(Amy) And another of the Dresden Files books, and I'm not sure I have anything new to say about them, except that I'm still enjoying them and still can't quite figure out why, but have long since ceased to care. These have become books to read when I want a relatively predictably enjoyable read and don't want to be made to think, which made this a perfect installment for peak-busy-work-time reading. My enjoyment of the series ratchets upward with each installment, too, so that's good.

...yeah. I think that's all I have, for this.
( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/ze... ) ( )

I really liked the plot of this book in The Dresden Files series. The new characters that were introduced in this installment were quite intriguing and I cannot wait to see what happens when Harry must face them once again. I also really liked the interaction between Susan and Harry but to be honest, I wish they were still an item. We shall see what happens in the rest of the series! ( )

Opening Sentence: '...Some things just aren't meant to go together...'

Death Masks is the 5th in the series and I really have to say that I am so over the war with the red court.

In Death Masks, a vampire named Ortega challenges Harry to a duel that will end the war between the vampires and the wizards. Harry has no choice but to accept, and almost no hope of winning the duel. However he has another problem. A catholic priest - who doesn't believe in magic - needs Harry's help in finding the Shroud of Turin, which stolen by a trio of thieves, on of which has turned up very dead. Harry traces the remaining two thieves to his hometown of Chicago. He also quickly finds out that he isn't the only one after them. A group of terrifying demons wants the shroud, and the demon leader wants Harry's soul too. Phew! Life is never easy for Harry, all he wants is to just do private investigations and earn a living. He realises that he must accept help from all of his friends, including three Holy knights, his police-officer friend, and even his half-vampire ex-girlfriend, Susan.

The story is well-paced, the action well-orchestrated, humour abounds in spite of grizzly events and the threads of the plot are laced together deftly. Jim Butcher cleverly twists religious history and the occult, and builds on events from the previous books without you needing to have read them. Harry's world is increasingly complex, and he continues to grow as a character.

However, I just couldn't say this is a 'wow' book for me - a few things irk me. Why is Harry the only Wizard doing anything - yes I know he is on the out as far as wizarding goes - but this is threatening the whole magical world, why let him do all the work? I hope there is less war an more investigations into creepy magical beings in the future books. And what was with Butcher's obsession with Harry's coat that he had to mention it ad nauseum? ( )

This fifth Dresden tale has our intrepid hero hot on the trail of the stolen Shroud of Turin. However, Harry being Harry there are a few bumps along the way in the form of a challenge from the leading Red Court warrior/vampire, the return of his half-vampire sometime girlfriend, and goons galore. That's not even taking into consideration all the other super-charged demons that are also intent on getting the Shroud.

It has been quite a while since I read my last Dresden story so some of the details are a little hazy. Luckily this book does a good job of re-capping without seeming too redundant all the while moving forward with the well paced plot. There were a few different things going on in the book and I have to say I completely forgot about one plot thread (the duel) in the midst of the other so, I was surprised when it came up again in the middle of everything. It was nice to have the unexpected twists and turns. I was also happy with the appearance of White Court vampire, Thomas Raith, who I have a particular interest in after reading (completely out of order) the novelette, Backup, in which Thomas featured.

I really do enjoy this urban fantasy series. It is a lot of fun, very exciting and Harry is a very catchy character with his mixture of humility, confidence, bad jokes and kick-butt supernatural powers. A very highly recommended set of books thus far. ( )

Fast paced, action packed book. I actually finished this in a single day of reading. Butcher crafted a solid storyline and did a great job of sticking to the previously established mythology. He has grown a lot as a writer since books 1 and 2 (which I thought were very mediocre). It's kind of funny looking back at what I just read, though, and seeing just how many enemies Dresden has racked up. The book opens with an assassination attempt, and Harry doesn't specifically know or care who's behind it - there are just too many options. I hope he can tie up some of those, though, so this doesn't become the norm. It's gotta get annoying having to dive behind cars every time you go out for a latte.

I enjoyed the book a lot, and I'm happy that I have another 6 to enjoy before I'm current with the series. ( )