White Night

White Night (2007) Jim Butcher

I’ve been reading the Dresden Files series for awhile now, even when Harry was annoying the crap out of me, by being incredibly stupid and obtuse. But the books got better, and Harry got smarter, and the stories have been getting better ever since.

When Murphy calls Harry to come look at suicide, they both the death is not, in fact, a suicide, but a murder–and there are clues at the scene only Harry can see. Unfortunately for him now that he’s a Warden, people who would have talked to him previously now clam up when he’s around, because no one really trusts the Council and the Wardens. Add to that the fact that Harry still doesn’t know what Thomas is up to, and it’s beginning to look like his brother may be involved in the deaths.

Jim Butcher’s writing has always been pretty good, but in this book he somehow manages to nail about 9 scenes of of 10. The dialog and humor are sharp, as Harry’s wit and self-deprecation keep him from being an annoying jerk. But it’s also good to see how much Harry has grown in recent years, not only in taking on Molly as an apprentice, but also in his assessment of his own limitations and problems. It was also very good to see a resolution to one of the problems that has been bothering me for so long. I’m not 100% thrilled with the way the issue was resolved, but it fit and it worked, and that’s one less thread we have left hanging.

It was also good to see Harry finally accepting that he not only needs people as friends, but has to learn to start trusting his friends. I also like the continued limitations on power that we see in all th magic users, not just in Harry, but even in Mouse.

As far as the mystery, although there were a few small holes from time to time, overall the mystery was good and things worked out logically (that doesn’t necessarily mean well for everyone involved, but things did make sense) which doesn’t always happen in supernatural mysteries.

The characters were sharp, and I liked the fact that things never worked out between Harry and Murphy. They remained friends–good friends–but nothing more came of their friendship. That was refreshing, since most supernatural fantasies seem to have sexual tension as their main plot point. Of course that doesn’t mean that there isn’t sexual tension in the book–it’s just no the main theme. Thank goodness.

But what I liked best of all that Harry is learning and actually honing his powers. As he teaches Molly, he is relearning lessons he himself had forgotten, so his skills are expanding, but in a way that makes a lot of sense.

So all in all, this is an excellent addition to the Dresden Files series, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although someone could enter the story at this point, there are several things that might not make as much sense or be as important if you enter the story at the middle.
Rating: 8/10

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