[Aptorian]

Spoiler

I suspect Marcone of having been turned during the events on the island. I think he took a coin.

[Sindriss]

Spoiler

I suspect that Michael may die and then we could see his wife take up the sword. Or maybe one of his sons, althought at this point there haven't been much focus and character development on them.

[Aptorian]

Spoiler

Unless god grants Michael a miracle, he wont become a knight again. He's crippled.

[Morgoth]

Aptorian, on Mar 22 2009, 09:35 AM, said:

Spoiler

Unless god grants Michael a miracle, he wont become a knight again. He's crippled.

It would kind of ruining the emotional impact if he was miracelously cured I think.

[QuickTidal]

Spoiler

I realize he's really little still, but the fact that there will be like 9 more books makes me kind of think that perhaps little Harry Carpenter may need Dresden to groom him into a knight who can wield the sword, ala Merlin for King Arthur.....hence the mention of the last wizard who held a sword in trust was the original MErlin....?

[Abyss]

STILL no spoilers for TURNCOAT below, but definitely SMALL FAVOR
SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS HOLY SPOILERS OF ANTIOCH.....

QuickTidal, on Mar 21 2009, 12:14 PM, said:

Aptorian, on Mar 20 2009, 03:19 PM, said:

Spoiler

Oh, why didn't I think of this!? Chastity of course... or what ever the wife's name was... she is an obvious choice. Of course, Harry has two swords now, So Excalibur for Chastity and ninja sword for Murphy. Then Butcher can write a new spin off series with two strong athletic women rubbing puppies with holy swords of awesome, one a devoted wife and mother the other a tough career cop, together they fight crime.

Spoiler

I would like to address my affinity for the phrase "athletic women rubbing puppies with holy swords of awesome"! Brilliant!

And i would like to give Apt props for the above post, both for humour and the sideways obscure internutz phenom ref.

Traveller, on Mar 21 2009, 12:57 PM, said:

I'm not looking!!

Since I'm trying (very hard) not to rush through them, I'm still on the catch-up.

I haven't had a Dresden fix for a few weeks now though, so I picked up Deathmasks today.

The only problem with a long series is that not all the books are available just when you want them..

Go get/read DEATHMASKS now.

Go. GO. NOW. GO.

Sell a kidney if you must, but GO.

You'll thank us later.

Mentalist, on Mar 22 2009, 12:34 AM, said:

god, I read Small Favour last night (from about 10 PM till 6 AM when it was done)
Dammit, I'm back on the Dresden-crack as well.
I honestly can't afford to buy books in hardcover right now though. the reason I only got Small favour now is b/c it was in mmpb.
regarding the recent-most discussion:

Spoiler

They sort of established that the swords belong to royalty, what with Sanya being a descendant of Saladin, Shiro, being Japanese royalty and Michael's family going back to Charlemagne.
Who does Murphy have in her past that's been such a major figure?

Also, this may be crazy, but:
what if the last sword's destined for... Marcone?
think about it: he has connection to the archive, and he's a major player since book 1. It would also fit with how Harry keeps considering his scum of the earth, but at the same time he keeps bailing him out.
thouhgts?

Spoiler

I have to admit, i totally like the idea of Marcone getting a sword. He's never used one that I can recall and would probably melt it down into holy bullets, but it's such a neat idea and given that Sanya was a Denarian before he was a knight, there's a precedent for redemption there.

As for the royalty thing, that may be a red herring. Royalty means less than it used to and Murphy
definitely got a response from the sword, whatever her bloodlines (tho i'm betting on Joan of Arc...).

- Abyss, holier than thou...

This post has been edited by Abyss: 23 March 2009 - 05:56 PM

[Stalker]

Well I read Small Favor in one sitting, that stuff is like crack.

Spoiler

I doubt that Murphy will end up with a sword. seems adament at this point that she won't take it, so I'm going with that line. I considered the Marcone aspect and that would be cool, but not sure how it would work out.

Anyway, just waiting for Turncoat, which I will have no choice but to buy in hardcover.

[Use Of Weapons]

Re: royal bloodlines -- it may be trite, but pretty much everyone on the planet can claim descent from royalty if you go back far enough. At least, according to Jared Diamond. I know that fiction needs to be more coherent than RL, and in the novels we don't have any clues to royal descent apart from those stated above -- but Butcher could whip out a lineage for Marcone out of his ass (perhaps by way of the Medicis of Venice) and I'd shrug and go with it.

But I really can't see

Spoiler

Marcone taking a coin. It doesn't play well with what we know of his character, his becoming a signatory to the Accords (which would surely be rendered void by
taking a coin), and his generally alpha male portrayal. Kowtowing to Nicodemus
--

no, doesn't wash for me.

I do think

Spoiler

Murphy will take up Shiro's sword. We've been building towards that event from
at least 6 books, and maybe even from the beginning of the series, when her skill in aikido was revealed. The job is just another obstacle to be overcome.

So, Fidelacchius -> Murphy. Amoracchius, though, I really don't know. Charity is an excellent call, but I think it would take some huge event to make her take up the sword that ruined her husband (as she, perhaps, would see it). It's possible it will be someone we've not yet met.

MODGOOD WRATHFUL STRIKE OF MODSHIP FROM ABOVE to add spoiler blocks.

This post has been edited by Abyss: 24 March 2009 - 07:20 PM

[Traveller]

I just noticed that on the cover of my copy of Deathmasks, the tag line in white at the top reads

'Magic - it can get a guy'

Hell of a typo for a cover that has very little else on it!

[Aptorian]

It can get a guy killed. So they apparently accidentally cut the last word.

[Traveller]

I know that, it's on the front of all the other ones..

they certainly did accidentally the last word.


So long as they didn't mess up the text inside, I don't mind..

This post has been edited by Traveller: 26 March 2009 - 09:10 AM

[Assail]

Abyss, on Oct 10 2006, 12:31 PM, said:

"Suprisingly not bad" seems fair. Have now read the first two. I think there are 7-8 and will probably read the rest over time.

An aside: This series was pointed to me because it was described as "similar to Laurell K Hamilton's ANITA BLAKE:VAMPIRE HUNTER series". Let us be clear about LKM's Anita Blake series: the first nine books are imnsho, clever, complex, urban fantasy that does neat things with vampires, werewolves and other critters, with a lead character/narrator who, while stereotypically harda$ at times, is a lot of fun to read. Every book after the first nine is poorly written fantasy porn. To quote a reviewer elsewhere: "Anita used to kill vampires. Now she has group sex with them.".

Back to Butcher... his narrator/protagionist is Harry Dresden, a practicing wizard/P.I.. His urban fantasy world, set in Chicago, isn't at all overrun by the supernatural - more like it's simmering just out of sight and people are willfully blind to it. The first book, STORM FRONT, is a fairly straightforward murder mystery, except for the part where the victims' hearts explode out of their chests mid coitus. Dresden follows the clues, meets some interesting supporting characters, a vampire brothel owner, a interesting crime lord, demons, a pet air elemental who lives in a skull and instigates orgies on his days off..., he gets beat up a lot and in the end confronts the bad guy. It's a fun read, entertaining in a hollywood blockbuster sort of way. More 'Pirates of the Caribbean' than 'Memento', or if you prefer TV analogies, more '24' than 'Lost'. More Brookes than Erikson if i bring this back to fantasy lit.

The second book FOOL MOON, starts out very similar to the first. So much so that by half way thru, i was ready to put it down on the basis that I had already read this once already... and then halfway through things go NUTS and the book improved. A LOT. Harry gets put thru a physical and mental wringer and all kinds of werewolf related craziness goes down. Interesting fun part is that Butcher uses different kinds of werewolves.

It's not brilliant, but it is fun. The magic is different and interesting, tho' a little inconsistent. The characters are not original, but are fun takes on old archetypes. The first two books at least are self-contained and while bits and pieces of Harry's backstory are hinted at, nothing is written in a way that would lose the reader.

Word on the internut is that the books keep improving. On that basis, I'll keep reading them. Most are in mmpg, so easy/cheap to acquire.

- Abyss, wants his own pet sentient skull.

Thanks for the summary there Abyss. I've had a lot of people recommend and advise me to read the series and from what I saw it seems kind of out of my preferences in terms of fantasy (Very much prefer old world as opposed to modern world in terms of setting and whatnot).

It sounds alright but is there anyone out there who was in my shoes and read the books anyway? Still a good read despite preferring a more medieval kind of setting to fantasy?

Thanks

[Aptorian]

You should look at the series as a detective novel with magic rather than a fantasy novel with a detective.

[Assail]

Aptorian, on Mar 27 2009, 12:45 PM, said:

You should look at the series as a detective novel with magic rather than a fantasy novel with a detective.

Right on. I'll keep that in mind. Who knows, when I go looking for more books to read I might pick it up.

[Aptorian]

YOOOUUU DOOO NOOOT UUUUNDERSTAAAND UUUUSS. BUUUYYY BOOOOOOK NOOOOOOWWWW.

Greatest series I've read in my opionion, even better than Malazan Books allthough they are in two different genres.

10 books that are only getting better as they go along, that's a damn impressive feat.

[Stalker]

Listen, just do it.

Honestly, I was like lame when I first saw that it was a detective book (about when the tv series was coming out), so I didn't start reading them until the recommendations from here were from so many people, especially Abyss since he counts as like 10000000000 or something. But anyway, after getting the first one I've been absolutely hooked, and went through the entire series. I, like you, prefer the medievel setting but this series is just too good. So do it.

[Assail]

Stalker, on Mar 27 2009, 01:37 PM, said:

Listen, just do it.

Honestly, I was like lame when I first saw that it was a detective book (about when the tv series was coming out), so I didn't start reading them until the recommendations from here were from so many people, especially Abyss since he counts as like 10000000000 or something. But anyway, after getting the first one I've been absolutely hooked, and went through the entire series. I, like you, prefer the medievel setting but this series is just too good. So do it.

Oh God... I just don't know... but the peer pressure... oh God the peer pressure is just too much!

Haha fine, I'll read it once I've finished all the Malazan books (I don't like reading 2 series at once). I'm on MT right now, so CHILL, I'll get to it!

[QuickTidal]

Seriously dude, if you read this series, you are opening yourself up to like 10 books of awesome (with 10 more on the way AND an apocalyptic cap off trilogy!)

I can't get enough people reading this series, and like Apt I rank the Dresden Files as my favourite all time series ever....even above Malazan.

[Assail]

Abyss, on Mar 31 2009, 07:56 AM, said:

April 7 is only next week.
April 7 is only next week.
April 7 is ONLY next week.
April 7 is ONLY.
NEXT.
WEEK.
AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I'm dying here. So dying. So very dying.


Seriously Assail, i totaly get the one-series-at-a-time thing, but when you're done with the mindfuck awesome exhaustion that is the Malazan series so far (and i actually envy you being at MT because there is SO MUCH coolness to come that you'll be reading for the first time), go get Dresden.

The first two are okay/good. And then, about ten sentences into the third book - and i'm not spoiling anything by saying it involves Dresden and a Knight of God racing sunrise in a beat up VW to save a maternity ward from a homicidal ghost... and i'm paraphrasing...
"Fuck, this situation is going straight to hell!"
"I asked you not to swear."
"Sorry - Fuck, this situation is going straight to heck!"
"Thank you."

and also...

"Jesus Christ, could this get any worse???"
"He didn't mean it, Lord!"

- the series goes into overdrive and while it occassionally slows down, it really never dissappoints.


- Abyss, total Butcher efangelist.

Lmao "Don't swear", "Sorry, HECK". Hahaha I'm looking forward to this series then.

ModGod edit - sorry to bring down the deletewrath, but pls keep Malazan book discussion to the appropriate book forum.

This post has been edited by Abyss: 31 March 2009 - 09:21 PM

[Abyss]

I just discovered my local library has most of the anthologies with Dresden stories. BIG FAT SUPERNATURAL WEDDING due any day now. Yay!


- Abyss, had forgotten all about the wonders of the modern library...