Most Helpful Customer Reviews
204 of 228 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Harry Dresden is More Fun Dead than the Other Wizard Named "Harry" is Alive., July 26, 2011
This review is from: Ghost Story (Dresden Files, No. 13) (Hardcover)
At a time when so many sci-fi and fantasy writers produce two or three good books and then start phoning it in, Jim Butcher stands apart from the crowd. He just keeps getting more imaginative, more sophisticated and more entertaining with every new book in this series. Ghost Story is the 13th novel of the Dresden Files and it rivals White Knight and Turn Coat for the best.
I have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical that Ghost Story would work as well as some of the other books in the series. Changes, the previous installment in the Dresden Files, ended with the main character left for dead. So much of the appeal of the previous novels derives from how Dresden uses magic to combat enemies in the realm of the living that I couldn't really think of how Ghost Story could be made interesting. Leave it to Jim Butcher to turn an unlikely premise into a great read.
As it turns out, Harry Dresden's luck is not much better in death than it is in life. In fact, he doesn't get to go to the great beyond because there was something that was not right about his death. Instead, he has to return to earth as a ghost to find out who murdered him. If he fails, he learns, three people who are close to him will come to great harm. Harry returns to earth to find that the planet is deeply troubled. The destruction of the Red Court has led to a power vacuum and chaos in the supernatural world. Magical beings are attacking and destroying both each other and humans who connect with the world of magic. The stakes are as high as they have ever been.
Harry's adventures as a ghost are hugely entertaining. He is invisible and cannot communicate with others in the absence of help from Mort the ectomancer or other mediums. But he develops a new array of powers such as passing through walls and short range teleportation a la Nightcrawler (from the X-Men). Dresden still manages to get involved in countless fracases with supernatural beings and, as usual, take his fare share of beatings along the way. Butcher guides us through all of this with a kind of page-turning suspense that has now become a hallmark of this series.
In fact, bringing Harry back as a ghost proves to be the ideal mechanism for showing his maturation as a character. Although Harry cannot connect with the real world physically as a ghost, emotionally everything that he feels is made more visceral. Throughout the novel, when he runs into people he has both helped and hurt during his life he is forced to come to terms with the consequences of his own actions in a unique way. This is why I disagree with those who express disappointment that Dresden is slightly more contemplative and not quite as involved in the action as in previous installments of the Dresden Files. In this novel we may get more of Harry's thoughts than his deeds than we have become accustomed to. But this allows Harry to take some huge strides as a character.
Butcher's prose in Ghost Story is as crisp and light as it has ever been. In fact while the writing in the first few Dresden novels was generally serviceable and at times a bit workmanlike, here he gives us some passages that are truly elegant compared to other books in the genre.
The only caveat I would have about buying this book is that it might not be the best for a new reader of the series. Many of the plot lines and characters are quite developed at this point so it is better to start with one of the earlier novels if you're new to the Dresden Files. Since most of the suspects in Dresden's murder are characters that have appeared in previous novels, it is important to know a bit about their back-stories if you really want to get into this novel.
Most fans of the series will likely agree that this novel cements Harry Dresden's status as one of the most, if not the most, entertaining characters in fantasy and science fiction toady. I can't think of any other character in the genre that brings his mix of unique abilities, hard-boiled realism and humor.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
70 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
odd duck in the series, July 26, 2011
This review is from: Ghost Story (Dresden Files, No. 13) (Hardcover)
Jim Butcher is one of those authors I count on. Usually his books are like the reading equivalent of a weekend at a five-star hotel with a personal chef and a cabana boy. GHOST STORY was was more like a weekend at a four-star hotel with a nice dinner out. Not bad - not even close to it - just not the same superlative wonderfulness that Butcher usually delivers.
In GHOST STORY, Harry is forced into a passive role. The title is literal: he's a ghost. He can't do much of anything. He has to stand by and let other people act, or, if he's lucky, persuade them to act according to his instructions. In terms of Harry's character development and moving the series forward, I think this is exactly what Harry needs. For example: there's a sideplot with a gang of kids who are ordered to do a drive by shooting on Murphy's house. Harry ends up hanging out with the top kid, learning about his situation, and then working to change it by rustling up some caretakers and competent adult supervision. He achieves a better, more humane result than he would have found if he'd been able to jump in and fight, like he usually would.
In general, Harry is forced by his circumstances to do a lot of listening, waiting, and reflecting. Harry's always been a smart, thoughtful guy but not someone who dwells unduly on the past. I think that being forced to change his tune is good for him as a person and ultimately for the series - but, just like having Harry be so passive, it's not great for the reading experience. I think half of GHOST STORY might be flashbacks. Taking a stroll down memory lane with Harry is enjoyable...but it's still a STROLL, and Harry Dresden books are usually a lot more like, I don't know, a freight train crashing down Mount Everest. GHOST STORY simply does not have the momentum and muscle of the average Dresden book.
The overall feel is uneven. The action either occurs in the material world without Harry's participation, or else in the spiritual plane without any help from the cast of supporting characters. Harry finds ways to communicate with his friends, but he can't interact with them. The sense of disconnection and compartmentalization is pervasive. A book narrated by a ghost OUGHT to feel like that, so in a way this is a compliment, but it's not as much fun as a book with a live narrator, what can I say?
Then there's the last, final, biggest problem. Harry's told that he has to go back to Chicago and find out who killed him before he can move on to the next world. And while I was VERY interested to discover the answer, it was also, weirdly, a letdown. I felt a little bit like at the end of a TV episode where you find out everything that happened was a dream - that's not what happens here, the book is not just a big dream sequence, but I had that same feeling of having been cheated.
My final judgment is an odd one. I like GHOST STORY just the way it is - I think that cutting Thomas and Murphy out of the plot was cheating, but I wouldn't change the fundamentals. I think I'll like Harry more with these new lessons under his belt; I have no trouble seeing GHOST STORY as a springboard to better things, a necessary step in the series arc. But most Dresden Files books would clear five stars easy for me, and this one is four.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
54 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Read it cover to cover without putting it down., July 26, 2011
This review is from: Ghost Story (Dresden Files, No. 13) (Hardcover)
When I first picked up Ghost Story, I was expecting another high-octane thrill ride, picking up where Changes left off. My assumptions were incorrect. This volume of the Dresden files takes a much more simple, introspective approach to what's going on. The first half of the book feels a bit plodding, but you come to realize later than this was purposeful, and that it made for a much better second half.
Dresden again finds himself in over his head, this time on the other side. He's got a mystery to solve, and just about no way to solve it, considering he's incorporeal. Characters that you have come to know have changed, sometimes dramatically, in the wake of what has happened to Harry. After figuring out a way to interact with mortals, that method is stripped away from him, and he's again left with nothing but his wits.
If there's one thing that Jim Butcher does right consistently, it's that he knows how to plant a completely unexpected emotional moment into his stories. This one is packed pretty full with these, as Harry sees the world from an outside perspective.
The writing is solid, ad the plot moves on at an appropriate pace. the only complaint I have is that the villain was far too predictable. From the first encounter, I had the identity pretty much locked down. That's not to say that the baddie wasn't effective, just that there could have been a red herring or two thrown in the mix to keep things interesting
Also, prepare yourself to be left with some of the same questions you had at the end of Changes, along with a slew of new ones. Overall, this is a great read, and a worthy addition to the series. I recommend buying it immediately if you're a fan of the Dresden files!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
