Obligatory Ghost Story Reaction
Well that was a bit of a game-changer, wasn't it?
That was quite good. It... may actually be my favorite, despite the hideous lack of Marcone. Though, Marcone was, as LGI said to me, a psychological presence for the entire book. You know when he comes back from Italy, it's going to be interesting.
But this book. Was great. It was great to take the time and finally, finally have Harry think. He so often doesn't, just runs into the next conflict and battles and never really takes stock. Not so here, and I'm so deeply happy with that. I hope this is a turning point for his character. The ending with Mab does seem to imply he's learning nuance and that his life is not nearly as black and white as he thought. This may lead to awesome things.
I loved Bob's little set-up for the upcoming Mirror, Mirror. SO EXCITE about that book, whenever it happens.
Okay, let's run down the list.
Fitz: I am SURE he is going to be back, the poor lamb. Unsure if he'll be a hedgewizard or a full-blown magus. I can see him joining the Alliance, which would be awesome. I really enjoyed him, how proto-Harry he was, and hope he gets his shit sorted and comes back being snarky and great.
The Consequences of Changes: Oh wow. Changes really was the game-changer, huh? JB said at the Q&A that "this is where things actually get interesting" and I believe him. I'm kind of worried this series is about to catch a massive case of Cerberus Syndrome though. Harry as the most fearsome Winter Knight, the Fomor, Murphy and Molly both rocketing past the Despair Event Horizon, Butters taking seven or eight Levels in Badass... Sure is grimdark up in here.
Murphy: Wow. Huh. That happened. Pretty well-handled. I am dying to know how going to John Marcone for help worked out, because holy crap. That could not have been pretty.
Marcone: YEAH I KNOW, HE WASN'T EVEN IN THIS ONE, but at the same time he really was. I mean, even Butters calls him "Baron John Marcone", because boy howdy is he ever owning that title with his actions here. I am dying to see him in action, given how he's clearly been a game-changer.
Also, someone on Twitter mentioned how Marcone essentially built a very expensive monument to Harry and everything he stood for on the remains of his house. OH JOHN.
(So does that mean John has Little Chicago? Ugh, we have 7 more books before we find out.)
Molly: It's no secret that Molly has always squicked me the fuck out, being such a transparent nerd fantasy. In this book, though, it's changed my thoughts on her. I'm not sure how much, but the change is there. Will be curious to see where she goes from there.
The Loose Ends: Ugh, my only annoyance is just how close to the vest JB played everything. I mean, I get it, as this book was fucking long guys, but seeing how I pretty much skimmed or outright skipped all the fight scenes (sans the flashback), I would have enjoyed less fighty-fighty and more light shed on some of the new elements. Like, what actually are the Fomor and what is the deal with Childs? Especially Childs. He's obviously going to be a Big Deal from now on. Maybe as John shifts his focus more to the supernatural, Childs is going to pick up slack in the criminal, like a 2IC? I want to know mooooore.
HWWB and the "parasite": More mythos on Harry's birth. I am sure the parasite mentioned at the end that kept Harry's blood flowing will be part of Harry's special birth thing. The fight with HWWB and the flashbacks to Justin were awesome stuff. A lot of headcanon confirmed, though I did not expect Justin being overtly abusive. That fucker.
HWWB! OOOOOOH. Harry is obviously a Big Deal. I hate that I have no idea where Butcher's going with this. But HWWB was... I think Grene used the term "tempering the blade"? So HWWB wanted Harry to reach for his anger and to attack. Is it fair to say that's against Harry's purpose then? What could Margaret intended for him, I wonder? Clearly HWWB and the Outsiders want to gobble up Harry's dimension, so what's a force that can stand in their way?
Someone in this book said something about destruction being easy, and creation is the tough thing, I think? I think that's going to come back, definitely.
Also, I'm with Grene: why the fucking British accent on HWWB? That was inexplicable. Maybe Butcher was aiming for the whole British Accent = Evil, but that doesn't work on me? IDK.
The Winter Knight: Given how taking that deal with Mab screwed over, well, everyone, I am surprised Harry's sticking to it. I have no idea how this is going to go. Cold Days is going to be interesting.
Maggie: So she's not being Put On A Bus! I am legit shocked! Her being with the Carpenters, protected by the family, the archangels, and Mouse, made me cry ALL THE TEARS. SO MANY TEARS.
MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART: Butters. Butters calling Harry and Murphy out on their hypocrisy about Marcone: "No going to Marcone for help. Because that would be... unprecedented." Butters is my new favorite, NGL. He was awesome.
From a fandom perspective: I'm surprised how much wasn't jossed by this book. I think we're all pretty okay, sans the fact that we all assumed Harry would be the Knight reluctantly when it seems in reality he's doing it at his own volition.
What I wanna see: Okay, not gonna lie: I want Harry/Bob. They needed more time to hang out together in that penthouse.
I need to know what big scheme John was up to in Italy. You know it had to be a big deal for him to be away while the Fomor were fucking around with his city.
I got weird Murphy/Marcone vibes from this. Am I alone there? I probably am.
I left this out of my Q&A summary post, but someone asked Butcher if Harry would ever be forced into a marriage for magical pact reasons, and he said, "who says he hasn't already?" and said the Mab thing was akin to that. SO. I want Harry/Mab exploration. Not like... sex, because that I could take or leave, but a look at how they co-exist.
Overall, I loved it but I have NO IDEA how Cold Days is going to go and I want it NOW.
Not as much as I want Mirror, Mirror though.
Originally posted at DW. Comment here or there. DW comments:
That was quite good. It... may actually be my favorite, despite the hideous lack of Marcone. Though, Marcone was, as LGI said to me, a psychological presence for the entire book. You know when he comes back from Italy, it's going to be interesting.
But this book. Was great. It was great to take the time and finally, finally have Harry think. He so often doesn't, just runs into the next conflict and battles and never really takes stock. Not so here, and I'm so deeply happy with that. I hope this is a turning point for his character. The ending with Mab does seem to imply he's learning nuance and that his life is not nearly as black and white as he thought. This may lead to awesome things.
I loved Bob's little set-up for the upcoming Mirror, Mirror. SO EXCITE about that book, whenever it happens.
Okay, let's run down the list.
Fitz: I am SURE he is going to be back, the poor lamb. Unsure if he'll be a hedgewizard or a full-blown magus. I can see him joining the Alliance, which would be awesome. I really enjoyed him, how proto-Harry he was, and hope he gets his shit sorted and comes back being snarky and great.
The Consequences of Changes: Oh wow. Changes really was the game-changer, huh? JB said at the Q&A that "this is where things actually get interesting" and I believe him. I'm kind of worried this series is about to catch a massive case of Cerberus Syndrome though. Harry as the most fearsome Winter Knight, the Fomor, Murphy and Molly both rocketing past the Despair Event Horizon, Butters taking seven or eight Levels in Badass... Sure is grimdark up in here.
Murphy: Wow. Huh. That happened. Pretty well-handled. I am dying to know how going to John Marcone for help worked out, because holy crap. That could not have been pretty.
Marcone: YEAH I KNOW, HE WASN'T EVEN IN THIS ONE, but at the same time he really was. I mean, even Butters calls him "Baron John Marcone", because boy howdy is he ever owning that title with his actions here. I am dying to see him in action, given how he's clearly been a game-changer.
Also, someone on Twitter mentioned how Marcone essentially built a very expensive monument to Harry and everything he stood for on the remains of his house. OH JOHN.
(So does that mean John has Little Chicago? Ugh, we have 7 more books before we find out.)
Molly: It's no secret that Molly has always squicked me the fuck out, being such a transparent nerd fantasy. In this book, though, it's changed my thoughts on her. I'm not sure how much, but the change is there. Will be curious to see where she goes from there.
The Loose Ends: Ugh, my only annoyance is just how close to the vest JB played everything. I mean, I get it, as this book was fucking long guys, but seeing how I pretty much skimmed or outright skipped all the fight scenes (sans the flashback), I would have enjoyed less fighty-fighty and more light shed on some of the new elements. Like, what actually are the Fomor and what is the deal with Childs? Especially Childs. He's obviously going to be a Big Deal from now on. Maybe as John shifts his focus more to the supernatural, Childs is going to pick up slack in the criminal, like a 2IC? I want to know mooooore.
HWWB and the "parasite": More mythos on Harry's birth. I am sure the parasite mentioned at the end that kept Harry's blood flowing will be part of Harry's special birth thing. The fight with HWWB and the flashbacks to Justin were awesome stuff. A lot of headcanon confirmed, though I did not expect Justin being overtly abusive. That fucker.
HWWB! OOOOOOH. Harry is obviously a Big Deal. I hate that I have no idea where Butcher's going with this. But HWWB was... I think Grene used the term "tempering the blade"? So HWWB wanted Harry to reach for his anger and to attack. Is it fair to say that's against Harry's purpose then? What could Margaret intended for him, I wonder? Clearly HWWB and the Outsiders want to gobble up Harry's dimension, so what's a force that can stand in their way?
Someone in this book said something about destruction being easy, and creation is the tough thing, I think? I think that's going to come back, definitely.
Also, I'm with Grene: why the fucking British accent on HWWB? That was inexplicable. Maybe Butcher was aiming for the whole British Accent = Evil, but that doesn't work on me? IDK.
The Winter Knight: Given how taking that deal with Mab screwed over, well, everyone, I am surprised Harry's sticking to it. I have no idea how this is going to go. Cold Days is going to be interesting.
Maggie: So she's not being Put On A Bus! I am legit shocked! Her being with the Carpenters, protected by the family, the archangels, and Mouse, made me cry ALL THE TEARS. SO MANY TEARS.
MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART: Butters. Butters calling Harry and Murphy out on their hypocrisy about Marcone: "No going to Marcone for help. Because that would be... unprecedented." Butters is my new favorite, NGL. He was awesome.
From a fandom perspective: I'm surprised how much wasn't jossed by this book. I think we're all pretty okay, sans the fact that we all assumed Harry would be the Knight reluctantly when it seems in reality he's doing it at his own volition.
What I wanna see: Okay, not gonna lie: I want Harry/Bob. They needed more time to hang out together in that penthouse.
I need to know what big scheme John was up to in Italy. You know it had to be a big deal for him to be away while the Fomor were fucking around with his city.
I got weird Murphy/Marcone vibes from this. Am I alone there? I probably am.
I left this out of my Q&A summary post, but someone asked Butcher if Harry would ever be forced into a marriage for magical pact reasons, and he said, "who says he hasn't already?" and said the Mab thing was akin to that. SO. I want Harry/Mab exploration. Not like... sex, because that I could take or leave, but a look at how they co-exist.
Overall, I loved it but I have NO IDEA how Cold Days is going to go and I want it NOW.
Not as much as I want Mirror, Mirror though.
Originally posted at DW. Comment here or there. DW comments: