For me, there is something particularly compelling about conspiracies. A good conspiracy novel offers just enough interesting side branches that you think you know what’s going on, even if the branch turns out to take you to a new trunk that you didn’t know about. In Turncoat, we see the Black Council story presented in more focus. Yet, the beauty of the book is that the clearer the focus, the more ambiguous the subject appears. Turncoat is either an exceptional book or it hit me in just the right mood. It satisfied in that the eponymous subject of the book is foreshadowed appropriately and made me feel smug and clever when she or he was finally unveiled, but it satisfied even more in that Harry’s plan(s) had more wheels within wheels than Ezekiel’s inaugural vision in the Hebrew Bible. The denouement had both elements that I was expecting and elements I was not expecting—even in a book that begins with Morgan himself under a presumed death sentence from the White Council.
Frankly, even after finishing the book, there is still an overarching conviction about one of the Senior Council members that hasn’t been satisfied and, of which, I’ve been waiting for confirmation for a long time. Maybe I’m wrong, but it keeps me hooked into the series. Now, I know how people get addicted to novellas as the Hispanic networks call them or daytime dramas/soaps as we call them in the U.S. Dresden and his allies have become part of my family even as some of those characters in the soaps become part of the families of daytime television viewers.
What I really like in this book, as in many of the Dresden novels, is that intricate mix between technology and magic. Visualizing giant spiders being torn asunder by semi-automatic weapons or a concussion grenade temporarily stunning a supernatural foe offers tremendous visual payoff. I also felt like the balance between Harry’s pure human allies, supernatural allies, and inexplicable phenomena (in this book, Harry takes a chance that results in an amazing “ally” and, in turn, represents yet another secret that the Senior Council is deliberately withholding from him—fascinating). I also appreciate the manner in which the author is unafraid to kill off both human and supernatural allies in such a way that it makes you fear for some of the recurring supporting cast in every dust-up. One never says that a supporting cast member can’t be killed and the deaths aren’t merely restricted to the “red shirts” as in the original Star Trek. Deaths in this series matter because they are set up properly or framed properly so that the reader can’t help but care. The novels offer truth in the midst of the fiction because they offer consequences for mistakes as well as disasters with no personal culpability. As Morgan tells Harry at one point, Harry has to learn that he can’t win them all. And that’s a lesson every reader needs to learn about life (or re-learn, as the case may be)—including me.
Those interested in the supernatural aspects will be intrigued by the use of Navajo myth in this adventure, as well as the aforementioned unexpected “ally” which results from Harry’s gamble. From Asia, we see Harry’s “Foo Dog” playing an even greater role in this novel than in previous efforts and we get a better view of the White Council’s “inner sanctum” in this book than I can remember in any of the previous novels.
Add to these the very human (at least, sort of) aspects of Molly’s growth as an apprentice with its possible fatal downsides, Harry’s relationship to his half-sibling Thomas with its attendant political and supernatural risks, and the growing relationship with Butters, the coroner, along with the unrequited romance between Murph and Harry and you have a potent cocktail (or is that carefully concocted potion) for emotional intrigue. In general, this series is stronger and has more sustainability than I ever expected. I thought it would be worth a couple of light readings and I would move on. Now, I’ve become a genuine fan. In fact, I’m so much a fan that I’ve joined a group playing The Dresden Files role-playing game from Evil Hat Productions. If you have a role-playing group and you like this series, you might want to set your Arcanos game (the one Harry plays in the novels) aside and give this one a try.