[QuickTidal]

PG's thread is a full spoiler one for those who have read it all, and Abyss's normal "reading" thread that you can avoid spoilers starts at wherever he was when the post went up at like chapter 40...so there isn't a thread to just chime in as you go along with spoiler notations for chapters. So I made one!

Please note my comments in this first post are from Chapter 1-Chapter 12.

Spoiler

Watching Dresden go through grief and knowing what Jim went through his own shit time really resonates...and having recently read COLD DAYS again a few months back, I can juxtapose this version of grief against the one he exhibited in Harry after GS...and they are SOOOOOO different. You can tell Jim got dragged through some life, and his reaction to that is very human...the refrain "I just need time" being reiterated over and over stood out to me. As did Michael's comments that there isn't anything to say...this won't go away, but it will soften and be more blunt with time. As someone who lost a parent, this really hit me too...grief often pops up at such random times. Harry thinks about Murphy at similar inopportune moments. The disconnection and almost derealization/depersonalization from the outside world...being locked up inside his literal castle...also resonated with me - after my mom was diagnosed and all the way through her illness and leading up to her death I had a LOT of derealization/depersonalization moments at weird times...like I could feel not in my own body at the grocery store and I would have to grip the shelf to try to snap myself out of it. Strangest feeling I've ever experienced in my life...and it didn't stop happening until we finally laid my mom to rest and had her celebration of life - ...so I FEEL Harry's disconnection, and when everyone is kind of like "Yeah things are bad out there" and he just had no real idea...I get that.

The scene on the castle rooftop with the BBQ was perfection. when Harry finally just kind of lets the vibes of it wash over him...good food, good people, a good day...and he's able to let himself just FEEL.

Bear is cool so far, but I'm mistrustful of her...like she's a little TOO serendipitous...she may be what she seems, but this is not a series in which I trust characters easily.

Having said that, I'm glad Fitz is back and is Harry's secret apprentice...Molly has long since moved on to bigger things and while Harry still calls her Grasshopper occasionally, the master/apprentice stuff is in the past and I think Harry needs to be able to teach. The White Council took everything else from him.

Sidebar: Central casting....Patton Oswalt as Mort? Anya Taylor Joy as Illyana?

The meeting with Etri was well done. Both Harry and the king are aware of how dangerous they both are and both come to brinkmanship over Thomas...but I'm glad that the king is amenable to Harry wanting his anger directed at the right thing.

I still love Lara. Sue me. Every scene between then so far has been great.

The Mab scene in the carriage was nicely executed with the shadows from bridges being her appearance and disappearance.

Also, how long do we think Harry continues to be the Winter Knight? Like I could see him staying as it for a while....but part of me thinks he's chaffing at the collar and might find a way out sooner or later. I could be wrong.

As a parent, Maggie leaving a light in her window every night in case her dad wants to drop by gutted me. I can't imagine being apart from my kids for as long as period as Harry is...it would suck. I think it sucks for Harry and he's just not comfy yet having her around.

I'm loving this book so far. It's quieter than the last few Files, but I think that was required...and the focus on mental health and rebuilding in the face of adversity is topical on many fronts, not the least of which are society today. I realize he wrote this before the ICE shit kicked off in the states, but the focus on the local immigrants finding a protective place under Dresdens eye is not lost on me even if he didn't intend the comparison.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: Today, 04:42 PM