Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsGood but not as good as last 13 previous books
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 12 October 2020
WHAT I LIKED:
Jim Butcher brings in his usual witty writing style to weave an intrinsic plot filled with surprises and many "holy crap ! " Moments . To this Jim Butcher adds some happy Family moments for Harry to enjoy with both Maggie and his new girlfriend (which is also a scary prospect because Jim Butcher can not tolerate a happy Harry Dresden for too long ) . Butcher also weaves in another heist , this one more like Mission Impossible than Ocean eleven , and finally topped it all off with some superb Action scenes , and one action scene with a severely Overpowered character that you absolutely wouldn't see coming and boy it would pay off big time . There's also many changed status quo , especially the relationship dynamics between Harry and his previous allies , this likely sets up for some fantastic opportunities for future books , talking of which , in terms of opportunities , I didn't think anything could get bigger than Hades , but apparently a new villain in this book proved me wrong and then there's a rising question of which side Harry is on , the side which fights the things that go Bump in the night or the side which fights against them. I can't wait for the next book
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
There's a severe lack of witisicm in this book compared to prior Dresden books , even the worst books in the series had me chuckling a few times , in this book however much of the references for my non-american brain and many jokes/sarcasm fell flat . The scenarios created were also way too plot convenient at times . The books ending also felt incomplete and it was obviously intended to be so , but I don't really place unsatisfactory endings to Dresden files books . The repetition of Heist in successive books also didn't feel right . And again we have a lot of unnecessary gratuitous sleazy scenes (which ofcourse is a given when Lara is on site) .
CONCLUSION:
There are more things I don't like in this book than the last 10 or so Dresden books combined , but at the end of the day it's still a Dresden book and it was enjoyable and fun to read with a brilliant plot and some super duper ass kicking moments . I enjoyed it but it's not as good as last 10 books
