Blood Rites

Blood Rites The Dresden Files Book Six (2004) Jim Butcher

This must be the point at which Jim Butcher started getting really popular. Because we’ve suddenly switched from having the title at the top of the page, to the author name at the top of the page at double the font size of previous books. Which is really too bad, because I quite liked the layout of the previous books. Not that there’s anything wrong with this cover. I just liked the previous format better is all.

Thomas comes to Harry with a case–he wants Harry to help a friend who makes movies. It seems like someone is trying to sabotage his latest project, in a terminal manner.

There were a couple of very good things about this book. Harry has picked up a Spenser-esque self-depreciating sense of humor that I find amusing. Some people might find it annoying, but as that’s the brand of humor I personally prefer, I like it. I’m also enjoying the slow change in Harry’s relationship with Karrin Murphy–and how Karrin seems to be doing better than she was in the last book. And I was glad to see Thomas again. I like Thomas.

I also enjoyed how he’s doing a better job with the story telling, and building up new characters. We’d met Ebenezer before, so his significance to Harry, and his willingness to help Harry made sense. It even made sense that Harry would call on him now, as opposed to later, as they’d had their relationship renewed recently.

However, I’m not sure that Harry didn’t overreact, when Ebenezer told him about his past. Did he have grounds to be upset? Yes. Did he have grounds to be that upset? I don’t think so. But perhaps after Harry calms down some he’ll deal with things better.

I also like the fact that the issue of insurance finally came up. That’s a problem I have with modern-day private investigators–they keep ending up in the hospital, but rarely (if ever) do we hear about how they pay for all these expensive hospital bills.

I like how Jim Butcher integrated the vampire lore into his three different types of vampires. (I’d meant to mention this earlier, but forgot.) It’s interesting how different authors integrate vampire lore into their stories. And interestingly, all of it strikes me as reasonable. After all, folklore typically gets some things right while integrating an awful lot of BS. So as long as an author keeps at least some of those items of folklore in their cannon. What I like is how he has integrated the folklore and stories (some contradictory) into his vampires, by creating three different types of vampires.

The series is continuing to build upon itself. Elements and characters from earlier stories appear, and actions taken in the past take on greater significance or are finally explained.

SPOILER

(rot 13)
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END SPOILER

As with the previous books in the series, Blood Rites is a complete story. There are, of course, unresolved bits, but that’s okay. Those bits may or may not be important later in the story, so they didn’t bother me too much. However, this book pulls together a lot of different elements from the past books. Yes, you could read this story without knowing those past elements, but I wonder things will mean as much (when Harry takes down the cane sword, there was no mention of it’s history, but when Murphy says that most of the nightmares of stopped, knowing why she had those nightmares, and why it’s so important that they stopped, involves past history, and how does that read without that history?

So, another good book, and I am continuing to enjoy this series.
Rating: 7/10

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