[flea]

Abyss, on 29 November 2010 - 03:11 AM, said:

flea, on 27 November 2010 - 07:03 PM, said:

...Some have complained about the deux ex machina feel of the Gray Council coming to the rescue, but I recall from early in the book there were reference to the the White Council launching a strike against the Red Court that would wipe it out. The Gray's appearance at the end would seem to be part of this plan, but I have not read any reference to it. Am I mistaken?

Ebenezer tells Harry a strike is in the works and he should wait for it, and Harry explains that he's going ahead cuz fuckit that's his daughter out there. So entirely possible that Ebenezer and the Grays co-opted the White Council plan and bring in the wrath.

Correct me if i'm wrong but aside from Ebenezer and Odin we don't identify anyone else on the GC?

As for the series, i'll deny it if you ever quote me as saying this [/irony] but there is such a thing as 'too much' Dresden. The series is pure awesome in intervals of 2-3 books, but i found more than that and i needed a break.

Still awesome tho'.

One other thing I liked about Changes: there was not a chapter, unless I don't remember, where Harry spends a bunch of time explaining everything for us. In these chapters Butcher falls into detective fiction mode, which annoys the hell out of me--too much Agatha Christie for me. Modern police procedurals, like Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, include information that allows the reader and character to figure things out, more or less, in real time. In other words, there is a lot more showing than telling. Butcher falls into the wrong camp too many times.

I just finished the Karrin Murphy story in Side Jobs...it's good, but that is all I will say.

Do you think Butcher is abandoning the detective story genre in this series? I hope so--I think moving straight fantasy a la a SE convergence is more to my liking.

[Grief]

flea, on 04 December 2010 - 05:05 PM, said:

Abyss, on 29 November 2010 - 03:11 AM, said:

flea, on 27 November 2010 - 07:03 PM, said:

...Some have complained about the deux ex machina feel of the Gray Council coming to the rescue, but I recall from early in the book there were reference to the the White Council launching a strike against the Red Court that would wipe it out. The Gray's appearance at the end would seem to be part of this plan, but I have not read any reference to it. Am I mistaken?

Ebenezer tells Harry a strike is in the works and he should wait for it, and Harry explains that he's going ahead cuz fuckit that's his daughter out there. So entirely possible that Ebenezer and the Grays co-opted the White Council plan and bring in the wrath.

Correct me if i'm wrong but aside from Ebenezer and Odin we don't identify anyone else on the GC?

As for the series, i'll deny it if you ever quote me as saying this [/irony] but there is such a thing as 'too much' Dresden. The series is pure awesome in intervals of 2-3 books, but i found more than that and i needed a break.

Still awesome tho'.

One other thing I liked about Changes: there was not a chapter, unless I don't remember, where Harry spends a bunch of time explaining everything for us. In these chapters Butcher falls into detective fiction mode, which annoys the hell out of me--too much Agatha Christie for me. Modern police procedurals, like Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, include information that allows the reader and character to figure things out, more or less, in real time. In other words, there is a lot more showing than telling. Butcher falls into the wrong camp too many times.

I just finished the Karrin Murphy story in Side Jobs...it's good, but that is all I will say.

Do you think Butcher is abandoning the detective story genre in this series? I hope so--I think moving straight fantasy a la a SE convergence is more to my liking.

I agree that he seems to be moving away from the detective aspect of the series.

But for me, this is what I dislike about the way the series is going, since I enjoyed that aspect of the books. For me, it made them more interesting and enjoyable.

[Salt-Man Z]

Yeah, about the only thing that's actually disappointed me about the series is the move away from the mystery slant. It's okay, though, because I've still got Cook's Garrett for that.

[amphibian]

Salt-Man Z, on 06 December 2010 - 12:09 AM, said:

Yeah, about the only thing that's actually disappointed me about the series is the move away from the mystery slant. It's okay, though, because I've still got Cook's Garrett for that.

We still have mysteries - like just why Lea was a popsicle, the Outsider demons, evil skull that's not an evil skull etc. It's that we have less police involvement in these mysteries. I think Butcher's gone as far as he can with the police auxillary angle while having Harry develop from "Harry Dresden, Minor Wizard and Detective to Make Ends Meet" to "Harry Dresden, Wizzard and Full Time Ass Kicker". The ghost time is a great way to point the way towards the way things will be like as we near the end of the series.

[Abyss]

There were detective elements to CHANGES, albeit not in the detective mystery sense. More like 'where is the girl, why did they really take her'. But I agree Butcher is leaving that largely behind. Blowing up Harry's more or less ignored office and the Beetle (sniff sniff) was a sign that were moving away from those elements and more into charging across the fae ways to fight magical baddies. Harry taking on the Winter Knight role likely also shows this - he's a warrior now, even moreso than when he became a warden. Demonreach as a new base of operations away from the city may also be a part of it.

Tho ultimately i expect the series to end with Harry settling down in a new apartment and putting an 'Wizard: open for business' sign on a new door. Maybe.