1,214 books
—
6,772 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Ghost Story (The Dresden Files, #13)” as Want to Read:
Ghost Story
(The Dresden Files #13)
by
When we last left the mighty wizard detective Harry Dresden, he wasn't doing well. In fact, he had been murdered by an unknown assassin.
But being dead doesn't stop him when his friends are in danger. Except now he has no body, and no magic to help him. And there are also several dark spirits roaming the Chicago shadows who owe Harry some payback of their own.
To save his fr ...more
But being dead doesn't stop him when his friends are in danger. Except now he has no body, and no magic to help him. And there are also several dark spirits roaming the Chicago shadows who owe Harry some payback of their own.
To save his fr ...more
Get A Copy
Hardcover, 481 pages
Published
July 26th 2011
by Roc Hardcover
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Ghost Story (The Dresden Files, #13)

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRjh...
Ghost Story feels like a volume to reboot the series before it enter a new story arc, or the next season, in the life of Harry Dresden.
It is not an easy task to write a follow-up to Chang ...more
Ghost Story feels like a volume to reboot the series before it enter a new story arc, or the next season, in the life of Harry Dresden.
“It was never too late to learn something. The past is unalterable in any event. The future is the only thing we can change. Learning the lessons of the past is the only way to shape the present and the future.”
It is not an easy task to write a follow-up to Chang ...more

Six months after his death, Harry Dresden returns to Chicago to solve his own murder. Can he keep his friends safe in the process?
I've got a lot to say about this. I'll cover the good points first.
The Good: Having a ghost come back to solve his own murder isn't a new idea but Butcher did a fairly good job with it here. The supporting cast, Molly in particular, developed quite a bit in Harry's absence. The new character of Fitz has potential, as does Mortimer, who I don't particularly remember. T ...more
I've got a lot to say about this. I'll cover the good points first.
The Good: Having a ghost come back to solve his own murder isn't a new idea but Butcher did a fairly good job with it here. The supporting cast, Molly in particular, developed quite a bit in Harry's absence. The new character of Fitz has potential, as does Mortimer, who I don't particularly remember. T ...more

I love Harry. I love Bob. I love Molly. I love the new and improved Butters. I loved seeing Daniel Carpenter. I love this series. It just is such a comfort read for me. I had forgotten how much I love this series until I started to read this book. The mystery and quest were interesting and unlike much urban fantasy, it was unique – nothing I have read before. Maybe a little of Harry Potter, but I am okay with that. One of the things that is so fantastic about this series is that there are conseq
...more

Nov 19, 2015
Heather K (dentist in my spare time)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone

Freaking bananas amazing.
Utterly brilliant, perfectly done, with a flawless audiobook narration, the best I've ever heard from James Marsters.
One of the reasons that this book was narrated so flawlessly, I think, is that it was very recently re-done by Marsters after fans revolted when originally another narrator read this story. Marsters brought his A-game, and listening to this book was better than watching any movie. Marsters did an incredible range of voices, read with perfect inflections, ...more

This was a very uneven book, with lots of filler material. Harry lives to fight again. It's as if he never left. It's as if we're back to square one. Shoot, Jim Butcher has officially exhausted any permutations of wisdom that used to guarantee 5 stars from me. This book... such a bland book with a sugary end tacked on. One piece of advice to demanding readers; you'll enjoy the rest of this series only if you lower your expectations as much as you can.
...more

Even though writing is a singular task, with an author slaving away (bleeding if we listen to Hemingway) in front of a keyboard, it is also very much a collaboration – besides assistants, the writer may likely gain insight and critical input from editors, publishers, agents, fans, friends, and family. Besides his or her own personal muse there is also the influence of peers, critics and the audience. There is also the nebulous and sundry inspirations from literature, art and pop culture.
Somewher ...more
Somewher ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

Harry Dresden, wizard for hire, is dead. And he still has to save the world by discovering his killer. How is that fair?
Maybe I was dead, but I was sure as hell not ready to go. I had to make sure the people who'd helped me take on the Red King were taken care of. pgs 32-33
He quickly discovers that magic and dead people don't mix. Now, instead of taking on god-like enemies with the backing of the Winter Queen, he can't even pass through thresholds without permission.
It's frustrating for both Har ...more
Maybe I was dead, but I was sure as hell not ready to go. I had to make sure the people who'd helped me take on the Red King were taken care of. pgs 32-33
He quickly discovers that magic and dead people don't mix. Now, instead of taking on god-like enemies with the backing of the Winter Queen, he can't even pass through thresholds without permission.
It's frustrating for both Har ...more

If I wasn't married, I'd take this character home to meet mama and her sister.
Course, they might scare him off... ...more
Course, they might scare him off... ...more

Is it too much to say I loved this? Because I loved this book. I'm not going to spoil anything here but as different of a Dresden book as that was, it was every bit as engaging and awesome as any other since Dead Beat. This book kicked ass and gave me so much to think about post-Changes. It was a much needed breath after that insane book and while this is a little bit more of an intimate plot, it was great.
...more

Holey Moley! At the end of Changes when wizard Harry Dresden is shot, I thought No, Harry can't be dead - surely Jim Butcher will find some clever way to bring him back to life. But I was very wrong, Harry is dead and in this book his ghost is sent back to Chicago to prevent the death of three of his closest friends and to find out who killed him.
The Chicago Harry is sent back to is a very different one to the one he left six months before. The vacuum he created by destroying the Red Court of va ...more
The Chicago Harry is sent back to is a very different one to the one he left six months before. The vacuum he created by destroying the Red Court of va ...more

I can understand why Ghost Story may not have been the book that fans wanted immediately after the sucker-punch that was Changes, but I firmly believe that this is what was needed - for the fans, for the story, and for Harry. This is undoubtedly Butcher's most introspective book and with a character as fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants as Harry Dresden, the scenario we're given in Ghost Story was really the only way to force the kind of decompression needed after the emotional fallout of the last in
...more

When I read this the first time in 2014, it was one of my least favorite of the series.
When I read this the second time in 2020, my opinion didn't change... still not one of my favorites. ...more
When I read this the second time in 2020, my opinion didn't change... still not one of my favorites. ...more

I can only give 2.5 stars plus 0.5 out of my respect for the series. Harry was sent back to the world of mortals as a ghost to investigate his own murder. When he came back, Chicago changed a lot - and not for the good. Yet another new enemies appeared, worse than the old ones - as usual. Oh yeah, we never actually see them. Harry's friends changed, too.
There are several problems with the book.
Harry is first and foremost an action hero constantly on his guilt trip, but when this trip happens to ...more
There are several problems with the book.
Harry is first and foremost an action hero constantly on his guilt trip, but when this trip happens to ...more

Another solid Dresden book! I am so invested in this series by now that I am going into withdrawals when it ends.
I have noticed in the last two novels that Butcher is starting to mix up the plot nicely. I think it is just what the storyline needed. There is always a certain pace and flow you expect, and that has begun to evolve.
I have noticed in the last two novels that Butcher is starting to mix up the plot nicely. I think it is just what the storyline needed. There is always a certain pace and flow you expect, and that has begun to evolve.
"I've said before that only the dead feel no pain, but I'd never spoken from experience before. Pain used as a weapon is one thing. Personal pain, the kind that...more

I enjoyed Ghost Story and found it to be a decent progression in the series. Butcher continues to improve and Dresden continues to evolve. The idea of being a ghost was genius; it's interesting to see Dresden powerless, and forced to use other skills. It switches up the dynamic of the normal conflict in the series. I especially appreciated Harry taking responsibility for his decisions to involve Molly in his fanatical fight against the Red Court. Still too many red herrings, but it's a relief to
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

“Pain isn’t a lot of fun, at least not for most folks, but it is utterly unique to life. Pain — physical, emotional, and otherwise — is the shadow cast by everything you want out of life, the alternative to the result you were hoping for, and the inevitable creator of strength. From the pain of our failures we learn to be better, stronger, greater than what we were before. Pain is there to tell us when we’ve done something badly—it’s a teacher, a guide, one that is always there to both warn us...more

I struggled to rate this book, finally deciding on 3 out of 5 stars.
I gave it three stars mainly because Ghost Story does what the other books do well. I like reading about Harry's world and the characters in it. Jim Butcher has really brought them to life in a plausible, believable world. Moreover, the action is good, and there is always a unique twist. I also liked the way Mort's character developed into a really sympathetic good guy. I also liked Molly's changes.
Unfortunately, I think my en ...more
I gave it three stars mainly because Ghost Story does what the other books do well. I like reading about Harry's world and the characters in it. Jim Butcher has really brought them to life in a plausible, believable world. Moreover, the action is good, and there is always a unique twist. I also liked the way Mort's character developed into a really sympathetic good guy. I also liked Molly's changes.
Unfortunately, I think my en ...more

Hey, I have a new booktube (youtube for book reviews) channel and mentioned the Dresden Files in my Top 10 Spooky Reads Not Stephen King here. I hope you enjoy! Please subscribe if you do, thanks!
As usual, these later installments are really great, up the ante, and clearly show some great plotting/writing/everything you want to see in a wizard PI urban fantasy. The only exception this time is that it didn't have everything I wanted to see.
I've never been a huge fan of the trope where the protago ...more
As usual, these later installments are really great, up the ante, and clearly show some great plotting/writing/everything you want to see in a wizard PI urban fantasy. The only exception this time is that it didn't have everything I wanted to see.
I've never been a huge fan of the trope where the protago ...more

May 24, 2010
Tammie
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
favorites,
adult,
adult-fantasy,
fantasy,
owned-hard-cover,
series,
owned-kindle,
urban-fantasy
***Please note that this review will contain spoilers from the last book in the series.***
To save his friends—and his own soul—Harry will have to pull off the ultimate trick without any magic...
This one was so good! Ghost Story starts right where Changes left off with Harry roaming around in a place that is between life and death, where he observes his friends and promptly becomes worried for them. The main thing I wanted from this book was to find out who shot Harry in the last one, and of ...more
To save his friends—and his own soul—Harry will have to pull off the ultimate trick without any magic...
This one was so good! Ghost Story starts right where Changes left off with Harry roaming around in a place that is between life and death, where he observes his friends and promptly becomes worried for them. The main thing I wanted from this book was to find out who shot Harry in the last one, and of ...more

Well, bless Audible's little heart. One spring morning I received this email:
"Dear Listener,
Here at Audible, we truly understand the power great performances bring to your favorite stories. And for long-running series, no matter how good a new voice may be, it can be hard to hear someone else bring beloved characters to life. So when Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files, Book 13, was narrated by someone other than series regular James Marsters, some listeners were disappointed.
We're happy ...more
"Dear Listener,
Here at Audible, we truly understand the power great performances bring to your favorite stories. And for long-running series, no matter how good a new voice may be, it can be hard to hear someone else bring beloved characters to life. So when Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files, Book 13, was narrated by someone other than series regular James Marsters, some listeners were disappointed.
We're happy ...more

This is the first Dresden book not narrated by James Marsters. I don’t mind the new guy (I think he even went out of his way to match Marsters’s character voices), but by this point James Marsters IS Harry Dresden. Farewell, dear performer.

For much of this book, it felt like it would be the last Dresden book. But now I see there are at least two more. So the last book ended with Harry in quite a pickle. Despite his “condition,” he’s given a quest.
(view spoiler) ...more

For much of this book, it felt like it would be the last Dresden book. But now I see there are at least two more. So the last book ended with Harry in quite a pickle. Despite his “condition,” he’s given a quest.
(view spoiler) ...more

Harry Dresden for President! (This week anyway!) I really enjoyed this story. It was pretty interesting watching Harry in ghost form trying to save his friends without a body!
I love Dresden's character. He is prepared to throw down against an angel when he thought she was going to take one of his friends, he defends the weak and powerless, and will do anything for those he loves and for the majority of the time it is this character trait that gets him into so much trouble. He has always been a s ...more
I love Dresden's character. He is prepared to throw down against an angel when he thought she was going to take one of his friends, he defends the weak and powerless, and will do anything for those he loves and for the majority of the time it is this character trait that gets him into so much trouble. He has always been a s ...more

Wow.
After the 4 plus months Butcher needed to write this I expected something epic. So I was a little fearful of finally reading the book - I mean I usually read them in one night and then have to wait a whole year for the next one.
Not this one, though. This book is a huge disappointment. I have been trying to read it for 3 days now, and couldn't get further than half of it. I keep drifting off to wash the dishes, collect laundry, read a better book even.
Gone is the wit, the sarcasm, the spark, ...more
After the 4 plus months Butcher needed to write this I expected something epic. So I was a little fearful of finally reading the book - I mean I usually read them in one night and then have to wait a whole year for the next one.
Not this one, though. This book is a huge disappointment. I have been trying to read it for 3 days now, and couldn't get further than half of it. I keep drifting off to wash the dishes, collect laundry, read a better book even.
Gone is the wit, the sarcasm, the spark, ...more

I do love Harry Dresden, don't get me wrong, but he's a ghost solving his own murder in this book? Seriously? I'm supposed to take this seriously?
this guy is more believable...
I mean, I get that this book and world is fantasy, but.... It's not just that, it's also just really really lame. Like, been done - too many times - and not well - lame.
And, that's not the only problem I had with this particular book in the series. It was also incredibly boring. Harry was introspective. Introspective!! ...more

this guy is more believable...
I mean, I get that this book and world is fantasy, but.... It's not just that, it's also just really really lame. Like, been done - too many times - and not well - lame.
And, that's not the only problem I had with this particular book in the series. It was also incredibly boring. Harry was introspective. Introspective!! ...more

http://www.rantingdragon.com/ghost-st...
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, has been a lot of things in his life: friend, enemy, apprentice, teacher, guardian, avenger, victim, and lover; not to mention shot, stabbed, bruised, and beaten. But dead? That’s a new one in his book.
When an unknown killer puts a bullet through Harry’s chest and leaves him to die in the cold waters of Lake Michigan, Harry thinks it’s all over. But even dead, he can’t seem to catch ...more
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, has been a lot of things in his life: friend, enemy, apprentice, teacher, guardian, avenger, victim, and lover; not to mention shot, stabbed, bruised, and beaten. But dead? That’s a new one in his book.
When an unknown killer puts a bullet through Harry’s chest and leaves him to die in the cold waters of Lake Michigan, Harry thinks it’s all over. But even dead, he can’t seem to catch ...more

Nope. I didn’t like this one. Slow as F. A total
Slogfest. I mean there were a couple of interesting surprises but even the narrator of the audiobook sounded bored this time around.
It felt like Butcher decided to masquerade this installment as a self help book with a tinge of religious undertones. “Harry visits the Midnight Library”. A Dickensesque review of ones life and mistakes. Blah. 😩
Look, I get that not every Dresden book is gonna reach the level of Changes and others, but I honestly expect ...more
Slogfest. I mean there were a couple of interesting surprises but even the narrator of the audiobook sounded bored this time around.
It felt like Butcher decided to masquerade this installment as a self help book with a tinge of religious undertones. “Harry visits the Midnight Library”. A Dickensesque review of ones life and mistakes. Blah. 😩
Look, I get that not every Dresden book is gonna reach the level of Changes and others, but I honestly expect ...more

4.5
It isn't an easy thing to write a good follow-up to Changes. To write a good story that doesn't brush over the enormous events that happened, that leaves room to reflect, explore, analyse, and mourn.
Yet still knows a way to deepen the mystery.
I applaud it. Great book. ...more
It isn't an easy thing to write a good follow-up to Changes. To write a good story that doesn't brush over the enormous events that happened, that leaves room to reflect, explore, analyse, and mourn.
Yet still knows a way to deepen the mystery.
I applaud it. Great book. ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Shut Up & Read: Ghost Story, by Jim Butcher | 12 | 8 | May 08, 2021 07:20PM | |
Urban Fantasy Afi...: UFA Series Read - Ghost Story - Sep 21 - Oct 12 | 1 | 2 | Oct 05, 2020 07:33AM | |
Dresden Files: Thoughts on Ghost Story 2017 | 18 | 70 | Jun 30, 2020 06:50AM | |
The Dresden Files...: Book 13: GHOST STORY (Spoilers Allowed) | 54 | 61 | Jun 27, 2020 10:29AM | |
The Dresden Files...: Book 13: GHOST STORY (No Spoilers) | 1 | 16 | Jun 09, 2020 10:12AM | |
Urban Fantasy ser...: October SRA: GHOST STORY by Jim Butcher | 2 | 9 | Oct 14, 2015 03:59PM |
3,324 users
2,708 users
690 users
598 users
416 users
250 users
194 users
148 users
141 users
Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resi
...more
Other books in the series
The Dresden Files
(1 - 10 of 21 books)
Related Articles
The genre known as urban fantasy can get pretty blurry. And that’s a good thing. Generally speaking, the designation refers to fantasy books...
74 likes · 9 comments
9 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“Star Trek?” I asked her. “Really?”
“What?” she demanded, bending unnaturally black eyebrows together.
“There are two kinds of people in the universe, Molly,” I said. “Star Trek fans and Star Wars fans. This is shocking.”
She sniffed. “This is the post-nerd-closet world, Harry. It’s okay to like both.”
“Blasphemy and lies,” I said.”
—
342 likes
“What?” she demanded, bending unnaturally black eyebrows together.
“There are two kinds of people in the universe, Molly,” I said. “Star Trek fans and Star Wars fans. This is shocking.”
She sniffed. “This is the post-nerd-closet world, Harry. It’s okay to like both.”
“Blasphemy and lies,” I said.”
“Oh," the girl said, shaking her head. "Don't be so simple. People adore monsters. They fill their songs and stories with them. They define themselves in relation to them. You know what a monster is, young shade? Power. Power and choice. Monsters make choices. Monsters shape the world. Monsters force us to become stronger, smarter, better. They sift the weak from the strong and provide a forge for the steeling of souls. Even as we curse monsters, we admire them. Seek to become them, in some ways." Her eyes became distant. "There are far, far worse things to be than a monster.”
—
210 likes
More quotes…