Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Turn Coat
by Jim Butcher
In the world of The Dresden Files, Harry Dresden is not a popular fellow. At least among the wizarding community, that is. The White Council of Wizards seek to protect the world from dark magic--setting specific rules for magic's use. It strictly enforces those rules, enforced by the Wardens, threatening harsh penalties for those who would violate them. Harry, unfortunately, was orphaned and was originally mentored by a dark wizard. He narrowly missed being executed for his upbringing and although pardoned, has been held in suspicion ever since. A number of wardens watch him carefully, waiting to pounce the moment he screws up. Harry, of course, holds the strict enforcement of the laws in disdain and often dances on the line in his pursuit of true justice. And then one day, one of the veteran Wardens, Morgan, Harry's arch nemesis on the White Council, shows up asking for help. It seems he's been falsely accused of murdering one of the senior members of the Council...
My practice in reading The Dresden Files has been to pick up the next volume ever few months or so. Rather than getting a list and shopping for that novel, I've been snagging a copy at the used book store or at library sales. I usually consult whatever novel is on the shelf to find out the title of the book I want. As a result, I read the book jacket description for this one years ago. I've been looking forward to reading it. At first I was underwhelmed. Even the best series fall into formula after a few novels and Turn Coat was proving that. But as I got further into the book, I began to enjoy it more and more. As much as Harry Dresden is an outcast in his world, he has, over the series, accumulated a diverse group of friends and allies. It was enjoyable seeing some of these come together, one by one, to help out on the case. I don't know if Mr. Butcher has some overall message that he's trying to share in the series, but this spirit of "family" is definitely one of the core themes in the saga. Even in a mere sequel, it was enjoyable to see that played out.
Check it out!
LibraryThing link
In the world of The Dresden Files, Harry Dresden is not a popular fellow. At least among the wizarding community, that is. The White Council of Wizards seek to protect the world from dark magic--setting specific rules for magic's use. It strictly enforces those rules, enforced by the Wardens, threatening harsh penalties for those who would violate them. Harry, unfortunately, was orphaned and was originally mentored by a dark wizard. He narrowly missed being executed for his upbringing and although pardoned, has been held in suspicion ever since. A number of wardens watch him carefully, waiting to pounce the moment he screws up. Harry, of course, holds the strict enforcement of the laws in disdain and often dances on the line in his pursuit of true justice. And then one day, one of the veteran Wardens, Morgan, Harry's arch nemesis on the White Council, shows up asking for help. It seems he's been falsely accused of murdering one of the senior members of the Council...
My practice in reading The Dresden Files has been to pick up the next volume ever few months or so. Rather than getting a list and shopping for that novel, I've been snagging a copy at the used book store or at library sales. I usually consult whatever novel is on the shelf to find out the title of the book I want. As a result, I read the book jacket description for this one years ago. I've been looking forward to reading it. At first I was underwhelmed. Even the best series fall into formula after a few novels and Turn Coat was proving that. But as I got further into the book, I began to enjoy it more and more. As much as Harry Dresden is an outcast in his world, he has, over the series, accumulated a diverse group of friends and allies. It was enjoyable seeing some of these come together, one by one, to help out on the case. I don't know if Mr. Butcher has some overall message that he's trying to share in the series, but this spirit of "family" is definitely one of the core themes in the saga. Even in a mere sequel, it was enjoyable to see that played out.
Check it out!
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, DresdenFiles, JimButcher
// posted by John @ 5:29 PM 
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