[Abyss]

Ahkay, you all know the drill, my read, my thread, no comments past where i'm at, all prior things Dresden are wide open and spoilers allowed
UNLEASH THE MOUSE

[Abyss]

three times i have done nice long comment posts covering the book so far and three times something has eaten my post.

[Abyss]

I blame Nemesis.

[Abyss]

Testing.

Testing 1-2-3

Testing

[Abyss]

Testing

Marcone blows goats

Testing

[JPK]

The goats would never consent!

[Tiste Simeon]

Oh dang I can just tell I'm going to have to avoid this place as I won't be reading it straight away...

[Tsundoku]

Tiste Simeon, on 22 January 2026 - 05:57 PM, said:

Oh dang I can just tell I'm going to have to avoid this place as I won't be reading it straight away...

Didn't I make a reference to something like this recently?

[Cyphon]

Did your posts just go into the Abyss?

[Tsundoku]

Cyphon, on 23 January 2026 - 09:33 AM, said:

Did your posts just go into the Abyss?

You'll have to ask him about that.

I think maybe I warned Simmo about this elsethread. Stuffed if I can remember where though.

[Abyss]

haven't managed to make the time to re-attempt my reading posts but re chapter 40something

THE SPICE 'GOYLS!!!!!!!

[Cyphon]

I knew you'd love that reference. You can tell me which one is posh spice.

This post has been edited by Cyphon: 26 January 2026 - 07:39 PM

[champ]

Abyss, on 21 January 2026 - 06:20 PM, said:

Ahkay, you all know the drill, my read, my thread, no comments past where i'm at, all prior things Dresden are wide open and spoilers allowed
UNLEASH THE MOUSE BEAR.

FTFY!

[Abyss]

k so as reading threads go this was a complete shitshow, but to be fair after my third post failed to post i was already 3/4s into the book. Now ive Just Finished AND gone back and done a selective reread, so let' s just skip the formalities and jump ahead to the end, shall we?

SPOILERS
ALL THINGS DRESDEN FILES
SPOILERS
ALL OF TWELVE MONTHS

SPOILERS
YES EVEN THOSE WEIRD LITTLE
ANTHOLOGY STORIES YOU DIDNT
READ BUT DON'T STRESS THEY'RE NOT
THAT IMPORTANT SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS

OK, if you see this and it's incomplete i'm doing periodic post/backup/edits because omg this is annoying.... and probably a my system thing and nothing to do w the forum.....

Now then, let's do this by way of characters...

Mab - i adore Mab in this book. Butcher does a glorious job of writing a complex character, an ally, a leader, a boss in the nastiest of senses, a massive power yet also given to small moments of humanity.... the bit on the island where she brings in Mommy Winter as backup, then turns around and challenges her when Mommy insults 'her Knight', the way she continually acknowledges that Harry will try to free himself and Lara, the vicious way she deals with Nemisis... all this in contrast w the moment she threatens Maggie and prompts Harry to go full blast 'DID YOU JUST THREATEN MY DAUGHTER YOU SKANK QUEEN BITCH I WILL DROP A FUCKING TITAN ON YOUR SKINNY ASS AND THAT'S JUST WHERE I START'.

Bear - i love her and want to have her children. It's interesting that Butcher felt like he needed a new character to be the voice of reason and conscience in this book. The cast was already huge, there are others, Will, Michael, Father Cahill, a few cops, who could have filled the roll. That said, Bear works, i like the significance of Harry getting his own Valkyrie bodyguard when Marcone and Lara already have theirs. I also like that the relationship is not the same, Gard is a bodyguard and that's it that's all, Freydis is Lara's head of security, Bear is bodyguard and trainer and head of security and security trainer and babysitter and all that because that's what Dresden needed. So yah, loved her. Also, James Marsters absolutely kills w her voice.

Lara - nice writing here by Butcher. He managed to add entire new dimensions to Lara but remained consistent w the character to date. The reversal w Harry feeding her thru magic and bonding her to him instead of the addiction to her he feared was a clever twist.

Thomas - "You take the hot one, i'll take the chick with bad teeth." ....i laughed SO hard at this. And when he showed up at the end w the Bug.... yeah, i'm glad he's back. But oh gods the thing w his son is tragic. Logical, but damn that hurt. Harry's interaction w his Hunger was intersting on a few levels, including for the bigger storyline. That the Hungers are actually low grade Outsiders is fascinating, as is the implication Harry could do what he did to Thomas (and Lara) because of his Star-Child thing.

Drakul - great Big Bad and i really look fwd to wherever this storyline is going. He essentially sacrificed his entire court and set a lure to recruit more Wardens, and i could totally see him near wiping out the White Court's soldiers on a recruiting drive.

Ramirez - after the severity of his break w Harry i found his shift back to his side just a little too quick or possibly too convenient, but i'm a sucker for buddy stories so it was nice to see him back and kicking ass. And that awkward scene w Molly was SO AWKWARD.

Molly - i like how she and Harry kind of quietly acknowledge the 'unrequited thing' and move on. And her little moments of power/politics were great.

Michael - still the bestest friend ever. I give Butcher credit for finding clever ways to keep him in retirement but still involved.

Daniel - nice character development here, from returning to Chicago to help, to leading the Order. he's a long way from knife fighting warlock Fagen for Justice League Chicago.

Mort - still a great character. His shift from self involved to low profile hero was nice.

Fitz - great choice for new apprentice, well written. I have the slightest, almost baseless, worry that Butcher will go Anakin/Obi-wan w this, and i can't decide whether that would be good or bad.

Marcone - not appearing in this book, still manages to dominate at least three scenes

Murphy - one of the few characters, really the only one, who didn't work for me in this book, mainly because the way her summoned shade interacted w Harry just didn't line up at all w anything the real/late Karin Murphy would have said. I didn't have major problems w this subplot, it made sense, but i think that the book didn't need it.

The Spice 'Goyls - oh fuckit, why not? these were awesome, and their arrival/intro was just a genuinely fun, 'nice' moment in the book just as things were fairly grey and dismal.

Will - good development, i like his power up. I hope it's generally applied to the other Alphas, and maybe Andy manages to not get kidnapped for a change.

Sanya and Butters - are barely in this and fair enough bcs they were a big part of the last two, but i adored their bonding scenes. I also love how a Rabbi has entered the cast because of Butters.

Toot - BESTEST FAERIE GENERAL EVERRRRRRRR.

Maggie & Mouse - I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

Harry - Dresden is Dresden, Butcher knows what he's doing and it all made sense, from the repeated 'i need time' to the anger to the magic issues to trying to do everything for everybody. This was a great book and a great installement in the series, worth the wait.

OK, post finished, only crashed once YAY!!!

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Abyss, on 10 February 2026 - 02:32 PM, said:

Maggie & Mouse - I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

All of us are crying!

[Abyss]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 17 February 2026 - 08:44 AM, said:

Abyss, on 10 February 2026 - 02:32 PM, said:

Maggie & Mouse - I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

All of us are crying!

Butcher really knows how to nail those little moments. The light left on, the discussions around living w him vs the Carpenters, every ref to Mouse on guard, her being away at school but at the castle on weekends, her learning to fight... wham right in the feels. When the vamp attack is going down at the end and he orders Maggie and Mouse to the basement while Mouse raises the alert goddammit even I was ready to die for them.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

I've had my moments where I've half fallen out of love with the series because of the things that irritate me - but Butcher's touch with those sort of moments will always bring me right back. I think it's one of his real strengths in that he doesn't overegg it, it's always just enough and WHAM, I'll just sit here and weep shall I Jim?

[champ]

Abyss, on 17 February 2026 - 02:34 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 17 February 2026 - 08:44 AM, said:

Abyss, on 10 February 2026 - 02:32 PM, said:

Maggie & Mouse - I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

All of us are crying!

The light left on

Holy shit but that made me choke up...

[Abyss]

champ, on 17 February 2026 - 03:43 PM, said:

Abyss, on 17 February 2026 - 02:34 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 17 February 2026 - 08:44 AM, said:

Abyss, on 10 February 2026 - 02:32 PM, said:

Maggie & Mouse - I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

All of us are crying!

The light left on

Holy shit but that made me choke up...

Broke. Me.

When Michael dropped 'I am your friend and am currently protecting and raising your daughter for you so shut the fuck up and show up for dinner' i almost cheered.

When Harry told Mab what he would do if she even looked at Maggie sideways i did, in fact, cheer.

[champ]

 Abyss, on 17 February 2026 - 03:59 PM, said:

 champ, on 17 February 2026 - 03:43 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 17 February 2026 - 02:34 PM, said:

 TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 17 February 2026 - 08:44 AM, said:

 Abyss, on 10 February 2026 - 02:32 PM, said:

Maggie & Mouse - I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

All of us are crying!

The light left on

Holy shit but that made me choke up...

Broke. Me.

When Michael dropped 'I am your friend and am currently protecting and raising your daughter for you so shut the fuck up and show up for dinner' i almost cheered.

When Harry told Mab what he would do if she even looked at Maggie sideways i did, in fact, cheer.

I really need to do a proper post with my thoughts because man, it was an awesome book...

Michael was great throughout the book. He's that person that anyone would want in their life. Steadfast and resolved, an anchor in a storm. I loved his conversations with Harry. The standout convo where he was telling Harry to tell him what is wrong, this part was so powerful...

Quote

When I’m alone at night, I cry. I cry until it hurts. And when I can’t cry anymore, it isn’t better. It still hurts. It’s still all built up inside me. My stomach hurts. All the time.”

I looked out at the city, at nothing in particular.

“Sometimes I start screaming and I can’t stop. Nothing sounds good. Nothing looks good. Nothing feels good. Nothing tastes good. Nothing smells good. It’s all grey.”

“And?” he said gently.

I was quiet for a long moment. “And I miss her, man.”

He exhaled slowly.

“Go ahead,” I said, an edge coming into my voice. “Tell me how to make it all better.”

“You can’t,” he said gently. I eyed him. “Not yet,” he said. “It is going to take time, Harry. Time to heal.

And I miss her, man...

Aye, that broke me.

But Michael's reply of "You can't." Hit home to me. It's something I learnt from my past struggles, there is no grand sweeping gesture you can make that is going to make everything better. Instead you've got to take all the small wins you can which will over time help, maybe not make it better but help.

Another to hit home was...

Quote

“Harry,” she said. “Do you want to live?” “I’m trying to remember how,” I said quietly.

To go with...

Quote

“I miss you, Murph,” I whispered quietly. “I know you can’t hear me. But I miss you. I wanted to be with you. I wanted to spend our insane lives together. I hope you’re doing things that make you happy.”

Really made me think Butcher was writing from the heart/experience for a lot of this book.

Agreed too with the Mab scene, I think I actually cheered too. I loved the holy shit moment of...

Quote

“Oh, my Knight,” Mab tittered. “Didst thou actually think thou couldst draw a bigger gun than me?”

And how it develops with Mab threatening to bitch slap her Mother too.

Question... So what do you reckon she unlocked smacking him on the head and asking about has he started having the dreams yet!?! That was intriguing.

Two more epic peeps were Lara and Drakul. Lara has really developed as a character, she's not just a sexy vampire now and has real depth.

Drakul just steals every scene he is in. When his name was announced at the party I was ohhhh shit.

I laughed my ass off at the line when there is just Harry, Molly and Lara...

Quote

All three of us twitch-jumped except for Molly and Lara.

And I think Bear wins it for best new character over Fitz. I really hope Fitz turns out to be someone Harry can rely on.

Oh and this part was Fuck Yeah!

Quote

“We’re standing in Merlin’s fortress,” Ramirez told her, “and its capabilities are not in our control. Dresden is one of the top ten or twenty most powerful wizards on the planet. And he’s facing us with a Valkyrie backing him up. Even if it was the right procedure to follow, it would be suicide.”

I noticed throughout this book there was a lot of reiterating of how powerful Dresden is and has become, Lara says the same on the island that he's "dangerous."

And that's probably about 1/10 of the quotes I copied down that I wanted to comment on...