[66/75] Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work - magical or mundane. But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise. A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses - and the first two don't count.
I have something I need to get off my chest about this book, and all I ask is that you PLEASE don't judge me for it.
HARRY DRESDEN AND HIS SUBCONCIOUS NEED TO MAKE OUT. LIKE, YESTERDAY.
That is all.
What?
Oh, the review! Yes, I remember.
I have to agree with thebaconfat on this one: it's not as much fun as the first one. Murphy's Law's still in full effect, Harry's still getting into bloody awkward situations, but - it's not done as well as it was in the first book. Now it's just one-thing-after-another. Whatever he does, no matter what or why, will backfire on him horribly. No real suspense because it's OBVIOUS everything's going to go to hell and be fixed with a MIRACULOUS AND COMPLETELY COINCIDENTAL RESCUE. Plus all the characters... Rargh. Seriously, when you spend half a book yelling at Harry and Murphy to just TALK to each other - seriously, I have a feeling that if Harry had, y'know, ACTUALLY BLOODY EXPLAINED to Murphy about why there'd been a picture of a magic circle with his handwriting on it, things may have gone differently - and I did actually sit around going "Murphy, you're supposed to be a trained martial artist, you should know better than to lash out like that in case you break the scrawny wizard's head off." The other characters were paper thin
(Haha, teenage werewolves in love though! Although I take this moment to point out that out of a pack of six, only TWO are named. This seems to be a thing of the Streetwolves too - I'm noticing a pattern of "Leader figure and two named/nicknamed subordinates" here. ALSO WHY ARE ALL THE EVIL WOMEN PERPETUALLY VIOLENT AND HORNY. AM I MISSING SOMETHING INHERENT ABOUT WOLVES HERE?),
and, y'know, I know there's that thing about guns going off in the third act being there in the first but - Dear Jim Butcher, you really didn't have to describe every different time of werewolf (I take this moment to point out that Bob is infodumping fantasticness, along with his general reaction of "Will you stop going on about silver bullets and biting?") and then USE THEM ALL. REALLY NOT NECCESSARY.
I think there's only a handful of characters I still LIKED by the end of the book. Namely Harry's subconcious, Bob, and Johnny Marcone. ... I know I'm not supposed to like the evil mobster but DUDE, he's a gentleman mobster who is calm and controlled while strung up as live bait for a werewolf! And also dude, throwing a knife while strung up with such accuracy that he cuts one of the ropes holding a platform. DO WANT.
The only thing I'm going to say about the technical side of things is this: if I'd taken a shot every time the words "feminine" or "masculine" popped up, I'd be writing this review from the floor.
That is all.
And I actually mean it this time.