narfna’s #CBR4 Review #16: Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

I continue to be surprised at how much I enjoy this series for as much as I was bored and frustrated by the first three volumes.

All through the first three books, I just didn’t get the hype. I thought Harry came off as Butcher’s attempt to Mary Sue himself into the fictional world, I thought the secondary characters were underdeveloped and underused, and I was mostly bored by all the “exciting” things that Harry constantly had happen to him. And on top of that boredom was a thin layer of disbelief, because seriously, that guy got beaten up so much and acted so stoic and heroic about it all the time that he didn’t even read as a real person to me. And then I listened to book four on audio, and I’m still not sure if it’s my affection for narrator James Marsters that did it or if Butcher’s writing actually got better, but the series grew on me after that. I still think Harry comes off as a bit of a sacrificial lamb, but the secondary characters are nicely developed and Harry’s world finally has some emotional texture to it.

Blood Rites is the sixth book in The Dresden Files series, which features Harry Dresden as Chicago’s only professional wizard. An acquaintance of Harry’s — a White Court vampire (incubi/succubi, basically) named Thomas — hires him to protect the cast and crew of a porno flick, which seems to be haunted by a mysterious curse. It’s Harry’s job not only to protect everyone involved, but to find out who’s behind it and why, and stop them. He gets way more than he bargained for, as usual. Meanwhile, he also has to deal with a nasty nest full of Black Court vampires that’s taken up residence in Chicago, and some personal problems that he really didn’t see coming involving revelations about his past. For a majority of the book he also happens to carry a small gray puppy around in one of the many pockets of his trenchcoat, and it pops up in the narrative every once in a while to inject some much needed cute.

There’s a lot less sex in this book than you would expect from a story involving porn stars, porn filmmakers and incubi and succubi running around all over the place, but I enjoyed the wackiness of the setting, and Butcher treated the porn stars like actual characters rather than giving in to the tempting impulse to portray them as nothing more than their jobs (although I do think he was a bit naive about the whole porn thing, if I’m being honest about it). I really liked what this book did with Harry’s relationships with several key characters, namely Thomas (SPOILER: who turns out to be his half-brother), Lt. Karrin Murphy (who is actually given things to do nowadays and characterization beyond her role as backup to Harry’s insanity), and Harry’s mentor, Ebenezer McCoy (even if I do happen to think that Harry was being a bit of a drama queen about the secrets Ebenezer spills late in the book). I guess we could say that Harry is growing as a person?

I’m still a little frustrated by Butcher’s style, but it’s most a personal frustration based on my own likes and dislikes. I’m still frustrated by little things, like the way he uses “glowered” every five seconds, and the way he has characters become quiet a lot as a way to code anger and badassery. I also think his fight scenes go on WAY too long. The whole Black Court vampire plot was kind of boring, even though Butcher has Murphy disarming a bomb with no pants on. I wanted more White Court shiznat and porn-set antics. Also, way more Thomas. And it continues to become more and more apparent that while Harry isn’t necessarily sexist, he certainly thinks of women in annoyingly chivalric, protective terms*, like a modern day caveman. But to his credit, it’s in sort of an endearing way. The scene where he feels betrayed by his mentor made me angry. I think we were supposed to side with Harry instead of Ebenezer, but instead I just found myself becoming angry with Harry for being stupid. I did like the ending, and I thought Lord Raith was a genuinely scary bad guy, and that he was dealt with by both Butcher and Harry in a clever way.

*I’m convinced that Jim Butcher is permanently stuck in the 90s just by the way he has Murphy dress and the things he makes Harry think are cool. Also, by looking at his bio picture. That dude seriously needs a haircut.

I’ll probably pick up the next book on audiobook whenever it becomes available at my library, but I’m more excited about this series than I have been since I started reading it a couple of years ago. I’m glad Butcher is finally allowing his characters to interact with one another, and I’m glad he’s finally allowing Harry to have some real relationships. It makes for much better and more interesting reading.

[Link to original review here.]

LurkeyTurkey #CBR4, Review #7: The President’s Vampire by Christopher Farnsworth

*This book is a sequel to “Blood Oath.” *

Nathaniel Cade is a 140 year-old vampire, who is, wait for it, tied to the President of the United States through a blood oath.  As such, Cade is required to serve whoever sits in that seat of power and protect the United States against all enemies.   He is, of course, a secret to the large majority of the American people, and fights all things “Other” that are trying to destroy the American way of life. 

Cade and his “handler,” Zach Barrows, a snarky, politically-minded human assigned to aid the vampire, are tracking down “Snakeheads,” reptilian villains capable of shredding human beings with their raptor-sharp claws and razor teeth.  These creatures were formerly human, turned by a virus or infection, which is spread via saliva in bites or wounds of their human prey.  These creatures are terrifying, soulless killers with a seemingly insatiable hunger.

As Cade has been around for 140 years, there are many reveals as to the source of the virus, and more importantly, who is pulling the strings to spread it, and why.  Really it is the search for the puppet master that makes this book interesting.   It’s no “Tinker Tailor,” but the narration does oscillate enough between political intrigue to Urban Fantasy enough to keep the pace up, and the story compelling.

The characters are also more than just cut-out action heroes.  This is an improvement over “Blood Oath” in the development of Cade’s character as he seems less robotic, and Zach Barrows is snippy and manages to bungle up enough to keep him lovably dependent on Cade.  Also included in this novel are the actors of the CIA’s arch-nemesis, The Shadow Company, who are great fun in their nefarious plots and schemes.

Overall, this is a fun book worthy of a sunny day on the beach, or a crappy snowy day with a cuppa tea (which is sadly how I read it).