So far, the best in the series. | Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, Book 6)

Magic, Monsters, Mayhem, and Mirth | Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, Book 6) | Jim Butcher

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	• Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, Book 6) Jim Butcher Roc, 2004 - 372 pages average customer review:based on 57 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Easily The Best Of The Series

I think the other reviews sum it up nicely, this book is just the best so far. Jim Butcher just keeps improving as he goes along, and it shows. Harry is definately in top form in this book, I broke out laughing on multiple occasions from the dialogue alone. The plot is solid, and most importantly we finally get some backstory and depth into Harry's life prior to the books. Most importantly I think, this information rather than close doors, just opens up more doors for the future.

I am also glad that finally Murph is getting in on it too, her and Harry going at it together just plain works, something I've been waiting for since the start.

Plus, hey, any book that makes reference to a "Monkey Voltron", deserves some sort of bonus points.

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So far, the best in the series.

I really enjoy this series, but I agree with the other reviewers that Harry didn't really seem to have much of a life. In this book he finally discovers his family, learns disturbing things about someone he loves, and adopts a puppy that has foo heritage.
Very cool.
As usual, lots of humor, and several laugh-out-loud funny moments help to balance the darkness and bloodshed.
In addition, the character of Murphy also continues to develop and she makes the story richer. She is no longer the Xena-cop of the first books. Instead, she is developing more of an emotional life and a past. We meet one of her exes and her family, and see her relationship with Harry deepening. Who knows how things will develop.
We also learn more about the 3 vampire courts. Very interesting, in a disturbing kind of way. The Red court are demons in a shell of human flesh, Black vampires are more traditionally Stokerish, with rot and decay thrown in, but in many ways, the White court is the creepiest. They draw their power in through lust and seduction, making thier victims want to die, writhing in pleasure. Yikes.
I started reading this this morning and couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. Now I am tempted to read it all over again.
This book would make a great addition to your library!

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Magic, Monsters, Mayhem, and Mirth

Butcher's back on top of his game, serving up a hard-hitting mix of magic, monsters, mayhem, and mirth in Book Six of the Dresden Files. Blood Rites isn't as labored as Death Masks or as slow-moving as Summer Knight, harking back to the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink exploits of Grave Peril. Harry Dresden's in fine form, firmly planting his clod-busting stompers where angels fear to tiptoe, and compulsively cracking wise every feisty step of the way.

The bulk of the action-and it's pretty steroidal stuff-is crammed into the space of three days. The basic plot comprises two intertwined storylines. Three, counting the puppy, but he's more a combination of comic relief, future stage-setting, and probably-unintended red herring, dropped into the Blue Beetle's backseat and out of the story entirely for a hundred pages before inexplicably resurfacing in Harry's apartment. Continuity, continuity. Never mind, he's cute anyway. So's the puppy.

So, two storylines. First, White Court vampire Thomas asks Harry to seek and destroy a suspected entropy curse stalking Thomas' movie-producer friend. Then, before Harry even meets his new client, he learns the hard way that Black Court vampire Mavra is in town, hot for his blood. Literally. When the producer turns out to be a porn king, and Thomas turns out to have far more ties to the case than he let on, and Harry ends up eyeball-deep in the private family business of virtually everyone involved-including, quite unexpectedly, himself-it only adds to the general pandemonium.

Be warned: most of the main characters have figured in previous Dresden cases, and Butcher wastes minimal words on back story. Harry's partnership with police lieutenant Karrin Murphy is developing nicely, whether she ultimately replaces ex-flame Susan or not. Hired gun Kincaid, who barely registered in Masks, is shaping up as an unfeeling assassin to cheer for, though readers may find that his revealed past takes some of the fun out of his behavior. Best of all, Butcher hasn't forgotten that even the prettiest people-eater-male or female-is creepy, dangerous, and fundamentally not-human. With continued fleshing-out, his trio of vampire courts grows increasingly less likely to please hard-core undead sensualists or traditionalists, but his creations make thrice-damned, triple-threat, bloody righteous monsters by any other name, so why sweat the technicalities?

For Harry fans, Blood Rites scores big. The fast pace and light storytelling touch play to Butcher's strengths, making it easier to overlook pesky little writing lapses (not knowing how few days until Saturday, or how many films Genosa has shot, or what "née" means; taking off a coat twice in three short paragraphs, then spacing out on the garish shirt underneath; getting the Beetle back from the mechanic, who never had it in the first place; to mention a few). At the same time, there are enticing glimpses of the dark wings beating ever more strongly about the edges of Harry's soul. He and readers get substantial new chunks of his past along the way, too. Great game!

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Worth the wait

I started reading this series late, so I was able to read the first five books all in a row. This was the first of the series that I had to wait for, and it was more than worth it.

If you haven't read any of the previous installments, then let me be the first to welcome you to the world of Harry Dresden, wizard for hire. I would strongly recommend that you go back to the beginning and start with "Storm Front" and work your way up from there. Believe me, it's a great ride. If you start with this book you should be able to get up to speed fairly quickly, but you may not understand who some of these characters are. Butcher does give a bit of backstory as he goes, but you'll be so caught up by the story that you may well miss the few details he scatters around.

The important things to know about this series:
Butcher is an above-average writer with an ability to tell a story that is well-plotted, fast-paced, moving, interesting, and more than occasionally funny as heck.

Harry is one of the most interesting characters to come along in quite a while. His backstory is satisfying but still leaves enough unanswered questions to keep the series going for a while. He is also, occasionally, a son of a b***h.

The world of this series is a place full of vampires, werewolves (a few different kinds of each) and lots of other things that go "bump" in the night. It is also full of heroism, honor, daring, and sometimes even love.

These books read like a mixture of Buffy, Sam Spade, and Terry Pratchett. If you don't know who any of them are, then you need to get busy because there is a lot of great entertainment waiting for you. And Jim Butcher's novels are a good place to start.

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Very funny

This book really was the best in the series. Harry was especially witty in this lastest installment and had me laughing hysterically several times. I liked the twists involving his mentor and his vampire associate Thomas(not really a friend because they don't quite trust each other). This is a great read even if you haven't read the other 5, but it helps to get the back story on our friendly neighborhood wizard.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, page 10, 11, 12

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