Death Masks (The Dresden Files, #5) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Aug 15, 2016 ~~Poulomi Sylphrena Tonk$~~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure, detective, favorites, fantasy, fangirl-material, paranormal, urban-fantasy, series

4 Shroud-y Stars!

Warning: Big, fat spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

Needless to say, this series just keeps getting better. Harry Dresden, Chicago's lone supernatural agent is now faced with an interesting new case, one that involves retrieval of the Holy Shroud. Not just this, his precarious fate hangs by a thin thread as he is challenged by Ortega on a one-on-one duel, in order to reinstill peace between the Councils. He is aided by Michael and the other Knights, Susan and Martin, 4 Shroud-y Stars!

Warning: Big, fat spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

Needless to say, this series just keeps getting better. Harry Dresden, Chicago's lone supernatural agent is now faced with an interesting new case, one that involves retrieval of the Holy Shroud. Not just this, his precarious fate hangs by a thin thread as he is challenged by Ortega on a one-on-one duel, in order to reinstill peace between the Councils. He is aided by Michael and the other Knights, Susan and Martin, the Archive and Kincaid, as well as by foes like Gentleman Marcone.

Beyond the usual reasons for which I love the Dresden Files so much, there are some unique things that added a silver lining to it all.

The Archive, newly introduced in this book, is character with phenomenal potential, and I'm eager to see how Butcher employs her powers in the following books. The concept of Fallen Angels is very new to me, I must say. I've never read about them prior to this, which obviously made me inquisitive.

I loved Susan here. It's not like I didn't like her pre-transformation. Before she used to accompany Harry to all these supernatural crime scenes out of curiosity but she could do nothing if they overpowered her and used her as a bait to blackmail Harry. At present, in this form she is no longer that easy a target, no longer a liability and rather an asset. Her senses have exaggerated, her strength, her swift reflexes, her determination- everything has risen by many, many notches. I'm very happy looking at the positive things this new life is doing to her. It feels bad when Harry and Susan reflect on their past, but sometimes you simply gotta deal with it and accept it as it comes. Besides that, I love their funny, sarcastic conversations. The humor in Butcher's writing is endless.

Shiro was an amazing character. His dexterity with fighting, his bravado all outdid his position as a Knight.

Ortega and Harry's duel was interesting from beginning to end. When Ortega said Harry that they were alike, and Harry retorted saying they were not- it was one of the best parts of the story for me.

Towards the end when it is revealed what Marcone intended to do with the Shroud, it showed a rather humane aspect of his otherwise crooked character. Harry's reaction to the same is a deep reflection of his own nature.

"Marcone was still a black hat. The pain and suffering of the criminal state he ruled accounted for an untold amount of human misery. Maybe he'd been doing it for a noble reason. I could understand that. But it didn't change anything. Marcone's good intentions could have paved a new lane on the road to hell. But dammit, I couldn't hate him anymore.

I couldn't hate him because I wasn't sure that I wouldn't have made the same choice in his place.

Hate was simpler, but the world ain't a simple place. It would have been easier to hate Marcone."

This book though had some minor shortcomings. Not much is revealed about the Denarians or the Fallen, as we see in each book with a new supernatural element cropping up every now and then. We see thorough detailing about the lycanthropes, demons, ghosts, vampire councils, faeries. Usually, Butcher even goes a step ahead in adding his own curvature, rendering them malleabls but still sticking to basic laws of their nature. However in this rendition, there isn't much information to gain about the Fallen. Why are they after the Shroud specifically? How did they come to existence? What is their status in the supernatural world? Are they good or are they bad and why? I won't say Butcher says nothing, but he doesn't say much either, in comparison to the other books.

Another thing were the constant threats issued by the people close to Harry, near and far. Okay, I get it that what he is dealing with here is dangerous, but hasn't he done that before? Let the poor fellow have a chance and then you can usher in your advice. It doesn't make the reader dread or shiver with those threats anymore.I was annoyed with Michael at first, because of the same reason. He constantly asked Harry to back off without explaining why at all. He would've avoided it, if he could right? Being his friend since long, he should've sensed that Harry wouldn't stand by if something this monumental was in effect. The only time I was scared for Harry this time was when Bob came back from his investigation, and went berserk. Probably because this never happens.

A good read, like the previous ones in this series. 4 stars in all. ...more

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Jul 15, 2013 Steven rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, read-in-2013, urban-fantasy-paranormal

What a fantastic entry into the Dresden Files. I just can't find the right words to express how much I love Harry Dresden and his snarky battle against the evils of the world. I am digging the religious mythology added in this book, and the return of some great characters, introductions for some new ones, and a great ending teasing further troubles for this poor peril-magnet that is Harry Dresden.

Looking forward to reading the next book :) ...more

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Jun 21, 2019 Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: for-a-challenge, read-on-my-kindle, adult, fantastic-hero, urban-fantasy, 4-stars, great-side-characters, 2019, e-book, fantasy

“There are things you can't walk away from. Not if you want to live with yourself afterward.”

4 stars. All of the awesome and badass action scenes and funny humor aside, this was a great read just because of the closure Harry gets with Susan. I’ve said before that I was never that big on their relationship but it was really nice to see them here and I thought they had some really great moments that were definitely the highlight of this book for me. It was really well done and showed a lot of ...more

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Jun 29, 2015 ☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎ rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal-vampires, paranormal, fantasy, mystery, fantasy-urban-fantasy, fantasy-magic, science-fiction, part-of-a-series, fiction, fantasy-supernatural

As always Harry is in some kind of trouble even when he doesn't know it. I am really enjoying this series even with all the trouble. Harry is tough even though some things do go wrong he manages to fix it, in a way. ...more

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Feb 17, 2018 Alison (Lady Coffin) S rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, other-races-fey-etc, magic-etc, demons, cop-detective-investigator, power-struggle-war, fairytale-adventure-ammp

Re-read

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Sep 30, 2018 Chaitra rated it really liked it

Shelves: part-of-a-series, fantasy, supernatural, paranormal, magic, urban-fantasy, vampires

Not a Dresden fan by any means, but this one was finally a bit of fun. I still don’t like the guy, but the plot interested me enough, and I genuinely liked James Marsters’ narration. So yes. Score for Dresden. Makes me feel a bit better about the gazillion books in the series that I’m yet to read.

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Aug 22, 2020 Rachel C. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2020-goodreads-reading-challenge

This series is finally getting better and better.

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Oct 13, 2017 Sunshine✰✰✰ rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-urban-fantasy, fantasy-magic, fantasy-paranormal, fantasy

At this point, I'm getting into the character of Harry. There was a lot going on. A duel with a vampire, the search for the shroud of Turin, curses, a damsel in distress (kind of) and, of course, lots of Harry wise-cracking. Ahh, Harry. Ever willing to do a good deed and a sucker for a damsel in distress. Even when she steals his jacket...and his car. There wasn't much of Bob or Murphy, but there was a lot of Susan. I wasn't a fan of her in previous books, but now I'm rooting for them to find a ...more

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