I get why she is mad at him. Still, it seemed like a bit of a jump of rational to go from Harry having a picture of the circle to him having something to do with the murders. They figure it out at the end, you know when a werewolf rips through the station, but they both needed a good shake.
Now for the bad, Susan was a walking plot device in this novel. She is the love interest and I know nothing about her other than she is a reporter and extremely hot. I was hoping that we would get something more about her in this novel, but apparently her functions are plot and sex-scene specific. That rolls into the most annoying part of this novel, the way the Butcher describes women. It got to the point in this novel that it took me out of the narrative the way that we had to know every time Murphy is mentioned that she has a cute buttoned nose or the fact that Harry is half-dead at one point, but still has time to think about how great Susan’s legs look in jeans. After the initial explanation of what the women look like, which doesn’t need to be strictly in terms of attractiveness, I don’t need to hear about it again. Let’s not even talk about how he describes Tera West appearance the entire novel because that will take up the entirety of this review, or how Agent Benn’s animalistic nature is portrayed. I am not a man so I can’t talk about how men think, but if all that brain power is used objectifying every woman they come across, it sounds absolutely exhausting.
While there are a number of issues I have with the novel, overall it was a fun read. I am not as enamored with the series as other people seem to be, but I have also been told it gets a lot better once Butcher hits his stride in future novels. I can see the hints of that, bringing in the mystery of his parents’ death and the inkling that someone might want him dead. I’m going to keep reading to see if that’s true, but I have a feeling there are still going to be some bumpy sections along the way.
Let’s start with the good, I enjoyed that while Harry was shown to have really amazing power in this novel, we once again saw that it had its limits. For the last third of the book, Harry doesn’t have any of his usual magical powers to work with and he physically pays for that both with his attempts at magic physically wracking his body and injuries from outside sources. I will say, Harry doesn’t seem to be able to get any of his novels unscathed, but the number of injuries he sustained this novel was a bit unbelievable even for a wizard. Either he is exaggerating, which is a first-person narration isn’t out of the realm of possibility, or wizards are made of sterner stuff than mere mortals. Still, it made him human and showed that there are forces that even Harry Dresden is not more powerful than. It was Dresden’s no good, very bad, couple of days.
I wouldn’t exactly say there is a mystery in this novel as Butcher is pretty heavy-handed with the fact that there is something wrong with the FBI agents in the first couple of chapters. Much like in the first novel, the why is a bit more complicated than the who, but I am finding that these novels are more about the journey than the destination. Also, I would like to know how the only working wizard in Chicago was unaware that there were no many individuals with the power of wolves running about the city? I get it is a big city, but the Streetwolves have been around for a while and they hadn’t killed anyone? Harry seems very ignorant about the types of werewolves and then runs into four separate types in the span of a week? McFinn is explained, as well as the FBI agents and possibly the Alpha, but again, how has Dresden never heard about the street wolves?
I like Harry, I do, but he was being particularly dense in this novel. It is easy to follow his rational because the novel is from the first-person point of view, but that doesn’t mean that it is good rational. We start off the novel with Harry telling himself that lying to Murphy was a bad idea, yet he does that exact thing a moment later. Then when he is at the crime scene with a person that he knows, instead of telling Murphy that outright, he continues to say nothing and gets arrested for his continued silence. Obviously, Harry is grieving at that moment, but he knew he was already on thin ice with Murphy and just ignores that to be wrapped up in his own thoughts and self-guilt. Harry is a flawed character, which I like, but it is also very annoying at times. Murphy also had some suspect reasoning in this novel, though with the stress she was under I can’t hold her to the same level as Dresden. She has only faced the supernatural on the sidelines until this novel and has to take a lot of what Harry says on faith, so when everything he hasn’t told her is in one place, I get why she is mad at him. Still, it seemed like a bit of a jump of rational to go from Harry having a picture of the circle to him having something to do with the murders. They figure it out at the end, you know when a werewolf rips through the station, but they both needed a good shake.
Now for the bad, Susan was a walking plot device in this novel. She is the love interest and I know nothing about her other than she is a reporter and extremely hot. I was hoping that we would get something more about her in this novel, but apparently her functions are plot and sex-scene specific. That rolls into the most annoying part of this novel, the way the Butcher describes women. It got to the point in this novel that it took me out of the narrative the way that we had to know every time Murphy is mentioned that she has a cute buttoned nose or the fact that Harry is half-dead at one point, but still has time to think about how great Susan’s legs look in jeans. After the initial explanation of what the women look like, which doesn’t need to be strictly in terms of attractiveness, I don’t need to hear about it again. Let’s not even talk about how he describes Tera West appearance the entire novel because that will take up the entirety of this review, or how Agent Benn’s animalistic nature is portrayed. I am not a man so I can’t talk about how men think, but if all that brain power is used objectifying every woman they come across, it sounds absolutely exhausting.
While there are a number of issues I have with the novel, overall it was a fun read. I am not as enamored with the series as other people seem to be, but I have also been told it gets a lot better once Butcher hits his stride in future novels. I can see the hints of that, bringing in the mystery of his parents’ death and the inkling that someone might want him dead. I’m going to keep reading to see if that’s true, but I have a feeling there are still going to be some bumpy sections along the way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2011
~May contain slight spoilers.~
In this second installment of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files Harry Dresden, a wizard, has been having a run of bad luck with luck--meaning there hasn't been any lately for him. But then a murder comes a long one that involves the full moon, paw prints and grisly murdered bodies. Now Harry must help find the ones responsible before more bodies show up.
I loved this novel; you can literally see things progressing, not only the plot but future relationships between Harry and Susan Rodriguez and his friendship with Karrin Murphy. Also we get new characters that will be showing up in more books.
There is a good amount of action and mystery in this novel that keeps till the end and suggests more to come in the next installment as well. Like with the first novel, Gentleman Johnny Marcone--a crime lord--is also in this novel as well and somehow related to everything that is going on. I have to say though he is a 'bad guy', I really like him as a character in this novel and the last and look forward to seeing him more.
Good paced plot, awesome characters, action, mystery and more--altogether a great novel.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who read and liked the first book and anyone who is looking for a good paranormal/urban fantasy series.
In this second installment of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files Harry Dresden, a wizard, has been having a run of bad luck with luck--meaning there hasn't been any lately for him. But then a murder comes a long one that involves the full moon, paw prints and grisly murdered bodies. Now Harry must help find the ones responsible before more bodies show up.
I loved this novel; you can literally see things progressing, not only the plot but future relationships between Harry and Susan Rodriguez and his friendship with Karrin Murphy. Also we get new characters that will be showing up in more books.
There is a good amount of action and mystery in this novel that keeps till the end and suggests more to come in the next installment as well. Like with the first novel, Gentleman Johnny Marcone--a crime lord--is also in this novel as well and somehow related to everything that is going on. I have to say though he is a 'bad guy', I really like him as a character in this novel and the last and look forward to seeing him more.
Good paced plot, awesome characters, action, mystery and more--altogether a great novel.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who read and liked the first book and anyone who is looking for a good paranormal/urban fantasy series.
March 21, 2025
Geen slecht boek, maar wel een duidelijke stap terug in kwaliteit na Storm Front.
Goed begin, maar het “mysterie” - als je het dat al kunt noemen - wordt veel te snel onthuld. Daarna volgen een paar afgezaagde actiescènes waarvan alleen die bij het politiebureau echt goed is. De personages die terugkeerden waren opnieuw leuk, maar de nieuwe personages (vooral de weerwolven) maakten geen indruk op me. Ik hoop ook echt dat we in de volgende delen niet weer een “Dresden wordt veel te snel en aan de hand van veel te weinig bewijs verdacht door Murphy”-side plot krijgen.
Ondanks dit alles was Harry Dresden wel weer oké dit boek en ben ik blij dat we weer wat nieuwe lore hebben gekregen. De setting van deze serie blijft immers in concept erg interessant. Dit boek miste wat mij betreft - buiten de weerwolven uiteraard - dan ook te veel van het bovennatuurlijke. Ook vind ik het erg jammer dat we geen Morgan, geen White Council en veel te weinig Bob hebben gezien. Hopelijk keren zij in Grave Peril weer terug.
Goed begin, maar het “mysterie” - als je het dat al kunt noemen - wordt veel te snel onthuld. Daarna volgen een paar afgezaagde actiescènes waarvan alleen die bij het politiebureau echt goed is. De personages die terugkeerden waren opnieuw leuk, maar de nieuwe personages (vooral de weerwolven) maakten geen indruk op me. Ik hoop ook echt dat we in de volgende delen niet weer een “Dresden wordt veel te snel en aan de hand van veel te weinig bewijs verdacht door Murphy”-side plot krijgen.
Ondanks dit alles was Harry Dresden wel weer oké dit boek en ben ik blij dat we weer wat nieuwe lore hebben gekregen. De setting van deze serie blijft immers in concept erg interessant. Dit boek miste wat mij betreft - buiten de weerwolven uiteraard - dan ook te veel van het bovennatuurlijke. Ook vind ik het erg jammer dat we geen Morgan, geen White Council en veel te weinig Bob hebben gezien. Hopelijk keren zij in Grave Peril weer terug.
December 31, 2015
I liked this slightly better than Storm Front. The narrative style – Harry Dresden’s voice – is extremely enjoyable. He’s very human, and very likable. Plus, his wit always at least makes me smile – sometimes even making me laugh.
The plot has some interesting twists and turns to it, with surprising alliances. Although, I must confess, the back-and-forth of Dresden and Murphy (as in, one minute they’re allies, and the next she’s arresting him) is getting old fast. I sure hope this doesn’t happen in every book of the series, because that alone might make me quit reading it! Still, the more I read Fool Moon, the more I enjoyed it. While I do feel I’ve read better (including Butcher’s Codex Alera series), I find this interesting and fun enough to keep going with the series – at least for now. (I restate, though, that if Murphy arrests Dresden in every book, I’m outta here!)
The plot has some interesting twists and turns to it, with surprising alliances. Although, I must confess, the back-and-forth of Dresden and Murphy (as in, one minute they’re allies, and the next she’s arresting him) is getting old fast. I sure hope this doesn’t happen in every book of the series, because that alone might make me quit reading it! Still, the more I read Fool Moon, the more I enjoyed it. While I do feel I’ve read better (including Butcher’s Codex Alera series), I find this interesting and fun enough to keep going with the series – at least for now. (I restate, though, that if Murphy arrests Dresden in every book, I’m outta here!)
August 16, 2010
Just terrible. Maybe it was better than the first, as many have stated, but in that case the first was worse than I remember. Perhaps I made through the first because everything was unknown, but with nothing to offer but further insight into characters that held no interest for me, I dropped out early and won't be back for more.
September 23, 2011
I'm really enjoying this series so far. They've been face-paced and still interesting enough to keep my involved. I've found them hard to put down.
January 9, 2016
I like the concept of this series, but I had a really hard time getting into this one. However, several people have told me that book three is when these get good!
June 19, 2017
Okay, so this is the second book in the Dresden Files. I think I liked this one better, but not by much.
There were things I really loved in this book, and things I really hated.
Let's start with the relatively good.
I probably enjoyed the first hundred pages of Storm Front more than I enjoyed the first hundred pages of Fool Moon.
I found the start to be a little more stagnant at the beginning, which could've just been me.
I really enjoyed the plot and introductions of everyone at the beginning of Storm. However, that was probably the only thing I liked better in book one to book two.
The action scenes in Fool Moon were really crazy, a big big step up from Storm Front. And the pacing after the first hundred pages felt better in Fool Moon as well.
The action and pacing were the highlights of the book, Butcher can make a really awesome action scene and has only improved on this ability from Storm Front to Fool Moon. Oh man, some of them made my mouth (figuratively) water with how good they were haha. So many moments where I was like "oh shit how the hell is harry getting out of this" Jim Butcher has a really good nose for setting up an unbeatable task and finding some believable way out of it. I could gush for ages over it.
But It's still not quite there yet, and I'm expecting the next few to be better, especially in terms of characterisation and the General writing (prose etc). But everything I've heard says that Grave Peril is where it gets good and everything after that is better.
So this is what bugged me about Fool Moon.
I'm still not sold on the characters yet. Harry seems like a dude who has never had sex with any woman and his views on women are really weird. For example, the constant referral of his "old fashioned chivalry". Usually, in my life whenever someone has to bang the drum and let you know you how chivalrous they are, they're really not. They're the opposite. So whenever he claims himself as the "chivalrous sort" it makes me feel like he's a dick that knows nothing. Maybe that's the age on the book or something, I don't know. The romance seems very clunky as well. The relationships seem very cringy to me, it seems hard for fantasy to get romance right but it doesn't stop them from trying. But that doesn't bother me so much, I'm sure they'll get better, believable romance is never easy to write.
Harry's views on women in these first two books to me seems like what the kids these days call "Brony". I don't know if that's intentional, but it definitely seems like he keeps weird weapons and lives in his mums basement. (Which, I guess, is absolutely true haha). But I don't know, I don't mean to cast down the series because of it, since I enjoyed the first two books. But there were just things in it that I felt needed to be better. It's not a massive problem for me but it's something that bugs me every time I read it just a little bit. A little bit of me cringes and I cant help that. I'm not sure if Harry's attitude is going to change, and I guess it doesn't bother me a lot but it still makes me a cringe a little whenever he talks about women.
Harry's inner dialogue about women seems very fedora based. But still I'm very keen to read on, and cringe on if I have to through his chivalrous views. I'll take that weight, I'll take that cringe.
And finally, I CANT FINISH THIS REVIEW WITHOUT SHARING HOW MUCH MURPHY PISSED ME OFF IN THESE TWO BOOKS. (also heavy spoilers)
How can you be that dumb? Honestly.
With Kim's murder.
She makes a snap judgment without the facts, uses circumstantial evidence, makes a scene and point of embarrassing Harry with an agressive line of questioning, and then beats him with gross police brutality before she gives him a chance to explain himself... and this is her number one consultant on magic stuff. Which then leads to Harry getting shot by a crazy FBI bitch.
So lets freeze it for a second and think about this. If she was successful in locking up Harry at this part in the book, the wolf would've killed LITERALLY everyone because Murph went hero cop mode.
...okay, unfreeze it
SO THEN
She arrests a fucking Loup-Garou and hauls it into a police station (ON THE NIGHT OF A FULL MOON) even when Harry told her not to do that, and SURPRISE SURPRISE she gets her whole precinct killed. And basically blames Harry for it...
Good police work 101?
And this all coming after the first book where she wouldn't listen to Harry and got her shit fucked up by a scarab scorpion thing because she refused to trust the dude who goes to almost any length to help her out.
And still after all this Harry says to himself that it's his fault. (Maybe some, but goddam, not much of it)
Don't get me wrong this isn't me hating a woman taking charge. I love strong female characters, Arya is one of my favourite characters in ASoIaF, and Mustang is one of my favourite characters in Red Rising. Both are strong smart women who are awesome at what they do. But I hate dumb characters in any sense and Murph made herself out to be extremely stupid in these books and didn't do a lot else to make me think otherwise. She sort of redeemed herself at the end but it was still inexcusable what she did in the middle of the book, she really should've lost her job for it haha I mean she got her whole precinct killed by a fucking wolf? What policeman should get promoted after something like that? Regardless of what you've done. And again without Harry, she would've been DEAD. Just like in Storm Front too. She owes almost everything to Harry and still won't trust him.
I've heard that she gets way cooler in the future books and I still have faith for her, and trying very hard to keep my mind and heart open. But man that's not a good start haha.
I would say on the whole, Fool Moon is probably better. But I liked them about the same. I would have to say I liked the plot better in Storm... (just the first 100 pages) But they don't come close in terms of action, Fool Moon has some really awesome action scenes (The police precinct, the streetwolves warehouse and the final Marcone Estate battle). all of them being much better than any action scene in Storm Front. - like that frog Storm basement battle was cool but c'mon man a fuckin frog?
I'm very keen to read on. My star rating for it was going to be 3.5 but I can't justify the .5, it's definitely a 3. But probably better than Storm Front.
There were things I really loved in this book, and things I really hated.
Let's start with the relatively good.
I probably enjoyed the first hundred pages of Storm Front more than I enjoyed the first hundred pages of Fool Moon.
I found the start to be a little more stagnant at the beginning, which could've just been me.
I really enjoyed the plot and introductions of everyone at the beginning of Storm. However, that was probably the only thing I liked better in book one to book two.
The action scenes in Fool Moon were really crazy, a big big step up from Storm Front. And the pacing after the first hundred pages felt better in Fool Moon as well.
The action and pacing were the highlights of the book, Butcher can make a really awesome action scene and has only improved on this ability from Storm Front to Fool Moon. Oh man, some of them made my mouth (figuratively) water with how good they were haha. So many moments where I was like "oh shit how the hell is harry getting out of this" Jim Butcher has a really good nose for setting up an unbeatable task and finding some believable way out of it. I could gush for ages over it.
But It's still not quite there yet, and I'm expecting the next few to be better, especially in terms of characterisation and the General writing (prose etc). But everything I've heard says that Grave Peril is where it gets good and everything after that is better.
So this is what bugged me about Fool Moon.
I'm still not sold on the characters yet. Harry seems like a dude who has never had sex with any woman and his views on women are really weird. For example, the constant referral of his "old fashioned chivalry". Usually, in my life whenever someone has to bang the drum and let you know you how chivalrous they are, they're really not. They're the opposite. So whenever he claims himself as the "chivalrous sort" it makes me feel like he's a dick that knows nothing. Maybe that's the age on the book or something, I don't know. The romance seems very clunky as well. The relationships seem very cringy to me, it seems hard for fantasy to get romance right but it doesn't stop them from trying. But that doesn't bother me so much, I'm sure they'll get better, believable romance is never easy to write.
Harry's views on women in these first two books to me seems like what the kids these days call "Brony". I don't know if that's intentional, but it definitely seems like he keeps weird weapons and lives in his mums basement. (Which, I guess, is absolutely true haha). But I don't know, I don't mean to cast down the series because of it, since I enjoyed the first two books. But there were just things in it that I felt needed to be better. It's not a massive problem for me but it's something that bugs me every time I read it just a little bit. A little bit of me cringes and I cant help that. I'm not sure if Harry's attitude is going to change, and I guess it doesn't bother me a lot but it still makes me a cringe a little whenever he talks about women.
Harry's inner dialogue about women seems very fedora based. But still I'm very keen to read on, and cringe on if I have to through his chivalrous views. I'll take that weight, I'll take that cringe.
And finally, I CANT FINISH THIS REVIEW WITHOUT SHARING HOW MUCH MURPHY PISSED ME OFF IN THESE TWO BOOKS. (also heavy spoilers)
How can you be that dumb? Honestly.
With Kim's murder.
She makes a snap judgment without the facts, uses circumstantial evidence, makes a scene and point of embarrassing Harry with an agressive line of questioning, and then beats him with gross police brutality before she gives him a chance to explain himself... and this is her number one consultant on magic stuff. Which then leads to Harry getting shot by a crazy FBI bitch.
So lets freeze it for a second and think about this. If she was successful in locking up Harry at this part in the book, the wolf would've killed LITERALLY everyone because Murph went hero cop mode.
...okay, unfreeze it
SO THEN
She arrests a fucking Loup-Garou and hauls it into a police station (ON THE NIGHT OF A FULL MOON) even when Harry told her not to do that, and SURPRISE SURPRISE she gets her whole precinct killed. And basically blames Harry for it...
Good police work 101?
And this all coming after the first book where she wouldn't listen to Harry and got her shit fucked up by a scarab scorpion thing because she refused to trust the dude who goes to almost any length to help her out.
And still after all this Harry says to himself that it's his fault. (Maybe some, but goddam, not much of it)
Don't get me wrong this isn't me hating a woman taking charge. I love strong female characters, Arya is one of my favourite characters in ASoIaF, and Mustang is one of my favourite characters in Red Rising. Both are strong smart women who are awesome at what they do. But I hate dumb characters in any sense and Murph made herself out to be extremely stupid in these books and didn't do a lot else to make me think otherwise. She sort of redeemed herself at the end but it was still inexcusable what she did in the middle of the book, she really should've lost her job for it haha I mean she got her whole precinct killed by a fucking wolf? What policeman should get promoted after something like that? Regardless of what you've done. And again without Harry, she would've been DEAD. Just like in Storm Front too. She owes almost everything to Harry and still won't trust him.
I've heard that she gets way cooler in the future books and I still have faith for her, and trying very hard to keep my mind and heart open. But man that's not a good start haha.
I would say on the whole, Fool Moon is probably better. But I liked them about the same. I would have to say I liked the plot better in Storm... (just the first 100 pages) But they don't come close in terms of action, Fool Moon has some really awesome action scenes (The police precinct, the streetwolves warehouse and the final Marcone Estate battle). all of them being much better than any action scene in Storm Front. - like that frog Storm basement battle was cool but c'mon man a fuckin frog?
I'm very keen to read on. My star rating for it was going to be 3.5 but I can't justify the .5, it's definitely a 3. But probably better than Storm Front.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2021
Harry Dresden is back at it again. As you can guess, there's a new supernatural beast in town and another case for a wizard to crack.
The book is more of the same we got out of the first Dresden Files novel, Storm Front. If you enjoyed that book, you're sure to enjoy this one all the same. To a degree it does feel somewhat similar: wizard works with the police, deals with the supernatural on the case, exactly like what we saw in the first book. We do, however, get a new supernatural thing (I'm sure you can guess what it is), Harry gets a little more powerful, we get a little bit more world building, etc. I don't feel like this plot structure is over and done yet but I know I also can only deal with this for so long before it does wear itself thin.
The plot was solid. It had twists and turns, it had foreshadowing, it had suspense and surprise. It had everything that makes a story a story. Yeah, it wasn't the sort of epic tale you'd get from The Stormlight Archive but never did I feel like that's what I was getting into or what I was lead to expect. It simply works, especially when you know that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an inspiration for the series. It has that sort of 90s supernatural vibe to it.
The worldbuilding is a bit limited in that it is mostly contained to what pertains to the plot. It's clear that there's a lot more out there and it also feels clear that we're simply going to get it over the course of the entire series based on us having different supernatural beings in stories. I'm rather far behind considering book 17 just came out and I've heard that the story becomes a bit more grandiose as the story goes on.
I still find myself enjoying an urban fantasy setting far more than I expected I would. Maybe it's that Chicago is a good setting for a book like this, since it has both the comfort feeling with the ability to have a lot of depth. On one hand you get familiar settings like the police station or Dresden's place and then you have flexibility to get brand new places. Especially when the new places are things you could conceive of as being part of Chicago, it doesn't feel like it does in epic fantasy where the location shifts so drastically.
The characters are good as well. Some recurring, some new, primarily Dresden as our protagonist (especially since it's first person POV). Dresden is a likeable character. I like him. He's very relatable as a character. At times he doesn't care and other times he cares too much. He's human (I guess technically) or at the very least feels that way. I know some people don't like that he's always ogling over the physical appearance of women but he's still a man and you can't convince me men don't see those things. One might draw blame to Butcher putting us in those scenarios but I find it just makes sense. Especially when you factor in other personality traits of Dresden, like his arrogance, it all comes together to make a brilliant character. Once again, I like Dresden as a character.
Speaking of the character, I generally find I'm fine with Butcher's writing. It's not the level of elegance some other authors are capable of (I'm looking at you Neil Gaiman) but then the level of crudeness it has to it makes sense if you frame it from Harry's perspective. Harry isn't an elegant character, doesn't try to be, and writing like a Gaiman isn't going to capture his character correctly. I can at least appreciate when he's willing to let his characters swear or be horny the way people I know, or even myself, would be.
The magic in this book is also still solid. No, not Sanderson level of brilliance, but I like how it teeters between soft and hard magic. At times you're learning about how potions work or how some supernatural being works, at other times Harry's practically casting fireballs at people. I don't think he ever cast a fireball here but I know Butcher has stated he wanted Harry to be a character that would do that because "why aren't wizards casting fireballs???".
All in all it's a solid book. Nothing to win an award but certainly an enjoyable book. Reading it in two days tells you that I did enjoy it, although to be fair I have been reading at about this pace, or close to it anyway. What should really indicate how much I enjoyed it was that I purchased the next two books already. Something tells me that I'll soon wind up with all 17 of the books. It's not my favourite book, and I gave it a 4 star review at that, but not every book has to be your favourite to enjoy. I suspect this series will only get better as we learn more about the world, more about Dresden, and Butcher becomes a better author.
tl;dr review
Fool Moon is much of the same as Storm Front. If you found yourself enjoying a wizard detective then you'll certainly find yourself enjoying this one.
A lot of the aspects of this book were just good. I like that we get wizard meets supernatural and I like us slowly being introduced to more and more things that go bump in the night. As much as Butcher might not have wanted to write this story, I'm guessing all the time spent watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the 90s set him up for success with this. I like that Dresden is a realistic character, willing to express thoughts/emotions authors might often find too inappropriate to include. I like that he can cast a fireball or make a love potion the way so many authors shy away from. I think if you just take as many different fantasy elements as you can and write it well, it will work out.
The bad about this book is that, on some level, I'm just not interested in supernatural meets detectives. I feel like the series needs more than that to keep me entertained past a few books. There's certainly a lot going on and potential for that stuff, it's just a matter of the series heading in that direction before I get bored of what it's presenting.
Overall I enjoyed the book. It's not spectacular but it certainly is enjoyable. I love how briskly it's paced and it keeps me entertained and focused throughout. I already grabbed the next two books and I suspect I'll soon end up with many more of them. I just love learning about all the different supernatural beings and how the world works out. Count me in for more Dresden.
The book is more of the same we got out of the first Dresden Files novel, Storm Front. If you enjoyed that book, you're sure to enjoy this one all the same. To a degree it does feel somewhat similar: wizard works with the police, deals with the supernatural on the case, exactly like what we saw in the first book. We do, however, get a new supernatural thing (I'm sure you can guess what it is), Harry gets a little more powerful, we get a little bit more world building, etc. I don't feel like this plot structure is over and done yet but I know I also can only deal with this for so long before it does wear itself thin.
The plot was solid. It had twists and turns, it had foreshadowing, it had suspense and surprise. It had everything that makes a story a story. Yeah, it wasn't the sort of epic tale you'd get from The Stormlight Archive but never did I feel like that's what I was getting into or what I was lead to expect. It simply works, especially when you know that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an inspiration for the series. It has that sort of 90s supernatural vibe to it.
The worldbuilding is a bit limited in that it is mostly contained to what pertains to the plot. It's clear that there's a lot more out there and it also feels clear that we're simply going to get it over the course of the entire series based on us having different supernatural beings in stories. I'm rather far behind considering book 17 just came out and I've heard that the story becomes a bit more grandiose as the story goes on.
I still find myself enjoying an urban fantasy setting far more than I expected I would. Maybe it's that Chicago is a good setting for a book like this, since it has both the comfort feeling with the ability to have a lot of depth. On one hand you get familiar settings like the police station or Dresden's place and then you have flexibility to get brand new places. Especially when the new places are things you could conceive of as being part of Chicago, it doesn't feel like it does in epic fantasy where the location shifts so drastically.
The characters are good as well. Some recurring, some new, primarily Dresden as our protagonist (especially since it's first person POV). Dresden is a likeable character. I like him. He's very relatable as a character. At times he doesn't care and other times he cares too much. He's human (I guess technically) or at the very least feels that way. I know some people don't like that he's always ogling over the physical appearance of women but he's still a man and you can't convince me men don't see those things. One might draw blame to Butcher putting us in those scenarios but I find it just makes sense. Especially when you factor in other personality traits of Dresden, like his arrogance, it all comes together to make a brilliant character. Once again, I like Dresden as a character.
Speaking of the character, I generally find I'm fine with Butcher's writing. It's not the level of elegance some other authors are capable of (I'm looking at you Neil Gaiman) but then the level of crudeness it has to it makes sense if you frame it from Harry's perspective. Harry isn't an elegant character, doesn't try to be, and writing like a Gaiman isn't going to capture his character correctly. I can at least appreciate when he's willing to let his characters swear or be horny the way people I know, or even myself, would be.
The magic in this book is also still solid. No, not Sanderson level of brilliance, but I like how it teeters between soft and hard magic. At times you're learning about how potions work or how some supernatural being works, at other times Harry's practically casting fireballs at people. I don't think he ever cast a fireball here but I know Butcher has stated he wanted Harry to be a character that would do that because "why aren't wizards casting fireballs???".
All in all it's a solid book. Nothing to win an award but certainly an enjoyable book. Reading it in two days tells you that I did enjoy it, although to be fair I have been reading at about this pace, or close to it anyway. What should really indicate how much I enjoyed it was that I purchased the next two books already. Something tells me that I'll soon wind up with all 17 of the books. It's not my favourite book, and I gave it a 4 star review at that, but not every book has to be your favourite to enjoy. I suspect this series will only get better as we learn more about the world, more about Dresden, and Butcher becomes a better author.
tl;dr review
Fool Moon is much of the same as Storm Front. If you found yourself enjoying a wizard detective then you'll certainly find yourself enjoying this one.
A lot of the aspects of this book were just good. I like that we get wizard meets supernatural and I like us slowly being introduced to more and more things that go bump in the night. As much as Butcher might not have wanted to write this story, I'm guessing all the time spent watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the 90s set him up for success with this. I like that Dresden is a realistic character, willing to express thoughts/emotions authors might often find too inappropriate to include. I like that he can cast a fireball or make a love potion the way so many authors shy away from. I think if you just take as many different fantasy elements as you can and write it well, it will work out.
The bad about this book is that, on some level, I'm just not interested in supernatural meets detectives. I feel like the series needs more than that to keep me entertained past a few books. There's certainly a lot going on and potential for that stuff, it's just a matter of the series heading in that direction before I get bored of what it's presenting.
Overall I enjoyed the book. It's not spectacular but it certainly is enjoyable. I love how briskly it's paced and it keeps me entertained and focused throughout. I already grabbed the next two books and I suspect I'll soon end up with many more of them. I just love learning about all the different supernatural beings and how the world works out. Count me in for more Dresden.
September 28, 2012
Ah, once again Jim Butcher makes me feel all good on the inside! Like a good Top 40 alternative rock song, the Dresden Files continues to be nothing overly deep, and thus proving itself wonderful and outstanding as a result!
This book ultimately wasn't quite as much fun as as the previous one, in the same way cookies just aren't as awesome 30 minutes out of the oven as they were 29 minutes earlier.
Harry Dresden is a wonderful character because he's a wonderful man, one who takes himself too seriously. Maybe it's just that I've been dealing with some personal problems at the exact time that I read this, but I really, really felt very close to Harry throughout and really appreciated him. He makes some mistakes and struggles with his own frailties in such a human way. His quips to the audience are delightful and you want to spend time with this guy, even at his most self-deprecating stages.
Murphy, Tera, Billy, Bob...they're all great characters who lend depth to the story and to Harry himself (which makes sense, since it's first-person). No one really feels like a token character, especially these women--Murphy isn't strong for the sake of being a good female role model or a trope, she's just plain awesome and if you disagree she'll dropkick you into the Nevernever!
Denton was a great antagonist, though mostly on a thematic level. This book deals with questions of a person's humanity, and Denton is a product of much internal decay. His name is clearly supposed to be very close to Harry's--there are a number of times I'd see his name and read it as "Dresden", which is very, very clever! Denton is who Harry could very well turn into, and Harry has the power and knowledge to do a LOT more damage than Denton ever could.
So yeah, a great story indeed. Totally recommended.
Urban fantasy is a difficult genre for your typical fan of epic fantasy, such as myself, because I at least often associate it with vampires, over-the-top-sexuality, and mediocre to bad writing. Butcher is far to sensible for that, and gives us a werewolf plot instead. Not only that, he actually managed to do something interesting with werewolves (which are so often locked in an unexplained vicious blood feud with the aforementioned vampires in other urban fantasies, I feel). Butcher brings in various types of werewolves, including people born as such, those who use magical items to affect a transformation, those cursed to become monsters, and so forth. These all have a place in this mythos, and it works really well. As a result he's not just using werewolves as a convenient and familiar plot device, but really actually approaches them from a new angle.
That being said, this isn't a novel about werewolves, but about Haarry Dresden, more specifically the man behind the magic. While the beginning of this novel felt like Butcher was playing it too close to last novel, he managed to pull that rug out from underneath my feet around the half-way point. Frankly, he started that process in chapter 1 by making the events of book 1 actually relevant (i.e there's still fallout from his adventure 6 months previously).
Butcher's greatest strength is two-fold: he's well-aware that he's providing a pop-novel, so he doesn't even try anything pretentious, and in the process actually provides what he has called "really, really good literary popcorn;" that self-awareness allows him to be brilliant with subverting tropes and being witty to no end. Second, he's actually creating a larger story with great subtlety. I'm getting into these novels way late (book 14 comes out in a little over a month, I believe), and so I've heard just a bit to indicate that there is something bigger than merely a "big bad of the book" (and sadly I know about a certain major event around book 12 or so).
I'm really excited to keep up with the series, and after my next few doorstoppers will happily grab a hold of Grave Peril!
This book ultimately wasn't quite as much fun as as the previous one, in the same way cookies just aren't as awesome 30 minutes out of the oven as they were 29 minutes earlier.
Harry Dresden is a wonderful character because he's a wonderful man, one who takes himself too seriously. Maybe it's just that I've been dealing with some personal problems at the exact time that I read this, but I really, really felt very close to Harry throughout and really appreciated him. He makes some mistakes and struggles with his own frailties in such a human way. His quips to the audience are delightful and you want to spend time with this guy, even at his most self-deprecating stages.
Murphy, Tera, Billy, Bob...they're all great characters who lend depth to the story and to Harry himself (which makes sense, since it's first-person). No one really feels like a token character, especially these women--Murphy isn't strong for the sake of being a good female role model or a trope, she's just plain awesome and if you disagree she'll dropkick you into the Nevernever!
Denton was a great antagonist, though mostly on a thematic level. This book deals with questions of a person's humanity, and Denton is a product of much internal decay. His name is clearly supposed to be very close to Harry's--there are a number of times I'd see his name and read it as "Dresden", which is very, very clever! Denton is who Harry could very well turn into, and Harry has the power and knowledge to do a LOT more damage than Denton ever could.
So yeah, a great story indeed. Totally recommended.
Urban fantasy is a difficult genre for your typical fan of epic fantasy, such as myself, because I at least often associate it with vampires, over-the-top-sexuality, and mediocre to bad writing. Butcher is far to sensible for that, and gives us a werewolf plot instead. Not only that, he actually managed to do something interesting with werewolves (which are so often locked in an unexplained vicious blood feud with the aforementioned vampires in other urban fantasies, I feel). Butcher brings in various types of werewolves, including people born as such, those who use magical items to affect a transformation, those cursed to become monsters, and so forth. These all have a place in this mythos, and it works really well. As a result he's not just using werewolves as a convenient and familiar plot device, but really actually approaches them from a new angle.
That being said, this isn't a novel about werewolves, but about Haarry Dresden, more specifically the man behind the magic. While the beginning of this novel felt like Butcher was playing it too close to last novel, he managed to pull that rug out from underneath my feet around the half-way point. Frankly, he started that process in chapter 1 by making the events of book 1 actually relevant (i.e there's still fallout from his adventure 6 months previously).
Butcher's greatest strength is two-fold: he's well-aware that he's providing a pop-novel, so he doesn't even try anything pretentious, and in the process actually provides what he has called "really, really good literary popcorn;" that self-awareness allows him to be brilliant with subverting tropes and being witty to no end. Second, he's actually creating a larger story with great subtlety. I'm getting into these novels way late (book 14 comes out in a little over a month, I believe), and so I've heard just a bit to indicate that there is something bigger than merely a "big bad of the book" (and sadly I know about a certain major event around book 12 or so).
I'm really excited to keep up with the series, and after my next few doorstoppers will happily grab a hold of Grave Peril!
February 11, 2015
Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work, magical or mundane.
But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.
A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses, and the first two don't count...
I found out about this series from my dad, who had enjoyed them. I got to say that I am glad that he told me about it. A novel about werewolves, magic, murder and quite bit of suspense, how can you not enjoy a book like this? I know that I did, actually I couldn’t seem to get enough of the story. Every page had me wondering what sort of trouble will Harry manage to find himself in next? What I learned through reading The Dresden Files is that wherever he goes, some sort of trouble follows him, I am surprised that he didn’t manage to get himself killed yet, though he did come close. This is the second time that I read this book and I loved it as much as the first time around I read it. Reading Fool Moon made me remember what I love about the series. Especially occasional sarcastic remarks from Harry, you can’t help but love the character. There are some choices he makes that I don’t agree with or has me thinking what he was thinking at that moment, but in general he’s one tough guy, considering what he has to go through so much.
I had always loved books that deal with werewolves, and through the years I read multiple ones, with different portrayer of them. I believe that Fool Moon portrayed werewolf’s right, because how the werewolves are if there were such things. I knew that there were 2 different types of werewolves but I didn’t realize that there were even more, that’s what was so interesting about it. Of course the mystery behind, who was doing all of the killing was the real mystery. What I love about Butcher writing is that the murder is always the last suspected person and that was the case in Storm Front. I did not see that coming, I think my jaw actually dropped when I reached to that part. Second, I love how Butcher has you on edge of the seat pretty much most of the book, it filled with so much suspense, mystery. Even if this was 2nd time reading the book, I did not want to put the book down, I need see if Harry, Murphy will figure out what’s going on, who was responsible, if they could actually get out of this mess.
Susan and Murphy like Harry you can’t help but love those two. To be honest I always seemed to prefer Susan over Murphy maybe because of affect that she has on Harry. Murphy and Harry’s friendship was put to test in this book, she struggling with thought if to trust him or not. I could see that was hard of Harry even if he tried his hardest not to show his feelings about how much it hurt him. Despite that, when she was in danger, he still did everything that he could, to make sure that she was safe. If that’s not true friendship then I don’t know what is. I hope she sees how much he trying to earn her trust back and their friendship go to way it was before. Susan, I could tell how much she cared about Harry in this book, with everything she did for him, how worried she got when he was about to face these werewolves. She loves him even if she didn’t say it yet, I know that she does. I am eager to see where their relationship leads to next, if it will get more serious. One thing I do love about both women: They are determined about their jobs.
You love mystery? Paranormal? Werewolves? Fool Moon has everything and it will keep you on edge of your seat. Be ready for a thrilling ride.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2017
So I liked this book a lot more than the first one. The plot was more interesting, the stakes felt higher, and not only did Dresden get shot, but he was beaten, beaten again, shoved into a trunk, dumped over multiple walls whilst injured, dumped into a pit, beaten, chewed on by a werewolf, and thrown into multiple walls. Yup. I enjoyed that a lot.
I actually really like John Marcone with the worn-money green eyes. Sort of a weird adjective for eyeballs, but I like the vibe of their hate-boners for each other.
Now to the real reason I bothered to write a review.
First, I find it really annoying that six or seven times throughout the novel, Dresden goes, “Oh man, I want to run away and it’d be so much easier, but” *cue dramatic music and mood lighting* “I can’t! I can’t do it! I’m responsible blah blah blah I gotta!” And then he ponies up and does it. Like dude, I get that it’s scary, but jesus fuck. Can we not repeat the same exact crisis of conscience every time things get a little hairy?
Moving on.
Before I started Fool Moon, I told myself that I wasn't going to do this. I wasn't going to bust out the page numbers because I wasted all that energy on the last Dresden review. I was so close, so close to the end...but I had to share, not only for myself, but for everyone else too. You know, sometimes I hate having a conscience, and a stupidly thorough sense of honor.
Yeah, that's a quote from page 3. Don't hurt your arm patting yourself on the back too hard there, Dresden.
So, I was nearing the end when my eyeballs stumbled over this absolute gem: "She tensed at first, and then melted against me with a deliciously feminine sort of willingness, a soft abandoning of distance that left her body, in all its dark beauty, pressed against mine" (269).
I'm trying to mentally compose an explanation as to why I loathe this single sentence so much, but I’m struggling. Is it because of the association and equivocation of femininity, women, and giving in or giving up or just GIVING because that's what women do? The male's semi-orgasmic revel in receiving a woman's body, because hey, he's the hero and a dude and that's what he gets? Is it because most of the emotional scenes in this series feel shallow and contrived? Is it because of how the scene builds, with Susan begging him not to go because he'll be killed like some fucking Bond girl, while Dresden moronically and valiantly lopes into the night like a piss-poor, beat to shit John McClane?
And let's add in the fact, why don't we, that's she's described as having "sweetly feminine curves and lines," three paragraphs further down the page, just in case you forgot in the intervening five seconds that this is a WO-MAN. HAS BOOBS. HAS ASS. IS SEXY.
I can’t pinpoint it, but something about the combination of "delicious" with Butcher/Desden's wearying, infuriating use of "feminine" as an adjective for every female character brought me to a full stop. Well, more like me shouting, "Would you just fucking stop!" at the book.
I don't hate Susan. Susan is a fairly decent character. I dislike how Butcher writes about Susan some/most/a decent amount of the time. I also kind of hate how he writes about Murphy. I almost find myself going into the backyard and sacrificing a small, gentle animal that has never done wrong in the hopes that a blood offering to the gods of old will somehow improve the female characters and their treatment in the already written sequels.
But alas. I don’t think a blood sacrifice is going to be enough.
If you’ll excuse me, I need to go wash out my brain with some Bradbury.
See you next book.
I actually really like John Marcone with the worn-money green eyes. Sort of a weird adjective for eyeballs, but I like the vibe of their hate-boners for each other.
Now to the real reason I bothered to write a review.
First, I find it really annoying that six or seven times throughout the novel, Dresden goes, “Oh man, I want to run away and it’d be so much easier, but” *cue dramatic music and mood lighting* “I can’t! I can’t do it! I’m responsible blah blah blah I gotta!” And then he ponies up and does it. Like dude, I get that it’s scary, but jesus fuck. Can we not repeat the same exact crisis of conscience every time things get a little hairy?
Moving on.
Before I started Fool Moon, I told myself that I wasn't going to do this. I wasn't going to bust out the page numbers because I wasted all that energy on the last Dresden review. I was so close, so close to the end...but I had to share, not only for myself, but for everyone else too. You know, sometimes I hate having a conscience, and a stupidly thorough sense of honor.
Yeah, that's a quote from page 3. Don't hurt your arm patting yourself on the back too hard there, Dresden.
So, I was nearing the end when my eyeballs stumbled over this absolute gem: "She tensed at first, and then melted against me with a deliciously feminine sort of willingness, a soft abandoning of distance that left her body, in all its dark beauty, pressed against mine" (269).
I'm trying to mentally compose an explanation as to why I loathe this single sentence so much, but I’m struggling. Is it because of the association and equivocation of femininity, women, and giving in or giving up or just GIVING because that's what women do? The male's semi-orgasmic revel in receiving a woman's body, because hey, he's the hero and a dude and that's what he gets? Is it because most of the emotional scenes in this series feel shallow and contrived? Is it because of how the scene builds, with Susan begging him not to go because he'll be killed like some fucking Bond girl, while Dresden moronically and valiantly lopes into the night like a piss-poor, beat to shit John McClane?
And let's add in the fact, why don't we, that's she's described as having "sweetly feminine curves and lines," three paragraphs further down the page, just in case you forgot in the intervening five seconds that this is a WO-MAN. HAS BOOBS. HAS ASS. IS SEXY.
I can’t pinpoint it, but something about the combination of "delicious" with Butcher/Desden's wearying, infuriating use of "feminine" as an adjective for every female character brought me to a full stop. Well, more like me shouting, "Would you just fucking stop!" at the book.
I don't hate Susan. Susan is a fairly decent character. I dislike how Butcher writes about Susan some/most/a decent amount of the time. I also kind of hate how he writes about Murphy. I almost find myself going into the backyard and sacrificing a small, gentle animal that has never done wrong in the hopes that a blood offering to the gods of old will somehow improve the female characters and their treatment in the already written sequels.
But alas. I don’t think a blood sacrifice is going to be enough.
If you’ll excuse me, I need to go wash out my brain with some Bradbury.
See you next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2012
I like a good pun. No matter how weak and feeble a pun can be at times, I still like them. And perhaps that attitude encapsulates my reaction and opinion to this, the 2nd Dresden book. Some flaws, a little weak in areas, but otherwise - I liked it!
Jim Butcher is wading in cliched waters just by virtue of the two genres he has chosen - supernatural and detective, and the best way to navigate through all those cliched icebergs with the potential to sink your story, is well... the obvious one, your unique take on the story and pace, good characters and plotty twistiness. He certainly tried to do so in Fool Moon and I feel avoided most of the werewolf cliches, and had enough of a unique view for the cynical part of my brain to be entertained and amused.
I feel like I need to address the elephant in the room though, the one with the small wig that is fooling no one. Yes, you, good sir. Bob the Skull tells Dresden about the varieties of werewolves that exist. Poor Dresden in a series of unfortunate crazy random happenstances that turn out to cunning and nefarious plots meets All of the kinds of werewolves (including one he didn't know existed). You, sir elephant, strain my levels in credulity.
I like that were different types of werewolves, dependent on the person and the magic - in fact I rather appreciate that it wasn't just 'one' kind of werewolf that Butcher picked and chose which lore to use. Butcher's shot gun approach at a variety worked for me.
Here, alas, is the but, and it's an elephant sized one. As a reader, embarking on a series of books, I would have preferred to read Fool Moon and learn about werewolf varieties and only in later books meet all the kinds, and afford me the chance to yell, "No no, its a hexenwulfen!" (And alas for my fandome sized brain, I immediately thought about Grimm when reading hexenwulfen)
In other more pleasant news, I mainlined this book. And that's a good thing because it meant that it grabbed me by the nose hairs and demanded my attention. Poor Dresden really got the crap beaten out of him and pushed to the very limits of endurance. And was on the back foot the whole time. And turned into a hexenwulf. All of this I loved. No really, I did. Nothing quite like taking your brand new character and sending him through the wringer to win my undying love. May there be much more hurt in future books *crosses fingers*
As much as it annnoys me, I like that Dresden's relationship with Murphy is not smooth sailing and that whatever romantic undertones there are, he is oblivious too. I like that Marcone remains the face of 'the bad guy' even though he was not 'actually'. And I enjoyed the continued slow reveal about Harry's past, in fact, I look forward to reading the rest of the books just for that - to find out more about Harry Dresden.
All in all, I enjoyed.
Jim Butcher is wading in cliched waters just by virtue of the two genres he has chosen - supernatural and detective, and the best way to navigate through all those cliched icebergs with the potential to sink your story, is well... the obvious one, your unique take on the story and pace, good characters and plotty twistiness. He certainly tried to do so in Fool Moon and I feel avoided most of the werewolf cliches, and had enough of a unique view for the cynical part of my brain to be entertained and amused.
I feel like I need to address the elephant in the room though, the one with the small wig that is fooling no one. Yes, you, good sir. Bob the Skull tells Dresden about the varieties of werewolves that exist. Poor Dresden in a series of unfortunate crazy random happenstances that turn out to cunning and nefarious plots meets All of the kinds of werewolves (including one he didn't know existed). You, sir elephant, strain my levels in credulity.
I like that were different types of werewolves, dependent on the person and the magic - in fact I rather appreciate that it wasn't just 'one' kind of werewolf that Butcher picked and chose which lore to use. Butcher's shot gun approach at a variety worked for me.
Here, alas, is the but, and it's an elephant sized one. As a reader, embarking on a series of books, I would have preferred to read Fool Moon and learn about werewolf varieties and only in later books meet all the kinds, and afford me the chance to yell, "No no, its a hexenwulfen!" (And alas for my fandome sized brain, I immediately thought about Grimm when reading hexenwulfen)
In other more pleasant news, I mainlined this book. And that's a good thing because it meant that it grabbed me by the nose hairs and demanded my attention. Poor Dresden really got the crap beaten out of him and pushed to the very limits of endurance. And was on the back foot the whole time. And turned into a hexenwulf. All of this I loved. No really, I did. Nothing quite like taking your brand new character and sending him through the wringer to win my undying love. May there be much more hurt in future books *crosses fingers*
As much as it annnoys me, I like that Dresden's relationship with Murphy is not smooth sailing and that whatever romantic undertones there are, he is oblivious too. I like that Marcone remains the face of 'the bad guy' even though he was not 'actually'. And I enjoyed the continued slow reveal about Harry's past, in fact, I look forward to reading the rest of the books just for that - to find out more about Harry Dresden.
All in all, I enjoyed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2017
This is my second time reading this novel, and I've realized two things.
1. This is one of my favorites of the Harry Dresden books.
2. This is one of the most flawed of the Harry Dresden books.
It's one of my favorites probably because of the werewolves -- I've always liked werewolves -- and Butcher's are really well done. Then, of course, there's Harry. He is really well done too -- all noble and stupid and lacking self-insight. This was probably the book where I really started to love this stupid, smart wizard.
The book's flaws felt like young-writer-syndrome: the author does a few things that don't make sense, simply because he hasn't figured out to NOT do them yet. The big, huge, GAPING hole in the book here is how Butcher pushes Harry past the bounds of believability. I'm pretty sure he doesn't let the guy eat for at least 48 hours. Not one cracker. And we only see him take one sip of water in all that time, too -- from a tiny, cone-shaped paper cup. Then, WHILE he's on this monk-like fast, (SPOILER ALERT -- ALTHOUGH NOT TOO MUCH) he gets SHOT... and looses blood, then bitten... and looses blood, then... OK a whole bunch of other physical trauma and blood loss that JUST WASN'T BELIEVABLE, especially on an empty stomach. It wasn't till the last day that the poor guy got to grab a burger -- and just ONE! He should have been wolfing down five. And guzzling at least a gallon of liquid. This time through I had to pretend to myself that Harry must have grabbed a few bites and sips somewhere along the way. But even with that bit of make-believe, the level of trauma that Harry went through just threw me right out of the story, multiple times.
But, like I said, it's one of my favorites. Butcher created a fun world, pieced together a solid plot, and made the characters lovable. I can forgive a lot for that.
1. This is one of my favorites of the Harry Dresden books.
2. This is one of the most flawed of the Harry Dresden books.
It's one of my favorites probably because of the werewolves -- I've always liked werewolves -- and Butcher's are really well done. Then, of course, there's Harry. He is really well done too -- all noble and stupid and lacking self-insight. This was probably the book where I really started to love this stupid, smart wizard.
The book's flaws felt like young-writer-syndrome: the author does a few things that don't make sense, simply because he hasn't figured out to NOT do them yet. The big, huge, GAPING hole in the book here is how Butcher pushes Harry past the bounds of believability. I'm pretty sure he doesn't let the guy eat for at least 48 hours. Not one cracker. And we only see him take one sip of water in all that time, too -- from a tiny, cone-shaped paper cup. Then, WHILE he's on this monk-like fast, (SPOILER ALERT -- ALTHOUGH NOT TOO MUCH) he gets SHOT... and looses blood, then bitten... and looses blood, then... OK a whole bunch of other physical trauma and blood loss that JUST WASN'T BELIEVABLE, especially on an empty stomach. It wasn't till the last day that the poor guy got to grab a burger -- and just ONE! He should have been wolfing down five. And guzzling at least a gallon of liquid. This time through I had to pretend to myself that Harry must have grabbed a few bites and sips somewhere along the way. But even with that bit of make-believe, the level of trauma that Harry went through just threw me right out of the story, multiple times.
But, like I said, it's one of my favorites. Butcher created a fun world, pieced together a solid plot, and made the characters lovable. I can forgive a lot for that.
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March 27, 2011
Another entertaining "fluffy" read. This time, Harry is up against a variety of wolf shapeshifters-- the cursed human loup-garou Harley MacFinn, the hexenwolves (humans using belt talismans to transform), werewolves, and perhaps one real wolf capable of becoming human.
My favorite scene is the fight inside of the police building verses the loup-garou. It's exciting, dangerous, there are a lot of casualties, and as readers we really don't how Harry is going to deal with it. The loup-garou absolutely devourers multiple people.
Harry spends this entire novel being continuously injured-- he's shot; he's kicked and beaten (multiple times); he's totally wiped out by magic. I'm honestly a bit surprised at the violence toward him in this novel. He got tossed about quite a bit in the first novel (Storm Front) but Fool Moon kicks it up a notch. I'm not quite sure HOW Harry managed not to just keel over from all the injuries, blood loss, and just sheer exhaustion.
And somehow in the end, it all ends up all right and he manages to save the day at the last possible second. It's formulaic and at least somewhat predictable-- but who cares? It's a fun romp!
I spoiler'd this whole post, but it's really not much full of spoilers. Except for one-- I cannot believe I did not remember that the pentacle necklace he wears is silver and inherited from his mom! Perhaps it was purposely left unsaid until the last moment for dramatic effect. But either way, I had a real "DUH!" moment when that scene arrived (and apparently Harry did too).
I'm also a bit annoyed with Murphy at this point in time. For all her supposedly being a good cop and somewhat experienced with the supernatural-- she sure is quick to blame Harry for murders he clearly has nothing to do with. GEEZ!
My favorite scene is the fight inside of the police building verses the loup-garou. It's exciting, dangerous, there are a lot of casualties, and as readers we really don't how Harry is going to deal with it. The loup-garou absolutely devourers multiple people.
Harry spends this entire novel being continuously injured-- he's shot; he's kicked and beaten (multiple times); he's totally wiped out by magic. I'm honestly a bit surprised at the violence toward him in this novel. He got tossed about quite a bit in the first novel (Storm Front) but Fool Moon kicks it up a notch. I'm not quite sure HOW Harry managed not to just keel over from all the injuries, blood loss, and just sheer exhaustion.
And somehow in the end, it all ends up all right and he manages to save the day at the last possible second. It's formulaic and at least somewhat predictable-- but who cares? It's a fun romp!
I spoiler'd this whole post, but it's really not much full of spoilers. Except for one-- I cannot believe I did not remember that the pentacle necklace he wears is silver and inherited from his mom! Perhaps it was purposely left unsaid until the last moment for dramatic effect. But either way, I had a real "DUH!" moment when that scene arrived (and apparently Harry did too).
I'm also a bit annoyed with Murphy at this point in time. For all her supposedly being a good cop and somewhat experienced with the supernatural-- she sure is quick to blame Harry for murders he clearly has nothing to do with. GEEZ!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2012
Le premier livre de la série Dresden Files était a mon avis la découverte de l'année pour moi. Un livre que j'ai radicalement dévoré en trois jours malgrés ses 300 pages, mon travail et mon déménagement. Immédiatement après avoir fini Storm Front j'ai immédiatement regarder le résumé du livre suivant. Immédiatement j'ai vu que le thème principal allait être les loup-garou. Étant blasé à mort des loup-garou dans toutes les séries tv et les livre de fantasy j'ai un peu craint pour ce livre.
Après quelque jours à me retenir et a douter j'ai fini par décider un matin où j'avais rien a faire (he oui, avec toute qui commençais a se pacter j'avais pas grand chose a faire)j'ai pris le livre et il s'est passer quelque chose de magique, 4 jours plus tard je finissais de lire le roman.
Premièrement j'aimerais dire à toute personne qui a lu le premier roman, que ce deuxième opus contient plus d'action et d'intensité que le premier(oui c'est possible). Jim Butcher nous embarque dans une histoire captivante qui surprend et nous accroche dès le début.
Pour ma part ce qui m'a accroché c'est quand Harry parle avec bob et qu'il apprend qu'il existe en fait 5 sortes de Loup-Garou. C'est là que j'ai compris que même Jim Butcher en avait son casse de la sorte ultime qui existe dans tous les roman et il s'est pas gêner pour prendre toutes celles qui étaient le plus populaire dans les myth et romans pour les inclure dans son roman.
De l'action, de l'intrigue, du développement de personnage et surtout plein de surprises. Ce roman est digne d'être lu par toute personne qui a su apprécier le premier livre.
Hautement recommandé.
Après quelque jours à me retenir et a douter j'ai fini par décider un matin où j'avais rien a faire (he oui, avec toute qui commençais a se pacter j'avais pas grand chose a faire)j'ai pris le livre et il s'est passer quelque chose de magique, 4 jours plus tard je finissais de lire le roman.
Premièrement j'aimerais dire à toute personne qui a lu le premier roman, que ce deuxième opus contient plus d'action et d'intensité que le premier(oui c'est possible). Jim Butcher nous embarque dans une histoire captivante qui surprend et nous accroche dès le début.
Pour ma part ce qui m'a accroché c'est quand Harry parle avec bob et qu'il apprend qu'il existe en fait 5 sortes de Loup-Garou. C'est là que j'ai compris que même Jim Butcher en avait son casse de la sorte ultime qui existe dans tous les roman et il s'est pas gêner pour prendre toutes celles qui étaient le plus populaire dans les myth et romans pour les inclure dans son roman.
De l'action, de l'intrigue, du développement de personnage et surtout plein de surprises. Ce roman est digne d'être lu par toute personne qui a su apprécier le premier livre.
Hautement recommandé.
October 2, 2011
Hmm. Had less fun reading this than I had reading the first one. It seemed the story went off on a tangent at some point and didn't manage to get back on track. I kept wondering where some pretty important characters went, and why the hell we were where we were, and what we were doing there (not to mention how we got there). Also, female characterization seriously pissed me off this time around, and the continually male view on female sexuality was grating on my nerves (yes, there was a lot of overt eroticism to the werewolf theme - and male werewolves freshly changed back to human form were just nekkid, while female ones had long legs, muscular curves and feral grace. Blegh).
Harry has gone from "can't get a date" to "surrounded by topless women 24/7", and the "girlfriend" existed solely to provide feminine soothings and chauffeur services. Why add/keep her if every new baddie is more rounded and fleshed out than her?(Bodily puns not intended, as she is, of course, made of prettily rounded flesh and absolutely gorgeous. Shallow? Uh, well. Yes. But. Helluva girl.)
Yeah. I think that's what bothered me. Every time I got drawn into the story and things got interesting one of the women rubbed her boobs in my face, widening her eyes suggestively, with bow-chicka-wow music playing in the background. Couldn't enjoy the story much, which was pretty messy anyway. I'll *still* read the next book, and soon, as I enjoy the concept and am sure there's potential in this series. I hope I won't be disappointed.
Harry has gone from "can't get a date" to "surrounded by topless women 24/7", and the "girlfriend" existed solely to provide feminine soothings and chauffeur services. Why add/keep her if every new baddie is more rounded and fleshed out than her?(Bodily puns not intended, as she is, of course, made of prettily rounded flesh and absolutely gorgeous. Shallow? Uh, well. Yes. But. Helluva girl.)
Yeah. I think that's what bothered me. Every time I got drawn into the story and things got interesting one of the women rubbed her boobs in my face, widening her eyes suggestively, with bow-chicka-wow music playing in the background. Couldn't enjoy the story much, which was pretty messy anyway. I'll *still* read the next book, and soon, as I enjoy the concept and am sure there's potential in this series. I hope I won't be disappointed.
September 19, 2012
Werewolves.
Didya know there's more than one kind? Didya also know that wizard Harry Dresden is gonna square off with ALL OF 'EM in this book as well? Yup. Not sure what Butcher was going for here... Early on in the story, after the requisite grisly corpse is found bloody and clawed up in all the wrong places, Harry prepares a report for his cop friend Karrin Murphy concerning... you guessed it, werewolves. Apparently in the Dresdenverse, there's a few different varieties.
And Harry then proceeds to face them all.
A bit tedious, imo. I mean, really? Dude, keep a spare for later! Don't just play your entire werewolf hand at once!
Otherwise, there were my typical gripes of Butcher. Some highly improbable stunts (like Harry successfully shinnying up a rope with a shoulder gunshot wound), Harry overplaying his martyr complex ("I must keep everyone safe by not letting them in on the truth"), and the predictable, cliched, sneery villains. Also now 85% sure that Butcher has read Kim Harrison, because crime lord Johnny Marcone really seems like a much less attractive, less elvish Trent Kalamack.
So I guess this is the Dresden Files Formula. 1st book: black wizard. 2nd book: werewolves (all varieties). 3rd book (I peeked): ghosts. Featured paranormal creature. At least if I get through the 3rd, I can finally get to faeries in the 4th (also peeked.)
Didya know there's more than one kind? Didya also know that wizard Harry Dresden is gonna square off with ALL OF 'EM in this book as well? Yup. Not sure what Butcher was going for here... Early on in the story, after the requisite grisly corpse is found bloody and clawed up in all the wrong places, Harry prepares a report for his cop friend Karrin Murphy concerning... you guessed it, werewolves. Apparently in the Dresdenverse, there's a few different varieties.
And Harry then proceeds to face them all.
A bit tedious, imo. I mean, really? Dude, keep a spare for later! Don't just play your entire werewolf hand at once!
Otherwise, there were my typical gripes of Butcher. Some highly improbable stunts (like Harry successfully shinnying up a rope with a shoulder gunshot wound), Harry overplaying his martyr complex ("I must keep everyone safe by not letting them in on the truth"), and the predictable, cliched, sneery villains. Also now 85% sure that Butcher has read Kim Harrison, because crime lord Johnny Marcone really seems like a much less attractive, less elvish Trent Kalamack.
So I guess this is the Dresden Files Formula. 1st book: black wizard. 2nd book: werewolves (all varieties). 3rd book (I peeked): ghosts. Featured paranormal creature. At least if I get through the 3rd, I can finally get to faeries in the 4th (also peeked.)
May 8, 2012
This is book two in the Harry Dresden series. Harry is still working with Lt. Karrin Murphy over the fact that he had hidden some facts from her on the last case that they worked together on. He was also still dating Susan, the reporter for the Arcane tabloid. All of a sudden, some murders start up, and Murphy needs his help.
What Harry and Murphy discover is that the murders seem to be werewolf murders. But what kind of werewolves? The next victim is one that Harry knew, and Murphy thinks that he's hiding something, so, she arrests him. With the help of a woman he thought to be a suspect, Harry escapes, and hopes to find out who's murdering people before things can get worse. Will Harry find the murderer before too many more people die?
This book was great. I liked it a lot more than the first book, and I will definitely keep reading this series. I love the character of Harry Dresden. He's smart, witty, and less than charming, which is perfect for the type of "hero" I like to read about. His sidekick Bob, the spirit in the skull is also great, although we didn't get to see much of him in this book.
I'd like to see where Mr. Butcher is taking things with this series, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series!
What Harry and Murphy discover is that the murders seem to be werewolf murders. But what kind of werewolves? The next victim is one that Harry knew, and Murphy thinks that he's hiding something, so, she arrests him. With the help of a woman he thought to be a suspect, Harry escapes, and hopes to find out who's murdering people before things can get worse. Will Harry find the murderer before too many more people die?
This book was great. I liked it a lot more than the first book, and I will definitely keep reading this series. I love the character of Harry Dresden. He's smart, witty, and less than charming, which is perfect for the type of "hero" I like to read about. His sidekick Bob, the spirit in the skull is also great, although we didn't get to see much of him in this book.
I'd like to see where Mr. Butcher is taking things with this series, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series!
November 26, 2019
2.5 stars!
So, I had the same problems with this book as I did with the first one. I felt that Harry Dresden as a character, and some of the narrative choices in general, was misogynistic and just generally not what I was looking for in the story at the time. Someone in my writing club made the observation that Jim Butcher writes it as though he thinks it's promoting feminism, when in actuality he's doing the opposite. That being said, the same person said that the books do get better after these first two, so I'm hopeful!
In addition, I didn't feel a huge connection to any of the characters (my favorite at the moment is probably Marcone, but he doesn't play a big role yet -- I have a feeling he will, so I'm excited to see that!) and potentially Murphy as well, but I'm still a bit up in the air with her even. I feel like there aren't very high stakes for me quite yet, so I'm left somewhat bored and unmotivated, and feeling uninspired to pick up the book once I set it down.
That being said, my best friend told me Book #3 of the series is where it starts to get good, so here's to hoping I'll agree with that sentiment! Onwards!
So, I had the same problems with this book as I did with the first one. I felt that Harry Dresden as a character, and some of the narrative choices in general, was misogynistic and just generally not what I was looking for in the story at the time. Someone in my writing club made the observation that Jim Butcher writes it as though he thinks it's promoting feminism, when in actuality he's doing the opposite. That being said, the same person said that the books do get better after these first two, so I'm hopeful!
In addition, I didn't feel a huge connection to any of the characters (my favorite at the moment is probably Marcone, but he doesn't play a big role yet -- I have a feeling he will, so I'm excited to see that!) and potentially Murphy as well, but I'm still a bit up in the air with her even. I feel like there aren't very high stakes for me quite yet, so I'm left somewhat bored and unmotivated, and feeling uninspired to pick up the book once I set it down.
That being said, my best friend told me Book #3 of the series is where it starts to get good, so here's to hoping I'll agree with that sentiment! Onwards!
March 21, 2015
I'm a bit torn on this one. The poorly written characters that I could forgive in the first novel become about a thousand times more obnoxious here, especially Murphy but also Harry to a certain extent. They come across as extreme caricatures rather than real people - Murphy is completely irrational in her lack of trust for anyone, and Harry is the chauvinistic, misunderstood white knight. This may seem like a silly complaint in a book about werewolves running around Chicago, but the lack of subtlety in the characters really took some enjoyment out of the book for me.
Despite this, I did still enjoy the novel. I don't usually care for werewolf stories, but Butcher keeps it fresh by simply flooding the book with monsters. Did you know that there are at least four kinds of werewolves, and that they all hang out in Chicago? The action moves forward at a fantastic pace, and just like the first book I couldn't put it down. Even with the aforementioned flaws, this is still a fun read.
Despite this, I did still enjoy the novel. I don't usually care for werewolf stories, but Butcher keeps it fresh by simply flooding the book with monsters. Did you know that there are at least four kinds of werewolves, and that they all hang out in Chicago? The action moves forward at a fantastic pace, and just like the first book I couldn't put it down. Even with the aforementioned flaws, this is still a fun read.
November 6, 2013
We're getting there. We're definitely getting there. But I'm not hooked on Dresden just yet. There are still a few glaring weakpoints, namely the lack of female characters who *aren't* sex objects and the tied-up-with-a-bow style plot.
In this case, introducing about a zillion
But I also see improvement from book one. And on the whole, I'm liking the idea of the books. The narrative voice is fun, it's a pretty non-standard application of fantasy elements, and we're certainly starting to see some bigger-than-one-book plot arcs trying to poke their heads out. I'm just still waiting to be WOW-ed.
Having a woman described in terms other than the length of her legs and the adjective "feminine" will be a great start, please and thank you.
In this case, introducing about a zillion
But I also see improvement from book one. And on the whole, I'm liking the idea of the books. The narrative voice is fun, it's a pretty non-standard application of fantasy elements, and we're certainly starting to see some bigger-than-one-book plot arcs trying to poke their heads out. I'm just still waiting to be WOW-ed.
Having a woman described in terms other than the length of her legs and the adjective "feminine" will be a great start, please and thank you.
May 26, 2021
My reaction to this book was pretty lukewarm. It was never awful but I didn't particularly care about the plot, which is this murder mystery involving a series of deaths made by a wolf like monster. We're told very quickly by Harry, which suspects weren't the killers based a glance/gut feeling he has, which made the conclusion, all the more anti-climatic. The strongest part of the series were the characters, specifically Harry and the main stay cast of friends and acquaintances he has, but even then, not a lot of development had been made in this book compared to the first one. I'm still not sold on the world of the Dresden Files quite yet, Fool Moon kind of overdid it with all the different kinds of Werewolves there can be, while otherwise not having anything else supernatural. I'm still not certain on the magic in this world, however I do like the potion making that's been used in both books as they are limited resources he needs to prepare ahead of time, anticipating the need for it. I give this book a rating of C.
July 21, 2012
OK, so I have tried to like Harry and Butcher by extension, but, by God he is dull!!!! I will allow that he may have made great strides in a genre that needed a re-boot, but come on!!!
It was hard for me to believe that after Harry learns of the existence of 3 types of lupine creatures, lo and behold, he encounters all three types. (Even though all three are super rare!!!!)
The story is too slow and too tight to be any kind of believable (I know it's fiction, I know). The character development drags, as if Butcher already knows that there will be 11 sequels and he has to stretch this boring dude out (he has to have aces up his sleeve in every book). The scary is not so scary and the mythology is scant at best.
I have read that, by book 6 you really love it. (Really? Six books before a pay-out on characters, what is this...actually I don't have a comparison, as I have never waited 6 books to get into a series).
It was hard for me to believe that after Harry learns of the existence of 3 types of lupine creatures, lo and behold, he encounters all three types. (Even though all three are super rare!!!!)
The story is too slow and too tight to be any kind of believable (I know it's fiction, I know). The character development drags, as if Butcher already knows that there will be 11 sequels and he has to stretch this boring dude out (he has to have aces up his sleeve in every book). The scary is not so scary and the mythology is scant at best.
I have read that, by book 6 you really love it. (Really? Six books before a pay-out on characters, what is this...actually I don't have a comparison, as I have never waited 6 books to get into a series).
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