Tilduke reviewed Summer knight by Jim Butcher
Average
3 stars
This was an enjoyable read but my least favourite of the series so far.
paperback, 448 pages
Published May 1, 2011 by imusti, Orbit.
Ever since his girlfriend left town to deal with her newly acquired taste for blood, Harry Dresden has been down and out in Chicago. He can't pay his rent. He's alienating his friends. He can't even recall the last time he took a shower.
The only professional wizard in the phone book has become a desperate man.
And just when it seems things can't get any worse, in saunters the Winter Queen of Faerie. She has an offer Harry can't refuse if he wants to free himself of the supernatural hold his faerie godmother has over him — and hopefully end his run of bad luck. All he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen's right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen's name.
It seems simple enough, but Harry knows better than to get caught in the middle of faerie politics. Until he …
Ever since his girlfriend left town to deal with her newly acquired taste for blood, Harry Dresden has been down and out in Chicago. He can't pay his rent. He's alienating his friends. He can't even recall the last time he took a shower.
The only professional wizard in the phone book has become a desperate man.
And just when it seems things can't get any worse, in saunters the Winter Queen of Faerie. She has an offer Harry can't refuse if he wants to free himself of the supernatural hold his faerie godmother has over him — and hopefully end his run of bad luck. All he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen's right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen's name.
It seems simple enough, but Harry knows better than to get caught in the middle of faerie politics. Until he finds out that the fate of the entire world rests on his solving this case.
No pressure or anything...
This was an enjoyable read but my least favourite of the series so far.
Decent enough, but I'm beginning to be overwhelmed by the flood of characters. So many people, that I'm not sure who is good or nefarious. Not enough of a downer to make me stop though.
Was a close call, I almost gave it 4.5 stars. This was the strongest book so far. With every book of the Dresden files you seem to get drawn deeper within the world of the Dresden universe. This one almost had an epic fantasy feel at the end, when the two Sidhe courts went to war. As a huge fan of the Changeling setting in World of Darkness, I really enjoyed reading about the Seelie and Unseelie courts.
Now if only we ever knew why Harry is so hated by the White Council. It can only get messier from here. I am enjoying the ride quite a bit.
The recurring characters were a nice touch, I enjoy Billy and his gang of pizza-eating, tabletop-playing werewolves.
There's very little not to love about this book. Looking forward to seeing what else Jim Butcher will come up with.