The Dresden Files

[Bjorn]

Skin Game, book 15 of the Dresden Files, comes out in about a month.  Wooo!  The only disappointment I have with a new DF book is that I usually chew through it in about 2 days, which leaves me wanting more.  I actually reread the entire series after the release of the last book, because I wanted more Dresden and because a ton of long running loose threads were beginning to be pulled together and I wanted to revisit a bunch of stuff to see how many plans had been started years ago and were just coming to fruition.

 

Chapter 1 has been posted online as a preview if you want to read it.   I wasn't going to read it...but then I did.

[SecretAsianMan]

I share your pain man.  The Dresden Files are literally the only books I'm reading these days, which makes the long slow drip between books all the worse.  I started the series a few months before Ghost Story came out and went through them all pretty quickly.  I haven't reread any of them yet and I would love to do it before the next book but I don't think I'll have time.  I'm pretty excited to read the next one though.  Yay wizards!

 

And I've now also read the first chapter of the next book.  I've already forgotten so much, I may be forced to reread at least some of them first.

[SecretAsianMan]

I read that first chapter again.  I've seriously forgotten a lot apparently.  What's the thing in his head?  I really don't remember anything about that from (I assume) Cold Days.

[Bjorn]

I don't think it's anything that's been previously confirmed, but there have been hints for several books that "something" is inside Dresden's head.  I read through a bunch of fan theories after Cold Days, and a leading one was (I'll spoiler this if it happens to be right and you want to be surprised):

 

That Dresden is still carrying around part of the Denarian Lasciel in his head from when he had one of the blackened coins. That simply giving up the coin wasn't enough to purge him of the possession, or something like that. When Mab and Demonreach save him after the assassination attempt, there is a reference to a third entity that helped keep him alive. They call it a "parasite". But whatever it is has only been hinted at a few times.  Skin Game is supposed to have the Denarians back again in a major roll, so that would make sense if the parasite was related to them.

 

Of course the fan theories are all over the place with the Dresden Files.  Some of my favorites to read about were in regards to Mac, the old bartender.  Think of any god, demigod or famous wizard, and someone has come up with a series of "facts" to show how Mac is really that person. 

[SecretAsianMan]

Ok, that makes sense.  I do sort of recall now something like that.  I remember reading somewhere that Butcher said we hadn't seen the last of Lash.  I thought maybe that Harry had been somehow infected by the Nemesis or Adversary or whatever they're calling it, yet was somehow able to fight it because of the circumstances of his birth that they keep hinting at.  But mostly I just wasn't sure if it was an explicit thing that was named and I somehow completely forgot about it.

[Twig]

Well guys. You did it. I'm going to start rereading the series NOW.

[Bjorn]

Well guys. You did it. I'm going to start rereading the series NOW.

 

Yah!

[TheLastBaron]

I read the first three books and liked them, but then I got sidetracked and haven't read any more. I should probably remedy that. One thing though, I read the first two books and then watched the show and when I read the third I could only picture Harry as Paul Blackthorn.

[Bjorn]

I watched the show after having read a dozen books, but only watched the first couple of episodes.  It wasn't bad, but it didn't do a lot for me, in a large part because the characters and world didn't really match what I already had in my imagination.  Stuff like using the Army jeep for his vehicle made sense, it would be another great vehicle for a wizard, but it wasn't the Blue Beetle. 

[Twig]

I watched the whole show, and came out pretty negative. Maybe it's just because I liked the books so much, but on the other hand, there must be a reason it was cancelled so early!

[SecretAsianMan]

The show and books weren't designed to be the same from the start.  Butcher himself said the show wouldn't follow the exact story of the books and they were to be considered separate but similar things.  I think it was ok for what it was, but the books are much better.  However I also hear Paul Blackthorn's voice in my head as Harry's.  I've never listened to any of the audiobooks, but I think it would have been cool if they got him to read them.  But I hear James Marsters (aka Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) does a good job.

[Bjorn]

Chapter two is out, they are releasing a chapter a week through the first four chapters.  I'm going to try very, very hard not to read it.  So far I've made it 17 hours since getting the email.  Go, go gadget willpower.

 

 

The show and books weren't designed to be the same from the start. 

 

I understood that before trying the show, it just still didn't do anything for me.  It just didn't translate well. 

[SecretAsianMan]

Dang it Bjorn, stop tempting me.

 

 

I understood that before trying the show, it just still didn't do anything for me.  It just didn't translate well. 

 

Fair enough.  I actually watched the series before I started the books.  I thought at the time it was ok, not great, not terrible, but naturally the books are vastly superior.

[Bjorn]

I figure as long as I'm being tortured, might as well share the fun.  And I'm not telling my wife about them, as she's a bigger fan than I am.  But she's usually oblivious to when new books come out, so I get the joy of surprising her with a new Dresden book when she has not the foggiest idea a new one is out.

[SecretAsianMan]

I can understand that.  As much as I like the books, I never bother to keep tabs on the release dates.  I probably would have forgotten about this one for a while longer if you hadn't brought it up.

 

.....aaaaaaaaaaand now I've read the second chapter.  Waiting sucks but being teased like this is in some ways worse.

[SecretAsianMan]

I've preordered the book.  I think this may be the first book I've ever done that with.

[Bjorn]

I need to order it, probably sooner than later.  He's actually local to me, lives in Kansas City.  He doesn't do many events here, but for each new release he always does a reading and my wife gets a kick out of those.  Preordering the book from a particular local independent bookstore is the ticket to the reading.

 

The reading for Cold Days was actually delayed by several months because he fell terribly ill and ended up hospitalized, then had to carry on with all his other events before being able to get back to KC.  Which turned out to make for a nice reading, since everyone there had read it and he was able to discuss the book really frankly without any risk of spoiling it for anyone.  Hopefully he has no health issues this time around!

[SecretAsianMan]

That sounds awesome.  I ordered the book digitally.  I have physical copies of the first few, but the rest are ebooks.  While I still prefer reading a physical book, I can't deny how incredibly convenient the digital version is, especially when I can read it on my phone while I'm in the bathroom at work.  I would probably get a physical copy if I could attend something like that though.

[Bjorn]

So some fans made a live action trailer for Skin Game.  It's a bit cheesy, but really charming.  I don't know if they are just guessing, or if they have insider knowledge, but it definitely has what might be spoilers in it if it is at all accurate.  I know that Butcher does have a fair sized group of beta readers who help him make sure that continuity stays accurate across the series, so it's possible that they had his permission to do this and had some knowledge of the book.  At any rate, possible spoilers (though I still watched it and enjoyed it).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x8ZUvrIQWuY

[SecretAsianMan]

I managed to hold out for a while, but I just caved and read the last two chapters posted.  I want the rest.  I want them now.  Why don't I have them now.

[Mangela Lansbury]

A friend of mine has been bugging me to read this entire series for a while, so I've picked up a few over the last year when I want light, easy reading. They're enjoyable pulpy action books, and that they spend so much time recapping previous entries is good for someone like me who just picks random books from the series to read.

 

I've only read maybe 4 or 5 of the books picked at random from the lot, but something has been bugging me throughout them that's kind of come to a head as I work through Cold Days: Dresden's interactions with women, and Butcher's descriptions thereof. So much of it just strikes me as obviously thoughtless and gross, but I never really see it brought up when I see these books discussed. Am I just seeing something that isn't really there?

[Bjorn]

It's a habitually bizarre contrast in the world.  Butcher has written a number of great female characters, and in fact has what is a really good balance of male to female characters and interesting empowered female characters.  But then there is also plenty of stuff that is thoughtless, or gross, or something.

 

I think it was Cold Days specifically that spawned a number of posts and essays about how women are handled in the Dresdenverse.  If I remember right, Dresden's internal monologue in CD is even more sexist and makes a lot more commentary on female characters.  The fictional explanation for all this is that it is the influence of the Winter Mantle bringing out the more base desires in Dresden...but unless that goes somewhere really interesting narratively, it feels unnecessary.   There's also a really fucking terrible scene in there about gay sex in a park that made me super uncomfortable, as it felt completely out of place (in a judgmental way and using gay stereotypes in a thoughtless/insulting way).  Ultimately Dresden says something about how the gays are fine, but the whole scene is just bizarre. 

[SecretAsianMan]

I've only read maybe 4 or 5 of the books picked at random from the lot, but something has been bugging me throughout them that's kind of come to a head as I work through Cold Days: Dresden's interactions with women, and Butcher's descriptions thereof. So much of it just strikes me as obviously thoughtless and gross, but I never really see it brought up when I see these books discussed. Am I just seeing something that isn't really there?

 

I think it was Cold Days specifically that spawned a number of posts and essays about how women are handled in the Dresdenverse.  If I remember right, Dresden's internal monologue in CD is even more sexist and makes a lot more commentary on female characters.  The fictional explanation for all this is that it is the influence of the Winter Mantle bringing out the more base desires in Dresden...but unless that goes somewhere really interesting narratively, it feels unnecessary.

 

I don't remember the details very well, can you guys be more specific?

[Twig]

I said I was gonna reread it and I have! Well four of them. In like six days. Pretty good pace for me, I think.

[Bjorn]

I don't remember the details very well, can you guys be more specific?

 

I'm really struggling to remember specifics, but I think it was the frequency of his internal comments.  He has a long history of making comments about women's looks, bodies, etc., to himself, which is not in and of itself bad.  But in Cold Days, it was ratcheted way up, like almost every scene including an attractive woman necessitated a comment about her tits, ass, something. 

 

Mangela probably has much better examples, currently reading it and whatnot.