Okay...so I'm a Dresden junkie. I got the book yesterday and finished it (this time LOL) at 1:30 this morning.

The book picks up pretty much as the last book ends and.....****************** NOTE: THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE LAST BOOK, CHANGES. I WILL BE ASSUMING THAT IF YOU ARE READING GHOST STORY YOU HAVE READ CHANGES...........



Okay, as I was saying, the book picks up pretty much as the last book (Changes) ends, though time doesn't run in death as it does here.

Don't ask me, I don't know why.

Harry having died is probably a little relieved that he might get to lay back and "rest in peace" (though his ultimate after-life disposition does concern him a bit). He's still a little preoccupied about leading everyone who cares/cared about him on what seemed pretty much a suicide mission...oh and murdering his child's mother. But hey everyone has a bad day now and then right?

Unfortunately upon arriving at "Between" (that's apparently "between life and death" though Harry never really gets a straight answer to that either.), Harry finds that he's not moving on to anything as simple and restful as hell, no there were..."irregularities" about his death.

So what else is new for Harry? Should he (or for that matter we) have been surprised or expected anything else?

Anyone who's read many of my posts knows that I am a Jim Butcher fan. And while there could be said to be some "issues" with the books it says something that none of them are "deal-breakers" for me. (For example, don't get your theology from novels...) I have read all these books (and most of the Codex Alera books, a few of those still to go). I snap up the Dresden books as soon as I can, and I recommend them. There will always be a matter of taste with any book or series of books. I enjoy Mr. Butcher's turn of phrase, I enjoy his sense of humor and I enjoy his story telling. This book has all those things and moves our main character into a situation (or set of situations) that is (are) not typical of what we've seen before.

What's good and what's not so good here? Well, on the "not so good" side there may be a bit of a feeling that things are moving a bit slowly. By that I don't mean there's a lack of action, anything but. I mean that for those of us who see the Story moving or trying to move forward there may be times that it starts to feel that we're sort of taking a couple of steps back before we move forward. (And I'm not really talking about the flashback sequences there.)Personally I thought Harry himself moved forward a bit slowly here. There were for me a few times I felt a little like I was circling, but be aware, it didn't really gripe me. The story flowed and the gaps were/are getting filled in. There is obviously a saga building. As one character says (I won't say who as that might be spoilerish) "it's one of those "it's about the journey not the destination" things".

You are going to find out a bit more about Harry's background here, get a look at a couple of things we've only seen mentioned in passing before and also begin considering things from a totally different perspective.

So...good book. Highly recommended, as a matter of fact, my highest "brain candy" recommendation.I'll list it among my favorites along with the rest of the series. I'm now awaiting the announcement of the release date for Cold Days. Pathetic huh? LOL


(view spoiler)[I had "indulged" in much discussion as to who was behind Harry's murder. A friend here on Goodreads had suggested that Harry himself might have been behind it. I had dismissed this because Harry had given the "big promise" to Mab that he wouldn't suicide. The idea that he would ask Molly to "mess in his head" thus breaking the laws of magic (and worse asking Molly to break the laws of magic) also further damaging Molly was something I didn't think Harry would do... I was of course, wrong.

I assume this is/was all part of the Harry has gone too far; Harry has crossed a line point. Uriel opens a lot up for Harry when he lets Harry look at what he (Harry)said and did. When Harry said he'd let the world burn to save Maggie he was (in effect) saying he'd let Molly burn (and of course by extension Thomas, Butters, Mouse and Mister...and Murphy burn). Not to mention he had to realize that he was saying to save his daughter he would kill or allow to die a lot of other father's daughters.

A lot still coming...how will he interact with Mab, what happened with Bob... Who or what is the parasite... who whispered in his ear... ?

Hope I live to see the series complete. Come on Jim, I'm closing on 60. LOL (hide spoiler)]