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/lit/ - Literature

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548343 No.548343 [Reply] [Original]

So...best book in The Dresden Files series to date?

>> No.548384

yes

>> No.548387

no

>> No.548390
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548390

>>548387

>> No.548886

I preferred Turn Coat, but damn was Changes good.

>> No.550447

No. Most significant plot-wise, hell yes. Best, nah. Some of the others are much more re-readable/fun.
Also, is there any reason Harry couldn't be both the Winter Knight and Summer Knight? Obviously, the possible motive for the players involved making that happen would be another story, but it seems technically possible, and it'd certainly change the playing field...

>> No.550455

So will there be another book?
I mean after 13 which is mostly just short stories.

At one point he said he wanted to do 20 books but that was back in 2007. Not to many plot lines left :(

Well except for the black council. It would be a motherfucking bitch if they never got around to finishing that.

>> No.550458

>>550455
He said 21-23 books total as recently as last Friday at a book signing. There's video of the Q+A on YouTube. And he's said it before recently as well.

>> No.550465

>>550455
also forgot to say
>>550447
>No. Most significant plot-wise, hell yes. Best, nah. Some of the others are much more re-readable/fun.
I agree with this. I liked the ones that deal with Winter the best but not to the minor degree Changes does.

To many questions left unanswered. There has GOT to be another book past the next right?!

I could imagine the author getting a bit tired of only the first two series he has ever written. Maybe afraid of being type cast. Doing the one hit wonder thing.

>> No.550470

>>550458
FUCKING sweet!

I read the end and I thought lol good cliff hanger but then I check out to see what the next book is and a freak out.

>> No.550491

>>550465
He's got a contract to write the next book, Ghost Story, so we're getting that one at least.

I don't think this was the best of the series when it comes to writing, but Butcher was fitting a huge amount of world and plot development into one book - a massive genre shift, I think. Harry might still be an investigator, but I think he's well past finding lost cats and solving murders.

>> No.550597

>>550458
I love reading new fiction because there might be more books or there might not. You are not sitting down knowing THIS is the last trilogy in the series. Or something like that.

But the downside is you do have to wait and that is a bitch.

>> No.551710

>>550491

Agreed. This book could have done with about 150 more pages, at the least.

That being said, he was slowly building to the genre change since about book 7, methinks. I just didn't think it would hit such a massive focal point all at once.

Also, as I have lent my copy out and will be damned if I search through the audiobook...any one know what joke he was talking about when he realized he took three bullets for Rudolph?

>> No.552335

>>551710

That was the joke. Harry's laughing cause he's Spider-Man.

>> No.552374

>>552335

...I don't get it.

>> No.552426
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552426

>>551710
this was funnier

>> No.552446
File: 49 KB, 639x307, pet-tier.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
552446

What would be the proper term for divination via mis-scanned characters? I suppose it's some subset of typomancy.

>> No.552457

>>552446
Maeve is unarguably pet-tier.

>> No.552478

>>552457

It's true. Other possible tiers:

MOUSE TIER:

Mouse, Harry, McCoy

POLKA TIER:

Butters

GOD TIER:

Murphy, Ivy, Mister, Mac

AWESOME TIER:

Luccio, Ramirez, The Gatekeeper, Injun Joe

RAPE TIER:

Thomas, Mab, Bob, Toot-Toot, Molly

SHIT TIER:

Merlin, Rudolph, Susan

>> No.552492

>>552478
Wizard tier:

Harry, McCoy, the white council, thhe black council, MOLLY

Fae Tier:

Erlking, Winter court, Summer court, changelings

Knight tier:

Michael, Sanya, Murphy

Vampire tier:

Black Court, White court, Jade court(?), Thomas

God tier:

Mister, Mouse, God

>> No.552521

Now that Harry is dead, the new protagonist is Toot.

>> No.552524

>>552521
No, it's the DRESDEN files.


Maggie Dresden, Vampire Hunter

>> No.552531

>>552524

Slow down there. There's 13 books to go. We need some setup.

Maggie is in ]highschool where she meets this pale, aloof guy...

>> No.552541

>>552531

FUCK YOU.

FUCK YOU YOU SHIT EATING CUM STAIN.

>> No.552545

>>552531
Aided her her loving, homosexual uncle Thomas , she experiences war and love in Chicago.

>> No.552560

>>552521

Now that Harry is limp the new big hard cock is Mac's?

>> No.552563

>>552560
*grunts*

>> No.552588 [SPOILER] 
File: 52 KB, 327x480, 76498_1244679244306.21res_327_480.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
552588

>>552541

ok, I admit I may have gone too far there.

>> No.552595 [SPOILER] 
File: 65 KB, 327x480, ghoststory.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
552595

>>552588
:D

>> No.552607

>>552595

When that appears as the cover for Ghost Story on his homepage tonight, we'll know for sure Butcher trolls /lit/

>> No.552623

>>552607
now he's not gonna do it

>> No.552635
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552635

>> No.552652

Harry's not dead. Mab just wants it to seem that way so that he function as her Winter Knight without distractions.

>> No.552660

>>552635
looks legit LOL
>>552652
Maybe, but Harry has a ridiculously long list of people who would want to kill him for various reasons.

>> No.552816

From one of the interviews at the Changes book tours:

Jim Butcher: I will say that Lash's story is not over yet, and we'll leave it at that.

>> No.552840

>>552816

Sweet.

>> No.552867

>>552816
She saved Harry after he was shot

>> No.552896

>>552840
>>552816
I will echo this for good measure.

SWEEEEEEEEET!!!!!1!!1!one

>> No.552980

Sounds like Ivy's bodyguard killed him. After all harry refers back to the way the bodyguard said he would kill harry earlier on in the book.

>> No.553002

>>552980
Yeah, but you'd think Kincaid would be smart enough to shoot him in the head.

>> No.553027

Speaking of Ivy, she's probably going to go nuts. That torture in Small Favor combined with Harry being shot would probably push her over the edge.

>> No.553039

>>552980

No way. Kincaid would have gotten the job done.

It was probably just some random guys the Red Court hired earlier who caught up to him.

>> No.553065

>>553039
or a pissed off blood slave who really wanted that immortality

>> No.553079

>>553065

Nah. It happened too soon after the shit went down.

>> No.553149

>>553079
Yeah, you're probably right. That narrows the list down to Kincaid, Murphy, The Black Council, Mister, The White Court, The Black Court, The White Council, Marcone, the guy they let get away that very book, The Summer Court, th--shit, I ain't got time to list all his enemies.

>> No.553337
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553337

>> No.554095

>>553079
>>553065
>>553039

It was Fix.

>> No.554821

>>554095
but fix is a bitch

>> No.555121

>>553039
I suspect it was Kincaid on orders from Ivy. Remember, the power of the Winter and Summer Knights return to the respective queens when the knights DIE. This is a way for Harry to get out of his obligation to Mab, though she'll be understandably pissed.

>> No.555122

I predicted that the story will be about maggie 10 years later, she grew up in a world where it has gotten colder through the years. Winter is starting to last longer and longer. Turns out winter has unbalanced the scales with their new knight who can't seem to be stopped. She goes up against him in order to put everything right where she is defeated, and the knight tells her that he is her father and he kills mab

>> No.555131

light coming at the end of the tunnel....sounds like a train....any idea wtf that means?

>> No.555172

It was Odin. reread the book, he shared his food with Dresden, which turns him into a Eiherjar, and says to him that "maybe I've given you exactly what you need". The Einherjar were norse heroes that the Valkyries could bring back from the dead. Dresden hears a familiar female voice when he dies, it's Ms. Gard, who happens to be a Valk.

Makes sense imho.

>> No.555183

>>555172
makes sense thats the best theory I've heard yet

>> No.555201

>>555172
That could actually tie in with my idea that Kincaid shot him on orders from Ivy. She of all people would know what Odin was up to, and may have seen it as the best way to handle the situation without offing Harry permanently, what with him being a father figure/friend to her.

>> No.555230

>>555201
I'm not keen in the Kincaid theory because of what we've seen so far, The Archive doesn't seem to be allowed to intervene and must remain neutral. If Ivy actually did this, it would be like declaring war on the Kingdom of Winter Fae, and she's a signatory of the unseelie accords, it'd be a very serious breach.

>> No.555248

>>555201
I like your theory I really do but that would mean Ivy would have chose a side and that's something that she would not do.

I'm pretty sure that who ever shot him wanted him dead and didn't want him coming back

>> No.555250

>>555230
Kincaid isn't Ivy.

Remember that Harry was able to hire Kincaid to help him with the Black Court vamps and nobody had a problem with Ivy's babysitter doing so.

Perhaps a slight change is Ivy didn't order it, but made sure that the information was used by the proper people. Not to mention Ivy already stretches her neutrality to near breaking when Harry is involved.

>> No.555308

>>555131

It's a play on the light at the end of the tunnel you see when you die thing. Harry can't even die without everything going to shit.

>> No.555318

>>555172

A theory that makes sense and isn't batshit insane.

How novel.

>> No.556390

Murphy shot Harry.

>> No.556585

bump

>> No.557103

>>555230

Yeah, but Ivy can be a serious breach if ticked off.

Also, at the end, is Harry slipping before or after he got shot? It's not entirely clear, perhaps intentionally, and also since he's probably not sure.

>> No.557146

>>557103
He slips first, then he gets shot. The shot misses his heart, and he falls in the water.

>> No.557157

>>557146

Do you have any argument for this? My point is that the order Harry notices/mentions things in the second or two during which he slips and is shot is not reliable.

>> No.557171

>>557157
SPOILER ALERT


>My foot slipped a little, and I nearly lost my balance, just as something smacked into the wall of the cabin behind me, a sharp popping sound, like a rock thrown against a wooden fence. I turned, and it felt slow for some reason. I looked at the Water Beetle’s cabin wall, bulkhead, whatever, behind me and thought, Who splattered red paint on my boat?

And then my left leg started to fold all by itself.

I looked down at a hole in my shirt, just to the left of my sternum.

I thought, Why did I pick the shirt with a bullet hole in it?

Then I fell off the back of the boat, and into the icy water of Lake Michigan.
I guess it's kinda ambiguous

>> No.557185

Demonreach doesn't like The Gatekeeper because he can see the future and Demonreach is involved with the flow of time.

Once Harry has fully mastered Demonreach's secrets, he goes back in time and shoots himself.

>> No.557204

>>557185
Harry is Cowl

>> No.557220

>>557204

And after being flung backward in time and amassing an ever-larger crowd of followers, Toot-Toot becomes the Erlking.

>> No.557229

>>557220
Cowl's right hand lady/ apprentice was Molly all along, too.

>> No.557248

>>557229

Which is reasonable since Molly is Maggie.

>> No.557302

>>557248
Mister is Mouse after he turned himself into a cat. Those hounds Harry saw at his Godmother's place were him and his friends from the future.

>> No.557317

http://www.youtube.com/user/kemuel0512

>> No.557502

I reckon it was just a shooter hired by the Eebs. They probably hired two or three shooters at the same time to take care of Harry, and that one was just a day slow, but waaaay more successful.

>> No.557504

>>557502
That's entirely possible.

>> No.557506

and I STILL don't get the joke he heard a day before he got shot at!

WHAT IS THE JOKE

>> No.557512
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557512

>>557506

>> No.557530

>>557502
That would be fucking hilarious. I can just picture it, some thug-for-hire ecstatic at having killed Harry Dresden, reputed to be a real badass. And then the thug grows increasingly worried, as his bosses don't answer their phones...or his bosses' bosses...in fact, he's having trouble locating any Red Court to get his payment...

And then Harry Dresden comes back from the dead and kills him. Because, you see, the death doesn't count unless Harry dies 'doing the right thing'.

>> No.557532

>>557530
Harry wasn't hit in the heart or brain, so he can probably survive.

>> No.557537

>>557532

he was probably hit in the vagina

>> No.557540

>>557530

I actually figured they would have paid all the shooters they hired up front, just throwing money at the problem. The guy was paid, did his job, and gets mad kudos from Marcone in the form of cement shoes for taking a contract in his town from an outside agency.

>> No.557541

>>557537
just a little left of his sternum

>> No.557542

>>557537

Harry hasn't had a vagina in years.

>> No.557543

>>557542
Wasn't he banging Luccio in her new teen aged body a year or so before Changes?

>> No.557556

>>557543

maybe a little over a year, but yeah. I reckon they used each other for a booty call on a regular occasion until just before Turn Coat.

>> No.557582

>>557556
Probably.

>> No.557596

The gun man is Fix (summer knight).

>> No.557601

>>557596
nah, summer's too kind and cuddly

>> No.557604

>>557601
lolno. Summer is less likely to kill you simply because they can. That's the primary difference.

>> No.557605

>>557604
nah mamn read the books. summer is the good guys

>> No.557610

from the Official Dresden Forums:

Someone asked Butcher at a Q&A about the Blackstaff, and he told them to look to Celtic Mythology around 1065 AD. TLDR,

>‘This great staff that thou seest,’ said he, ‘has a smooth end and a rough end. One end slays the living, and the other end brings the dead to life.’

Eb is allowed to break the laws of Magic, one of which is "Thou Shalt Not Kill With Magic". But another is "Thou Shalt Not Reach Beyond The Borders Of Life".

We see in Changes that wielding the Blackstaff to kill taxes Ebenezar, so what would the cost be perhaps for bringing life back?

>> No.557615

>>557605
you posting drunk or something? Summer is the LESS BAD guys. Fae are never really good, they do the bargaining too much and they just don't think like humans do.

Remember in the one early book, Elaine owed either her life or her service to the Summer Lady, who was arguably the kindest and most human Fae. Even the nice ones don't do things out of the kindness of their hearts.

>> No.557622

>>557615
man, you winterfags annoy me.

>> No.557625

>>557610
I doubt Harry's dead from one shot anyway.

>> No.557626

>>557622
lol. umad, troll?

>> No.557630

>>557596
He has confronted Harry before with a gun. Also, Harry's knighting was televised throughout the entire of the nevernever. Summer wants Harry bumped off while he is weak because he would pose to much as a threat. With his magic upgraded, Harry also probably tipped the balance of summer and winter again and needs to be corrected. .

>> No.557636

>>557630
Maybe. So many people want Harry dead for so many reasons. lol.

>> No.557648

>>557630
Fix was sent on behalf of the summer court to tell Harry to give up on his mission for Mab. Fix, fearful of Harry's much stronger magic and uncertain temper, took a gun with him when they talked.

>> No.557664

>>557648
So Harry was already stronger than the Summer Knight?

>> No.557674

>>557664

At the time, he was "stronger" in terms of experience and world know how. Fix was still a mechanic learning to use his powers.

Harry, we can relatively assume has the raw innate power on terms with McCoy or any of the "heavy hitter" mortals. He just lacks the experience to use and employ the power. But look at what he can do in Storm Front, and what he can do at the end of Changes. Adding in his linear increase in power with the Winter Knight boost, Summer would have reason to fear, but I doubt them all the killers. Lily and Fix would probably want to give Harry a chance to prove his control vs. Mab first.

>> No.557685

>>557674
Mab > Harry. We all know that

>> No.557715

>>557685

In terms of raw power, Mab could splatter the shit out of Dresden. However he has taken on shit that should have squashed him like an insect in just about every god damn book before. The only thing that makes Mab nearly untouchable is the same thing that make Nicodemus untouchable; not only are they strong as all fuck, but they have enough sense not to fuck around with Dresden and treat him as a very deadly enemy if they do mess with him.

>> No.557717

>>557715
At least Mab isn't as bad as Maeve

>> No.557723

>>557717

Fuck Maeve, she couldn't handle a thug with a little bit of a power boost. Harry could stomp that cunt into dust in a straight up fight.

Also, she is pet tier

>> No.557725
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557725

>>557723

>> No.557727

>>557685
Mab <3 Harry, we all know that.

>> No.557730

>>557727
Harry/Kincaid is my favorite pairing

>> No.557735

>>557715

Yeah. Nick's only mistake was believing that Lasciel's shadow was still kicking around Harry's head, and that is the kind of mistake that is easy to make.

But...Nick doesn't begin to compare with Mab. Nick's got power, wisdom and influence...but Mab literally -is- a force of nature. Like trying to throw a snowball at the sun.

>> No.557738

>>557735
we're gonna need a bigger snowball

>> No.557739

>>557735

In addition to the fact that she still has Harry's number, outside of his bargain to be the Winter Knight.

He still owes her a favor, after all.

>> No.557745

>>557735

I would throw my snowball into her sun, if you know what I mean.

>> No.557746

>>557739
No he doesn't. Accepting the Knighthood canceled all previous bargains between them, that was explicitly part of the agreement.

>> No.557751

>>557745
I'd lance her quintain, if you know what I mean.
I would disrupt Molly's veil, if you know what I mean.
I'd violate Molly's probation, if you know what I mean.

>> No.557753

>>557746

I believe she made that offer before, but he refused it.

It was never discussed this time around.

I don't think Mab would make it a standing offer that his debt to her would be null. That just doesn't fit her m/o.

>> No.557756

>>557751

I would chew on Mouse's bone, if you know what I mean.

>> No.557759

>>557751
I'd feed Mister, if you what I mean.
I'd take Mouse for a walk, if you know what I mean.
I'd feed Toot-toot some pizza, if you know what I mean.

>> No.557763

>>557751

I'd tell Murphy she has the right to remain silent, if you know what I mean.

I'd tell Murphy that anything she said could be used against her in a court of law, if you know what I mean.

I'd tell Murphy that if she doesn't have an attorney, one would be provided to her, if you know what I mean.

>> No.557789

I'd cut Susan's throat, if you know what I--

Wait. Whoops.

>> No.557793

>>557789
Harry here.

I'd murder the mother of my child, if you kn-- Oops.


I'd kill a tied down man, if you kn-- oops.

I'd incinerate an entire mansion full of people, if you kno-- Oops.

>> No.557800

I'd accidentally start a war, if-- dammit.

I'd lie to the Senior Council's face, if you-- fuck.

I'd kill an entire species for totally valid reasons, if you know-- SON OF A BITCH.

>> No.557832

>>557800
I'll pick up a dangerous Denarian coin, if you-- fuck.

I'll punch the spirit of dark place in the face, if you kno-- double fuck.

I'll become the winter knight, if you-- Mab fuck!

>> No.557834

>>557832
>>557800
>>557793

Please, stop.

This has gone too far, and you should feel bad.

>> No.557838
File: 271 KB, 1024x768, harrydresden.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
557838

>>557834
This murderer SHOULD feel bad.

>> No.557855

>>557838
He is a murderer. No matter what his reasons were, he planned and executed the murder of someone he loved.

He's gonna have to deal with that.

>> No.557857

>>557855
He doesn't have to deal with shit. He's dead.

>> No.557881

>>557857
That could make the next eighteen books somewhat problematic to write.

>> No.557886

>>557881
Maggie Dresden: Vampire Hunter


The opening line:


When I was 4 years old, I watched my father slit my vampire mother's throat...

>> No.557892

>>557886

Isn't she between 8 and 12 years old?

Also, she shouldn't have shit magically, the mother is supposed to be the one to pass on the magic if I remember correctly.

>> No.557895

>>557892
She was born to a half vampire and powerful wizard, making her as fast and as strong as a vampire, but with none of their weaknesses. She also controls the elements, and has a katana.

>> No.557905

>>557895

The vampire side of her would be dead now, so that removes the super strength and speed. Her mother had no magical abilities, so she has no magic. She might get a katana later on though, but it would have to be one of the swords of the cross to be worth its salt in this series.

Ultimately, she will pop up again down the road and will be used for more story advancement, character growth, or possibly be corrupted by the nickle-heads in an attempt to make something that Harry wouldn't fight.

>> No.557907

>>557905
What about a Warden's sword?

>> No.557909

>>557907

Those don't seem to stop the wardens from dying left and right.

>> No.557924

>>557909
...Or do they?

>> No.557926

>>557924

Considering they are only about 100 or so left after getting their asses handed to them left and right? No, those fucking swords aren't worth a turd.

>> No.557927

>>557895

this is the dumbest sentence i've ever read in english

>> No.557929
File: 25 KB, 480x360, Nate_Wolverine_2.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
557929

>>557927
I think it would be sweet. Like Anita Blake.

>> No.557942

Dresden IS dead, Jim has said so in a Q&A.
Also, the first line of Ghost story is something along the lines of: "Living is easy, dying is a whole other story".

>> No.557995

I'm about 130 pages into it and something seems off.

The writing is below the quality of the others, which weren't that high in the first place. I'm hoping it's just rust that Butcher shakes off in the later chapters.

>> No.558025

>>557995

Harry takes on the mantle of the Winter Night.

Harry fucks Mab.

Martin betrays everyone.

Harry kills Susan.

>> No.558143

>>557995
He gets shot in the end.

>> No.558146

>>558143
Just as he and Murphy are about to get JIGGY WIT IT.

>> No.558228
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558228

>>558146
>>558143
>>558025
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU MOTHERFUCKERS

>> No.558245

>>558228
Fuck you, that's what.

>> No.558249
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558249

>>558245

>> No.558252

>>558228
Take your headache medicine, Dubmlydore.

>> No.560053

bump

>> No.561068

>>550455

Only the Black Council?

Off the top of my head there's still the dragon, Thomas' redemption, whatever the fuck Demonreach is, the mystery that is the Gatekeeper, the Black Court of Vampires, the Jade Court of Vampires, Murphy's ascension to Knight of the Cross, the whole thing tying into Arthurian legend, Kincaid in general, the corruption of Ebenezer through the Black Staff, whatever is driving Mab insane, Nicodemus in general motherfucking Odin~!... there's plenty to go into there.

The ending of this book did, however, make me throw shit around my home. This seems to be a common reaction, from what I'm told.

>> No.561090

>>557942

Dresden is only mostly dead.

The bullet missed his heart; Murphy should find him in the water. Cassius' voice is obvious, his mother's less so, but her gift showed him the ways. He'll find his way back, Murphy will find him, Gard will bring him back, and I will no longer be spitting blood whenever this book gets mentioned.

I believe someone already mentioned that Mab only has her hold on Harry until he's dead, which means she no longer holds anything other than a favor on him. All he has to do is resurrect - the question is, who would want to put Mab at that kind of disadvantage while insulting her that badly?

>> No.561207

>>561090
Any of the summer queens or the winter queens daughter. Think about it the summer knight was some half fae thing while harry is a fucking badass wizard.

>> No.561211

>>561207

Fix doesn't have the guts to go after Harry like that and the rest of them don't have the imagination. The fae in Dresden tend to go after people with magic and glamour, not bullets.

That leaves purely mortal or near mortal sources - so, again, who benefits? Who wants to piss off Mab that badly? Who haven't we seen in a while and who was missing from Changes, other than Billy and the Werewolves...?

>> No.561223

Next Book: Harry doing detective work as a ghost.

>> No.561526

Charity shot Dresden.