(Amy) And yet another Dresden book. I'm done wondering why I like these now, though I've figured out at least one the things I dislike about them: I'm just plain over the hard-boiled-detective-always-on-the-brink-of-bankruptcy gimmick. But I can get past that, because the books are fun. I read this one on a transatlantic flight, and I can't think of a better thing for such circumstances. They're engrossing and not even a little bit demanding, and next time I have a long flight I'm taking five of them.

I'm about to start on the next one in the series even now, actually (I got a bit behind in the booklogging), and I'm very much looking forward to it.
( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/ze... ) ( )

I love the way this book started, with Harry playing hero to a pack of puppies while on the run from flying monkeys whipping flaming poo! Gotta love that. After this auspicious beginning Harry is called in by White Court Vampire, Thomas, who would like to help out a movie producer friend of his who may be the victim of a curse.

As always Harry has multiple things going on that he's trying to deal with. From puppy-sitting to trying to figure out Thomas' angle, to working on his new case and dealing with an old threat he really has his hands full. We get to see more Murphy, more Thomas and more of Harry's caustic wit which are all big plusses for me. This story had a lot of twists which really made things interesting and I'm curious to see how things work themselves out, particularly between Harry and Murphy and Harry and Thomas. ( )

Not much to say about this book - Butcher continues the pace and tone of his previous 4 books to create another exciting adventure. I liked that we saw Harry "power up" some in this one with some new enchantments and artifacts to help him on his way, that he resolves one of the sub-plots halfway through the book (instead of finding out that everything is linked), and that we get some answers about Harry's mother and about his childhood. It would have been very easy for the author to blow off his readers and keep them in the dark, but I am happy that he has enough respect for them to give them a peek at what's really going on. ( )

General Background
Blood Rites is Book 6 in Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" set. I mini-reviewed Books 3&4 a week or so back, and Book 5 last weekend; and to be honest, this review is going to be a lot like the one for Book 5. But there's new stuff too, so hey, if you've read the set, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the review.

The Characters
In Book 6, we get to learn more about various members of the White Court (who are REALLY growing on me), and meet a few of Thomas's (the not-quite-so-bad vampire from the last couple of books) relatives, all of whom contribute (I suspect) to the long-term story arc of the series. Additionally, we get to meet Arturo - an ethical 'adult entertainment' movie producer, a whole gaggle of the cast and crew of his latest skin flick; and we get to see more of Kincaid, the scary bodyguard to the archive whom we met in Book 5.

Plus, of course, there's new and interesting revelations about Harry - his history and his present; and some wonderful scenes with Murphy as well. Oh, and a new canine addition to the Dresden apartment-hold - a disturbingly cute (and crazy) notch-eared puppy. So character-wise, this book is definitely a winner.

The Plot
This instalment has as its A1-plot Thomas inveigling Harry into helping out a friend of his - Arturo - who seems to be under some kind of curse (given that people keep dying in bizarre ways around the set). Harry, of course needs to find out who's behind the curse and stop it. Our A2 plot revolves around discovering a nest of Black Court vampires holed up in a local homeless shelter, and organising a vampire-slaying posse with some serious firepower to go take it out. And the B-plots meanwhile involve Harry discovering more about his family - the mother he can't remember - and discovering he's not quite as alone in the world as he thought he was.

Good Stuff
There was a lot I liked about this book. The way the dynamics develop between Murphy and Harry is just... a thing of beauty - and there's a scene towards the end as they're facing down the big bad of the book that's made such an impression, I feel the need to blog about it separately.

I also liked just how dark Mr Butcher was willing to get with the workings of White Court, as we gradually discover that really, members of the court are all effectively succubi/incubi; and just how nastily their seductive powers can be misused - not just on outsiders, but upon each other.

I liked the glimpses we got into Murphy's off-the-clock life as well - we see this tough-as-nails-break-your-body-in-five-places-if-you-look-at-her-wrong-cop suddenly stressed out beyond comforting or rational discussion about an upcoming family picnic - and then watch the dynamics of her family interactions at said picnic. Plus, the whole repetition of her riding up on her big Harley, having Harry ask her if she's sure she's up to helping out on the particular thing they're doing, and having her simply cock an eyebrow at him and respond with "Get on the bike, bitch" to him.

Bad Stuff
Errrrrmmmmm... ummmm.... hmmmmm. Not sure. I think maybe there are scenes where, if I'd been writing them (hell, if I'd been ABLE to write them), I would have probably wanted to go darker, and there was certainly the scope for it. There are a few things, for example, that almost happened (or happened off camera and were almost glossed over in the retelling), that I think could have been far more powerful if they'd happened centre stage, instead of either stopping just short, or taking place off in the wings somewhere.

I would - just as an example - have liked to see Harry a little less able to deal with the temptations and the desires that being around a couple of key White Court members created at various points in the story. Mr Butcher describes this incredibly powerful rush of desire that's supposed to be overwhelming... but once it's described, Harry seems to have no problems pushing it to one side and ignoring it, which does seem to detract from my impression of its real power. I know he's a trained wizard and thus should have a will that's stronger than the average bear's... but from the point of view of believing as a reader that Harry's really in danger, it would have been better if his ability to manage the rush was a little less certain from the outset (plus, OK, I'll admit it, I'm twisted enough to want to know just how horribly it would FRAK with that sense of chivalry of his if the scene in the mansion with Inari hadn't conveniently stopped at the kissing stage).

I'm also curious to notice just how arrow-straight the White Court appears to be. Seriously - the guys only work their mojo on girls, and vice versa (or at least, that's what we see on-camera). What's with that? You'd think that with a race of beings who are all about feeding off sexual energy that they'd be a little more adventurous around the issue of sexual orientation, if for no other reason than it doubles the size of their feeding pool. And then especially when some of the nastier specimens are on record as getting a far better high from their feed if they can mix fear, conquest and self-hatred in with all that desire, what better way to get the cocktail they crave than to make some otherwise-completely-straight same-sex mortal burn for their touch? And hey, it can't have *ONLY* been me that figured that having Thomas feed from Harry when he lay dying would be yet another way to frak horribly with both of them? Can it?

Ratings and Recommendations
Despite the fact that I've written a couple of long paragraphs under the 'bad stuff' section above, the truth is that that's really just what I'd want to do different if I'd written it (and that, my friends, is what fanfic is all about). I might have enjoyed it more if it had gone darker, but the lack didn't get in the way of enjoying the book as a whole as I read it.

So based on that, I'm going with exactly the same rating as I gave Death Masks - an 8/10, with a note that this time, I'm really, really going to read something else before I pick up Dead Beat (book 7). Because again, when they're all gone, they're really all gone (although, again, some might claim that that's EXACTLY why the gods invented fanfic)... ( )

In which our hero gets further evidence that while the truth might set you free, it sure as hell won't make you happy. This time around Harry has become entangled in the internal affairs of the White Court, and in the process takes more damage to body, mind, and soul; besides learning more about his dubious relationship with the While Council. The saving grace is that Harry gains family. If nothing else I found the plotting much sharper then in the previous volume of the series. ( )