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"In his life, Harry's been shot, stabbed, sliced, beaten, burned, crushed, and tortured. And after someone puts a bullet through his chest and leaves him to die in the waters of Lake Michigan, things really start going downhill. But even trapped in the realm between life and death, Harry can't catch a break. He learns that three of his friends are destined to experience unbearable torment and agony. Only by bringing his murderer to justice can he save his friends and move on to what comes show more next--a feat that would be a lot easier if he had a body and access to his powers. Instead, Harry must work as a ghost, unable to interact with the physical world, invisible and inaudible to almost everyone. Unfortunately he's not the only specter roaming Chicago. There are malevolent shadows who haven't forgotten Harry's predilection for putting evil in its place while he was alive. And now that Harry's on their turf, they are looking for some serious payback. So the late Harry Dresden will have to pull off the ultimate trick without using any magic--or face an eternity as just another lost soul"-- show lessTags
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Ghost Story is one of the wackier, more mind-blowing novels in the Dresden canon. The rules as they once existed during Harry’s life are completely turned upside-down during his death, and it can take some time for a reader to adjust to them. At the same time, they provide Harry with a greater knowledge of the spirit world that, if one were to hazard a guess, will be put to good use in future novels.
Even though Harry is technically dead, he is more emotionally fragile than previously seen, which creates some beautifully intimate scenes of memory, loss, and regret. Harry’s lack of a corporeal body exposes the tender heart that normally remains hidden inside his prickly exterior. His reunions and farewells with Mouse and Mister are show more particularly poignant, and it is a great reminder that Harry is not as emotionally tough as he lets others believe.
Mr. Butcher finally lays bare key portions of Harry’s past. The reader gets many answers to lingering questions as well as exposure to scenes and memories for which there have been many hints but very few details. The reader not only discovers who killed Harry and why but can finally understand Harry’s past as well as how he got to be the man he became. More importantly, Harry gets the time to think and make similar connections between past and present. Everyone needs time for self-reflection, and Harry is no different. His periods of enforced rest, due to the dangerous daytime, provide Harry with that time. While providing Harry with some much-needed introspection, it is nice to see him be able to relax, something that just does not happen in a typical Dresden novel.
Ghost Story is quite clearly a filler novel, but it is still a great filler novel. Some of the answers shared are completely unpredicted and absolutely brilliant in their unexpectedness. Meanwhile, Harry gets closure on certain areas in his life while doing what he does best. By the end of the novel, the stage is definitely set for the series to start building again, but where it is going to go and the adventures that Harry will face along the way are still anyone’s guess. One thing is for sure. It is going to be one interesting ride. show less
Even though Harry is technically dead, he is more emotionally fragile than previously seen, which creates some beautifully intimate scenes of memory, loss, and regret. Harry’s lack of a corporeal body exposes the tender heart that normally remains hidden inside his prickly exterior. His reunions and farewells with Mouse and Mister are show more particularly poignant, and it is a great reminder that Harry is not as emotionally tough as he lets others believe.
Mr. Butcher finally lays bare key portions of Harry’s past. The reader gets many answers to lingering questions as well as exposure to scenes and memories for which there have been many hints but very few details. The reader not only discovers who killed Harry and why but can finally understand Harry’s past as well as how he got to be the man he became. More importantly, Harry gets the time to think and make similar connections between past and present. Everyone needs time for self-reflection, and Harry is no different. His periods of enforced rest, due to the dangerous daytime, provide Harry with that time. While providing Harry with some much-needed introspection, it is nice to see him be able to relax, something that just does not happen in a typical Dresden novel.
Ghost Story is quite clearly a filler novel, but it is still a great filler novel. Some of the answers shared are completely unpredicted and absolutely brilliant in their unexpectedness. Meanwhile, Harry gets closure on certain areas in his life while doing what he does best. By the end of the novel, the stage is definitely set for the series to start building again, but where it is going to go and the adventures that Harry will face along the way are still anyone’s guess. One thing is for sure. It is going to be one interesting ride. show less
I had a feeling this one would be a polarizing read for many, and I do kind of get a kick out of the ones who say "I'm done" because there's nothing new happening...when Butcher took a chance, burned his entire series to the ground, and then reset it with this one.
Is this the best book of the series? Well, no. That (so far) is the book before this one, CHANGES. And I will admit to being irritated with some aspects of this (especially Molly's multiple Star Trek characters on the Enterprise bridge...it just went on far too long). But, at the same time, some of the supporting characters really punched it up this time around. I expected it to be Murphy, but instead, it was Mort, Butters, and especially Molly.
I expected the tone to change show more with this installment, and I was nervous of the change, but for the most part, Butcher pulled it off. It's going to be interesting to see how the next book goes. show less
Is this the best book of the series? Well, no. That (so far) is the book before this one, CHANGES. And I will admit to being irritated with some aspects of this (especially Molly's multiple Star Trek characters on the Enterprise bridge...it just went on far too long). But, at the same time, some of the supporting characters really punched it up this time around. I expected it to be Murphy, but instead, it was Mort, Butters, and especially Molly.
I expected the tone to change show more with this installment, and I was nervous of the change, but for the most part, Butcher pulled it off. It's going to be interesting to see how the next book goes. show less
I just devoured this amazing story. I love the rich language and description in the Dresden books and this one was no exception. The descriptions of the various monsters were enough to trigger some really odd and creepy dreams last night.
This story has Harry waking up in an alternate Chicago, styled Between, and choosing, or being manipulated into choosing, to go back to reality as a shade to try to help those people he loves. And to find out who murdered him.
Harry's complete destruction of the Red Court of Vampires to save the daughter he didn't even know he had has created a power vacuum and all sorts of evil beasties are eager to try to fill it. His colleagues -- Karrin, Molly, Butters and many others -- are trying to defeat the show more monsters and trying to deal with Harry's loss.
Harry needs to find someone who is able to see and hear him and so goes to an ectomancer named Mortimer Lindquist. He has known Mort for a long time but they aren't friends. Mort fancies himself a coward and in incredibly reluctant to involve himself in anything that Dresden wants. After all, he knows Dresden and he knows the sorts of problems that target him. Luckily one of Mort's guardian ghosts convinces him that he has to get involved with Dresden.
Naturally, events spiral into more and more complexity as Harry tries to save his friends and find his own murderer.
As usual it is impossible to really describe the story of the this book. There are so many wonderful characters - both old and new -- and so many incredible situations that it defies summary. Harry is on a voyage of self-discovery in this episode as he relives past memories and choices. This is an excellent adventure in the Dresden series and a must for all fans. Newcomers would be well-advised to begin at the beginning - Storm Front - and get to know Dresden and his world. show less
This story has Harry waking up in an alternate Chicago, styled Between, and choosing, or being manipulated into choosing, to go back to reality as a shade to try to help those people he loves. And to find out who murdered him.
Harry's complete destruction of the Red Court of Vampires to save the daughter he didn't even know he had has created a power vacuum and all sorts of evil beasties are eager to try to fill it. His colleagues -- Karrin, Molly, Butters and many others -- are trying to defeat the show more monsters and trying to deal with Harry's loss.
Harry needs to find someone who is able to see and hear him and so goes to an ectomancer named Mortimer Lindquist. He has known Mort for a long time but they aren't friends. Mort fancies himself a coward and in incredibly reluctant to involve himself in anything that Dresden wants. After all, he knows Dresden and he knows the sorts of problems that target him. Luckily one of Mort's guardian ghosts convinces him that he has to get involved with Dresden.
Naturally, events spiral into more and more complexity as Harry tries to save his friends and find his own murderer.
As usual it is impossible to really describe the story of the this book. There are so many wonderful characters - both old and new -- and so many incredible situations that it defies summary. Harry is on a voyage of self-discovery in this episode as he relives past memories and choices. This is an excellent adventure in the Dresden series and a must for all fans. Newcomers would be well-advised to begin at the beginning - Storm Front - and get to know Dresden and his world. show less
Serious spoilers for the previous book in the series, Changes (but not for this book, Ghost Story).
****************
In Changes, Harry lost everything: his apartment, his office, his car, his career, his reputation, his lover, his duster, his independence, and finally, his life. Personally, I thought that death before he was forced to fulfill his Faustian bargain to the wicked faerie queen, Mab, was by no means the worst possible ending to the book, or even the series. But even in eternal rest, Harry can't catch a break. Summoned back from Chicagotory six months after his death, he is sent forth to find his own murderer and save his friends.
With each book, Harry has become just a little more of an antihero, willing to sacrifice people show more less important to him to protect those he cares about. His refusal to abandon principle--and his girlfriend--precipitated a bloody war. He played fast and loose with dangerous magic and handed a deadly weapon to an enemy to protect Murphy. He risked countless unknown people, as well as his friends, to save a little girl. Wardens actually died in his elaborate plot to save his brother, and Harry never seems to even analyze his choice to pay for his brother's life with their deaths. In Changes, Harry took this to a whole new level.
As he said himself, in the most chilling lines in Changes, "I will make Maggie safe. If the world burns because of that, so be it. Me and the kid will roast some marshmallows." He was willing to let the world burn to save his daughter. He saved her, and the price was steep. Now he is forced to acknowledge the consequences of his actions, not only in the devastation to the "unimportant" nameless people in the world, but also to his friends and allies. The book is more introspective than any other as Harry is faced with the consequences of his actions. It's also amusing to watch Harry try to cope after being denuded of his wizardly powers. As a character, he's always reminded me of a golden retriever: clumsy, overeager, and liable to accidentally knock over a priceless vase with a too energetically wagging tail. Now it's as if you put that dog in one of those hamster balls: he's still running around and making trouble, but he's also bouncing off the walls and unable to interact directly with those around him. Above all, this is a book about consequences. As Harry hunts up the members of his old gang and sees how his death has broken or strengthened them, the mood is poignant, heartbreaking, and hilarious, all at once.
One of the unexpected aspects of the book that I appreciated was a series of flashbacks of Harry's memories under Justin DuMorne. Harry has the noir hero's prerequisite dark and tragic past; in his case, he was orphaned and raised by the sadistic DuMorne. Throughout the series, Harry mentions DuMorne only briefly, but this is the first time we have flashbacks to Harry's childhood. Butcher does a fantastic job capturing the child Harry's desperate desire for approbation and affection. There is a heartbreaking, twisted poignancy in the child Harry's admiring description of Justin DuMorne as "cool" because Justin only warns him once about a mistake or bad behavior before using violence to make his point. The disconnect between the actions Harry describes, which show Justin to be cruel and cold, and Harry's eager admiration, is an accurate and haunting portrait of a destructive parental relationship. We also see the moment when Harry learns to use fire, and, as a reward, Justin gives him a gift: a baseball mitt. Given that Harry's lessons in shielding occurred around that age and involved high-speed baseballs, this ending of the scene, Justin's assurance that Harry will "find baseball a rewarding experience" has a sick, twisted, and fantastic irony.
I didn't particularly enjoy the innumerable pop-culture references embedded in the text, and I'm pretty sure I didn't catch most of them. Although fun occasionally, they were somewhat overused in this book. I also have the tendency with all of the Dresden Files books of simply ignoring the aspects that irritate me--usually they are peripheral enough that it doesn't matter. These include the oversexualized descriptions of women, the cringeworthy depictions of Native American culture, and some rather awful African-American stereotypes. This time, I had to add the entire Thomas/Justine scene. I'm just ignoring its existence. I'm happier that way.
My biggest issue came at the end of the book; no spoilers, but it felt to me like a it brushed aside the powerful moral ambiguity that gave so much potency to both Changes and Ghost Story. Even with this, I felt the book deserved a 5 because I have hope it's not a final, tidy "solution" to the questions brought up in the two stories.
Overall, I found the book heartbreaking, poignant, and hilarious, and greatly enjoyed the opportunity to see Harry divested of his power and influence and forced into self-analysis. My favorite aspect of the Dresden novels are the side characters, and it was hard to see them hurt and altered. However, I hope that Butcher explore the issues of responsibility and consequences brought up in the book and not use fate, destiny, or higher powers as an excuse for his characters' actions. show less
****************
In Changes, Harry lost everything: his apartment, his office, his car, his career, his reputation, his lover, his duster, his independence, and finally, his life. Personally, I thought that death before he was forced to fulfill his Faustian bargain to the wicked faerie queen, Mab, was by no means the worst possible ending to the book, or even the series. But even in eternal rest, Harry can't catch a break. Summoned back from Chicagotory six months after his death, he is sent forth to find his own murderer and save his friends.
With each book, Harry has become just a little more of an antihero, willing to sacrifice people show more less important to him to protect those he cares about. His refusal to abandon principle--and his girlfriend--precipitated a bloody war. He played fast and loose with dangerous magic and handed a deadly weapon to an enemy to protect Murphy. He risked countless unknown people, as well as his friends, to save a little girl. Wardens actually died in his elaborate plot to save his brother, and Harry never seems to even analyze his choice to pay for his brother's life with their deaths. In Changes, Harry took this to a whole new level.
As he said himself, in the most chilling lines in Changes, "I will make Maggie safe. If the world burns because of that, so be it. Me and the kid will roast some marshmallows." He was willing to let the world burn to save his daughter. He saved her, and the price was steep. Now he is forced to acknowledge the consequences of his actions, not only in the devastation to the "unimportant" nameless people in the world, but also to his friends and allies. The book is more introspective than any other as Harry is faced with the consequences of his actions. It's also amusing to watch Harry try to cope after being denuded of his wizardly powers. As a character, he's always reminded me of a golden retriever: clumsy, overeager, and liable to accidentally knock over a priceless vase with a too energetically wagging tail. Now it's as if you put that dog in one of those hamster balls: he's still running around and making trouble, but he's also bouncing off the walls and unable to interact directly with those around him. Above all, this is a book about consequences. As Harry hunts up the members of his old gang and sees how his death has broken or strengthened them, the mood is poignant, heartbreaking, and hilarious, all at once.
One of the unexpected aspects of the book that I appreciated was a series of flashbacks of Harry's memories under Justin DuMorne. Harry has the noir hero's prerequisite dark and tragic past; in his case, he was orphaned and raised by the sadistic DuMorne. Throughout the series, Harry mentions DuMorne only briefly, but this is the first time we have flashbacks to Harry's childhood. Butcher does a fantastic job capturing the child Harry's desperate desire for approbation and affection. There is a heartbreaking, twisted poignancy in the child Harry's admiring description of Justin DuMorne as "cool" because Justin only warns him once about a mistake or bad behavior before using violence to make his point. The disconnect between the actions Harry describes, which show Justin to be cruel and cold, and Harry's eager admiration, is an accurate and haunting portrait of a destructive parental relationship. We also see the moment when Harry learns to use fire, and, as a reward, Justin gives him a gift: a baseball mitt. Given that Harry's lessons in shielding occurred around that age and involved high-speed baseballs, this ending of the scene, Justin's assurance that Harry will "find baseball a rewarding experience" has a sick, twisted, and fantastic irony.
I didn't particularly enjoy the innumerable pop-culture references embedded in the text, and I'm pretty sure I didn't catch most of them. Although fun occasionally, they were somewhat overused in this book. I also have the tendency with all of the Dresden Files books of simply ignoring the aspects that irritate me--usually they are peripheral enough that it doesn't matter. These include the oversexualized descriptions of women, the cringeworthy depictions of Native American culture, and some rather awful African-American stereotypes. This time, I had to add the entire Thomas/Justine scene. I'm just ignoring its existence. I'm happier that way.
My biggest issue came at the end of the book; no spoilers, but it felt to me like a it brushed aside the powerful moral ambiguity that gave so much potency to both Changes and Ghost Story. Even with this, I felt the book deserved a 5 because I have hope it's not a final, tidy "solution" to the questions brought up in the two stories.
Overall, I found the book heartbreaking, poignant, and hilarious, and greatly enjoyed the opportunity to see Harry divested of his power and influence and forced into self-analysis. My favorite aspect of the Dresden novels are the side characters, and it was hard to see them hurt and altered. However, I hope that Butcher explore the issues of responsibility and consequences brought up in the book and not use fate, destiny, or higher powers as an excuse for his characters' actions. show less
Damn it, Butcher.
I had to wait until my tears dried enough to write this. This is by far the best book in the series. And if you make it all the way to the end without your eyes at least itching a little bit then you have no soul. I mean... you are no soul.
I had to wait until my tears dried enough to write this. This is by far the best book in the series. And if you make it all the way to the end without your eyes at least itching a little bit then you have no soul. I mean... you are no soul.
"Okay," Mort echoed, evidently speaking mostly to himself. "I mean, it's not like I'm trying to join the Council or anything. It's one hour. Just one little hour. What could happen in one hour?"
And that's how I knew that Mort was telling the truth when he said he wasn't a hero.
Heroes know better than to hand the universe lines like that.
Ghost Story is the thirteenth book in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. I think any sort of synopsis would be a big spoiler for this installment, especially for those going through the series the first time, so I'm going to skip it. Let's just say that the title is very accurate.
Harry's unique situation gives this installment a very different framing than we're used to seeing in the series so far. It's a show more lot more introspective and philosophical and includes many flash backs to Harry's past. It also shows us the impact Harry's had on Chicago's supernatural scene and with his friends which makeshis absence combined with the power vacuum left from the Red Court's demise profound. Yet, I can't believe I'm going to say this... I was bored a lot reading this one. How the heck can a Dresden novel be boring?? The story has an intriguing ending which helped though the book felt like a series reboot. Or the biggest transition novel of all time. I just wish it hadn't taken 500 pages to get interesting. show less
And that's how I knew that Mort was telling the truth when he said he wasn't a hero.
Heroes know better than to hand the universe lines like that.
Ghost Story is the thirteenth book in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. I think any sort of synopsis would be a big spoiler for this installment, especially for those going through the series the first time, so I'm going to skip it. Let's just say that the title is very accurate.
Harry's unique situation gives this installment a very different framing than we're used to seeing in the series so far. It's a show more lot more introspective and philosophical and includes many flash backs to Harry's past. It also shows us the impact Harry's had on Chicago's supernatural scene and with his friends which makes
Ok, this would have earned four stars if I hadn't felt like I was in the Harry Dresden Drinking Game. One shot for every pop culture reference! You would be drunk and needing medical attention before the first 100 pages. I get it. Butcher likes Star Wars. He likes pop culture. He's really good at popping off lines from various movies. I don't need to be bludgeoned by his witty repartee.
Other than that, this book rocked even though I kinda, sorta knew how it might end. I knew it from the previous book. I didn't know the twists and turns, but I definitely had an inkling of how this book would turn out.
What will the next book hold? If I keep getting that drinking game feeling, I'm gonna stop reading. It's cute and funny, but it wears very show more quickly. show less
Other than that, this book rocked even though I kinda, sorta knew how it might end. I knew it from the previous book. I didn't know the twists and turns, but I definitely had an inkling of how this book would turn out.
What will the next book hold? If I keep getting that drinking game feeling, I'm gonna stop reading. It's cute and funny, but it wears very show more quickly. show less
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Author Information
166+ Works 160,427 Members
Jim Butcher was born in Independence, Missouri on October 26, 1971. He is the author of The Dresden Files series, the Codex Alera series, Side Jobs, Ghost Story, and the Cinder Spires series. He has also written a Spider-Man novel entitled The Darkest Hours and a novelette entitled Backup. He has contributed to numerous anthologies including My show more Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, Blood Lite, and Many Bloody Returns. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Ghost Story
- Original publication date
- 2011-07-26
- People/Characters
- Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden; Collin J Murphy; Mortimer Lindquist; Waldo Butters; Bob the skull; Molly Carpenter (show all 22); CorpseTaker; Sir Stuart Winchester; Fitz; Aristides; Mab; Karrin Murphy; Uriel; Evil Bob the Skull; Amitiel; Jack Sparrow; Father Forthill; Eternal Silence; Justin DuMorn; He Who Walks Behind; Daniel Carpenter; Leanansidhe
- Important places
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Dedication
- To Air, for introducing me to Mab by onion-colored light
- First words
- Life is hard.
- Quotations
- "Got a rocket," I sang, "in your pocket. Turn off the juice, boy."
Show tunes? Really? It wasn't bad enough that you've started talking to yourself, man. Now you're doing performing art.
But the musically incli... (show all)ned me had a point.
"Play it cool, boy," I whispered. "Real cool."
"What is teaching but the art of planting and nurturing power?"
"Names have tremendous power, Dresden. Yet mortals toss them left and right as though they were toys. It's like watching infants play with hand grenades sometimes." -Uriel
“Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden,” he said quietly – and he said it exactly right, speaking my Name in a voice of that same absolute power that had so unnerved me before. “Do not attempt to familiarize my name. ... (show all) The part you left off happens to be rather important to who and what I am.
“It is one thing for you to say ‘Let the world burn.’ It is another to say ‘Let Molly burn.’ The difference is all in the name.”
Uriel’s smile blossomed again. “You’ve got it backward, Harry,” he said. “You are a soul You have a body.”
My ghast was pretty well flabbered.
The distinction between good and evil is meaningless if one does not have the freedom to choose between them - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"There is much work to be done."
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