[polishgenius]

Indeed, I don't think I'll be watching the series. Not even a HBO budget could manage the finales of books four and seven especially. Even a Hollywood blockbuster would struggle with seven...

[Falco]

Yeah book 8 is out here in paperback in 2-4 weeks, according to Borders. Love how long some of the story arcs take to come together ie.

Spoiler

We first meet Lasciel something like 2 books after her coin first comes into play...

I get what you mean about the rest of the world Abyss, and it has become more global as the series went on. Still, how many times has he saved the world in Chicago? I'm just being picky, I know. Great series.

His Codex Alera any good?

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 22 October 2008 - 01:59 PM

[Abyss]

Actually, Harry himself says he didn't really save the world in book 4 - just a lot of people. Technically he MAY have saved the world with the Faerie thing in Summer Knight, altho even then he wasn't sure.

EDIT: to add
- got PROVEN GUILTY today. WOOHOOO!!!
- Haven't read Codex Alara series - gets mixed reviews but on the strength of the author, will probably buy the series in mmpg when it's complete.


- Abyss, saved the world from excess Jagermeister a few times.

[vaiski]

Finished books 6 and 7 today. Proven Guilty arrives tomorrow if the postman is to be trusted.
Anyways Dead Beat took the place as my favorite, that finish..

Re: whole Chicago thing..

Spoiler

Thing is that if Harry went globetrotting around the world to save the day from the bad guys, it wouldn't be the Harry we know. So far he has sort of drifted into these situations which escalate into All-Hell-Breaks-Loose category.
Perhaps that changes a bit now with him being a Warden and all.
The way the war has developed took me completely by surprise btw, I was expecting some small battles and then the whole thing dying away.
And the deal with Lasciel... delicious.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 22 October 2008 - 01:59 PM

[Falco]

Still waiting for my copy of Proven Guilty. This is the first series of which I have bought every book and intend to buy the new ones since MBotF, I must confess. Must start lending and converting shortly.


Edit: Harry Dresden short story by Butcher here

[Abyss]

@Falco - i'm so there. I ordered White Night in HC with the Reaper's Gale HC.

@Vaiski - i still can't decide whether i liked the Dead Beat or Death Masks finale more, but those are easily my fave two moments in the series, shortly followed by...

Spoiler

...the faerie war finale in Summer Knight ("For the Pizza Lord...!!!" - still gets my vote as favourite funny moment in the series), and Harry, Susan, Michael and Thomas charging the vampires in Grave Peril ("We're heavily outnumbered, overpowered, and totally screwed... what do we do? Attack!")

- Abyss, notes Butcher may bump GRRM for my #2 author spot.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 22 October 2008 - 01:59 PM

[drza44]

I read all of the Dresden books hat were out about a year ago (maybe 5? 6 at the outside) and really enjoyed them. I could have started to re-read immediately, but instead I like to give it some time to marinate so that when further volumes come out I can almost feel like I'm starting over. I've been planning to start that re-read session for awhile now once my life settles down some...with the news that book 9 will come out in hardcover in the spring, I'll probably wait till it drops then read them all.

Dresden was the first set of books that I read in the modern/mystery/fantasy/horror genre, though I've recently added Harrison, Hamilton, Armstrong, and L.A. Banks as well. I like Dresden the best, with Harrison probably a close second. The first 9 or so books of Hamilton would have been in the discussion, but she's lost me with some of her recent stuff.

[Abyss]

Butcher's fully worth the re-read and Book 7, Dead Beat, is just brilliant.

Echoing Vaiski's comment in another thread: Harrison and Armstrong - infodump please?

- Abyss, always on the lookout.

[Wry]

Saw the first episode of the series yesterday, it was pretty disappointing. The fact that they changed things pointlessly just to pretty it up does not bode well for the series. Still, we can but hope...

[polishgenius]

I have an unnerving piece of information on the series: according to an article in the latest SFX, they plan to get around the fact that the books are ambitious for telly by simply not following the books (well, "in spirit" yadayada).

I'm not one for moaning about changes in adaptation - I like them, in fact, if they're beneficial - but I'm worried they're just going to go off on one of their own.

[Wry]

I've no problem with changes in adaptation if they result in a good programme and still represent what the author was trying to do, i havn't see much of that yet.

[polishgenius]

Exactly. From the sounds of it (I haven't seen any of it yet) they're basically taking the basics of characters, and settings, and going their own way.

[drza44]

Abyss;159592 said:

Butcher's fully worth the re-read and Book 7, Dead Beat, is just brilliant.

Echoing Vaiski's comment in another thread: Harrison and Armstrong - infodump please?

- Abyss, always on the lookout.

Abyss, posted some info in the other thread that I don't want to just cut-and-paste here but I'd like to expand on. Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series is okay, but not one that I'd really recommend to anyone. It's a series of interrelated standalones, where the protagonist of the first two books (a female werewolf) also knows the protagonist of the second two books (a female witch) who interracts with the female ghost is the protagonist of another book...you get the idea. I like the concept, but the execution wasn't as effective nor as interesting to me as the Dresden series. In short, if you really like the genre it's something to read to pass the time, but not one that I'm in any hurry to continue with future books.

The Kim Harrison series, on the other hand, I like just about as much as I liked Dresden and (like Dresden) it shows every sign of getting better as it goes along. The protagonist's name is Rachel Morgan, a witch. The world is cast as modern earth with the supernaturals in it (magic, werewolves, vampires, demons, etc.), but instead of the regular humans pretending magic doesn't exist (like Dresden) there was instead a tragic event decades ago that made the supernatural presence obvious and now they live as a separate society within human society. Rachel starts the series as the equivalent of a cop that polices that supernatural society. The series has lots of the same irreverence that marks the Dresden books, has a female vampire that may be the most interesting character in either of the two series, and as I said it is clearly on the ramp up in quality as I proceed. If you love Dresden as much as you seem to, I whole-heartedly recommend that you go pick up Dead Witch Walking (book 1 in the series).

[drza44]

Well yeah, I should point out, when I say "most interesting character" in a story told first-person I meant "most interesting character outside of the POV character" as a given. So yeah, Harry doesn't count.

Spoiler

I like Jenks. I like Trent. But that story doesn't exist or flow without Ivy...she's as important to the plot as Rachel is. I would still enjoy that series without Jenks, or Trent, or Kisten (probably more), or most of the other characters. But without Ivy, the story would have been a lot more dull for me. In fact, the story arc that you're hoping ends soon is probably my favorite continuing arc in the series. But to each their own.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 22 October 2008 - 02:00 PM

[Abyss]

Back on Dresden, just finished PROVEN GUILTY. Good fun, satisfactory continuation of the series, not as mad genius as Dead Beat, but a great finale with great supporting characters along for the ride.

One thing tho...

SPOILERS UNDEAD ZOMBIE SPOILERS WILL
EAT YOUR SPOILERS BRAINZ AND SHAT THEM LIKE SPOILER
TURDS UPON THE WORLD SPOILERS

Spoiler

Anyone else now think Cowl and Kumori in Dead Beat were evil'ish Harry and Molly from the future, and if so, are mildly annoyed that Butcher may be doing an overeaching time travel story arc?

That said, Charity rocked this, Murphy was great, and Mouse... hoo-yeah.

Anyrate, anyone who's liked the series so far will continue to.

- Abyss, has pre-ordered WHITE NIGHT.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 22 October 2008 - 02:00 PM

[polishgenius]

Abyss's spoiler warnings are far better than Jagged's...

[drza44]

Since I last posted, I've gone back and re-read the first five books. It had been so long since the first read that I had actually forgotten most of the details of the plots and I had forgotten how much I liked them... now I have 3 (soon to be 4) new ones to read. Hooray, beer!