Storm Front- A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

My Goodreads review on “Storm Front”:

I started out on the audio book for this one, and I loved listening to James Marsters. His voice is great for the part. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to finish the audio, and switched over to my print copy.
I’m not great at reviews. I just enjoy something, or I don’t. This novel had a few problems, but overall I loved the concept of a practicing wizard with a listing in the yellow pages. It was entertaining enough to make me overlook things that others complained about. I’m more than willing to continue the series.

Check it out at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8149249-storm-front

Fool Moon- A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

My Goodreads review on “Fool Moon”:

I know folks have some complaints about this series,and I can see some of their points, but I still really like it. It’s a fun adventure and an enjoyable read.

That said, my worst problem with both the first two books has been with Murphy. In “Storm Front” I kept thinking that for such a great cop, her actions were kind-of stupid at times. The feeling only got worse in “Fool Moon.” Granted,she’s not the hero, and isn’t meant to save the day… but does her behavior have to be a major cause of problems that seem to make things change for the worse?

This was another neat take on supernatural beings. It looks like Harry might be opening up to the idea of a relationship, and we got to see some more glimpses of his hidden past. Most of the time, the story moves along well, making this a fairly fast read. I’m looking forward to the third installment.

Take a look at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8150561-fool-moon

Keep Writing!

Laura

I enjoyed Storm Front, the series’ first book, quite a bit, and I read it straight through fairly quickly.  My reading of Fool Moon was a little jilted: between work and Skyrim, it took me a couple of weeks to get through it.  Harry Dresden’s second outing returns the reader to the comfortably exciting world of a paranormal Chicago as seen through the hard-boiled eyes of the city’s only professional wizard.  Rather than a rival sorceror, however, this time Harry’s up against werewolves.  Several groups of them.  And they all want a bite out of our favorite magical gumshoe.

The story involves a deadly werewolf, a mob boss, a dispute over a tract of land, and a gaggle of various wolf-creatures, most of whom never manage to seem completely necessary to the plot.  Harry Dresden is brought in to investigate the main werewolf’s disappearance after it is released from the magical circles that contain it during its monthly transformation.  Along the way, he gets beat up in a number of different ways and manages to piss a number of people off, mostly inadvertently.

Butcher’s take on werewolves in this book was both original and slightly confusing.  As I count them there are no fewer than four variations on the theme: you have (1) werewolves, humans who can shapeshift into wolves at will; (2) lycanthropes, humans who do not physical shapeshift into wolves but can become mentally bestial; (3) the loup-garou, the most familiar of the group, a human cursed to turn into an extremely powerful werewolf every full moon, which is only vulnerable to inherited silver; and (4) … a fourth variation you learn about at the end of the book, which I won’t spoil for you here.

On the one hand I like the idea that there might be different levels and kinds of werewolf, some more formidable and more literal than others.  On the other hand, Butcher seems to use this diversity of magical creatures as padding for an otherwise very simple story, that probably could have and should have been a lot shorter than it is.

I’ve been told by fans of the series that the first couple of books in The Dresden Files are uneven at best, but that the series gets better from here on out.  The main problem with Fool Moon is that it is a tale too long in the telling.

Its best parts involve Dresden’s personal relationships: the stormy relationship with the arcane reporter girlfriend, the friendly-professional relationship (that seems like it could be something more) with the tough female cop who hires him as a consultant, and Dresden’s relationship with himself, all of which are constantly developing in new ways.

I’ve never found it particularly believable that Karrin Murphy, the aforementioned tough female cop, would so readily believe that Dresden was involved in or behind the horrific crimes that are committed throughout the book.  This element came up in the first novel as well, and it was just as suspect there.  Dresden and Murphy are friends, right?  She hires him regularly in an official capacity as a consultant for the Chicago Police Department, right?  He has helped her solve crimes in the past, albeit in unorthodox ways, right?  So does the constant suspicion make sense?  It’s a convenient plot element, of course, since when Dresden inevitably gets into hot water with the cops he has to resort to more thrilling independent methods that always lead him into tough situations sans backup.  But Butcher needs a track for our favorite Windy City wizard from hereon out.

The obstacles that Harry Dresden encounters are predictable at this point: he inevitably gets wounded, usually seriously, and spends no small amount of time describing the nature and extent of his injuries.  In the next book, I’d like to see him make it out in one, less injured piece.  His character arc within each book usually sees him getting pushed around for most of the story, only to find a hidden reserve of strength at the end which he uses to save the day, or which allows him to survive long enough for some convenient deus ex machina.

There’s a point in Fool Moon where Harry talks to his subconscious during a dream while unconscious.  His subconscious is a confident, formidable, ideal version of himself.  This subconscious Dresden wears a nicer, black leather version of his trademark western duster.  The implication throughout the book is that the real Harry is on a path moving in this direction, but he’s not quite there yet.  He receives the actual leather coat as a gift from his girlfriend later on in the book, seemingly furthering this metaphorical journey.  I’d like to see him stay on it, and maybe get involved in a few adventures that don’t leave him a bleeding, whining wreck at the end.  It’s good that Butcher decided to add an element of realism by having his protagonist face real, physical consequences to getting involved in dangerous situations, but even the most daring warriors don’t get shredded in every battle.  It’s time Dresden got a chance to be badass.

Back Blurb : ‘… Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago’s first (and only) Wizard P.I. Turns out the ‘everyday’ world is full of strange and magical things – and most of them don’t play well with humans. That’s where Harry comes in. Business has been slow lately for Harry Dresden. Okay, business has been dead. Not undead – just dead. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry 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 …. Magic – it can get a guy killed …’

Book two in the Dresden Files series, and we see Harry Dresden down on his luck – he’s burnt valuable bridges with his connections in the police department, and his friends aren’t exactly beating down his door. When Lieutenant Murphy makes a surprise visit to his favourite watering hole however, Dresden is once again on the payroll and the hunt for a killer begins.

In Fool Moon we’re introduced to the kind of shape-shifters that you wouldn’t want anywhere near you when the moon is rising. Jim Butcher’s characters are not the warm and fuzzy supernatural creatures that we’ve come to expect from Twilight and tween-friendly bitey-dramas These shifters are blood thirsty, and are going to cause serious damage if they find you in their way. Harry Dresden is going to need all the magic and help that he can get.

I liked that Butcher didn’t just trot down the path of the standard werewolf – instead introducing us to four different wolf-variants : the Hexenwolf (a person transformed or being able to transform into a wolf-like beast through the employment of a magical talisman provided by another being); the Werewolf (a person able to transform into a wolf through magic); the Lycanthrope (a person affected by a magical condition - also unique in that they are born this way, and not made); and the Loup-garou (a person cursed to become a wolf-like demon, usually during a full moon).

I also liked the fact that Dresden’s magical ability is not limitless. Despite his natural power and the many talismans he carries with him – he still gets hurt, emotionally and physically by the forces he’s dealing with. The fact that we see him spent and beaten down, shows that we’re not rooting for a super-hero, but a man dealing with his own demons and restrictions. Butcher indicates a few times in this book, how easy it would be for Dresden to draw power from his darker nature … ‘And I knew that there was some dark corner of me that would enjoy using magic for killing – and then long for more. That was black magic, and it was easy to use. Easy and fun. Like Lego.’ (p.87)

I enjoyed this book, and encourage you to check out the Dresden Files series if you’re in the mood for another fantasy franchise with some bite to it

8 out of 10.

–

Next time on the bookshelf : “The Sisters Brothers” by Patrick De Witt

Fool Moon picks up a few months after Storm Front and sees our hero Harry fallen on hard times.  The police are giving him the cold shoulder, following incidents in the last book, and work is very thin on the ground.  That is until a series of grisly murders, all taking place around the time of the full moon, begin to occur and the Special Investigations unit once again call on Harry.

Firstly, I will say that I liked this book but, for some reason, not as much as the first.  Although it won’t put me off continuing with the series because the story and the telling were good just as good.

What I really like about this series so far is Harry.  He is just so very readable.  He’s a magician, but his magic in no way takes over the whole story, in fact it is relatively little used and quite often only as a last resort, he’s witty, I like the way he tells the story and admits to all his little flaws.  He’s certainly not perfect, you could almost accuse him of being patronising to certain people, but, he means well and is genuinley a good guy and frankly a bit of a softie.  What I also like about this series is that it’s got lots going on, particularly in this installment which was action packed.  We are introduced to wolves in this story and there are a number of different varieties, and I’m talking of the supernatural kind and the theories were a different take from the norm which was refreshing.

As I said, there’s plenty of action in Fool Moon accompanied by gore and blood, lots of blood – Dexter would have been in his element! (Blood splatter patterns all over the place.)  There are also a number of different themes and gangs.  We also once again seem to end up in a situation where circumstances keep spiralling ever down from bad to worse to 20 feet below.

I suppose what detracted from this story for me would be a few things.  I felt that Murphy acted just plain weird or stupid – I could have joyfully slapped her (and yet Dresden doesn’t help by withholding information – so slap for him as well), but, nonetheless I found some of her actions a little bit hard to swallow.  I also found the layout of this story very much followed Storm Front.  Harry isn’t working, Harry gets work, Harry gets involved in all sorts of heinous situations pdq, Harry gets beaten up, Harry gets beaten up some more and then when things can’t get any worse Harry saves the day, sounds familiar but just swap the motives a little and involve a different bunch of supernatural critters, bingo.  I don’t have a problem with Harry saving the day btw it’s just that this felt very much as though a formula has been written and will be stuck to – I just hope that’s not the case (okay, I know this sort of novel is a bit like that but this one was just too in your face) and the other thing that sort of irritated me was the romance thing with Susan which feels really forced.  I’m not feeling it at all, in fact I would say there is a deal more chemistry between Harry and Murphy – perhaps that will be developed further in future editions.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book, it’s action packed and quite amusing with a decent plot but I just didn’t like it as much.  It won’t stop me reading the next as I already like Harry and it feels like a fun and indulgent read.

Rating -B

Fool Moon

As many of you know, Fool Moon is the second book in the Harry Dresden series. Jim Butcher has written one of my all-time favorite series and I keep returning to this world. In this story, Chicago Wizard Harry must face the awful reality that werewolves are loose in his city. But how many? Do they all have the same agenda? Butcher once again wove a tale bringing together different shades of ‘bad guys’, fully making clear their individual motivations. Love, power, control, justice, for the greater good – they’re all mixed in there.

So many characters in the Dresden world I can relate to. In Fool Moon, we meet the geeky college students, The Alphas. Lt. Karrin Murphy continues to play a big part, her desire to trust Harry and her inimical distrust of nearly everyone warring within. This book also had some of my favorite quotes – such as the need to smile at children and idiots. Tara West also had some of the best dry remarks, and proves to be the biggest, and yet simplest, mystery of the book.

On an ending note, I have to share that I borrowed this audiobook through Inter-Library Loan. Unfortunately, there was an indecent accident involving a cat and a cutting board that ruined all the packaging. As a result, I have ‘purchased’ this book, providing a check to the loaning library to replace it. Sigh…. cats…. They have no taste.

In the second book of Jim Butcher‘s Dresden Files, Full Moon, Kim Delaney asks Harry Dresden for help, but she didn’t tell him the whole truth.

It’s vital information that could have helped him solve the mystery of strange animal murders. This same lack of information gets him into more trouble with his friend Detective Karrin Murphy and a lot of people die unnecessarily.

When all is said and done, Harry blames himself. If only he had told Kim the whole truth … But he didn’t know why she wanted the information. He thought she was delving into black magic. He wanted to protect her from her curiosity.

If she had been honest with him, he would have gone with her to preform the spell. He’d have had the answers to solve the murders. Murphy would not have been angry with him. People would not have died.

But, most importantly, there would have been no plot — no book to read.

Unreliable characters cause problems for the protagonist. Problems that complicate the  obstacles the protagonist is already trying to overcome. Life would be so much easier without these characters, but these same characters makes for a more interesting plot.

I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon. So I didn’t know that it was one night shy of being full, when the young woman sat down with me in McAnally’s pub, and asked me to tell her all about something that could get her killed.

• TITLE: Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2)
• AUTHOR: Jim Butcher
• PUBLICATION DATE: 1st January 2001
• PUBLISHER: Orbit (UK)

I knew from the very beginning of Storm Front that I was going to be a Harry Dresden fan. There’s very little not to like about the series, the set-up and the delivery of The Dresden Files, and I have a suspicion that the series merely improves with time.

It’s quite obvious from the offset that Fool Moon is going to be about werewolves. Great, I thought, another chance to see the furry beasties done right. Say what you will about Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, but her werewolves are done well. They’re not essentially rats on stilts, not large slobbery dogs, and certainly not especially monstrous. Good things, all. So, I experienced much the same delight with Jim Butcher’s werewolves.

Where (in my opinion and for my hard-to-please tastes) Butcher fails somewhat with his depiction of vampires (mainly appearance, origins, and “vampire rules”, for me—yet, his notion of the different coloured Vampire Courts is excellent for me, and goes some way to make up!), he totally succeeds with his werewolves.

Butcher’s imagination and ability to take existing folklore and use it to the fullest, is what makes his world so attractive a version of our own supernatural world: that there are elements of “truth” and “accuracy” within his magical lore, roots that can be identified (with), makes his slight reimagining of our own world addictively readable—much in the same way Rowling’s Potter world does. It is so entirely believable, coupled with just enough accepted “fact” that the reader accepts the world and is swallowed deep into the setting.

Fool Moon begins in much the same way as Storm Front—Harry is called in to consult on a homicide and immediately it is clear that supernatural forces are responsible. Lt. Karrin Murphy and Harry share a relationship a few degrees more uneasy than before, due to the events in Storm Front but Harry is determined to patch things up, and subsequently agrees to assist in the case as best he can—even if that means getting knee-deep in trouble before he’s even started.

With the FBI sniffing around, a teenage band of werewolves, and a tough biker gang, aptly named the Streetwolves, not to mention that it was Gentleman Johnnie Marcone’s man who was offed, Fool Moon sets out to give Harry his weirdest, most complex case yet.

This second instalment of The Dresden Files proves, yet again, that Butcher’s idea of the supernatural is anything but cliché. Butcher can give us werewolves and still come out of it gleaming with originality—it’s an art he has down, and as Harry evolves through the following instalments, I can only assume Butcher’s supernatural genius will improve as exponentially as Harry’s magic (and trouble-load).

Imaginative, dark, funny and witty, Fool Moon really raises the bar set by Storm Front, and readers hooked at book one will seal the deal and call themselves Dresden fans from here onwards. An excellently paced, exciting urban fantasy adventure, Fool Moon simply is what Butcher does, and what he does well.

Harry is an approachable, likeable character who engages constantly: there is never a dull moment in a Dresden book, and always something new to intrigue and enthral. Fool Moon was a quick, fast-paced adventure that introduces new characters, establishes existing characters further, and shows the reader a damn good time whilst doing so. An absolute pleasure to read.

4/5

Dresden is really run through the meat grinder in Fool Moon. At the end of Storm Front Dresden is in a terrific battle that completely exhausts his magical strength. In this book that happens about 1/3 of the way in and for the rest of the book he is forced to face his enemies without the benefit of most of his magic. In addition to great external conflicts, Dresden’s  relationship with Murphy is extremely strained as he has had to withhold information from her for her own protection. Dresden is facing the most dangerous enemies he has ever encountered and he is doing it completely alone.

Jim Butcher continues to deliver a fast-paced, intense narrative laced with tension. This book took me several days to finish because it was a lot darker and more intense than its predecessor. I couldn’t marathon the story because it became painful to stay in Dresden’s head for a long period of time. Its that intense.

If you like horror and fantasy I highly recommend Fool Moon, by Jim Butcher.

Monday, August 1, 2011
Waxing Moon
Neptune Retrograde
Pluto Retrograde
Cloudy and humid
Lammas

Lammas, the first harvest and an important day in my personal calendar. I’m looking forward to a good and sacred day.

It was a busy weekend. On Sunday, I had to drive my mom to CT. What should have been a simple, four and a half hour drive took seven hours. due to traffic. We finally pulled off to eat and visit the Book Barn in Niantic, where we found a few things, one of which was an arc of Jane Smiley’s THIRTEEN WAYS TO LOOK AT A NOVEL. Outstanding book on the history of the novel, and on writing and editing. I found some good passages to share with my students.

Arrived in CT, hadn’t even unpacked, and there was a major storm with a power outage. Go figure!

To bed early, up early on Saturday to head back. Smooth sailing until Bourne. From Bourne to the Sagamore Bridge, which is about six miles, it took two hours because of the traffic. I was NOT a happy camper. And there was no reason for it, except people were being stupid. If everyone kept moving and was considerate, we would have all gotten where we needed to go on time. On top of that, some dickheads were using rest areas and lookouts to simply drive through and skip a few cars. You think you’re that important? Bite me, I’m not letting you cut in front of me! Rt. 6 was packed in both directions, so I nipped off as soon as I got over the bridge and took 6A home instead. Much better.

I don’t want to hear any crap from local businesses that they aren’t doing well. When there’s a 22 mile backup in both directions to get over the bridge, people are coming to the Cape. It’s on the vendor to make the sales. The people are definitely here.

Exhausted when I got home. Unpacked, dealt with the cats (who were not amused), opened the windows, and took a nap. Woke up, finished Jim Butcher’s FOOL MOON, which was interesting, and wound up my two classes.

Watched THE TOURIST, which wasn’t quite as bad as the reviews claimed. The Venice setting was worth it. The dialogue could have been better — with those two actors, some witty exchanges would have made it worthwhile, instead of just taking a pause and looking at each other between each sentence. And I figured out the twist about ten minutes into it (although Rufus Sewell’s cameo was fun).

Up early on Sunday, worked in the garden, and then to Osterville for the meditation walk, which was wonderful. Truly a joyful morning. Some of us are going to meet next week to continue.

Got the papers, came home, and relaxed on the deck. It was a gorgeous morning. Lovely to be out. I got the fall catalog for the local place where I interviewed to teach in person and I’m in it, so I guess I passed The Man’s background check. I wish they’d actually confirmed it all. But it’s a month of Wednesday nights in October, which should be fun. I returned books to the library in Sandwich, and stopped by both the Sandwich Herb Shoppe and Lavender Moon for a couple of treats.

Read Jeri Ready-Smith’s WICKED GAME in the afternoon — clever urban fantasy. I liked it a lot.

Did some editing in the evening, watched a little TV. Did an interview for the book. Up early today and decided to go to yoga, although I don’t usually go on Mondays. But what better way to treat myself on this special day than attending a special class?

Then, it’s back to my desk — I have a lot of serious work that needs to get done today. I got behind last week, juggling all the classes. I’ve got an edit to finish, a review to write, lots of work for the Mermaid Ball.

But now — to yoga.

Devon

ASSUMPTION OF RIGHT available from Champagne Books and Amazon Kindle.
Annabel Aidan webpage here.

1. Stardust by Neil Gaiman, $7.99 [paperback]
2. Changeless: An Alexia Tarabotti Novel (Book 2) by Gail Carriger, $7.99 [paperback]
3. Fool Moon: A Novel of the Dresden Files (Book 2) by Jim Butcher, $9.99[paperback]
4. City of Bones: The Mortal Instruments (Book 1) by Cassandra Clare, $10.99 [paperback]
5. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, $16.99 [hardcover]

With B&N Membership saved: $5.40

Total: $51.58

Mailbox Monday is a fun way to find out what other books people are getting and reading.

This was an almost all Paperback Book Swap Mailbox Monday for me.

This week’s Mailbox held:

Storm Front (Book 1 of the Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher (for my Husband/Son)

Fool Moon (Book 2 of the Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher (for my Husband/Son)

Grave Peril (Book 3 of the Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher(for my Husband/Son)

Then for me:

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani

The last book of the week is from Nicole at Linus’s Blanket for an online book club she is hosting:

A Thousand Rooms of Dream and Fear by Atiq Rahimi.

What new books came your way this week?

This month has been series fill-in month for me, where I go back and catch up on audiobooks I’ve missed when working my way through series I’ve liked enough to be willing to read out of order.

Fool moon by Jim Butcher: This is the second Dresden Files novel. These are modern, urban fantasy stories. Its plot seems a bit shakier than the first book, but the author’s craft is coming together in other ways. His description’s good, for example, and the underlying consistency of the way magic works in his world is coming together nicely. This is important in urban fantasy stories. Butcher foreshadows his characters’ powers before he needs them in stressful situations, which prevents his magical characters just making holes in the plot. The secondary characters aren’t fully fleshed out, but they are more than solid enough for the story that’s being told. The read by James Masters is, again, excellent. It’s enough to bring me back for the third one, although it hasn’t the charm of the new which helped the first one, in my opinion.

The full cupboard of life by Alexander McCall-Smith: I’ve missed reading this one on the way through the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which are cozy mysteries set in Botswana. I’m glad I’ve caught up with it, because it contains the main character’s wedding. It’s well written, but not markedly different from any other book in the series. Then again, that’s not much of an objection to a book. If someone gave you a lamington…a good lamington mind, you, not one of those terrible ones…would it be fair to say “Ah, but I had a lamington some time ago, and this one is just the same.” Not at all. The full cupboard of life isn’t all that distinct from the rest of the series, but it’s a treat regardless.

The mating season by P. G. Wodehouse: A Jeeves and Wooster novel I believe I’ve read before, so long ago that I couldn’t recall the details. It has a fantastic scene at the end, which is set at a village talent show. Perhaps you need to come from the country like me to appreciate it, but these scenes, in which villagers torture each other with their lack of talent, resonated deeply.

by
Jim Butcher

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
About four years ago, I was acquainted with a certain “Wizard for Hire” by the name of Harry Dresden. I recall being entertained but not compelled to continue the association. However, several trusted sources promised me Mr. Dresden is of pukka character, the real deal, not prone to charlatan-esque fripperies and obfuscations. Finally circumventing my innate resistance, the second meeting between Mr. Dresden and I was arranged, and an intriguing dynamic arose. I discovered that I actually like Mr. Dresden; his foibles and peccadillos make him less a figure of mystic adumbration and more of an associate with whom to take tea and discuss the recent spate of brummagem love potions flooding the magical marketplace. His expertise and interests are varied and vast, his moral certitude and chivalrous demeanor endearing, his honor and sense of duty admirable. But perhaps his best features: he carries a large staff and makes a leather duster look good.

View all my verbose reviews >>

Grave Peril: I’ve encountered some pretty terrifying foes in my line of work. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Acid-spitting demons. But I’d never faced anything like this. All over Chicago, ghosts were wreaking havoc. And not just the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts were tormented, violent, deadly. Someone—or something—was stirring them up. But why? And why did so many of the victims have ties to me? I had to figure it out soon, or I’d wind up a ghost myself.

Download Here

Episode 31—It tastes like you, only shorter and sweeter.  HAHA…errr…

Cox woes (Cox is ghey)
Cemetery adventures
Bassguy’s QotW: What hobbies did you two have growing up? Play any sports? How about band?
Guadiologie
Reviews:  W and FOOL MOON
I hate vampires SO MUCH!  (if there are werewolves)

This is my first posting about Anslom. Anslom is a Papua New Guinean award-winning musical artist. This blog is dedicated to him where fans and music lovers could share their ideas and mauswara on how they perceive Anslom’s music.

 Watch out for his “Fool Moon” album which could be purchased at CHM but most importantly, I feel that creating awareness and appreciating his music is the most noble thing one can do. I do not care how much he is ripped off by CHM but that is non of my business. All I want to do is to play my part in promoting his music to every PNG music lover accross the world. Watch out on this site for more updates and links to Anslom’s music. Yauro, Kanda scratch!