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sharelleFinished "Blood Rites" today – which actually took me a bit longer to read than the others. But, then, I didn't have as much free time this week. (Thoughts of going back to work at the end of this month, niggling at the back of my mind, continue to force me to do responsible adult-type preparation things.)
General opinion of Dresden Files Book 6, I loved it. My only problem with that is, since the book's only in its first few days of release, who knows how long until the next one comes out. (Grr.) Of course, my musings are chock-full of spoilers, so read on only if you've finished the book . . . or if that's your thing, you spoiler-whore, you!
"Blood Rites:" I squirmed, I 'squeed,' I scrutinized! – Some random reflections in no particular order.
The Squirmage
- Nothing like a detailed description of lustful vampiric incest to really liven things up!
- Harry's poor, poor hand! (Although it worked well to hark back to Lasciel's sigil. I was disappointed not to see anything come of that yet, but I was glad Butcher didn't leave that subject totally buried – pardon the pun – and forgotten until he was really ready to bring it into the plot.)
The Squee-age
- I was up in the air over which of the women in Harry's life I was shipping for by the end of Book 5, but by the time he was all flirtatiously (and honestly) complimenting Murphy on the way she looked in her dress, I was all, "Susan who?" In fact, I was much happier with Karrin's overall presence in the book this time. She seemed more like a real character and less like a 'means to an end,' as she did in some of the other books in the series -- where she would step in at a critical moment and then disappear for the duration. If Butcher is pro- a Harry/Karrin relationship, the time he's taking to develop it, alone, can only mean that it will probably be a serious one. (Very "Sculder.") And it's likely that they both may have their fair share of false-starts before that even happens if, in fact, it ever does. (Did anyone else sense a little Karrin/Kincaid? *G* And Harry seemed veeery disappointed at the notion that Murphy digs the bad boys!) This book was filled with instances of Harry really noticing her as a woman rather than a pal (there was that offhanded remark about marrying her), and as a result, allowing the reader to notice as well. And though some of those glimpses were perhaps a bit gratuitous (read: Murphy removing her pants to slither under infrared tripwires), they each enable us to see sides of Karrin that we've never seen up to this point. (And I don't just mean her little pink panties.)
Murphy's always shown that she can care deeply about people and causes, that she's fiercely trustworthy and a true friend, and that she occasionally reveals some emotion, though she tries very hard not to. But here we see her as someone who can feel strongly about more than just her work, someone who can feel rejected by those she cares about, someone who's not as perfect as her prolific accomplishments and accolades might suggest and, yes, someone who's got her fair share of sexual frustration. (And in this way, she couldn't be more different than Susan, who had sexuality in spades and never tried to hide from it. Murphy, on the other hand, represses, which is undoubtedly why she reacted the way she did with Kincaid.) She seems to be warming to Harry, though. Boucoup eye contact this time around and, while there's no soulgaze yet, when it comes you know it's going to be a biggie!
The Random Scrutiny
- Honestly, I wasn't all that surprised to discover the "shocking secret" mentioned on the book's back cover. In fact, I pretty much had that one pegged. For the last 5 books, Harry's been hearing hints as to possible family out there somewhere. And the attention that was paid to the absence of it in his life at the beginning of the book kind of paved the way for a logical conclusion. (I was happy to learn that it wasn't the entire Raith family tree to which he was related. If Inari and Lara ended up being his sisters besides, that would be just . . . well, see "Squirmage" point #1. *squirm*) I'm happy with Thomas as his brother, though, since I've always liked him. And Harry's ultimate reaction to the news was beyond sweet. (I was a tad cheesed by the whole vision revelation by his mother, but Butcher seems to be a fan of deus ex machina solutions, especially in his final chapters, so I suppose I'll let him have that.)
- I was a big fan of the puppy, even if it also seemed kind of cheesy at the beginning. Harry Dresden, Champion of the Innocent! Defender of Puppies! I'd thought something would come of it during the story, some revelation or plot device as to why it had come into his life at this particular time. (Important, holy guardian dog, remember.) But no, alas. Not yet. Most of the time it just stayed in his pocket and I even started to lose track of when he had it with him and when he didn't. (Sometimes I think even Butcher forgot when Harry was in the company of the dog - i.e. the fight in the library. There he and Thomas are, slamming each other around, and oops! Oh, yeah. Puppy in the pocket.) I'm not so sure I go for the name they gave it at the end, either. "Mouse"…eh. Not as catchy or as different as Mister or some of the other things Butcher comes up with, but I suppose it could be worse. I haven't quite forgiven him for the tackiness that was the "Chlorofiend."
- I wasn't totally clear on exactly what big favor Harry asked of Murphy just before they left to fight Raith. I assumed it was to put on the whole "conquered female" act, but how did he know she'd be put in a situation where she'd have to do it? (Knowing in advance that they'd have to let themselves get caught was kind of risky, especially since she ended up with a knife in her ribs. Plus, his narration at the end of Chapter 39 was a bit more misleading than it usually is.)
- The banter between Harry and Karrin was much more comfortable and playful than in the first few books. Some of their lines were priceless, too. One of my favorites: "Woman shut smart mouth and get me free or no wild monkey love for you." (One would think Harry had had enough of "wild monkeys" at the beginning of the story!)
- The book still had its fair share of typos, though not as many as Book 3, thank goodness. It's just a bit jarring when Harry tries to say something cocky and clever, and it comes out, "Gosh, I'd hate to for my life to be in jeopardy." (p. 296) Makes it obvious that Butcher had originally written the sentence differently, but didn't go back and fix all the prepositions when he changed it.
- Not as many Buffy references as in Book 5, though the ones that were there were glaring and obvious. (Like when Harry "makes like Buffy" during his initial fight against the vampires in the parking lot.) Also, at first glance, I'd thought Inari's name was a reference to the actress who played SIT Kennedy, but there's a slight spelling difference I didn't pick up on at first. (Iyari Limon played Kennedy in S7.) So my bad. But still, there's a resemblance.
I'd also noticed some fun Evil Dead references, such as Harry's insistence on using the word "Groovy" in this book, especially after being told he might lose his hand. "Ash" lights going off all over the place! ("It got into my hand and it went bad…so I lopped it off at the wrist." No chainsaw attachment for Harry, though he did mention a Swiss Army prosthesis.) And has Harry called his blasting rod his "boom stick" at any point? *G*
- Hmm. McAnally's wasn't mentioned at all. (Neither was "McAnnally's.") Guess Butcher wasn't completely decided on how he wanted to spell it.
- This series looks as though it's going to keep going for a long time, since there are so many hovering plotlines still lingering about. (One thing I like about Butcher's writing is his ability to think ahead and know what he wants to do later. It reminds me very much of J.K. Rowling in the way he drops hints as to future storylines and important themes several books in advance. The man must have very elaborate outlines at home!) Some of the things I'm still curious about that I think may come around again:
· A cure for Susan's condition since, regardless of her absence from this book, I'm still convinced that she'll be back. (And will there be a bit of a lurve triangle to contend with when she does? Dun, dun, dun! *G*)
· The whole topic of Mavra's demise
· Lasciel's sigil and the effect it's already starting to have on Harry (As well as how Michael, and perhaps even Charity, will react upon learning how he came by it.)
· I still think Michael's daughter Molly is going to have some role later. And that puppy has got to be there for some important reason!
· Harry may have Shiro's Sword, but is he the new Knight? (And if not, who? Someone we already know? Avenging Angel Murphy, perhaps?)
· What are the other two favors Harry is going to have to complete for Mab?
· Since White Court vampires have no influence over people in love and Raith couldn't completely seduce Murphy, was that due to his dwindling power or something about Murphy we haven’t learned yet?
· Since Justine's not dead, will there be more of her? (She's basically exceeded everyone's expectations already, so who's to say she won't completely recover?)
· Is Harry's debilitated hand going to be a future issue?
· The aftermath of what happened with Ebenezar and its potential to affect Harry's headway in trusting those close to him
Are there others I'm forgetting?
All in all, another great book! (I miss reading it already!) I'll be eagerly awaiting news of the next one!
General opinion of Dresden Files Book 6, I loved it. My only problem with that is, since the book's only in its first few days of release, who knows how long until the next one comes out. (Grr.) Of course, my musings are chock-full of spoilers, so read on only if you've finished the book . . . or if that's your thing, you spoiler-whore, you!
"Blood Rites:" I squirmed, I 'squeed,' I scrutinized! – Some random reflections in no particular order.
The Squirmage
- Nothing like a detailed description of lustful vampiric incest to really liven things up!
- Harry's poor, poor hand! (Although it worked well to hark back to Lasciel's sigil. I was disappointed not to see anything come of that yet, but I was glad Butcher didn't leave that subject totally buried – pardon the pun – and forgotten until he was really ready to bring it into the plot.)
The Squee-age
- I was up in the air over which of the women in Harry's life I was shipping for by the end of Book 5, but by the time he was all flirtatiously (and honestly) complimenting Murphy on the way she looked in her dress, I was all, "Susan who?" In fact, I was much happier with Karrin's overall presence in the book this time. She seemed more like a real character and less like a 'means to an end,' as she did in some of the other books in the series -- where she would step in at a critical moment and then disappear for the duration. If Butcher is pro- a Harry/Karrin relationship, the time he's taking to develop it, alone, can only mean that it will probably be a serious one. (Very "Sculder.") And it's likely that they both may have their fair share of false-starts before that even happens if, in fact, it ever does. (Did anyone else sense a little Karrin/Kincaid? *G* And Harry seemed veeery disappointed at the notion that Murphy digs the bad boys!) This book was filled with instances of Harry really noticing her as a woman rather than a pal (there was that offhanded remark about marrying her), and as a result, allowing the reader to notice as well. And though some of those glimpses were perhaps a bit gratuitous (read: Murphy removing her pants to slither under infrared tripwires), they each enable us to see sides of Karrin that we've never seen up to this point. (And I don't just mean her little pink panties.)
Murphy's always shown that she can care deeply about people and causes, that she's fiercely trustworthy and a true friend, and that she occasionally reveals some emotion, though she tries very hard not to. But here we see her as someone who can feel strongly about more than just her work, someone who can feel rejected by those she cares about, someone who's not as perfect as her prolific accomplishments and accolades might suggest and, yes, someone who's got her fair share of sexual frustration. (And in this way, she couldn't be more different than Susan, who had sexuality in spades and never tried to hide from it. Murphy, on the other hand, represses, which is undoubtedly why she reacted the way she did with Kincaid.) She seems to be warming to Harry, though. Boucoup eye contact this time around and, while there's no soulgaze yet, when it comes you know it's going to be a biggie!
The Random Scrutiny
- Honestly, I wasn't all that surprised to discover the "shocking secret" mentioned on the book's back cover. In fact, I pretty much had that one pegged. For the last 5 books, Harry's been hearing hints as to possible family out there somewhere. And the attention that was paid to the absence of it in his life at the beginning of the book kind of paved the way for a logical conclusion. (I was happy to learn that it wasn't the entire Raith family tree to which he was related. If Inari and Lara ended up being his sisters besides, that would be just . . . well, see "Squirmage" point #1. *squirm*) I'm happy with Thomas as his brother, though, since I've always liked him. And Harry's ultimate reaction to the news was beyond sweet. (I was a tad cheesed by the whole vision revelation by his mother, but Butcher seems to be a fan of deus ex machina solutions, especially in his final chapters, so I suppose I'll let him have that.)
- I was a big fan of the puppy, even if it also seemed kind of cheesy at the beginning. Harry Dresden, Champion of the Innocent! Defender of Puppies! I'd thought something would come of it during the story, some revelation or plot device as to why it had come into his life at this particular time. (Important, holy guardian dog, remember.) But no, alas. Not yet. Most of the time it just stayed in his pocket and I even started to lose track of when he had it with him and when he didn't. (Sometimes I think even Butcher forgot when Harry was in the company of the dog - i.e. the fight in the library. There he and Thomas are, slamming each other around, and oops! Oh, yeah. Puppy in the pocket.) I'm not so sure I go for the name they gave it at the end, either. "Mouse"…eh. Not as catchy or as different as Mister or some of the other things Butcher comes up with, but I suppose it could be worse. I haven't quite forgiven him for the tackiness that was the "Chlorofiend."
- I wasn't totally clear on exactly what big favor Harry asked of Murphy just before they left to fight Raith. I assumed it was to put on the whole "conquered female" act, but how did he know she'd be put in a situation where she'd have to do it? (Knowing in advance that they'd have to let themselves get caught was kind of risky, especially since she ended up with a knife in her ribs. Plus, his narration at the end of Chapter 39 was a bit more misleading than it usually is.)
- The banter between Harry and Karrin was much more comfortable and playful than in the first few books. Some of their lines were priceless, too. One of my favorites: "Woman shut smart mouth and get me free or no wild monkey love for you." (One would think Harry had had enough of "wild monkeys" at the beginning of the story!)
- The book still had its fair share of typos, though not as many as Book 3, thank goodness. It's just a bit jarring when Harry tries to say something cocky and clever, and it comes out, "Gosh, I'd hate to for my life to be in jeopardy." (p. 296) Makes it obvious that Butcher had originally written the sentence differently, but didn't go back and fix all the prepositions when he changed it.
- Not as many Buffy references as in Book 5, though the ones that were there were glaring and obvious. (Like when Harry "makes like Buffy" during his initial fight against the vampires in the parking lot.) Also, at first glance, I'd thought Inari's name was a reference to the actress who played SIT Kennedy, but there's a slight spelling difference I didn't pick up on at first. (Iyari Limon played Kennedy in S7.) So my bad. But still, there's a resemblance.
I'd also noticed some fun Evil Dead references, such as Harry's insistence on using the word "Groovy" in this book, especially after being told he might lose his hand. "Ash" lights going off all over the place! ("It got into my hand and it went bad…so I lopped it off at the wrist." No chainsaw attachment for Harry, though he did mention a Swiss Army prosthesis.) And has Harry called his blasting rod his "boom stick" at any point? *G*
- Hmm. McAnally's wasn't mentioned at all. (Neither was "McAnnally's.") Guess Butcher wasn't completely decided on how he wanted to spell it.
- This series looks as though it's going to keep going for a long time, since there are so many hovering plotlines still lingering about. (One thing I like about Butcher's writing is his ability to think ahead and know what he wants to do later. It reminds me very much of J.K. Rowling in the way he drops hints as to future storylines and important themes several books in advance. The man must have very elaborate outlines at home!) Some of the things I'm still curious about that I think may come around again:
· A cure for Susan's condition since, regardless of her absence from this book, I'm still convinced that she'll be back. (And will there be a bit of a lurve triangle to contend with when she does? Dun, dun, dun! *G*)
· The whole topic of Mavra's demise
· Lasciel's sigil and the effect it's already starting to have on Harry (As well as how Michael, and perhaps even Charity, will react upon learning how he came by it.)
· I still think Michael's daughter Molly is going to have some role later. And that puppy has got to be there for some important reason!
· Harry may have Shiro's Sword, but is he the new Knight? (And if not, who? Someone we already know? Avenging Angel Murphy, perhaps?)
· What are the other two favors Harry is going to have to complete for Mab?
· Since White Court vampires have no influence over people in love and Raith couldn't completely seduce Murphy, was that due to his dwindling power or something about Murphy we haven’t learned yet?
· Since Justine's not dead, will there be more of her? (She's basically exceeded everyone's expectations already, so who's to say she won't completely recover?)
· Is Harry's debilitated hand going to be a future issue?
· The aftermath of what happened with Ebenezar and its potential to affect Harry's headway in trusting those close to him
Are there others I'm forgetting?
All in all, another great book! (I miss reading it already!) I'll be eagerly awaiting news of the next one!
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-06 09:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-06 10:02 am (UTC)Dresden Files
Date: 2004-08-06 06:16 pm (UTC)I'm in education and I'm starting to go into "responsible" mode too, drat it. MUST... FIGHT... RESPONSIBLE MODE... MUST FIGHT RESPONS....
Re: Dresden Files
Date: 2004-08-06 06:29 pm (UTC)And someone else in the educational field! Yay! What level/subject, might I ask? :)
Re: Dresden Files
Date: 2004-09-10 12:35 pm (UTC)They decided to do the books unabridged, too, so it's eight CDs of Marsters playing various characters. It's highly weird listening to him read the stuff that I wrote. Seems not quite real, somehow. :)
Oh, he's also signed up to do book 3, too, which should be out Christmas-ish if all goes well. Drop by mediafans.com, I believe, for the latest info if anyone's interested.
And hey, thank you for the nice review! I don't want to spam your page with an unasked-for response or anything, but it's always good for my morale to read good things about my stuff from the folks I write it for. :D
Re: Dresden Files
Date: 2004-09-10 05:58 pm (UTC)Congratulations on all your success (the release of the 3rd audio book must be very exciting!), and welcome to the LJ community! Hope you like it here!
(Oh, and if you plan on using your journal to do any news or updates in regards to your various books, I'd like very much to add it to the list of others' journals that I've linked to. As long as that's alright with you.)
Take care,
Rummi
Re: Dresden Files
Date: 2004-09-11 08:38 pm (UTC)Okay, this isn't really passionate or angry enough to be called a rant, but here's what happens.
When I'm working on a script with an editor, it can get to be REALLY hard to pay attention to the details. As the writer, I see so many different versions of any given passage, it gets to be fairly impossible to keep track of every detail. Lemme 'splain:
The first thing that happens is that I write a chapter, usually in one or two sittings. I'll go over it quickly for grammar and/or word transpositions. Then I'll leave it alone and come back to it the next day. I'll make sure it does everything I wanted to do, which means usually adding in things, deleting things, and generally mucking around with it for a while. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to get something to come out the way I want it. So far, I've now seen three or four versions of the chapter. Let's call it three, cause it makes the math easier.
Then I give it to a group of wonderful lunatics who have volunteered to Beta read for me. I get comments back from them over the next several days (as I proceed with new material) which I consider and incoporate into the book. The Beta Foo crowd almost always either points out something I need to fix or says something that inspires me to make more alterations. Let's say three of 'em get me to make changes to a chapter (sometimes it's more, sometimes less). Now I'm up to six versions.
(While I'm doing this chapter, meanwhile, I'm writing new material as well, which is ALSO morphing through versions on a quasi-random scale. Sometimes I'm working on two novels at a time, too.)
The manuscript gets done, and zip, off it goes to the editor. The editor reads it and sends back a list of questions and necessary changes. Depending on how much time I spent being brainless, it might take anywhere from ten or twelve hours to two or three weeks to go back in and make all the changes. If they're big enough, I usually can't resist going back and modifying the CHANGES, too. That brings me up to seven (and a half) versions of the story.
It goes back. The publisher now line-edits it, which calls for mostly minor changes, fixing bad sentences, that kind of thing. That kind of work is usually pretty quick. It brings me up to eight versions of the manuscript.
Then it goes to the printer, and I get the proofs. I go through checking details and looking for errors in the proofs, but to be honest spending an hour doing that is enough to make me want to flush my head down the nearest toilet. I'm probably not the most skilled proofreader, but I force myself to do it one page at a time. Sometimes the printer will have added in his own misspellings, transpositions and general flubs, in addition to any which remained. I do my best to spot them, and then any corrections go back, which brings me up to nine versions of the manuscript.
So, you know. I've got nine versions of better than four hundred basically identical pages of novel running through my brain (and usually while working on the next book(s) besides).
I miss things! :)
My editor only has to put up with maybe three versions, but she has to do it at the same time she's doing it to as many as thirty OTHER novels.
In the past, books were covered by a much larger and more focused editorial staff, but times are a changing. Most editors work really ridiculous hours, including reading while at home, in New York, on much less pay than you'd think. They have a much higher workload than in the past, a much smaller support staff, and they still have to put up with just as many wacky writer personalities. They have a tough job.
NONE of which excuses the mistakes. I've tried to go back and have them fixed in new print runs when they are kindly pointed out by the readers (mercifully enduring only a single version of the book). In a perfect world, they wouldn't be there--but I hope that this explanation at least it makes them understandable.
Besides. You should see them BEFORE I've had people helping me patch the holes. Graded on a curve, they're nearly perfect. :)
Jim
Re: Dresden Files
Date: 2004-09-10 07:12 pm (UTC)Truth be told, I skimmed Rummi's review (yes... er.. sorry Rummi) and also one by LJer cousinjean because I know I'm going to be buying and reading your Dresden books and listening to the audio tapes in the near future and I don't want to be spoiled. Let me add my congratulations to Rummi's on the release of your latest book, and the audio for book 3.
I'm an ESL teacher and I use a lot of audio books with my students. They are in high school and your series might be right up their alley. I once spoke with the actor Jim Dale about his work doing the Harry Potter audio tapes. He did an amazing job with them. (think he got a well deserved Grammy Award). My own experience doing voice over work is slight, (I did a bit when I was still acting for a living). I remember it was much more diificult than I thought it would be. On stage you have your body and your voice, but with audio it's just the voice, very focused and subtle. It's an art to do it well. Must be weird to hear someone else speaking out loud the voices you've heard in your head. Good luck with your writing, you've got a lot of fans in the LJ community.
Re: Dresden Files
Date: 2004-09-11 08:55 pm (UTC)Right now, it's being developed as a 2 hour back-door pilot, which means almost as much as the effort it took me to type that. :) Hollywood is like that. Nothing is certain until someone signs contracts and checks clear the bank.
However, if it does go forward, they'll work it up as a TV movie. Then, if the movie does well, they're looking at the possibility of producing a weekly series. At this point, it would seem that its prospects are bright enough that I don't feel too nervous about being cautiously optimistic. (Knock on wood.) There has been solid interest from the SciFi channel and talks and writeups are in progress, if not far enough for an actual script yet. There is positive buzz in general, but nothing reliable yet.
I keep everyone up to date with everything I can publically share on my homepage at www.jim-butcher.com, if anyone wants to track the project's progress.
Look Ma, I got a plug in! :)
"Must be weird to hear someone else speaking out loud the voices you've heard in your head."
Extremely, but also very fun. I found myself laughing at jokes James was reading, and it only hit me a couple of seconds later: "Hey, moron, you're the one who WROTE that. Why are you laughing?"
"Good luck with your writing"
Thank you very much!
"you've got a lot of fans in the LJ community."
Well there's no accounting for taste. :)
Jim
Dresden Files
Date: 2004-08-07 01:16 pm (UTC)Re: Dresden Files
Date: 2004-08-07 03:39 pm (UTC)I also work at the high school level, coincidently with languages as well. Though mine are foreign at the moment. *G* I've taught high school Spanish for the past 6 years in PA. Not necessarily looking forward to going back just yet (summer spoils me rotten!), but it's been a job that I've enjoyed very much!
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-08 11:06 am (UTC)