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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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Who says dead men tell no tales? Here's one who won't shut up!
Vintage Harry Dresden, same ethical standards as always, but now kind of worrying because he's not sure it's really right to kill lots of other people to protect your own family and friends - especially if the people you kill are also family and friends.
Being dead may have something to do with that.
Dresden's moral dilemmas here are somewhat analogous to those of Ender Wiggins in "Ender's Game", with somewhat different emphasis and deliberations.
Butcher has set himself a difficult task of "using" Christian doctrines, history, morals, and symbols without ever quite mentioning Christ.
Vintage Harry Dresden, same ethical standards as always, but now kind of worrying because he's not sure it's really right to kill lots of other people to protect your own family and friends - especially if the people you kill are also family and friends.
Being dead may have something to do with that.
Dresden's moral dilemmas here are somewhat analogous to those of Ender Wiggins in "Ender's Game", with somewhat different emphasis and deliberations.
Butcher has set himself a difficult task of "using" Christian doctrines, history, morals, and symbols without ever quite mentioning Christ.
Butcher really needed to take drastic steps to bring Harry back from the brink of despair and making deals with the devil to the chivalrous hero who quotes Yoda. And for the most part, Ghost story succeeds in doing so – Harry pulls a George Bailey. This book had a lot of good stuff that kept me turning the pages. First, this book felt a lot more like the earlier entries where Dresden spent more time cracking wise than getting his skull cracked. There is a lot more humor, and Harry investigates and plans his course of action. He didn't come across so beaten down (literally and figuratively), and despite being "dead," felt more alive than he has for the last few books. The plot was also very well done. It was cool to see the fallout of show more the Red Court's demise, the power vacuum it created and how Harry's allies are handling it. And, the evolution of Molly is fantastic. She has truly come into her own, and it will be nice for Harry to have an actual, even powerful, wizard ally for once. And, with Harry gone, Murphy stepped into a leadership role for the new Scooby gang. All these events were a natural evolution.
On the other hand, I was as disappointed as many other reviewers at the return of a prior villain who just should’ve stayed dead. I didn't like her the first time, or the second time, and the third time was most certainly not the charm. Plus, while Harry was bouncing back, all his allies were descending into their own pits of despair - especially Murphy. She’s now making deals with the devil. *sigh* And I thought that the revelation of Harry's killer, while absolutely, unequivocally clever, was also utter bull. Perfectly plotted, no doubt about it. Yet, it still felt contrived. And, this book had WAY too much introspection. Harry's inner dialog is usually witty and fun, interspersed among the action. Half a book of it? Not so much. It threw the pacing off. There'd be lots of action, then page after page of Harry "remembering" his life. The ending left me with hope that the Harry I knew and loved may well be back, but it also left things hanging (like what happened to Bob after Harry left the NeverNever?) Overall, this book didn’t leave me completely satisfied, but I did enjoy it far more than the last two. I wasn’t sure if I would continue this series after “Changes.” But, I think this hooked me for one more book. It had better be a doozy – and in a good way. show less
On the other hand, I was as disappointed as many other reviewers at the return of a prior villain who just should’ve stayed dead. I didn't like her the first time, or the second time, and the third time was most certainly not the charm. Plus, while Harry was bouncing back, all his allies were descending into their own pits of despair - especially Murphy. She’s now making deals with the devil. *sigh* And I thought that the revelation of Harry's killer, while absolutely, unequivocally clever, was also utter bull. Perfectly plotted, no doubt about it. Yet, it still felt contrived. And, this book had WAY too much introspection. Harry's inner dialog is usually witty and fun, interspersed among the action. Half a book of it? Not so much. It threw the pacing off. There'd be lots of action, then page after page of Harry "remembering" his life. The ending left me with hope that the Harry I knew and loved may well be back, but it also left things hanging (like what happened to Bob after Harry left the NeverNever?) Overall, this book didn’t leave me completely satisfied, but I did enjoy it far more than the last two. I wasn’t sure if I would continue this series after “Changes.” But, I think this hooked me for one more book. It had better be a doozy – and in a good way. show less
"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
Well, bless Audible's little heart. One spring morning I received this email:
"Dear Listener,
Here at Audible, we truly understand the power great performances bring to your favorite stories. And for long-running series, no matter how good a new voice may be, it can be hard to hear someone else bring beloved characters to life. So when Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files, Book 13, was narrated by someone other than series regular James Marsters, some listeners were disappointed.
We're happy to report that Ghost Story has since been re-recorded with the inimitable Marsters at the helm - and, since you're a fan of this series, we want you to have it free."
"Disappointed" didn't quite cover it.
I want to create a movie–style poster show more for this book, with a one–word tagline: "BOO".
Ghost Story is one of those books whose end – even if you kind of pretty much know it's coming – was still enough to rock me back on my heels. And to make me want to go back and listen to the book again, to pay attention to all those things that didn't seem to need so much attention the first time around.
This interlude teaches Harry some valuable lessons – unable to act, he learns to consider more than he's ever had the chance to do before. A valuable trait, considering what is to come.
See, this is why I tend not to write reviews of these series that I love so much. For one thing, I started reading Dresden back in the Cretaceous not too long after it was published, before I was really in the habit of writing reviews at all. Fast forward fifteen years (!), and I've read the first books a few times each, and Harry's in my bloodstream. Harry and Molly and Mouse and Mister and old Uncle Tom Cobley and all are part of my life. While the books are (or at least can be) very different from each other, it's hard to keep all my reviews from coming out very much the same: "I love Harry Dresden, I adore James Marsters, I am in love with James Marsters reading Harry Dresden, these books are great", etc. I should look on it as an exercise in writing: how to write the same love song over and over, some fifteen times by now, and make it readable… but I don't.
Ghost Story, of course, is not your usual Harry Dresden insofar as there is a usual Harry Dresden, and so …
One review I saw mentions that the reviewer is tired of Harry Dresden, doesn't find him funny anymore.
I do. I'm not. Maybe it's partly James Marsters reading it; maybe it's not. I don't know. I don't care. I'm still having a great time after fifteen books (and this, #13, twice in seven months), and I would be very happy indeed to know that Harry and Jim Butcher and I will all get very very old together.
And then there was the famous flying broomstick incident of Wacker Drive…
Surprisingly, I think I laughed more listening to this audiobook than the others in the series. If there was any doubt that Harry Dresden and Jim Butcher are big ol' geek–nerds, this puts paid to that idea. Harry's new "superpowers" ("BAMF!" made me so very happy), and the quote he uses to prove he is himself, and the Gandalf internal monologue, and so on – so wonderful.
And: I mean, go figure. You prepare your home for an assault and you don't take zombies into consideration. I'd fallen victim to one of the other classic blunders, along with not getting involved in a land war in Asia and never going in against a Sicilian when death was on the line.
AND a Pink Floyd reference: "How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" Well done, sir.
"There are two kinds of people in the world, Molly: Star Wars fans, and Star Trek fans. This is shocking." Look, Mister Wizard, you can identify who's what on the Old Trek bridge, so just you shush.
(I still wonder why Harry never saw Firefly, though. Maybe because it didn't last long enough on tv and his VCR/DVD player tends to malfunction – ?)
But there was also, kind of obviously, a lot of heart–string–yanking (nothing so gentle as tugging here). There is a really lovely story about that time Justin DuMorne gave Harry a baseball glove … and then a few minutes later he relates the fact that Justin trained him how to shield himself by throwing fastballs at him. Damn. As if I needed another reason for my heart to bleed for the very young Harry.
I should, I suppose, take a step back and acknowledge that, much as I do love Marsters, these aren't perfect narrations. Take, for example, the phrase "sleeping quarters"; emphasis on the wrong word changes the meaning rather a bit. That sort of thing happens now and then, as with most narrators. But then I need to take that step forward again and reiterate that I really don't care. It's not perfect; it is more enjoyable than I would ever dare to expect.
Harry says, Girls don't flock to the guy who drives the old car, reads a lot of books, and kicks down the doors of living nightmares.
Harry, you've been hanging out with the wrong women. show less
"Dear Listener,
Here at Audible, we truly understand the power great performances bring to your favorite stories. And for long-running series, no matter how good a new voice may be, it can be hard to hear someone else bring beloved characters to life. So when Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files, Book 13, was narrated by someone other than series regular James Marsters, some listeners were disappointed.
We're happy to report that Ghost Story has since been re-recorded with the inimitable Marsters at the helm - and, since you're a fan of this series, we want you to have it free."
"Disappointed" didn't quite cover it.
I want to create a movie–style poster show more for this book, with a one–word tagline: "BOO".
Ghost Story is one of those books whose end – even if you kind of pretty much know it's coming – was still enough to rock me back on my heels. And to make me want to go back and listen to the book again, to pay attention to all those things that didn't seem to need so much attention the first time around.
This interlude teaches Harry some valuable lessons – unable to act, he learns to consider more than he's ever had the chance to do before. A valuable trait, considering what is to come.
See, this is why I tend not to write reviews of these series that I love so much. For one thing, I started reading Dresden back in the Cretaceous not too long after it was published, before I was really in the habit of writing reviews at all. Fast forward fifteen years (!), and I've read the first books a few times each, and Harry's in my bloodstream. Harry and Molly and Mouse and Mister and old Uncle Tom Cobley and all are part of my life. While the books are (or at least can be) very different from each other, it's hard to keep all my reviews from coming out very much the same: "I love Harry Dresden, I adore James Marsters, I am in love with James Marsters reading Harry Dresden, these books are great", etc. I should look on it as an exercise in writing: how to write the same love song over and over, some fifteen times by now, and make it readable… but I don't.
Ghost Story, of course, is not your usual Harry Dresden insofar as there is a usual Harry Dresden, and so …
One review I saw mentions that the reviewer is tired of Harry Dresden, doesn't find him funny anymore.
I do. I'm not. Maybe it's partly James Marsters reading it; maybe it's not. I don't know. I don't care. I'm still having a great time after fifteen books (and this, #13, twice in seven months), and I would be very happy indeed to know that Harry and Jim Butcher and I will all get very very old together.
And then there was the famous flying broomstick incident of Wacker Drive…
Surprisingly, I think I laughed more listening to this audiobook than the others in the series. If there was any doubt that Harry Dresden and Jim Butcher are big ol' geek–nerds, this puts paid to that idea. Harry's new "superpowers" ("BAMF!" made me so very happy), and the quote he uses to prove he is himself, and the Gandalf internal monologue, and so on – so wonderful.
And: I mean, go figure. You prepare your home for an assault and you don't take zombies into consideration. I'd fallen victim to one of the other classic blunders, along with not getting involved in a land war in Asia and never going in against a Sicilian when death was on the line.
AND a Pink Floyd reference: "How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" Well done, sir.
"There are two kinds of people in the world, Molly: Star Wars fans, and Star Trek fans. This is shocking." Look, Mister Wizard, you can identify who's what on the Old Trek bridge, so just you shush.
(I still wonder why Harry never saw Firefly, though. Maybe because it didn't last long enough on tv and his VCR/DVD player tends to malfunction – ?)
But there was also, kind of obviously, a lot of heart–string–yanking (nothing so gentle as tugging here). There is a really lovely story about that time Justin DuMorne gave Harry a baseball glove … and then a few minutes later he relates the fact that Justin trained him how to shield himself by throwing fastballs at him. Damn. As if I needed another reason for my heart to bleed for the very young Harry.
I should, I suppose, take a step back and acknowledge that, much as I do love Marsters, these aren't perfect narrations. Take, for example, the phrase "sleeping quarters"; emphasis on the wrong word changes the meaning rather a bit. That sort of thing happens now and then, as with most narrators. But then I need to take that step forward again and reiterate that I really don't care. It's not perfect; it is more enjoyable than I would ever dare to expect.
Harry says, Girls don't flock to the guy who drives the old car, reads a lot of books, and kicks down the doors of living nightmares.
Harry, you've been hanging out with the wrong women. show less
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
When I read the dust jacket of this one, I was a little worried. I didn’t know if I wanted to read 400 pages of dear Harry being a ghost and apparently powerless. I should have known Jim Butcher would pull it off with his usual aplomb. He’s at the top of his game here, which is pretty impressive for book 13 of a series. When certain other unnamed series (insert Sookie-cough here) seem to be losing their oomph, The Dresden Files continues to be consistently entertaining and clever.
I’ve read enough authors writing about characters experiencing death, and I was worried I would have to suffer through yet another wispy, floaty, sensory-heavy description of the process of dying. I should have known better. This is Harry Dresden, show more people-he’s going to stand in front of a train and play chicken with the light at the end of the tunnel.
I loved every minute of reading this book, and it was worth waiting a few extra months to get it. show less
I’ve read enough authors writing about characters experiencing death, and I was worried I would have to suffer through yet another wispy, floaty, sensory-heavy description of the process of dying. I should have known better. This is Harry Dresden, show more people-he’s going to stand in front of a train and play chicken with the light at the end of the tunnel.
I loved every minute of reading this book, and it was worth waiting a few extra months to get it. show less
I very much enjoyed this tale of Dresden's ghost ("Shade") and how he had to reinvent himself. I found it fascinating to see that this story has Harry start anew - as a new ghost. He's no longer the very powerful wizard that kept Chicago safe. Instead, he has to rely on his allies and others even more. The ending also struck me as quite surprising. Interesting set up for the next book in the series. I also enjoyed the new "ghost lore" that was developed here - an interesting way to add new texture and depth to Dresden's world.
I read this book in audio book format and James Marsters continues to be an excellent narrator.
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Ghost Story (Potential for Spoilers) in Jim Butcher (December 2015)
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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