All Things Jim Butcher discussion

Has anyone had the pleasure of reading this very appropriately titled installment of the Dresden Files?

Since it doesn't get released until tomorrow... no.

Indeed, hardcover release for the USA is tomorrow.

If you already read it, via ARC or other, then congrats! We'll all be joining in just a few short days.

I'll wait until it's a decent price for the Kindle. I've got plenty of other things to read. :)

I had an advanced copy, yes. Was just curious if anyone else had one or some other means of reading it. I'll be eager to see what everyone else thinks of it once they're done.

I cannot wait to read it! It seems like it will be heart breaking. Poor Dresden, but I admit I love the angst.

I'm seriously disappointed in Penguin for botching the Kindle release.

I wish they'd get with the program and recognize that there is a sizable minority of us who would prefer to avoid more dead trees in favor of environmentally friendly digital copy.

I finished it this morning.

All I can say is, the title is VERY fitting. I've never been so emotionally drained after reading a book in my life.

But, it was brilliant as always.

Just finished Changes last night. Loved it! Could not put the book down.

Ah, Changes. Good changes? Not so sure. It's almost like Jim had a checklist (Things To Close Out?) and was methodically ticking off all of the recognizable landmarks of HarryLand. Blue Beetle? Check. Apartment? Check. Susan? Check. Harry? Check?

Just because Codex Alera is wrapped up doesn't mean that everything needs to be wrapped up.

I don't think he's wrapping things up actually. Sure a bunch of stuff plotwise occurs in Changes, but as I mentioned here when I saw Jim last Thursday he said his "dominoes are all set up, and I can't wait to finally push them all over. I pushed the first with Changes."

In a projected 23 novel series (20 normal books & an apocalypse trilogy), the 12th book Changes notes that we have crested the hill, and are now beginning the descent to reach the ultimately epic apocalyptic finale.

In other words, I'm excited. :)

Even if we didn't have the information from Jim Butcher, there's no way I would believe this was the end. We've still got the Denarians, Skinwalker, White Council, Demonreach,Knights of the Cross swords, Mouse, Harry's family, his pendent for getting through the Ways, etc, etc, etc to work on. Plus, Dresden may or may not still be in his contract with Mab. There's a heck of a lot to still go through with this series.

T_T

It's gonna be rough waiting for the next book. I should have waited to read Changes.

I'm really curious about how this Mab thing is going to work out. I also want to see what on earth is going on with the Council/White Council/Gray Council/Black Council stuff.

Kharm wrote: "I also want to see what on earth is going on with the Council/White Council/Gray Council/Black Council stuff."

I'm pretty sure that's the Apocalypse plotline for the end of the series. Butcher's been hinting that the Black Council has been behind every major bad thing to happen in the series thus far, we just don't know the motives yet.

I'm guessing that Butcher will rip the mask of anonymity off the Black Council at the end of book 20. Then his subsequently stated 3-book Apocalypse trilogy will deal with Harry and gang fighting the Black Council to prevent the world's destruction.

At this point I also believe that the wizarding world will have been revealed to the general public and human society has sunk into chaos.

It IS the Apocalypse after all.

Edit: Also, I think Harry has to die. His character has been self-sacrificing from the beginning, so if his death meant the world's salvation then he'd be cool with that. Yeah, it's the typical "Jesus Ending" but it works. When series don't follow that rubric during an Apocalypse then readers don't like it. Example: Harry Potter.

I'll be devastated when/if Harry dies. I could see him either dying, or being a wizard, just living past everyone else. It'd be kind of interesting to see him a lot older and forgotten. I can see how his death could be used and would make for a great ending to his story, but... I don't know if it would be better than him living.


Kharm: Harry may not have to deal with Mab for very long. If he dies, even for a few minutes, then it's possible the power will go back to Mab. I'd be happy for Harry if he could get out of the contract as soon as possible, but it'd also be interesting to see how his character would change from being under the contract.

It was awfully fun seeing him use the ice magic too - it's always nice when he gets a new trick. :D

If Butcher lets Harry live, I can think of only 3 paths (right now) that he could take:

1) Harry survives and becomes the new Merlin and ruler of the world. (Classic hero ending, Example: Pug from the Riftwar Saga)

2) Harry saves the world, but hides from fame. He goes back to his old job and lives his life. (Judge Dredd ending)

3) Harry survives but is worn out and becomes a recluse, spying on people from a distance like a creeper. (Robin Hobb's ending from Farseer Trilogy)


Personally I think if Butcher lets Harry live he'll go for Option 2, but honestly I think it's a literary cop-out designed to leave room for future books when money goes dry.

It's tragic, but I feel that Harry should die. Think about it, Harry fights against the Apocalypse! That is the end-all fight for the world and all life, nothing will ever compare! So far we have:

Heaven vs. Hell vs. Faries vs. Wizards vs. Vampires vs. Other Gods (Odin)

Yes, I'll be sad when/if it happens, but Harry's death will leave me with a conclusive finality to the Dresden Files, and that will bring utter satisfaction.


Edit: In retrospect it's actually pretty futile to speculate on the series' ending now, we're only currently at the halfway point. We've got a long way to go and plenty of things could change.

Just got through reading it. I couldn't put it down from start to finish. Up until now my favorite Dresden novel was Dead Beat, but I think we have a new champion.

After Turn Coat I was getting worried that the series was getting a bit stale, but that definitely changed in this book. I loved the fact that nearly every single character was either brought in or mentioned in the book. It seems like everyone showed up for this one. I especially liked the "Polka will never die" scene with Butters.

My only real complaint was the "Farscape" ending they gave us. I hope they get the next one out soon. Oh, and when Odin gave him the donuts, we really should have gone back to see the billy goat wizard. :-)

I LOVE, love, love this book! Think you guys might be forgetting a certain little girl who may be a lot like her daddy. What if, just what if she was born with more than her daddy's eyes? Oooh, what if she can "see" and ... well, what if?

I adored the book, but it was a tough, tough read. I usually read the books twice when they come out, but I've only been able to read this one once.

That's good news that he's planning on 23 books in total. That means we are only half way through.

I agree that Harry's daughter is likely to be returning by the end of the series. You know she's gonna have some serious magic to her. I wonder if she'll get anything from her half-vampire mother?