Although this one won't go down as one of my favorite Dresden books, it did have some really good features, namely Thomas, Mouse and one other who shall remain nameless except for in my comments section. In this one Harry is once again in the position to save the world (this time from zombies among other things) and get the petuee beat out of him doing it.

The action in this story seemed sustained at a steady level throughout up until the climax where things got a bit more interesting. After the events of Blood Rites I was really looking forward to seeing what would happen next with Thomas and Murphy so having them shuttled to the background (especially Murphy) was a bit disappointing. But I guess this may actually be a necessary process for a long running series such as this, too much all at once could make things less interesting.

So, while this wasn't my favorite I do see it as a necessary bridge story with some important happenings to the series at large. ( )

#7 in the Harry Dresden paranormal mystery series. Something foul is afoot in Chicago, as usual. The evil vampire queen Mavra contacts Harry, basically blackmailing him into searching for a much-sought-after item called The Word of Kemmler. Kemmler was a necromancer--one who could animate the dead, essentially make zombies of them. The White Council had hunted and killed him years previously, but someone (several someones probably!) want his power. Under normal circumstances, Harry would tell Mavra to go fly a kite--in the sun!--but the trump card she's playing has Harry's friend Karrin Murphy, police detective in charge of the Special Investigations department, as the bait. If Harry doesn't cooperate, Mavra will see to it that Murphy's career is ruined. So Harry cooperates--or at least gives the appearance of doing so. This leads him down a twisty path to first of all find out what The Word of Kemmler might be and then locating it. As usual, this is never as easy as it seems as unplanned-for obstacles litter Harry's path. An enjoyable, quick read with a marvelous writing style and a lovely visit with Harry. I do enjoy this paranormal series because it's not chock full of romancey bullcrap like so many of them are. I wish we could visit the poor guy when things are quiet and he actually has time to eat and sleep, but I guess that would be kind of boring! Looking forward to the next. ( )

This is Book 7 of the Dresden Files. (I hate the fact that they aren't numbered past book 6. The cover just says "a novel of...." Since there is a very strong internal reading order, this doesn't help.)

Harry finds himself in the middle of yet another supernatural firestorm. This time, his worst problem is that his own psyche is out to get him, aided and abetted by the demon who has taken up residence in his memory. (For my future reading inventory - this is the one with the dinosaur and the imaginary girlfriend.)

One of the things that I liked about this novel was the play of memory and who we are. Harry discovers that who Bob is depends a lot on what memories he has chosen to suppress, and then discovers that at least some of his own memories are manufactured - what does that change? He also continues to struggle with his need to save the weak (especially women), and with the eternal ethical dilemma - at what point do the ends justify the means?

As a side note, I am very happy with the growth of Harry's attitude toward women. He still won't hit a girl (a good rule of thumb), but he no longer tries to hide things from them for their own good. And he has generalized from that to the realization that everyone has the right to know, and to choose what dangers to face, even if they choose wrong. ( )

Kearsten says: Harry is forced to fight necromancers looking to achieve godhood, at the expense of most of Chicago. Excellent – and the climax is rollicking good fun, involving zombies and lots of gore…

For more from Kearsten, check out her blog posting!
http://bookobsessiongpl.blogspot.com/... ( )

General Background
Blood Rites is Book 8 in Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" set. The previous books in the series (along with a couple of posts sparked by the books) are reviewed here

The Plot
As with the last couple of books, Dead Beat contains multiple plots all twisting around each other. In our A Plot, we have Mavra of the Black Court digging up some dirt on Murphy that could damage her career beyond measure, and blackmailing Harry into finding something for her. Harry needs to first work out what the thing is, and why she wants it (and then why everyone else seems to suddenly want it. Our B plot kicks in as Harry discovers the answers to the above question, and starts meeting some of the aforementioned people (and I use the term loosely) who also want the thing in question. Our C plot, meanwhile, revolves around the White Council and what's been happening with them since the war against the Red Court started - and how Harry fits into it. And finally, our D plot centres on that damned (literally!) coin that Harry picked up at the end of Death Masks... how it, and the being associated with it are starting to affect the choices he makes and the way he thinks.

The Characters
This book has very little of Murphy in it and only slightly more of Bob (although the scenes Bob does get are pretty powerful, edge-of-seat type events), which is a shame.

On the other hand, we get to see a lot more of Butters - the quiet little polka-playing ME - in this book, and it's a real treat to see him grow and develop over the course of the book. He starts as a timid, understandably frightened mouse, underestimated by everyone - including himself. It'd be giving things away to say where he ends up, but for those that have read the book, "POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!" has to be one of the best lines EVAH!

Actually, speaking of, there's a lot more of Mouse, the giant chow, in this book too; a thing I am mightily happy with. Mouse = ( )