| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Specifically, Uriel said that Michael is a friend, which really is something coming from an Archangel.
Harry, on the other hand is an ally. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Uriel arranged for the two of them to meet just so Michael could have some magical assistance (of strong morals but somewhat flexible ethics) nearby when needed. If so, it certainly has paid off well.
Favorite line (no context to avoid spoilers):
"'Nice Try'? Mister, where I come from, there is no Try!"
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
All's I gots to add is . . .
PARKOUR!!!!!!
I am fairly certain,...
;P
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Favorite line (no context to avoid spoilers):
"'Nice Try'? Mister, where I come from, there is no Try!"
Yeah, That is possibly the best Stand-Up moment in a book ever.
Second place to Harry Potter's classmate in the last book. (He had two moments, actually. One at the bridge and one in the final battle when he took out the snake. And he still only gets second place.) :)
I haven't seen any comments about it yet, spoilered or otherwise. Anyone else get happy goosebumps when the 'Batman' comment was made? And then,...
The chase scene was not only well done, but proved to me that Butcher still has new ideas to throw at us as well. Like fastballs.
Especially those of us who were getting 'comfortable' with what magic could and could not do. ;P
Keep it up please Mr Butcher! :D
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
I also have been thinking for a long time now that Mac's the original Merlin.
Best line in the book: "You are a genuine Greek god. You're the Lord of the Underworld. And...you named your dog Spot?"
** spoiler omitted **
Don't think it holds with Murph though. She wouldn't have been able to take up the sword against him while she had it, so it would have had to have happened after. I just don't see it happening after.
King Arthur, maybe? Would explain a British-sounding presence needing to be in stasis and get us a wielder for Amoracchius, which was once Excalibur...
** spoiler omitted **
I'm not saying that Uriel should have assisted Harry. I'm saying he could have done so, and telling Harry that there was nothing he could do was not true.
With Harry, he had the ability to do it, sure, but the rules did not allow him to do it. He literally couldn't, by Gods own Law, do it. Never mind what Harry could do with his help and the consequences of that. Breaking the Laws not only allows the Enemy to reply in kind, it risks him falling. So when he said he couldn't do anything he wasn't lying.
With MichaelAlso if you can't trust your own paladin to not fall for a couple of hours why even choose him? Michael was chosen by an omniscient God for being a good man, Uriel can trust him to be a good man, or at the very least trust that God is good at choosing people.
** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **
Then again it could be a complete curveball, Butcher is good at those.
I mean all of the fans I know, especially the fic writers, thought that the parasite was Lash reborn somehow. It beign their daughter was really surprising.
OK. NOW I have to go and re-read it again. Immediately. While the details are still fresh enough from the first time to go back and find all of those clues that I now know to look for. :)
Man I love this series. One of the few that have collected that I have actually re-read more than once. And look forward to doing so again. :)
** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **
Hm.
Hmmm,...HRM,... :/
OK, Yes I had noted that the mysterious prisoner said he 'HAD' to be there, not that he DESERVED to be there. So, possibly Merlin, the cost of creating Demonreach was that he had to stay behind and be the mystic battery for it? Although I do like the Mac/Merlin possibility. :)
SO, it could be Merlin, OR Arthur (or Lanceleot) who feel they 'have' to be there to atone for their misdeeds, or until they are needed again. (The long-term plot warnings have indicated that Butcher will end the series with a cataclysmic event.)
OR, more likely, it will be someone we have not met yet, who will have a fantastic backstory, who will tie in SO clearly once revealed that we will all wonder how we could have possibly missed all the clues. :P
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"'Nice Try'? Mister, where I come from, there is no Try!"
Yeah, that's now one of my fav scenes in the entire series. In hindsight, it is also possibly the craziest as well (perhaps tied with the frozen turkey).
I'm pondering getting that quote made into a T-Shirt if Buzzy (or some other T-shirt maker) doesn't beat me to it and save me the effort.
-TimD
Wow.
I do not even recall the frozen turkey. :/
Great scene. No doubt.
Oh! Here's a question for you all! I don't see how this can possibly be spoiler material for anyone. (Although you may want to answer without context just in case) :)
What is your favorite quote of all from the books? (There are SO many quoteable moments!) :)
I believe my favorite has to be the first sentence of one book.
'The building was on fire, and this time it wasn't my fault.'
Next? ;)
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Spoiler-ed, because I mention a few events from the most recent books.
My opinion on Skin games is largely positive, here's why:
Friends are tortured, loved ones killed. The Villains win more and more, via attrition, wearing Dresden down, taking away what he holds dear.
He's not the only one, I'm dreading finding out what Murphy looks like to Dresden's Sight now, that brilliant angel has taken a beating beyond measure.
Through this all, Dresden has been a pillar for his friends, his community, and his city.
Then, he was taken away.
And they had to learn to cope without him.
But, then he returned, and he wasn't just Dresden anymore, he was more, and perhaps far less.
How do you return from this? How do you recover from this?
You don't, you can't.
How many were taken because he was gone? How many deaths resulted from his actions in Changes? What about the effects he's had on those he left, Molly only now appears to be recovering, or is she? His Daughter saw him kill her mother, but she appears to not remember, or does she?
He's done so many things, killed so many things, destroyed so much, can he ever return from his path? Does he deserve too?
This book says yes.
This book does better than say it, it shows it.
We're shown that Hope fights on in the Dresden Universe, Love still exists, and Faith cannot be Broken.
His Friends have not abandoned him, he's only the monster he fears if he lets himself be.
And, that he CAN be the Father of his Daughter.
Both of his Daughters.
He has more reasons than ever before to fight on, more reason than ever before to resist the darkness both within and without.
And in the process, one of his most powerful enemies is dealt a Blow he will NEVER recover from.
Dresden rejoins his city, his community, his friends, loves ones... and family.
Finally.
If you can't tell, this quickly became my favorite of the books, reread it twice already. XD
Yes, it a lot of ways, the books plot kinda seemed smaller than the previous. Probably because so many stories were happening at the same time. This was a crossroads for so many characters. so many new directions.
Happiest I've been while reading a Dresden Files book in a long time. :)
(I had a better comment, but Internet ate it, less time spent on this one. XD)
Personally...I am hoping we get more info on the White Council in the next book. We really haven't gotten an update on that situation since Changes.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Wow.
I do not even recall the frozen turkey. :/
Blood Rites. Redirected an Entropy Curse onto a Vampire Assassin, causing them to be hit by a turkey that apparently fell out of an airplane. Sayeth Harry:
"For my next trick, anvils!"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Oh yeah! 'Anvils!' heheh,...
There are just so MANY good bits.
I once made the mistake of trying to write down all of the 'good bits' (IE=Quoteable moments) in one of the books to use in gaming and PbP'ing.
I quickly realized I was copying the book down. Almost word for word.
Yeah, I gave that up. :/
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'm just binging on recent interviews with Jim Butcher (due to the release of Skin Game) and aside from affirming that this is one of the most affable human beings I've had the pleasure of listening to, I must say that he is doing great promotional work for Paizo. There always seems to come up at least once during a longer interview a moment where he tells the story of how he introduced his son to roleplaying and chose Pathfinder as the best system to do so.
Paizo should really hire him for a promotional tour or something.
On second thought, better not, or the next book comes out later. ^^
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'm just binging on recent interviews with Jim Butcher (due to the release of Skin Game) and aside from affirming that this is one of the most affable human beings I've had the pleasure of listening to, I must say that he is doing great promotional work for Paizo. There always seems to come up at least once during a longer interview a moment where he tells the story of how he introduced his son to roleplaying and chose Pathfinder as the best system to do so.
Paizo should really hire him for a promotional tour or something.
On second thought, better not, or the next book comes out later. ^^
Forget hiring him as a promoter. Paizo should hire him to write the story of the next adventure path. Its kind of hard not to read the dresden files and think...man I wish butcher was my gm.
As for skin game I really enjoyed it. It was a sort of return to form. Like visiting old friends. Obviously its not exactly like it was, but it there was alot of the 'old dresden' feel in there.
My favorite line... Need to look up exactly how it went, but
'Everyone Else who lets me ride on a dinosaur calls me Carlos'.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
And the next book will be called Peace Talks and will feature a summit of the supernatural powers in Chicago, who will try to determine how to proceed forward after the fall of the Red Court in Changes.
And the next book will be called Peace Talks and will feature a summit of the supernatural powers in Chicago, who will try to determine how to proceed forward after the fall of the Red Court in Changes.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Well, Mab has sorta isolated Harry on the island.
And the next book will be called Peace Talks and will feature a summit of the supernatural powers in Chicago, who will try to determine how to proceed forward after the fall of the Red Court in Changes.** spoiler omitted **
You talk like it is a change. How frequently did they talk before Harry went missing?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Finally got around to reading it yesterday (picked it up a few days after it came out...and got way sucked into Worm right before I cracked it open and binged on all of that goodness before Skin Game).
Really liked this one. Wouldn't say it was my favorite book (though it's top 5 for sheer fun, for sure), but it definitely had some of my favorite moments. Really, ALL of the moments with Michael. Michael's just so...genuine. He can preach without sounding preachy. I love him.
I laughed out loud for a good minute after
Some of the most heartwarming moments in all the books in this one, as well as some of the most badass, involving Butters, of all people.
And am I the only one who wonders...
About halfway through Skin Game. Love it as usual for the most part, I just don't agree with needing all these people showing up in one book. I like the heist crew and Michael of course, but I prefer a staggered approach to all the characters from the previous books.
We see Butters , Murphy, Bob, Molly, Mab, soon Marcone, I'm expecting Thomas at one point, etc. Michael needed to be here, can't have someone like Nicodemus running around and not have an appearance by Michael.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Most impotantly, Burger King made an appearence!
Edited to add:
Lest you think I jest, one of my favorite scenes in the series is having Desden and Marcone meeting at a Burker King for breakfast.
Yeah, and if you don't have those characters showing up after several books of them not doing so, fans (including myself) would be screaming bloody murder. The cast is good and I felt that there should have been even a bit more going on. Oh, well, one year until the next book, which already sounds like it'll be a big one.
I love the characters Magnuskn , just didn't think the book needed everything and the kitchen sink of characters. Most of the previous books ran with a changing cast of a handful of characters, I prefer that format, that way you get a chance to miss the characters. For example , the wait for Michael Carpenter to step back into the limelight was well worth it. Another example would be keeping the mystique of the winter fairies by not having Mab around every book.
I love the characters Magnuskn , just didn't think the book needed everything and the kitchen sink of characters. Most of the previous books ran with a changing cast of a handful of characters, I prefer that format, that way you get a chance to miss the characters. For example , the wait for Michael Carpenter to step back into the limelight was well worth it. Another example would be keeping the mystique of the winter fairies by not having Mab around every book.
Well, Mab is Harry's boss, so it would be strange for her to not show up every book.
But there were lots of characters who didn't show up. Thomas, all the Werewolves, Justine, Lara Raith, nobody from the White Council, no Wardens, Ms. Gard... I think just the right people showed up for the book.
And there is one aspect which makes me think that even more characters should have shown up. Mr. Butcher is writing all the books always one year apart internally as well. It is becoming harder and harder to justify those time leaps, with all the earth shaking events which are going on. Last time Harry had to be put on an isolated island and be kept apart from his friends and associates by manipulations from Mab. How will Mr. Butcher justify this for the next book? Unless there are a lot of flashbacks in Peace Talks, a lot of essential character interactions would have to have happened off-screen during the next year. This worries me a lot more than some more characters showing up in a single book.
Those character interactions have to happen and there should be a reason why there is an intermittent year where they do not. I think with the ever accelerating plot, it'll get harder and harder to justify that.
I love the characters Magnuskn , just didn't think the book needed everything and the kitchen sink of characters. Most of the previous books ran with a changing cast of a handful of characters, I prefer that format, that way you get a chance to miss the characters. For example , the wait for Michael Carpenter to step back into the limelight was well worth it. Another example would be keeping the mystique of the winter fairies by not having Mab around every book.
A lot of characters haven't been seen for a while, and a lot of those we really needed to check up on.
I feel that a good part of this book was showing us those characters, intentionally, to give a minor bit or resolution, and to show us that Dresden still has his friends.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
With Harry as Winter Knight...it's really hard to NOT have Mab show up. As for side characters, yeah Marcone and Molly show up, but they don't really do much, and Marcone is really a cameo. As far as side characters go, it was pretty much Butters, Michael, and Murphy, which seems an okay balance.
And
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
And ** spoiler omitted **
I don't think so.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
And ** spoiler omitted **I don't think so.
** spoiler omitted **
*Ahem*
;)
And keep the favorite quotes coming!
I can only re-read the series so fast and so often.
Those tidbits keep refreshing my old mage memory! :)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Personally, I also think that there was just the right amount of characters in this book.
If you think about it, a lot of characters were MENTIONED that never actually put in an appearance in a scene. Which makes it seem like it was a lot more crowded than it really was.
And while there were quite a few in the book, some of our favorites only made cameos, as noted above.
While there were certainly enough to keep track of, what with the Ocean's 11 crew and all, it just seemed,... I don't know, like it was the right balance. Between the impending doom, the time limit for the job, and Harry's (justifiable) worry about his personal future. There seemed to be a good balance of action (duh!) interpersonal conflict, and interpersonal relations to create the real-life whirlwind of emotions, while not detracting to the story.
My 2 CP. :)
Ranking the dresden novels..my picks
1. Dead Beat
2. Changes
3. Turn Coat
4. Small Favor
5. Blood Rites
6. Cold Days
7. Proven Guilty
8. Death Masks
9. Skin Game
10. White Knight
11. Grave peril
12. Summer Knight
13. Storm Front
14. Ghost Story
15. Fool Moon
|
Ranking the dresden novels..my picks
1. Dead Beat
2. Changes
3. Turn Coat
4. Small Favor
5. Blood Rites
6. Cold Days
7. Proven Guilty
8. Death Masks
9. Skin Game
10. White Knight
11. Grave peril
12. Summer Knight
13. Storm Front
14. Ghost Story
15. Fool Moon
Why the dislike of Full Moon? I thought it was fine. Was there something wrong with it?
I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but it does feel like more of a setup for later events than its own story to me, which is why its my least favourite. I know a few others who agree.
I like Fool Moon as well...although to be fair I have a lot of trouble really picking out a favorite, since they sort of merge together in my mind (probably because I read the first 5 in a over the course of a week or so).
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
There's nothing wrong with Fool Moon per say, it is just a set up book for the rest of the series..later books have more depth because of the ground work done earlier. Most of the books low in my ranking are early in the series.
I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but it does feel like more of a setup for later events than its own story to me, which is why its my least favourite. I know a few others who agree.
Pretty much this. It's okay as a book, but if it weren't for the fact that it introduced Marcone, among other things, I'd tell most people to skip it if they were inclined to skip any of them.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It introduces the Alphas, who are a big part of Harry's support team, and the Full Moon Garage, where Harry gets sold on Ebay. I am also convinced Tara West will return for a future book.
I agree it's one of the weakest books in the series, but it's still a good read.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Just finished Skin Game. Loved it. Not quite sure if this one has taken Changes spot as my favorite in the series, but its damn close.
Refresh my memory?
Which book introduced Binder? I only vaguely remembered him when he appeared in Skin Game, (Although I did 'like' his character) but I can NOT remember him from before, was he only a minor part of a book, and not the 'major' villain?
I would gladly go back and re-read the entire series (again) to find him myself, but I just do NOT have the time right now! :)
I simply cannot rank the books in a favorite order for myself. They all blend together too much, and I like at least part of every book, if only for the Harry-commentary. ;)
Although, I do think that the earlier books (in general) were more 'fun', before Harry started a war and everything got major-league serious. I think that's why I like Side Jobs so much. All of the stories in there are so, mundane, compared to the novels 'oh-crud-I-have-to-save-the-world-in-3-days' layouts. And that just makes them so much fun. I mean, c'mon,...
Another favorite quote, the entire scene involving 'Darth Wannabe & groupies' from Side Jobs 'Day Off' :D
Binder was first introduced in Turn Coat.
Binder was first introduced in Turn Coat.
** spoiler omitted **
Binder was referenced in the RPG. Though published after Turn Coat, the reference is obviously prior to him meeting Binder.
If you haven't checked out the RPG, it is written from the idea that Billy wrote it and Bob and Harry are providing feedback. There are annotations and snarky commentary everywhere.