Customer Reviews

White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9): 1

5 star:		(135)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sometimes, it's good to be wrong. Jim Butcher has more than earned hardcover publication for his "Dresden Files" series. In my opinion, "Dresden" is one of the best urban fantasy series around.

What to the casual eye looks like suicides of magical practitioners turns out to be a serial killer using the quote from Exodus, "Suffer Not a Witch to live," as a calling card. There are several practitioners dead and more missing. Worse, it's not just Chicago that's been hit.

When clues start piling up implicating Harry's younger brother, Thomas, who is a vampire of the White Court, Harry has to work hard to clear his brother's name.

"White Night" should have a warning--don't pick this book up unless you have several hours to devour it. Like most of the Dresden Files, I struggled with the impulse to read the book right now--or just a few pages at a time and savor it. Devouring won.

"White Night" is very tightly paced. You have very little time as a reader to contemplate what's going to happen. This is also one of Butcher's more intricate novels. He's definitely improving with each book. Kudos to him, his publisher and many fans would still read him for a long time if he didn't challenge himself--and us. In my opinion, Butcher has reached the point with the mystery and crime portion of the series that regular mystery readers would cross over to him.

Of course, the stable of characters is excellent. I still prefer the novelizations of the Dresden Files to the series--with one notable exception. Bob in the novel now seems 'flat' to me once I have seen Terrence Mann bringing Bob to life.

Overall, this is an excellent book by a writer who ages very well. Kudos to Jim Butcher and the Dresden Files.

I too obtained both my copy of White Knight AND my copy of the audio book of Summer Knight at I-CON. Those sweet ladies at the Buzzy Multimedia tables must have thought we were all a bit daft because we lined up on Friday before the convention was even official opened. I was able to get both autographed by Jim Butcher. He is as nice as he is smart and he is plenty smart :) Well that was Friday and by Saturday morning I was a bit bleary eyed but happy and then I started listening to Summer Knight. My God does James Marsters "get" Harry and he absolutely rocked with the voices of all the Fae folk.

On to the the review. As with all the Dresden Files books there are some fight/battle scenes that leave me breathless. I can feel the pain, the despair, the exhaustion as well as the on-the-fly tactics in addition to those well laid plans of mice and men. Love the way Jim Butcher not only comes up with characters that are interesting but has them evolve. He doesn't leave us hanging forever to see issues that were addressed a couple of books ago get resolved. I was a bit worried about the whole apprentice thing but Molly has grown on me and I have this feeling that she and Mister will be the best of friends. Good thing too, because although I adore Mouse, Mister seemed to have be sort of w-a-a-y in th background and I have a soft spot for Mister as well.

So if you haven't bought this book yet, hurry up. So what if it is a hard cover. Friends have a way of forgetting to return paper backs but I haven't had one forget about a hard cover ...yet. Plus you know they'll all be coming out in hardcover eventually and won't they look nice on the shelf ? As for by Dresden Files audio books, no one gets those on loan from me. They'll have to pry them out of my cold, dead fingers.

All Hail Jim Butcher !!! Hip, hip hooray !!!

White Night (2007) is the ninth Urban Fantasy novel in the Dresden Files series, following Proven Guilty. In the previous volume, Harry fetched Molly Carpenter back from Arctis Tor, with a little help from his friends. He took her back to her family, but she decided to turn herself in to the White Council for violations of the Fourth Law.

At the trial, the Merlin arbitrarily convicted her of using black magic and sentenced her to death. Harry pointed out that the Gatekeeper hadn't yet cast his vote. Then Ebenezar McCoy arrived with survivors of the Warden training group accompanied by Molly's father Michael. Merlin reconsidered his verdict and Molly became Harry's apprentice.

In this novel, Sergeant Murphy has a probable suicide, but she rides a hunch and calls in Harry. He checks out the scene and casts a spell at a particular place on the wall. The notation "EXODUS 22:18" appears and Karrin knows the victim was murdered.

Suddenly, Murphy strikes out with a foot sweep and a young woman -- little more than a girl -- becomes visible and falls to the floor. Harry's apprentice Molly hasn't done as he told her and now she has a few bruises and pains to remind her to obey her master. Not that she is going to pay attention, but one more lesson won't hurt . . . much!

Harry does congratulate her on the invisibility spell, but points out that both he and Sergeant Murphy had noticed a few out-of-place sounds and smells. Molly needs to put in some extra practice, but she is improving. Molly goes home happy, but aching in several places.

In this story, Harry and Murphy find other victims around Chicago and elsewhere. Most of the Chicago victims belong to a witch group known as Ordo Lebes, which Dresden translates in his correspondence course Latin as "Order of the Big Pot". Karrin, however, suggests that a better interpretation would be "Order of the Cauldron". But one victim does not belong to this order.

Harry also discovers that one of the Ordo Lebes is Helen Beckitt, whom he has had problems with in the past. Although she cooperates with Harry and Murphy and doesn't even deny her prison record, Dresden just can't bring himself to trust her. When he discovers that she works for John Marcone, both Harry and Murphy become suspicious of her behavior.

Harry meets another old acquaintance on this case. Elaine had been his first girl, but they had parted after Harry killed their mentor. While the White Council ruled that the killing was in self-defense, Elaine was already gone. Yet she had not forgotten him and even followed his career path as a consulting wizard.

This story also has a minor side plot involving the fallen angel Lasciel. The shadow of Lasciel residing in his mind provides some useful services, such as translation of dead languages, but is still trying to seduce him to the evil side. It occurs to Harry that such seduction can go both ways and he treats "Lash" as an almost trusted friend. Some surprising changes occur.

While Harry doesn't really like being a Warden of the White Council, he hasn't considered it as a handicap. Then a mysterious Grey Cloak is noticed as somehow involved with the dead witches and everybody is afraid to tell Harry. And his brother Thomas is often observed with these victims shortly before their death or disappearances. Being an enforcer for the Council is bad enough without the paranormal community wondering whether you are responsible for these passings.

Highly recommended for Butcher fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of preternatural creatures, paranormal individuals, and strange happenings.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Snagged an early copy of this one (and got it signed by the author) this weekend at ICON 2007. Started into it the next day and spent most of my time burning through it. Definitely hooked me.

I'm most impressed with the lack of drop-off that the more recent books have (have not?) had. Most longer series tend to stagnate and dry up, but there's definitely none of that in this one. Strongly recommended.

If you have followed the saga of Harry Dresden then you will find this an excellent addition to the series. This book is very important to the background myth-arc, with real development among the characters and a clever resolution to a one or two plotlines. (IMHO such resolution is a very good thing.) The writing still snaps, and there are one or two set scenes that come off very well. Harry continues to grow, and is dealing with the conflict between his anti-authority nature and his inevitable development into an authority figure himself.

If you are new to the series, then this is *not* the place to start. Butcher's work is superior to a lot of that in the field in that his character actually goes through changes and learns things. He's a supernatural private detective that actually tries to think once in a while. Things start dark and get darker in the first few novels, and now the protagonist is growing and learning. The series has excellent supporting characters and tries to deal with the moral choices the hero is forced to make, and their consequences. Do yourself a favor and start at the beginning ("Storm Front") and follow the saga.

I always enjoy reading a Harry Dresden book, but for some reason, White Night seemed just a bit more lively, fine tuned, fun. The addition of Molly as Harry's apprentice gave him a little more depth, Mouse taking a strong role seemed appropriate (I wondered what, exactly, a Foo Dog did, now I know), Murphy seemed less antsy, more focused. A true team of good guys is evolving.

SPOILER (kinda):
Harry still hasn't given anyone the white sword, and it is not mentioned even in passing in this book. I am dying to find out if he eventually gives it to Murphy, his previous vision of her as a warrior of light seems pretty clear to me, either Harry is slow, or I'm fantasizing a completely different scenario. I'm probably all wet, this series takes so many surprise turns I'm in constant awe at Butcher's creativity. I also like the possibility of Molly and Ramirez hooking up as a side plot. Just because Harry's love life sucks, shouldn't mean they all have to suffer (grin).
END SPOILER.

Bottom line, if you're a Dresden fan, this novel will keep you going, happily anticipating the next installment. As always, this chapter is complete enough that you don't grind your teeth with a dangling cliffhanger, just a few unanswered questions. If you are not a Dresden fan, or are only familiar with the television series, I would suggest starting these books at the beginning, this is not a stand-alone novel, you need the background of the other books. The TV show is great, but very separate in characterizations of the main players.

Harry's a powerful wizard, but not a very good bureaucratic employee as Chicago's warden. Part of the reason is that he tries to not make rash judgments, ones which would kill someone. Basically, everyone has a chance, albeit sometimes small, in Harry's book until you prove him wrong.

For those who have watched the Sci-Fi series, some of the earlier novels are the basis for many of the episodes. I think the books have much more detail in them than can be shoved into an hour, at least coherently.

Butcher's writing has great detail and character development. I'm afraid that if you choose this book to start reading you may be incredibly lost. If you insist, I would suggest going to a fan site and looking at the characters as well as getting a synopsis of previous novels. As Butcher spaces out the novels with at least a year in between, visiting a fan site may not be a bad idea even for those acquainted with Harry Dresden.

This is a strong installment in the Dresden Files. Harry has never been the cuddliest of wizards, but his anger is more frequent and he is lashing out. It doesn't help that he is being used by the White Court to their own ends. The White Court, the Vampire empire, where the rule is never approach something directly when you can do it through others. Its enough to drive him to ally himself with Marcone, the crime lord of Chicago, something Harry wouldn't have believed himself capable of.

And Thomas, his brother, seems to be stronger. Something he can only get when he is absorbing physic energy from humans. Thomas has deep secrets he won't share with Harry, some because of his divided alligence, the deepest because he fears what Harry will do if that secret is uncovered.

And "Lash" is always beneath the surface. Luring him to the dark side of magic. To pick up the coin and grow in power. And the theme of this book is the exercise of power. How the use of power changes the wielder as much as those who are on the receiving end. In the end what sort of Wizard will Harry be? Is Merlin right and Harry is not the sort to remain a warden (or even alive)? And whichever course Harry takes, Molly will go too.

A worthy part of the Dresden files that leaves many open fields for subsequent books.

Butcher's latest Dresden book is great. Through Harry, Butcher tells an exciting and interesting story. Fast paced and surprising. The plot is very well done, and the writing style is excellent.

You get to see a lot of character growth in this installment. You learn what Harry's brother Thomas is doing to keep himself fed and for a living, you see how his new apprentice is shaping up, and learn more about the relationship Harry has with the fallen angel occupying part of his mind.

On top of that, Harry is forced to play politics with some of the other power players in and around the supernatural community. And, there is the threat of more interference and involvment from the traitors in the White Council, the so-called Black Council.

In all, an excellent read and very entertaining. Well worth it.

My wife convinced me that we should give the books a try after the SciFI Channel wimped out on the series. We read White Night first, then we went back to the beginning. Now we're on Small Favor and I feel deep anxiety as we come to the end of the canon . . . thus far.
Harry Dresden presents a clinic/seminar/example on how to face life's little troubles while staying cheerful. Once acquainted with the supernatural existential predicaments of the wry wizard, one finds it easier to cope with dyspeptic middle managers and blithering bean counters.
These books represent an anthem for the downtrodden, lovelorn and heroically unlucky plain folk of the world yearning to breathe the sweet air of fantastic realms . . . like Chicago.