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Death Masks (The Dresden Files #5)
by
Jim Butcher (Goodreads Author)
HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.
Harry Dresden, Chicago's only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But now he's getting more than he bargained for.
A duel with the Red Court of Vampires' champ...more
Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.
Harry Dresden, Chicago's only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But now he's getting more than he bargained for.
A duel with the Red Court of Vampires' champ...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
November 3rd 2005
by ORBIT
(first published August 1st 2003)
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May 04, 2012
Stephen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sequels,
audiobook,
2000-2005,
good-guys,
fantasy,
detectives,
supernatural-spies-and-slayers
I mostly like this series. However, I'm certainly not a die hard "Dresdenite" from the Church of Harry. Dresden is NOT my literary BFF and, truth be told, spends far more time languishing under the heading OAA (Occasionally Annoying Acquaintance). I like the stories (so far), but that enjoyment comes with some mondo qualifications and some serious groans. However, before I rail against the main character's penchant for lame cheesy-flavored popCORNY, I'm going to begin with what I think are the...more
97 likes · like · see review
view all 39 comments
The story continues here and stays true to form.
The Dresden books are some of my favorite novels...bar none, hands down. These are great brain candy. They're pure escapism, total Urban Fantasy fun, comic drama that do several things very well. Each novel tells it's own story making them individually readable and enjoyable while in the back ground evidence and details mount to tell a larger more involved tale.
Here we open up with Harry broke (not that unusual) and in a spot he isn't all that happ...more
The Dresden books are some of my favorite novels...bar none, hands down. These are great brain candy. They're pure escapism, total Urban Fantasy fun, comic drama that do several things very well. Each novel tells it's own story making them individually readable and enjoyable while in the back ground evidence and details mount to tell a larger more involved tale.
Here we open up with Harry broke (not that unusual) and in a spot he isn't all that happ...more
14 likes · like · see review
The 5th installment starts with Harry on a talk show, (trying to hold back his powers so he doesn't blow up the tv equipment). And then it turns out his fellow guests on the show are all here just to see him for one reason or another, and it's not to get his autograph or anything.
A red court vampire wants to challenge Harry to a duel. A catholic priest wants Harry to hunt down some theives that stole the turin shroud. His girlfiend susan reappears, with a new guy, and it's not clear how well sh...more
A red court vampire wants to challenge Harry to a duel. A catholic priest wants Harry to hunt down some theives that stole the turin shroud. His girlfiend susan reappears, with a new guy, and it's not clear how well sh...more
4 likes · like · see review
1/20/11-1/20/11-Oh, I do so love Harry Dresden. And I do so love James Marsters. So listening to this book was like a reese peanut butter cup- 2 great tastes that taste great together. (This is the second candy reference I've made in my reviews in the last few days. Can anyone tell that I gave up candy for my New Year's resolution?) Anyway, candy aside, this was what everyone called the turning point book. Harry was forced to grown up a little and realized several things. You can't always get wh...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Reasons to read this book.
1. Harry Dresden is a believable character. He learns, he grows, but he does not gain a new power every book. In fact, he doesn't seem to gain any power in any of the books. He gains awareness and knowledge.
2. Susan is cool, but flawed like Harry. Love her.
3. Godfather with a helicopter.
4. One of the best love/sex scenes I have ever read. Butcher could write a good romance novel.
5. Good female detective who has smarts.
6. Vampires with bite.
7. Butcher knows his myth, le...more
1. Harry Dresden is a believable character. He learns, he grows, but he does not gain a new power every book. In fact, he doesn't seem to gain any power in any of the books. He gains awareness and knowledge.
2. Susan is cool, but flawed like Harry. Love her.
3. Godfather with a helicopter.
4. One of the best love/sex scenes I have ever read. Butcher could write a good romance novel.
5. Good female detective who has smarts.
6. Vampires with bite.
7. Butcher knows his myth, le...more
18 likes · like · see review
This is my favorite Dresden book so far. The writing flowed better. Harry seemed more secure and I liked that he had backup (finally!!). I enjoyed the twist and turns and of course all the Harry one-liners. And wouldn't you know a sex scene!! Gasp!
Again, Jim Butcher does not disappoint. With rich characterization & bold storytelling, Death Masks treads the lines between black and white, encouraging the reader to consider his/her own position. The classic question "Why do you do what you do?" is subtly threaded through the entire book, with almost every character. By no means a morality play, this book nonetheless got me thinking, while being entertained by some acerbic and well-timed wit!
The reason why I enjoy Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series is that each book is jammed packed full of "stuff." What do I mean by "stuff?" It's all the creatures, magic, mythology, and action all thrown in one book. So much happens in this book and I can always count on Harry's unique way of deal with adversity (and adversaries). I think these books work because they capture the gritty world of city life and juxtapose it with the paranormal. Chicago makes such a great backdrop to this world.
In Dea...more
In Dea...more
6 likes · like · see review
Death Masks maintains a breakneck pace throughout. Like in any other of the Dresden Files, Harry faces impossible odds. The war with the Red Court of Vampires is escalating and a duel to the death may mean a truce--or the demise of Harry and his friends. While preparing for the face-to-face, he's dodging hitmen, chasing thieves, and battling hellish creatures of fascinating variety. Add some heartbreak into the mix and, needless to say, Harry's having a hard time of it.
Death Masks stands separat...more
Death Masks stands separat...more
Fifth installment of Dresden Files series. Harry Dresden has even more on his plate than usual. 70 pages into the book he's already handling six severe cases. This time, fortunately, we get something that resembles usual Private Investigator job: a stolen item, instead of great faerie war or whatever. Of course, later it still evolves into 'let's save the world' type of plot.
The world is about to end, everybody and their mother want to kill Harry Dresden, Dresden lacks common sense to insane deg...more
The world is about to end, everybody and their mother want to kill Harry Dresden, Dresden lacks common sense to insane deg...more
1 like · like · see review
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Well, poop.
I thought I had stumbled onto a fun series for geeks. Wizard-slash-sleuth Harry Dresden is a great character. Half his charm is that he's got old fashioned chivalry to a fault; he's a real sucker for a damsel in distress, and treats lades like ladies, no matter how unpopular it becomes in modern society.
Then Harry got a girlfriend somewhere in book 2 or 3. It quickly became clear that they had your standard modern relationship, although at first the sex was implied. I'm fine with that...more
I thought I had stumbled onto a fun series for geeks. Wizard-slash-sleuth Harry Dresden is a great character. Half his charm is that he's got old fashioned chivalry to a fault; he's a real sucker for a damsel in distress, and treats lades like ladies, no matter how unpopular it becomes in modern society.
Then Harry got a girlfriend somewhere in book 2 or 3. It quickly became clear that they had your standard modern relationship, although at first the sex was implied. I'm fine with that...more
1 like · like · see review
More great expansion into Dresden's world with the Fallen & more Knights of the Cross -- and I especially appreciated the reappearance of Michael and Thomas, considering they were some my favourite things about Grave Peril. For some reason this book fell a little flat with me, though, and I didn't experience as much unbridled enjoyment as with the previous? I might say that it's because I like faeries a lot, but truly, I love demons most. So I don't know.
It had some v. emotional scenes with...more
It had some v. emotional scenes with...more
1 like · like · see review
Sep 20, 2008
June
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
supernatural & mystery fans
Things have heated up with the war with the Red Vampire court. Harry has been challenged to a duel with their champion. He has been asked to find the missing Shroud of Turin. Then there are the professional hit men who seem to be using him for target practice Plus, his ex-girlfriend, who has been infected by vampires has returned. The book explores good vs. evil, faith, torture & ends with a statement about hate. "I couldn't hate him anymore. I couldn't hate him because I wasn't sure that I...more
As the fifth book in the Harry Dresden series, Death Masks continues to follow the same format as the first four books. Harry is in desperate need of money. He takes a case. This case leads him into deeper troubles. The Chicago PD gets involved in some capacity. He never sleeps. He gets hurt. A lot. Eventually, most of the loose ends get tied up nicely, with some remaining stories still unresolved to keep the reader’s interest for future stories. Predictable, methodical, and yet utterly addictin...more
I wish I could give this two and a half stars instead of three, but since I can't I'll be generous and round up.
If you read my scathing review of the last book (which is actually how I've felt about the entire series up until now), you'll understand what a tremendous accomplishment this book made in impressing me when I say that this book is mediocre.
Mediocre is leaps and bounds better than the last book! Good for Jim Butcher for finally bringing the quality up. This book wasn't nearly as sexist...more
If you read my scathing review of the last book (which is actually how I've felt about the entire series up until now), you'll understand what a tremendous accomplishment this book made in impressing me when I say that this book is mediocre.
Mediocre is leaps and bounds better than the last book! Good for Jim Butcher for finally bringing the quality up. This book wasn't nearly as sexist...more
A fantastic sequel to Summer Knights! I really enjoyed Death Masks!
Susan’s return was surprising okay with me. I wasn’t annoyed by her as much as the previous books, it must be something to do with her vampire aspect. Michael Carpenter’s back! I missed him and his talk of faith. He brought friends as well: Shiro Yoshimo and Sanya. Wow, the Knights of the Cross rules! All three of them were so cool! But Shiro… Aww, I liked him so much. :(
What I really liked about Harry in this book was how he a...more
Susan’s return was surprising okay with me. I wasn’t annoyed by her as much as the previous books, it must be something to do with her vampire aspect. Michael Carpenter’s back! I missed him and his talk of faith. He brought friends as well: Shiro Yoshimo and Sanya. Wow, the Knights of the Cross rules! All three of them were so cool! But Shiro… Aww, I liked him so much. :(
What I really liked about Harry in this book was how he a...more
I loved this book, probably because the characters that annoy me the most weren't really in it.
We didn't have to deal with the White Council, or my least favorite warden, Morgan. Murphy wasn't very involved either. Her sparse presence in the novel actually made me like her more. I think her character is one I can only take in small doses.
Charity Carpenter is as abrasive as ever. While her concern for her husband is understandable, I don't thinks she's very fair to Dresden. Micheal's a freaking k...more
We didn't have to deal with the White Council, or my least favorite warden, Morgan. Murphy wasn't very involved either. Her sparse presence in the novel actually made me like her more. I think her character is one I can only take in small doses.
Charity Carpenter is as abrasive as ever. While her concern for her husband is understandable, I don't thinks she's very fair to Dresden. Micheal's a freaking k...more
I have been listening to this series on my commute back and forth to work each day and I'm slowly getting addicted to this series. James Marsden is awesome in his narration of it.
Harry is a private detective who is also a Wizard. He has a Yellow Pages ad in the paper even, in a world that thinks he's a big joke. This book starts off with him appearing on a TV Talk Show where the host is trying to debunk him and things start going askew from there. He's approached by a representative from the Va...more
Harry is a private detective who is also a Wizard. He has a Yellow Pages ad in the paper even, in a world that thinks he's a big joke. This book starts off with him appearing on a TV Talk Show where the host is trying to debunk him and things start going askew from there. He's approached by a representative from the Va...more
Continued from my Summer Knight review...
Death Masks primarily concerns the fallout from book 3 (Grave Peril): the vampire vs. White Council war & the status of Harry’s potentially lost love, Susan the (now) almost (SPOILER), and the other two Knights of the Cross. Plot A concerns the Knights of the Cross and a group of their ancient enemies (uber demons & their possessed hosts), Plot B concerns the vampire war, subplot A involves the theft of the Shroud of Turin (which leads back to plo...more
Death Masks primarily concerns the fallout from book 3 (Grave Peril): the vampire vs. White Council war & the status of Harry’s potentially lost love, Susan the (now) almost (SPOILER), and the other two Knights of the Cross. Plot A concerns the Knights of the Cross and a group of their ancient enemies (uber demons & their possessed hosts), Plot B concerns the vampire war, subplot A involves the theft of the Shroud of Turin (which leads back to plo...more
The fifth of the Dresden Files novels, Death Masks is a continuation of the storyline of Harry vs. the Red Court. In this book he is forced into a duel with the champion of the Red Court in order to stop the war and save lives. The main problem being this champion never loses and Harry is likely to lose his life. Add to this a search for the Shroud of Turin which has been stolen from the Vatican and ends up in Chicago and a good story follows. A nice irony is that a priest has to hire Harry to h...more
4 Stars here.
I enjoyed Grave Peril, with its undead and heaven/hell theme, so it was good to see some of those characters fleshed out a bit. The world is expanding nicely, and it's fun to have premises continue past a single installment (beyond, you know, the threat of not making rent).
That said, while I liked the themes here, and while, generally speaking, I felt like the ante was appropriately upped, there were a few quirks about the writing that I wasn't as sure on. Possible mood spoilers ahe...more
Sep 25, 2012
Oni
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Bored people who likes detectives.
Recommended to Oni by:
Patrick
At least one star of all books in this series goes to James Marsters. In this case, more like 1.5 star, but not that it matters much. This man could read a dictionary and I would be all ears.
You know, this guy.
In time years I have come to expect little of audiobooks. Well, they are easy to use and adds quite a lot of my books to the read shelf as I can listen to them almost anywhere. And I spend most of my day time moving around from one place to other. So yeah, this format is practical, but enj...more
All reviews for books 1-6 found here: The Dresden Files Collection 1-6.
Death Masks4.5 stars - This is my favorite book of this series so far. Susan's back in this book, and I like her a lot more now than I did before. She has changed, although Harry's not sure if she's really changed or if he's just seeing a different side of her now. The plot was fast paced, as is standard for this series. I'm a little confused over the title, since I'm not sure why this book is called Death Masks. This series...more
Death Masks4.5 stars - This is my favorite book of this series so far. Susan's back in this book, and I like her a lot more now than I did before. She has changed, although Harry's not sure if she's really changed or if he's just seeing a different side of her now. The plot was fast paced, as is standard for this series. I'm a little confused over the title, since I'm not sure why this book is called Death Masks. This series...more
Aug 01, 2012
Christopher Hernandez
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sci-fi-fantasy-read
I came across this series by accident. I came across book 6 in a coffee shot in Fremont. It peaked my interest, and I invested in the series ever since.
I have been a fan of the Dean Koontz book character "Odd Thomas" in that the stories are told from the character's perspective, and that the character is always a witty, funny, smart mouthed, and sarcastic. The character is also emotional and flawed. The character is always the unintentional hero.
These same characteristics carried over into Jim B...more
I have been a fan of the Dean Koontz book character "Odd Thomas" in that the stories are told from the character's perspective, and that the character is always a witty, funny, smart mouthed, and sarcastic. The character is also emotional and flawed. The character is always the unintentional hero.
These same characteristics carried over into Jim B...more
Harry Dresden, Wizard (the only Wizard listed in the Chicago Phone Book) is one of the most clever, funny, likeable characters in all of paranormal fiction!
Death Masks is book five in the Dresden Files series, and Jim Butcher does not disappoint in his latest delivery of the continuing adventures of Harry Dresden.
In this outing Harry's been hired by a Vatican priest to find the stolen Shroud of Turin which evidence suggests is in Chicago. Sounds pretty simple for a magical investigator, right?...more
Death Masks is book five in the Dresden Files series, and Jim Butcher does not disappoint in his latest delivery of the continuing adventures of Harry Dresden.
In this outing Harry's been hired by a Vatican priest to find the stolen Shroud of Turin which evidence suggests is in Chicago. Sounds pretty simple for a magical investigator, right?...more
READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE: http://alekcristea.wordpress.com/2012...
Death Masks is the fifth instalment in the Dresden series, and I was hoping (expecting?) to find the same kind of flawless plotting and execution that had made me love Summer Knight so damned much. I wanted to be thrilled, surprised, amused by this book just as much as I had been by its predecessor. And as much as Death Masks was a good book, it just never made it to awesome.
[...]
The first thing that struck me was that every damn...more
Death Masks is the fifth instalment in the Dresden series, and I was hoping (expecting?) to find the same kind of flawless plotting and execution that had made me love Summer Knight so damned much. I wanted to be thrilled, surprised, amused by this book just as much as I had been by its predecessor. And as much as Death Masks was a good book, it just never made it to awesome.
[...]
The first thing that struck me was that every damn...more
This was a solid entry in the series, with a lot of really great stuff. I'm hopeful that Susan will be gone from the books now - not that there's anything wrong with her as a character, but that it brings out all the 'male gaze' crap that nearly bounced me out after the first book. And seriously - the sex scene in this one? One of the stupidest, most eyeroll-inducing I've read in some time. But I continue to love Michael, who is perfect for his role, and I quite enjoy the wisecracking bits (most...more
Apr 17, 2012
Charis
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobooks,
read-in-2012
Where Summer Knight is a classic murder mystery with a faery war, Death Masks is a James Bond movie with vampires, and yes, it's as entertaining as it sounds. I didn't love this book as much as I loved Summer Knight, but the New and Improved and Significantly Less Annoying Dresden continues to be new, improved, and significantly less annoying. It only took a few books for most of the sexism to be beaten out of him, and now I'm free to enjoy the things that I really like about this series--the se...more
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| Goodreads Librari...: Death fixes | 3 | 40 | Jul 25, 2012 12:49pm |
A martial arts enthusiast whose resume includes a long list of skills rendered obsolete at least two hundred years ago, Jim Butcher turned to writing as a career because anything else probably would have driven him insane. He lives in Independence, Missouri, with his wife, his son, and a ferocious guard dog.
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“Sleep is God. Go worship.”
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