Though disappointed with Turn Coat, I picked up Changes in hopes that Butcher had managed to recapture the same rollicking storytelling and deft characterization that can be found in many of his earlier Dresden novels. Sadly, this proved not to be the case. There are certain scenes in the book that recall Butcher's earlier, more entertaining works (one scene with Mouse in particular had me laughing out loud), but the rest is surprisingly tedious. I think the overarching problem with the series at this stage is that Butcher has chosen to take Dresden in a direction that, while entirely logical and consistent with the events of the series so far, has nevertheless made him a far less likeable character. Much of the charm that Dresden possessed in the early books is gone; he's more self-righteous, more arrogant, and more implacably stiff-necked than ever before. Again, there are perfectly good reasons for this change in character, and it's clear that Butcher has put a lot of thought into Dresden's overall character arc, which is great. It's just not an arc I'm interested in reading.

In addition, the story suffers from some structural issues. Like Turn Coat, the beginning of Changes is sudden and jarring. Further, the plot is unfortunately rather predictable as well, with only a couple of exceptions. The finale is suitably epic, and resolves itself very powerfully, so points to Butcher there. But compared to his earlier books (particularly Dead Beat, which I consider the high-water mark of the series), Changes just doesn't measure up.