My favorite, and only, grandson received a book for Christmas that he had already read so he re-gifted it to me. Now, I am rather fond of my one and only grandson, but I KNOW not to start a series twelve books into the story. This means that I have to go back through eleven books to catch up.
Jim Butcher has been on my list of authors to try, but for some reason I had not read anything by him except some short stories in various anthologies. I wish I had started with the first book featuring Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.
CHANGES picks up Harry as an established professional wizard in Chicago. He has a tentative relationship with the police department, but has been useful in tracking demons, vampires, werewolves, and other baddies from the realm of the supernatural. He is no stranger to the horrors that lie beyond the mortal world.
The battle changes one morning when he receives word that he has a daughter with his ex-lover Susan Rodriguez and that the young girl has been kidnapped by the Red Court, the strong power that rules the world of vampires.
Arianna Ortega, Dutchess of the Red Court blames Harry for the death of her husband and Susan’s long kept secret is the perfect vehicle for revenge. Harry, Susan, and an odd assortment of characters, from the mortal world of Chicago and the not so mortal realms,find themselves in a bloody battle to save a frightened little girl.
Butcher did an excellent job of subtly identifying the people in Harry’s life. I never was confused about relationships and the explanations never slowed the story. It did make me want to know more about some of them and since some were killed off in this book, I will have to “back-read”.
What I most enjoyed about CHANGES was how well Butcher developed his characters. Harry is very human, even taking into account his powers as a wizard. His moral code, his sense of humor, his loyalty, are all what moves the story. Any wizard who loves his dog and cat as much as Harry cared for Mouse and Mister has to be all right. ( Mouse is a big shaggy dog with some interesting traits of his own; Mister is his seldom seen cat).
Sometimes Harry’s humor borders on the sophomoric; I can see why he is popular with young men. Instead of quietly laughing, I found myself groaning at the jokes. It also helps to have at least a slight grasp of mythology and world religions to appreciate parts of Harry’s world.
Fantasy has always been a genre that I enjoy. Thanks to Harry Potter, wizards have become more mainstream. It might be tempting to compare Harry Dresden with Harry Potter, but Dresden is more a cross between Merlin and Magnum. P.I.
If you like stories about vampires, wizards, good detectives and do not mind a little gore, try a Jim Butcher book. You might want to start with an earlier one like Storm Front. I understand that an omnibus titled Wizard for Hire contains the first three novels.
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