Changes

Damn.

In the first chapter of Changes, Dresden learns he has a daughter. Throughout the book, he loses everything (his car, his office, his home...). He makes deals he promised he would never make.

He takes on archangel-tier baddies--and wins. He takes on the Red Court and kills them all.

And in the last chapter, he's shot. Presumably fatally. (Although given that this is book 12 out of a planned more than 20...

I remember the first time I read this book. Ghost Story wasn't out yet. That was a long wait. Time time around, I can start immediately (and know what actually happened). That's doesn't make this stories impact and less.

Another thing that has changed since I last read Ghost Story? I have a daughter now. Younger than Maggie, but show more still. If I were in the same situation; if I had to make the choices Dresden made?

The best Dresden Files thus far, by a decent margin. Where can it even go from here? show less

You know, I read the first four Dresden books, and I kept thinking, "this is okay, but what's all the fuss about?"

Then, I read the next couple, and thought, "okay, I can see how the books are improving, and he's tying things together now, it's a pretty good series."

Then I got to the seventh in the series, and thought, "damn, okay, Butcher's really hitting his stride with these now, I'm getting it. These are good." That lasted all the way through to the eleventh novel.

And then along comes this installment. And holy mother of god, Butcher ups the stakes in a way that could simply have fallen flat on its face, but instead had me blasting through this novel, wanting to find out what happens next more than I ever have with a Dresden show more novel.

Butcher literally strips Harry Dresden of everything. I mean every. Single. Thing.

And it's a crazy rollercoaster, heart-in-your-throat ride.

This? THIS is where Butcher delivers on his promise of this series.

And the crazy thing is, as of this writing, there's still five more books to go. I have no idea where he's going to take it from here, but I'm absolutely, completely along for the ride.

This is turning into a top three series for me, and I'm mad at myself that I delayed so long in reading it. show less

Changes is the perfect title for this book. Harry's entire world changes when he learns that he has a daughter and she is now in the hands of some of his worst enemies. He must determine which lines he will cross in order to get her back safely. What is he willing to sacrifice to keep her alive? Jim Butcher truly pushes Harry to his limits in this book -- emotionally, physically, and magically.

Dresden and his friends are in constant danger as someone (or something) tries to kill him with all manner of attacks. Once again, we see who will stand with Dresden even in the face of certain death and who will abandon him to save their own skin. Politically, Dresden is a step behind as usual but he generally figures it all out just in time. Of show more course, what he figures out this time leads to some even larger questions and the choices he makes along the way have far reaching consequences.

I love the non-stop action in the Dresden books. Although Dresden has a lot to think about and many choices to make, he rarely has the time for serious contemplation. Dresden's humor is another of my favorite things about this series. He rarely knows when to stop with the wise-cracks, even in the most serious of situations. He faces death with sarcasm and quotes from Star Wars.

I think this book may be my favorite in the series so far because we learn so much about who Harry Dresden truly is and what he stands for. Butcher ends Changes with a serious cliff-hanger and I cannot believe I have to wait until March 2011 for Ghost Story to come out! show less

The title of this book always brings the David Bowie song to mind. Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Changes is the twelfth book in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. In this week's episode... Susan is back and drops the biggest bombshell on Harry possible. Nothing is going to be the same after this.

The title for this installment is on the nose. In this book everything changes for Harry. Everything. Butcher seriously messed with my emotions big time. My heart damn near stopped when Butters took two bullets in the back. POLKA WILL NEVER DIE! As the story progresses every part of Harry's life is gradually stripped from him. Harry thought he'd hit rock bottom before but he was wrong. No more house, work, car, magic goodies, Mister is lost (please say show more someone finds Mister), potential White Council civil war, back broken, made a deal with Mab (which explains the title on Cold Days I'm thinking). It's a lot to take in and has to be the worst 48 hours in Harry's life.

I will say it was highly satisfying for the entire Red Court to be wiped out. F*cking vampires. Though I will say I wouldn't mind seeing the Ebbs again. The win the "Most Interesting Parley With The Enemy" award.

Then, just when you think it's over and the good guys can go home, or in Harry's case someone else's home, after saving the girl, Butcher pulls a fast one and we're left in a cliffhanger. It won't be long before I read the next book. show less

Changes is the twelfth full-length book in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, and boy, does it really shake things up. It starts off with a bang as Harry receives a phone call from Susan Rodriguez, his former girlfriend and now half-vampire. She informs him that their daughter—a child he didn’t even know existed—has been kidnapped by the Red Court vampires and she needs his help getting the little girl back. Once Susan arrives in Chicago, they get to work, figuring out how to locate their child and rescue her. As is typical for these stories, things don’t entirely go Harry’s way. They spend a lot of time consulting various people and calling in favors in an attempt to accomplish their goal, while trying to evade the Red show more Court assassins sent to slow them down, as well as local law enforcement. When they finally figure out what the Red Court is really up to, it becomes even more imperative that they don’t fail in their mission, but despite all the entities he’s talked to, Harry can only come up with a small group of allies compared to the Red Court’s massive army. In the end, he must make a Faustian bargain to have any chance of pulling it off, and even then, he’s going to need a lot of luck on his side in order to save his daughter and bring everyone home safely.

In every book of the series, Harry grows and changes, but in this one that’s ramped up to about a thousand. When he gets Susan’s call, he’s understandably caught off guard and shocked to discover that he’s a father. Not only that, but his child is now in mortal danger. Being a half-vampire who’s made many enemies as a member of the Fellowship of St. Giles, Susan knew she couldn’t be the mother Maggie deserved, so she hid her away, even from Harry, who is now quite angry with her for not telling him sooner. But he puts that animosity aside for Maggie’s sake and gets right to work on figuring out a way to save her. Almost everywhere he goes, though, he keeps running up against roadblocks, but eventually he figures out the girl’s whereabouts and cobbles together a desperate rescue plan. In order to accomplish that, though, he has to do things he never thought he would, but he discovers that anything is worth it for the daughter he’s never met. I have to admit that Harry went a bit dark in this one, but at his core, he’s still the honorable man who cares about others and tries to do the right thing. It’s just that sometimes life can get complicated, and in this case, reality forced him into some tight spots where he had to make tough decisions for the good of his child. It will be interesting to see where things go for Harry from here, because the one thing that’s certain is that nothing will ever be the same for him again.

I think nearly every supporting character that’s ever been a part of the series returns in this one in some form or another. As always, Karrin Murphy is one of Harry’s staunchest allies. She’s always been tough, but in this one she’s a literal bad-ass who impressed the hell out of me. After the way things were left with Thomas in the previous book, I was worried about him, but I was happy to see that even though he’s returned to the White Court, he’s still fighting by Harry’s side, especially when it mattered the most. Molly has definitely been honing her wizarding skills and puts them on display in this one. Mouse is still the toughest, most loyal dog ever and in one very humorous scene we actually get to “hear” what he’s thinking. Bob gets to show off his impressive powers, which was, if memory serves, a first. Harry’s fairy godmother, Lea, has her meatiest role yet, actually helping Harry in his mission this time. Sanya, the last remaining Knight of the Cross, shows up just when Harry needs more allies. Ebenezar is trying to hold together the shadow group known as the Grey Council. We also get to see his magnificent power as the Blackstaff in action and learn a surprising secret about him that explains a lot. While I was initially upset with Susan on Harry’s behalf for not telling him about Maggie, I did understand her reasoning, and she more than proved her mother’s love in the end. Her long-time, fellow half-vampire ally, Martin, comes along for the ride and ended up having some shocking tricks up his sleeve. Harry briefly meets with Marcone, seeking information, which leads to an even more interesting meeting with Gard’s mysterious boss, who turns out to be a man of myth and legend. And then there’s a certain dark entity with whom Harry must make his bargain, which I can’t mention without giving away spoilers and which will certainly have repercussions in the books to come.

Changes was definitely one of those massively pivotal books in a series that alters the course of the greater story arc. In fact, Jim Butcher blows up so much stuff in this book that “changes” is really an understatement. I don’t think anything will ever be the same moving forward. As with most of the books in this series, the story begins a little slowly with Harry investigating and figuring things out, while planning his next move. There are several smaller battles along the way to keep things interesting, but upon reaching the climax, all hell broke loose. I think this was the biggest, most epic, climactic battle of any book in the series so far, and it all played out like the best action movie ever in my mind’s eye. Every time it seemed like all was lost, some awesome twist would occur to help turn the tide. But even still, the ending was pretty bittersweet for several different reasons. A great deal was gained, but there were heartbreaking losses as well. Not only that, but the final page turned out to be a freaking cliffhanger, which has never happened in this series before. I’ll also say that Mr. Butcher is the biggest tease when it comes to Harry and Murphy getting together. That ending just killed me for more reasons than one. I’m extremely happy I have the next book on my TBR pile to pick up at any time and don’t have to wait a year or more to continue the story, which at this point, I’m extremely eager to do. show less

Wow, that was pretty intense! I had complained that although the previous book was quite good, the series had become too formulaic. It took a dozen books, but there were shocks aplenty, from the first sentence to the last, with surprise twists, triumphs, and tragedies along the way. Some major subplots that have been strung along for far too long were finally resolved, opening up the possibilities for a whole new set of adventures in subsequent books. Yes, it's still quite cheesy, disgustingly sexist and homophobic, heavy handedly moralistic, but with just enough self-aware balance between wry humour and poignancy to keep it entertaining.

I thought multiple times about abandoning the series, but this one almost makes it worth the effort show more to stick with it. show less

Oh. My. God. The first and last reaction to Changes is nothing short of complete shock. If Jim Butcher was slowly building towards something, with the twelfth book in the Harry Dresden series he is no longer doing so. Rather, he has decided to hurl the reader downwards towards the most exciting and emotional stories in the series. A reader can do nothing but go along for the ride, and what a ride it is.

If Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, no one has seen Harry Dresden furious, and it is a sight to behold. Harry has always had a dangerous level of anger within him, something that he has been able to use to keep himself alive in dire straits. With the life of his child on the line, that anger becomes downright frightening. All of show more his growing maturity, experience, and level-headedness culminates in cold calculation that is chilling while at the same time completely understandable. It makes intense reading as one truly has no idea how Harry is going to survive emotionally, spiritually, or physically.

Just when I thought James Marsters could not get any better, along comes Changes He deserves an award for his depiction of Harry’s utter despair, his desolation, and loss. He brought tears to my eyes and more than a few lumps to my throat with his raw emotion.

Simply stated, Changes is a game-changer and the best book in the series to date, which is saying a lot because there is much to love in each of the previous books (“Polka will never die!”). Emotions are high in both Harry and the reader. Just when a reader feels that there is a light at the end of the emotional roller coaster, the cliffhanger ending will leave readers absolutely speechless with dread. Mr. Butcher has completely outdone himself, and it will be utterly fascinating to see what else is in store for Harry as we enter the second half of the series. show less