Posts Tagged ‘Mark Yon’

SMALL FAVOUR by Jim Butcher: Dresden Files reread

Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback Ghost Story at the end of July.
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It is wintertime in Chicago and, as snow falls, we begin another tale featuring Harry’s wonderfully complicated life.

At first glance things seem to be going swimmingly. Molly’s training as a wizard by Harry continues and this appears to be working really well. However, a sudden attack on Harry and the Carpenter family leads him to think the Winter Queen has not forgotten him – or his friends. But to Harry’s surprise, the attack actually came from the Summer Queen Titania’s goat-like militia (called by Jim ‘gruffs’). Combined with another case assisting Karrin and the Chicago PD, we are again off to a flying start.

This book is all about promises, made and broken. The small favour in this case relates to the promise that Harry made back in Summer Knight, to Mab, the Winter Queen and the Queen of Air and Darkness. Whilst snow piles up all over Chicago, the task Mab now sets Harry is a formidable one – to be her Emissary and retrieve gangster Johnny Marone, Harry’s nemesis. Johnny has been kidnapped, for reasons unknown, though as time progresses Harry finds that Johnny’s kidnapping is no more than a prelude to something much bigger. And the ‘small favour’ is anything but. (more…)

WHITE NIGHT by Jim Butcher: a Dresden Files reread

 Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback Ghost Story at the end of July.
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White Night takes place fairly soon after the events of Proven Guilty. We find that Molly, Harry’s trainee from Proven Guilty, is developing really well. And Harry’s growing relationship with Molly has given him, though he might be shocked to realise it, a much more positive and enthusiastic response to life. Some (but not all!) of that weariness and cynicism he experienced in Dead Beat and Proven Guilty seems to have gone, and it’s clear that the apprenticeship, for all its difficulties, actually quite suits Harry.

Having said that, it’s clear that the dramatic events of this book are really cathartic experiences for Harry. White Night is about pain and facing up to your responsibilities, however awful they may be and whatever consequences may result. It is about death and regret, and how we resolve these issues.

Here we’re back to the good ol’ fast-paced murder-mystery tales of the earlier books. Harry is asked by Karrin Murphy (now demoted from Lieutenant to Sergeant) to have a look at a murder that may be more mysterious than it seems. It’s then discovered that a number of women have been killed around Chicago, with no apparent link or motive in common. However, Harry finds clues that can only be read by those with a background in magic – and it seems that someone is hunting down witches and then making sure Harry sees the grim results. (more…)

PROVEN GUILTY by Jim Butcher: Dresden Files reread

Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback Ghost Story at the end of July.
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Proven Guilty takes place about a year after the events of Dead Beat, and is a really terrific read in terms of both plot complexity and pace. It is here that the war (between the wizard White Council and the vampire Red Court) is at its bloodiest so far. Interestingly, things are not going well for Harry’s side, and thousands have been killed. This makes Harry feel guilty because, after all, it was Harry who (albeit reluctantly) started the War in the first place. And to his dismay, Harry has been made an active Warden, responsible for justice and giving out death sentences.

Consequently, the Harry here is a very different one from the person we first encountered in Storm Front. He’s more experienced, yet also a bitter and crippled Harry, a Harry with secrets and a darkness which threatens his life – or at least his sanity. He also feels conflicted by his conscription to Warden status, where the lines between good and evil are definitely blurred. At the beginning of Proven Guilty, Harry feels uncomfortable with the execution of a young man whose involvement with black magic was discovered. This reminds Harry of his own past, and although the punishment is perhaps deserved here, Harry clearly has divided loyalties. (more…)

DEAD BEAT by Jim Butcher: A Dresden Files reread

Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback Ghost Story at the end of July.
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At the beginning of this book the set up is as follows: Harry is duelling, wand-less and crippled, after his troubles with the vampire Mavra in Blood Rites. But this is a problem as Mavra’s back – and after revenge. And incubus Thomas, recently discovered to be his half-brother, is now living with Harry following exile from the Raith family.

Despite these many woes, there are more to come … Harry is blackmailed by Mavra, the target being his friend, police chief Karrin. If she is to live, or at least avoid being dismissed due to incriminating shenanigans in Blood Rites, then he has to find ‘the Word of Kemmler’ (whatever that is). He must then then take whatever it turns out to be to Mavra by Halloween, in three days time. This isn’t easy, as Harry and friends are being hunted by six necromancers – who clearly have designs on the Word of Kemmler too and will stop at nothing etc. etc.! (more…)

BLOOD RITES by Jim Butcher: a Dresden Files reread

Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback Ghost Story at the end of July.
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‘Family. Nothing but an accident of birth. Family is meaningless. It is nothing but the drive of blood to further its own. Random combination of genes. It is utterly insignificant.’
‘Your children don’t think that,’ I said. ‘They think family is important.’
He laughed. ‘Of course they think that. I have trained them to do so. It is a simple and convenient way to control them. (The enemy confronted by Harry.)

After the events of Death Masks, things in Blood Rites get deeper and more personal. This book is largely about  family and relationships (see the snippet above) and these themes, as you might expect by this point in the series, are developed here and exciting changes occur as a result.

The other main thrust of the book is dealing with vampires, and previous readers will remember Harry’s had his problems with them in the past! Yes, we still know he’s responsible for the on-going Cold War between the wizard White Council and the vampire White, Red and Black Courts. But here Harry has his own private issues with vampires to contend with too …

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DEATH MASKS by Jim Butcher: A Dresden Files reread

Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback Ghost Story at the end of July.
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Book Five of the series and things are still getting darker.

A little more Harry Dresden-focused after the events of Summer Knight, Death Masks is, in some respects, a smaller scale book – there is little reference to the NeverNever, more happenings around Chicago.

The war between the wizard’s White Council and the vampire’s Red Court is continued, but here the attention is clearly on Harry’s role in it all. Harry, in an attempt to settle the war, is challenged to a duel by Paolo Ortega, a reputed member of the vampire Red Court royalty. In the organised fashion that seems to be the way in the world of magic and demons, seconds are called for and the duel is arranged – at Wrigley Stadium in Chicago.

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SUMMER KNIGHT by Jim Butcher: A Dresden Files reread

Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback Ghost Story at the end of July.
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Summer Knight starts with Harry on a rapidly darkening spiral of defeat and sheer bad luck. Things move quickly from the beginning with an improbable portent of doom – a storm of toads! We also see an assassination attempt on Harry, and all in the first ten pages. After all, it seems so much easier to remove the apparent cause of all the problems, rather than working to solve them.

Harry survives; but is then given a tricky case to crack. Harry must assist the two Faerie Queens, Summer and Winter, in solving a crime. Ronald Reuel, the Summer Queen’s right-hand man and the titular Summer Knight, has been murdered. And the Winter Queen, Mab, has conveniently and perhaps unfairly been blamed for his demise.  (more…)

GRAVE PERIL by Jim Butcher: a Dresden Files reread

Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback at the end of July.
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In Grave Peril Harry now has a girlfriend, the sexy Susan Rodriguez of earlier novels, and this adds another level to the story. However, this does not mean that Harry is resting on his laurels in some sort of a love-fugue.

In fact, chapter one drops the reader straight into the action, with page one showing Harry and his colleague Michael having a rapid car drive through Chicago, off to deal with a ghost nanny who is taking the lives of babies in the Cook County Hospital.

You see, things have been hotting up recently in Chicago. Ghosts have been appearing with much more regularity than they should and have been keeping Harry very busy. This becomes even more worrying when it becomes noticeable that they have some sort of connection with Harry. As you might expect, as a result, Harry’s soon back to being thrown around, and dealing with his dark moods and his exaggerated sense of chivalry. But his main goal must be to figure out why Chicago’s ghosts have suddenly gone crazy, sometimes with deadly consequences, and put a stop to it – if he can. (more…)

FOOL MOON by Jim Butcher: a Dresden Files reread

Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback at the end of July.
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Fool Moon takes place six months after the events of Storm Front.

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is Chicago’s only professional ‘wizard for hire.’ But he’s not been employed by the Chicago Police Department’s Special Investigations Squad since the events of Storm Front, the previous novel. His friend, police chief Karrin Murphy, has been giving him the cold shoulder because of these events – and because it’s down to him that she’s now under the suspicious watch of Chicago Police’s Internal Affairs.

Then one October night, he gets a visit from Lieutenant Murphy about a murder – one that has been very, very messy and seems to be the latest in a series of gruesome events, which coincidentally happen at full moon. And there are more moonlit nights on the way…   (more…)

STORM FRONT by Jim Butcher: a Dresden Files reread

Mark Yon has been a reviewer and web administrator at SFFWorld, one of the world’s biggest genre forum sites, for nearly ten years. He has also been on the David Gemmell Awards organisation committee for the last two years. In this series of rereads, Mark will guide us below through the whole of Jim Butcher’s fabulous Dresden Files series as we count down to the new hardback at the end of July.
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And here’s where we commence the series.

Storm Front starts in typical film noir mode. With the sentence ‘I heard the mailman approach my office door, half an hour earlier than usual’, we are introduced to Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. And he’s the only person in Chicago’s director enquiries listed under ‘Wizard’.

However, this Harry is not the ‘Potter’ type. As we see from his advertisement, his stock in trade is: ‘Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Reasonable rates. No love potions, endless purses or other entertainment’. Harry is more of your paranormal dealing, insoluble crime-solving type of guy, and the only wizard used as a consultant by the Chicago Police Special Investigations Department. They need him when dealing with the demons and ghouls that live in the strange other-world of the Nevernever.

Harry is in his typically seedy office when a phone call from Chicago’s SI chief, Lieutenant Karrin Murphy, involves him in a double murder investigation. The male victim is a bodyguard for the local mobster, Johnny Marcone. The other victim is Jennifer Stanton, an escort from the Velvet Room, a gentleman’s club run by one of Chicago’s vampire families.

Things get really interesting when Harry discovers that the murders involve black magic, and a black mage is behind them. And more worryingly, though Harry doesn’t know who it is, the black mage knows him. And is out to get him.

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