Obligatory Ghost Story Reaction
Jul. 28th, 2011 02:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luciazephyrWell that was a bit of a game-changer, wasn't it?
That was quite good. It... may actually be my favorite, despite the hideous lack of Marcone. Though, Marcone was, as LGI said to me, a psychological presence for the entire book. You know when he comes back from Italy, it's going to be interesting.
But this book. Was great. It was great to take the time and finally, finally have Harry think. He so often doesn't, just runs into the next conflict and battles and never really takes stock. Not so here, and I'm so deeply happy with that. I hope this is a turning point for his character. The ending with Mab does seem to imply he's learning nuance and that his life is not nearly as black and white as he thought. This may lead to awesome things.
I loved Bob's little set-up for the upcoming Mirror, Mirror. SO EXCITE about that book, whenever it happens.
Okay, let's run down the list.
Fitz: I am SURE he is going to be back, the poor lamb. Unsure if he'll be a hedgewizard or a full-blown magus. I can see him joining the Alliance, which would be awesome. I really enjoyed him, how proto-Harry he was, and hope he gets his shit sorted and comes back being snarky and great.
The Consequences of Changes: Oh wow. Changes really was the game-changer, huh? JB said at the Q&A that "this is where things actually get interesting" and I believe him. I'm kind of worried this series is about to catch a massive case of Cerberus Syndrome though. Harry as the most fearsome Winter Knight, the Fomor, Murphy and Molly both rocketing past the Despair Event Horizon, Butters taking seven or eight Levels in Badass... Sure is grimdark up in here.
Murphy: Wow. Huh. That happened. Pretty well-handled. I am dying to know how going to John Marcone for help worked out, because holy crap. That could not have been pretty.
Marcone: YEAH I KNOW, HE WASN'T EVEN IN THIS ONE, but at the same time he really was. I mean, even Butters calls him "Baron John Marcone", because boy howdy is he ever owning that title with his actions here. I am dying to see him in action, given how he's clearly been a game-changer.
Also, someone on Twitter mentioned how Marcone essentially built a very expensive monument to Harry and everything he stood for on the remains of his house. OH JOHN.
(So does that mean John has Little Chicago? Ugh, we have 7 more books before we find out.)
Molly: It's no secret that Molly has always squicked me the fuck out, being such a transparent nerd fantasy. In this book, though, it's changed my thoughts on her. I'm not sure how much, but the change is there. Will be curious to see where she goes from there.
The Loose Ends: Ugh, my only annoyance is just how close to the vest JB played everything. I mean, I get it, as this book was fucking long guys, but seeing how I pretty much skimmed or outright skipped all the fight scenes (sans the flashback), I would have enjoyed less fighty-fighty and more light shed on some of the new elements. Like, what actually are the Fomor and what is the deal with Childs? Especially Childs. He's obviously going to be a Big Deal from now on. Maybe as John shifts his focus more to the supernatural, Childs is going to pick up slack in the criminal, like a 2IC? I want to know mooooore.
HWWB and the "parasite": More mythos on Harry's birth. I am sure the parasite mentioned at the end that kept Harry's blood flowing will be part of Harry's special birth thing. The fight with HWWB and the flashbacks to Justin were awesome stuff. A lot of headcanon confirmed, though I did not expect Justin being overtly abusive. That fucker.
HWWB! OOOOOOH. Harry is obviously a Big Deal. I hate that I have no idea where Butcher's going with this. But HWWB was... I think Grene used the term "tempering the blade"? So HWWB wanted Harry to reach for his anger and to attack. Is it fair to say that's against Harry's purpose then? What could Margaret intended for him, I wonder? Clearly HWWB and the Outsiders want to gobble up Harry's dimension, so what's a force that can stand in their way?
Someone in this book said something about destruction being easy, and creation is the tough thing, I think? I think that's going to come back, definitely.
Also, I'm with Grene: why the fucking British accent on HWWB? That was inexplicable. Maybe Butcher was aiming for the whole British Accent = Evil, but that doesn't work on me? IDK.
The Winter Knight: Given how taking that deal with Mab screwed over, well, everyone, I am surprised Harry's sticking to it. I have no idea how this is going to go. Cold Days is going to be interesting.
Maggie: So she's not being Put On A Bus! I am legit shocked! Her being with the Carpenters, protected by the family, the archangels, and Mouse, made me cry ALL THE TEARS. SO MANY TEARS.
MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART: Butters. Butters calling Harry and Murphy out on their hypocrisy about Marcone: "No going to Marcone for help. Because that would be... unprecedented." Butters is my new favorite, NGL. He was awesome.
From a fandom perspective: I'm surprised how much wasn't jossed by this book. I think we're all pretty okay, sans the fact that we all assumed Harry would be the Knight reluctantly when it seems in reality he's doing it at his own volition.
What I wanna see: Okay, not gonna lie: I want Harry/Bob. They needed more time to hang out together in that penthouse.
I need to know what big scheme John was up to in Italy. You know it had to be a big deal for him to be away while the Fomor were fucking around with his city.
I got weird Murphy/Marcone vibes from this. Am I alone there? I probably am.
I left this out of my Q&A summary post, but someone asked Butcher if Harry would ever be forced into a marriage for magical pact reasons, and he said, "who says he hasn't already?" and said the Mab thing was akin to that. SO. I want Harry/Mab exploration. Not like... sex, because that I could take or leave, but a look at how they co-exist.
Overall, I loved it but I have NO IDEA how Cold Days is going to go and I want it NOW.
Not as much as I want Mirror, Mirror though.
That was quite good. It... may actually be my favorite, despite the hideous lack of Marcone. Though, Marcone was, as LGI said to me, a psychological presence for the entire book. You know when he comes back from Italy, it's going to be interesting.
But this book. Was great. It was great to take the time and finally, finally have Harry think. He so often doesn't, just runs into the next conflict and battles and never really takes stock. Not so here, and I'm so deeply happy with that. I hope this is a turning point for his character. The ending with Mab does seem to imply he's learning nuance and that his life is not nearly as black and white as he thought. This may lead to awesome things.
I loved Bob's little set-up for the upcoming Mirror, Mirror. SO EXCITE about that book, whenever it happens.
Okay, let's run down the list.
Fitz: I am SURE he is going to be back, the poor lamb. Unsure if he'll be a hedgewizard or a full-blown magus. I can see him joining the Alliance, which would be awesome. I really enjoyed him, how proto-Harry he was, and hope he gets his shit sorted and comes back being snarky and great.
The Consequences of Changes: Oh wow. Changes really was the game-changer, huh? JB said at the Q&A that "this is where things actually get interesting" and I believe him. I'm kind of worried this series is about to catch a massive case of Cerberus Syndrome though. Harry as the most fearsome Winter Knight, the Fomor, Murphy and Molly both rocketing past the Despair Event Horizon, Butters taking seven or eight Levels in Badass... Sure is grimdark up in here.
Murphy: Wow. Huh. That happened. Pretty well-handled. I am dying to know how going to John Marcone for help worked out, because holy crap. That could not have been pretty.
Marcone: YEAH I KNOW, HE WASN'T EVEN IN THIS ONE, but at the same time he really was. I mean, even Butters calls him "Baron John Marcone", because boy howdy is he ever owning that title with his actions here. I am dying to see him in action, given how he's clearly been a game-changer.
Also, someone on Twitter mentioned how Marcone essentially built a very expensive monument to Harry and everything he stood for on the remains of his house. OH JOHN.
(So does that mean John has Little Chicago? Ugh, we have 7 more books before we find out.)
Molly: It's no secret that Molly has always squicked me the fuck out, being such a transparent nerd fantasy. In this book, though, it's changed my thoughts on her. I'm not sure how much, but the change is there. Will be curious to see where she goes from there.
The Loose Ends: Ugh, my only annoyance is just how close to the vest JB played everything. I mean, I get it, as this book was fucking long guys, but seeing how I pretty much skimmed or outright skipped all the fight scenes (sans the flashback), I would have enjoyed less fighty-fighty and more light shed on some of the new elements. Like, what actually are the Fomor and what is the deal with Childs? Especially Childs. He's obviously going to be a Big Deal from now on. Maybe as John shifts his focus more to the supernatural, Childs is going to pick up slack in the criminal, like a 2IC? I want to know mooooore.
HWWB and the "parasite": More mythos on Harry's birth. I am sure the parasite mentioned at the end that kept Harry's blood flowing will be part of Harry's special birth thing. The fight with HWWB and the flashbacks to Justin were awesome stuff. A lot of headcanon confirmed, though I did not expect Justin being overtly abusive. That fucker.
HWWB! OOOOOOH. Harry is obviously a Big Deal. I hate that I have no idea where Butcher's going with this. But HWWB was... I think Grene used the term "tempering the blade"? So HWWB wanted Harry to reach for his anger and to attack. Is it fair to say that's against Harry's purpose then? What could Margaret intended for him, I wonder? Clearly HWWB and the Outsiders want to gobble up Harry's dimension, so what's a force that can stand in their way?
Someone in this book said something about destruction being easy, and creation is the tough thing, I think? I think that's going to come back, definitely.
Also, I'm with Grene: why the fucking British accent on HWWB? That was inexplicable. Maybe Butcher was aiming for the whole British Accent = Evil, but that doesn't work on me? IDK.
The Winter Knight: Given how taking that deal with Mab screwed over, well, everyone, I am surprised Harry's sticking to it. I have no idea how this is going to go. Cold Days is going to be interesting.
Maggie: So she's not being Put On A Bus! I am legit shocked! Her being with the Carpenters, protected by the family, the archangels, and Mouse, made me cry ALL THE TEARS. SO MANY TEARS.
MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART: Butters. Butters calling Harry and Murphy out on their hypocrisy about Marcone: "No going to Marcone for help. Because that would be... unprecedented." Butters is my new favorite, NGL. He was awesome.
From a fandom perspective: I'm surprised how much wasn't jossed by this book. I think we're all pretty okay, sans the fact that we all assumed Harry would be the Knight reluctantly when it seems in reality he's doing it at his own volition.
What I wanna see: Okay, not gonna lie: I want Harry/Bob. They needed more time to hang out together in that penthouse.
I need to know what big scheme John was up to in Italy. You know it had to be a big deal for him to be away while the Fomor were fucking around with his city.
I got weird Murphy/Marcone vibes from this. Am I alone there? I probably am.
I left this out of my Q&A summary post, but someone asked Butcher if Harry would ever be forced into a marriage for magical pact reasons, and he said, "who says he hasn't already?" and said the Mab thing was akin to that. SO. I want Harry/Mab exploration. Not like... sex, because that I could take or leave, but a look at how they co-exist.
Overall, I loved it but I have NO IDEA how Cold Days is going to go and I want it NOW.
Not as much as I want Mirror, Mirror though.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:34 pm (UTC)I am horribly wanting to know what happened to Bob after he started slamming down with Evil Bob. As well as Marcone's reaction to coming back to Dresden Chaos & Destrustion.
I think Bob is the one who said the thing about creation being hard.
I am a comic geek so Harry's superhero geeking and references made me haaaaappy. I want to see Harry with a Green Lantern ring now!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:43 pm (UTC)Wait what? I haven't been following Marvel. Since when did kurt die?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 09:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 10:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:42 pm (UTC)...Marcone realising he has to deal with Dresden-destruction even when Dresden is dead has gotta be hilarious. At least he didn't lose a building?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:46 pm (UTC)I just keep imaging his faaaaace and loling forever.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:38 pm (UTC)Marcone. In Italy. WHY. The nonny on the meme who prompted it as Marcone drowning his sorrows in wine and pasta and debauchery made me grin.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 08:55 pm (UTC)I LOVE THIS IDEA. Poor John. Life is hard now and he needed Childs to watch Chicago for a bit so he could work out some
USTfrustration.(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 09:05 pm (UTC)Hendricks played his veto card! Mandatory Vacation imposed when the boss starts getting a little too focused.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 09:08 pm (UTC)I waaaaaant this. Possibly just for Marcone speaking Italian the whole time.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 09:13 pm (UTC)Random thought I jumped to when pondering Harry's emotional ties: I thought he adjusted to mentally referring to Eb as his grandfather with surprising speed.
Marcone chatting people up in Italian! Oh hello.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 10:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 10:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-28 11:03 pm (UTC)I agree with all the stuff you just said! I was kind of angry that we didn't find out what happened to Bob and Evil!Bob. I really liked Bob and Butters interacting, with Butters learning stuff and Bob starting to act like Butters. Was it just me, or did Bob not ask for any porn? Was the porn just a Harry thing?
I feel seriously bad for everyone Harry knows ever. He vanishes, probably dead, for 6 months. He finally comes back as a ghost and all evidence points to him fading into nonexistence, passing on, whatever. This time people might actually come to terms with him being dead dead. When he's not. Maybe he'll take on a secret identity?
I guess Molly's never gonna get back on the council's good side. Sigh. Killing loads of people aside, Harry specifically asked her to mess up his head. He was concerned about leaving ripples in his own head, but why didn't he consider that black magic would still affect Molly? I am disappoint. It was ingenious, but I am still disappoint.
Justin was so much worse than I thought. D:
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-29 12:52 am (UTC)I think that would make things worse. When the truth came out, it'd ruin his relationships. 8(
It doesn't count as breaking the Law if it's consented to, I think. Her blanking out his memories would be kosher.
THE BASEBALL THING OMG. :all the tears:
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 01:43 am (UTC)If he came back after a big necromancy throwdown, wouldn't that get him on the Council's bad side again? A secret identity would keep all his friends safe...er. It'd be necessary to change his attack style because it'd be really easy for everyone to make the Winter Knight connection. Plus he spent the last decade learning how to trust people, so it'd throw away all that development if he cut off all ties. And that whole bit about how much he loves Chicago... hmm. I can see Murphy hitting him for making her think he's dead again, but how hard depends on how long he goes without telling her.
Is it kosher? Harry and Molly had mind-melded before for practice, and it was definitely willing on Harry's part... so I guess so. Still a bit risky to hope that Ebenezar or Listens-to-Wind would take her in, though. And the White Council might not see it that way, considering it still leads to Harry's death.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-29 01:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-31 04:41 pm (UTC)"destruction being easy, and creation is the tough thing" also rang with me as something we will be important in the future.
But two of my big OMG moments were (1) Demonreach, who took action off of the Island, making it a lot more powerful then Harry thought because he had always assumed it was tied strictly to the island. (2) a fallen angel that whispered in his ear that it was all his fault, a fallen that knew him inside and out and therefore knew at what moment to mount an attack. All that I can think of is Lasicel and Lash and that thought just hurts because I don't want Lash to have done it. I kept thinking that the headaches Harry was getting in the book prior to Changes was his brain healing and Lash coming back, but then nothing was done with the headaches in Changes.
The other thing I noticed was that Harry did a lot more bantering with the bad guys about not wanting to date them then he has in the last few books. In the first couple books he would sometimes do that with the bad guys (something I didn't catch until I was recently listening to them as audio books, as it has been years since I've read them).
It is so sad that now everyone is convinced Harry is dead. I can see Mab ordering him not to contact them too.
Initially, I wasn't sure how I felt about the book, but as it percolates in my brain I realize it was brilliant and crazy. It also changed the whole feel of the book's world; the world is darker, the characters are darker.