Skin Game by Jim Butcher
The Nitty Gritty: After a self imposed vacation on his new home away from blown up home, Demonreach, Harry is called upon by the Queen of Ice and Bitchery to fulfill a debt. Harry knows all about fulfilling debts. His debts have been passed around more in the Nevernever than a $5 hooker in Las Vegas. This time Mab is pawning him off onto Nicodemus Archleone to pull of a heist of epic proportions. Yep, the Black Denarians are back up to their old tricks and Harry is going to send several sets of eyes to walk out of this one with all his body parts attached.
The job....Harry has to break into the personal vault of Hades.
Yep, that Hades.
And actually steal the actual Holy Grail. Yes, that Holy Grail. And he has to do that without a bullwhip and a fedora. Though I am pretty sure Harry could pull off the Indiana Jones look. And he has to do it with a crew handpicked by Nic himself. Like that won't be the tiniest bit dangerous.
Opening Line: "There was a ticking time bomb inside my head and the one person I trusted to go in and get it out hadn't show up or spoken to me in more than a year."
The Good: 14 years ago Jim Butcher, introduced us to Harry Dresden in Storm Front. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't get hooked to Dresden till 2010 I believe, but when I finally did it was an epic Disney insta-love scenario for the ages. Harry was snarky, sassy, sarcastic, lived and worked by his own moral code that sometimes turned him into a misogynistic super save a damsel, he was loyal to stupidity, and above all his was bad ass enough to be listed in the phone book as Chicago's only professional wizard. Over the years he has made mistakes, gotten people killed, lost loved ones, killed and or thwarted some pretty bad monsters, found a brother, fathered a child, destroyed an entire race of vampires (they had it coming believe you me), and taken on the mantle of the Winter Knight. Never once did he stop being Harry. Since the beginning he has gotten more Harry, if that is at all possible.
I've started out with some very awesome book series. The Southern Vampire Mysteries, House of Night, Blackdagger Brotherhood, just to name a few. They all started out with great intentions and better writing. The characters had distinct voices that resonated deep with me. Who doesn't love a hulking vampire in tight leather pants and penchant for burning buildings down with a touch? And, yes I am talking about you Vishous. I fell in love, as indicated by my overflowing bookshelves, and my bulging Kindle account. However something happened within these series. I can't pinpoint in each instance the book where it happened. The author fell out of love with their characters. They stopped investing in their development, their story, their lives. They became products to be pushed onto addicts.
Don't get me wrong here, I am attempting to break into the published world myself, I understand writing for money. Its what I want to do with my life. I want to wake up everyone morning, brew a cup of hot chocolate, switch on my Netflix, sit down at my computer and bleed all over the page and hope its something another person will pay to read. I would never in a million years suggest that any artist give away their masterpieces for free. But when you invest years, YEARS into something or someone you have to love it. Anyone can be a one trick pony. Anyone can write one book and then walk away. But to take something, pour your heart and soul into day in and day out for years takes dedication. It takes love.
The same sort of love the people in the fandom have for the series.
So when I say these authors have fallen out of love with their characters I mean just that. Over the years they have stop spending time with their creations, investing in them. They are just churning our stories out of obligations to their publishers at this point. Oh sure they will say they still love them and they still care, but actions speak louder than words and the words on the page speak volumes. And they are talking in languages I don't understand. I've long since abandoned House of Night when it dissolved into soft porn for teens. I turned my back on Sookie when she went from a barmaid blazing her own trail in the supe world to a jealous dingbat with nothing going on between her ears than suntanning and why Eric doesn't love her anymore. I've just recently given up on The Blackdagger Brother. I must say I feel that lose more keenly than the other two.
Jim Butcher is a lily among the valley. He is still in love with Harry. He is still investing in Harry and giving us the best Harry he can. Which in this cloud of crap is rare a gem indeed. Harry Dresden just gets better with age. Not in the sense that he still doesn't destroy at least three lives and several building with every outing, but in the sense of a fine aged wine. The longer he sits the better time we have when the cork gets popped.
Can I just say that outside of the Percy Jackson lexicon Butcher's Hades is my favorite. The Lord of the Underworld, the master of death, the wielder of the Helm of Darkness has a three-headed dog names Spot. I snorted milkshake all over myself when I read that. Hades has a dog names Spot, a thing he found just as funny as I did.
Butcher is the best in the game with characterizations. The best. Even the red shirts in the Dresdenverse get nuanced. They get personalities, backstories, backgrounds, and reasons for being even if they were simply cannon fodder. Few authors bother to do that to a character they are going to kill three pages later. It might take a lot of work, but we as readers appreciate it.
The Bad: I didn't get my Thomas itch scratched. I fell in love with Thomas in Grave Peril. He is a sexy vampire that feeds on the sexual energy of others. How could I not fall in love with him. But over the years Thomas has proven himself to be, dare I say, the king of all vampires. I know that is a atomic bomb to drop in this bloodsucker laden society we live in, but there it is. He is fangs above Bill Compton, Eric Northman, Edward Cullen, Lestat, and even Louie, and all those creepers in the Anita Blake series. Thomas is all vampire all the time, but at the same time he has instances of humanity about him. He never hides who he is, nor makes excuses for being a vampire. He doesn't hate who he is, just what he is forced to do to the ones he loves. I've been missing him for nearly a year and I want more of him. I need more Thomas in my life I really do.
In Cold Days the mantle of the Winter Lady was thrust upon Molly after she put Maeve in her place. I say good riddance to star spangled crotch. She was a little over the top for me. After centuries beside her mother she didn't learn how to be subtle. You don't have to hit a fly with a sledgehammer to show the fly who's boss. I like Mab's style. She can chill your blood with a look, or a raised eyebrow. Maeve pounced like a polar bear. I wanted to see the transformation going on in Molly. We get a few glimpses of her in Skin Game, but I wanted her centrally located this go around. For me Molly is one of the few white female characters that doesn't make me grind my teeth. Her and Karrin Murphy that is, and I want to see the evolution from grasshopper to Winter Lady. Hopefully Butcher gives us more Molly in the next book. Oh and I want more Maggie. I have a feeling I'm going to the love the little mite. And we need more Mouse too. That dog has literally grown on me.
My Hope for the series: That Butcher keeps doing what he is doing. In the direction that he is going. We have fallen into the abyss with Harry and I for one am in it for the fall.
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The Nitty Gritty: After a self imposed vacation on his new home away from blown up home, Demonreach, Harry is called upon by the Queen of Ice and Bitchery to fulfill a debt. Harry knows all about fulfilling debts. His debts have been passed around more in the Nevernever than a $5 hooker in Las Vegas. This time Mab is pawning him off onto Nicodemus Archleone to pull of a heist of epic proportions. Yep, the Black Denarians are back up to their old tricks and Harry is going to send several sets of eyes to walk out of this one with all his body parts attached.
The job....Harry has to break into the personal vault of Hades.
Yep, that Hades.
And actually steal the actual Holy Grail. Yes, that Holy Grail. And he has to do that without a bullwhip and a fedora. Though I am pretty sure Harry could pull off the Indiana Jones look. And he has to do it with a crew handpicked by Nic himself. Like that won't be the tiniest bit dangerous.
Opening Line: "There was a ticking time bomb inside my head and the one person I trusted to go in and get it out hadn't show up or spoken to me in more than a year."
The Good: 14 years ago Jim Butcher, introduced us to Harry Dresden in Storm Front. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't get hooked to Dresden till 2010 I believe, but when I finally did it was an epic Disney insta-love scenario for the ages. Harry was snarky, sassy, sarcastic, lived and worked by his own moral code that sometimes turned him into a misogynistic super save a damsel, he was loyal to stupidity, and above all his was bad ass enough to be listed in the phone book as Chicago's only professional wizard. Over the years he has made mistakes, gotten people killed, lost loved ones, killed and or thwarted some pretty bad monsters, found a brother, fathered a child, destroyed an entire race of vampires (they had it coming believe you me), and taken on the mantle of the Winter Knight. Never once did he stop being Harry. Since the beginning he has gotten more Harry, if that is at all possible.
I've started out with some very awesome book series. The Southern Vampire Mysteries, House of Night, Blackdagger Brotherhood, just to name a few. They all started out with great intentions and better writing. The characters had distinct voices that resonated deep with me. Who doesn't love a hulking vampire in tight leather pants and penchant for burning buildings down with a touch? And, yes I am talking about you Vishous. I fell in love, as indicated by my overflowing bookshelves, and my bulging Kindle account. However something happened within these series. I can't pinpoint in each instance the book where it happened. The author fell out of love with their characters. They stopped investing in their development, their story, their lives. They became products to be pushed onto addicts.
Don't get me wrong here, I am attempting to break into the published world myself, I understand writing for money. Its what I want to do with my life. I want to wake up everyone morning, brew a cup of hot chocolate, switch on my Netflix, sit down at my computer and bleed all over the page and hope its something another person will pay to read. I would never in a million years suggest that any artist give away their masterpieces for free. But when you invest years, YEARS into something or someone you have to love it. Anyone can be a one trick pony. Anyone can write one book and then walk away. But to take something, pour your heart and soul into day in and day out for years takes dedication. It takes love.
The same sort of love the people in the fandom have for the series.
So when I say these authors have fallen out of love with their characters I mean just that. Over the years they have stop spending time with their creations, investing in them. They are just churning our stories out of obligations to their publishers at this point. Oh sure they will say they still love them and they still care, but actions speak louder than words and the words on the page speak volumes. And they are talking in languages I don't understand. I've long since abandoned House of Night when it dissolved into soft porn for teens. I turned my back on Sookie when she went from a barmaid blazing her own trail in the supe world to a jealous dingbat with nothing going on between her ears than suntanning and why Eric doesn't love her anymore. I've just recently given up on The Blackdagger Brother. I must say I feel that lose more keenly than the other two.
Jim Butcher is a lily among the valley. He is still in love with Harry. He is still investing in Harry and giving us the best Harry he can. Which in this cloud of crap is rare a gem indeed. Harry Dresden just gets better with age. Not in the sense that he still doesn't destroy at least three lives and several building with every outing, but in the sense of a fine aged wine. The longer he sits the better time we have when the cork gets popped.
Can I just say that outside of the Percy Jackson lexicon Butcher's Hades is my favorite. The Lord of the Underworld, the master of death, the wielder of the Helm of Darkness has a three-headed dog names Spot. I snorted milkshake all over myself when I read that. Hades has a dog names Spot, a thing he found just as funny as I did.
Butcher is the best in the game with characterizations. The best. Even the red shirts in the Dresdenverse get nuanced. They get personalities, backstories, backgrounds, and reasons for being even if they were simply cannon fodder. Few authors bother to do that to a character they are going to kill three pages later. It might take a lot of work, but we as readers appreciate it.
The Bad: I didn't get my Thomas itch scratched. I fell in love with Thomas in Grave Peril. He is a sexy vampire that feeds on the sexual energy of others. How could I not fall in love with him. But over the years Thomas has proven himself to be, dare I say, the king of all vampires. I know that is a atomic bomb to drop in this bloodsucker laden society we live in, but there it is. He is fangs above Bill Compton, Eric Northman, Edward Cullen, Lestat, and even Louie, and all those creepers in the Anita Blake series. Thomas is all vampire all the time, but at the same time he has instances of humanity about him. He never hides who he is, nor makes excuses for being a vampire. He doesn't hate who he is, just what he is forced to do to the ones he loves. I've been missing him for nearly a year and I want more of him. I need more Thomas in my life I really do.
In Cold Days the mantle of the Winter Lady was thrust upon Molly after she put Maeve in her place. I say good riddance to star spangled crotch. She was a little over the top for me. After centuries beside her mother she didn't learn how to be subtle. You don't have to hit a fly with a sledgehammer to show the fly who's boss. I like Mab's style. She can chill your blood with a look, or a raised eyebrow. Maeve pounced like a polar bear. I wanted to see the transformation going on in Molly. We get a few glimpses of her in Skin Game, but I wanted her centrally located this go around. For me Molly is one of the few white female characters that doesn't make me grind my teeth. Her and Karrin Murphy that is, and I want to see the evolution from grasshopper to Winter Lady. Hopefully Butcher gives us more Molly in the next book. Oh and I want more Maggie. I have a feeling I'm going to the love the little mite. And we need more Mouse too. That dog has literally grown on me.
My Hope for the series: That Butcher keeps doing what he is doing. In the direction that he is going. We have fallen into the abyss with Harry and I for one am in it for the fall.
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