I finished Death Masks, the Dresden Files Book 5, earlier this week and I must say that I get more and more impressed with this series the more I read. Not only does Jim Butcher have a real talent for priceless snarky dialogue and unraveling a genuinely good mystery, but he also really knows how to sink his teeth into pop culture references while he’s at it. (From Shakespeare to Star Wars to Young Frankenstein. *g*)

Case in point, by the end of this series of books, I’m getting the feeling he will have referenced every character from Buffy at least once in addition to incorporating random quotes and giving shout-outs to various episodes. Throughout the course of the books so far, I just couldn’t help pausing, giggling, or generally ‘squeeing’ over the following references, even if I am reading more into them than Mr. Butcher may have intended:

Sure, both series have some of the same overall occult references. I mean, what supernatural story doesn’t include at least some vampires, demons, magic spells, prophesies, sacrificial bloodlettings, and generous helpings of Latin? But there were a number of specific things . . . .

First off, there’s that uncanny connection between Harry Dresden and James Marsters. Probably, primarily, because the actor lends his vocal talent to the narration of the first two audio books so far. According to rumors, Mr. Marsters is also in the running to play the title character in the upcoming series on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Book 1

Spike – Yes, Butcher actually has a character named Spike. (And listening to JM say the name outside the context of his own persona from Buffy is actually quite amusing.) This Spike happens to just be the nickname Harry gives to one of Johnny Marcone’s bodyguards, but the namedropping doesn’t end there . . . .

Book 2

Agent Roger Harris – FBI agent and member of a corrupted group of hexenwolves. Was it meant to be an homage to Xander? Who knows. It was still fun to find stuff like this scattered throughout the books. I challenged myself to find a connection to each of the BtVS characters after seeing this.
Parker – Jumped right out at me. But this Parker is no playa’. Instead, he’s the leader of the Streetwolves, a violent gang of lycanthropes.
Tera West – This one I may have been stretching a bit, since it’s not actually Tara (the not-so-wicked witch of the West...um...Coast). But I figure, it’s my game, so if I think it’s close enough to being a Buffy reference, then it’s close enough to being a Buffy reference, dammit! And, hey, Tera does magic! But instead of getting attacked by a werewolf, she is one.
And, of course, the introduction of Harry’s signature black leather duster. (yum)

Book 3

The newborn infant that Harry saves from the ghost of Agatha Hagglethorn is named Alison Ann Summers. I think that’s clear enough.

Book 4

One of the best lines I came across so far . . .
Harry: (of his rod and staff) “They make me feel all manly.”
. . . is a direct reference to Spike’s line in “School Hard.”
Buffy: “Do we really need weapons for this?”
Spike: “I just like them. They make me feel all manly.”

Book 5 (with what has got to be the most references I’ve seen)

Maybe I’m the only one who saw a parallel between Ivy and Dawn, but here we have:
The Archive – the sum of all human knowledge and a being of great power in the embodiment of a young human girl. She also, occasionally, interacts with vampires.
and . . .
The Key – an ‘unlocker’ of interdimensional portals and a being of great power in the embodiment of a young human girl. She also, occasionally, interacts with vampires. (Well, maybe more than occasionally.)
In the Dresden universe, there are quite a few references made to Rome throughout the 5^th book.
In the Angel universe, there are quite a few references made to Rome throughout the 5^th season.
In both cases, the ex-lover of the main protagonist travels to Central/South America to fight demons.
The Eye of Thoth, which is a tattoo worn by a group of seminarians who stopped a vampire together, reminded me of Thoth (or is it just Toth?), who split Xander into his two personalities during “The Replacement.”
Speaking of tattoos, vampire Susan has a set implanted into her skin that go off when she’s in danger of hurting someone. Kinda like vampire Spike’s chip, which is implanted into his brain and – um – goes off when he’s in danger of hurting someone.
Thomas wears a Buffy the Vampire Slayer t-shirt to Harry’s duel against Ortega.
Then, of course, there’s Ragged Angel Investigations (Harry’s first P.I. job), which I thought had to be the most glaringly obvious reference of all time. The only way Butcher could top that, I thought, was to find some way to squeeze Giles in. And I knew he’d never be able to do that. I mean, how common a name is Giles?

Well . . . ,

Then came the Fellowship of Saint Giles – patron saint of lepers and Susan’s organization of ‘outcasts’ who help the helpless – er, – I mean those hurt by the vampires. (Whoa. This guy’s good.)

There may have been a number of other references that I’ve forgotten, but these were the ones that really left an impression.

As far as a review of Death Masks goes, I really thought this was one of my favorites of the series. It almost seemed to go back to the formula that worked so well in the first book, taking a little bit of focus off the Council politics and the ongoing war with the Red Court vampires. Although both were still mentioned, it didn’t become an all-encompassing motivation for the whole story, which was one of the things that started to get on my nerves throughout Book 4. Book 3, while excellent, seemed to jump from topic to topic and ultimately led to a conclusion that didn’t really solve the mystery that permeated the first half of the book. (At least not until the very end, at which point Harry puts all the pieces together in his mind and hands the exposition to the reader. A good deal of the referenced action in Book 3 also happen in retrospect, and it almost felt like I’d missed a book somewhere in between.) Book 5, however, seems to return to the mystical sleuthing that made the first two novels so enjoyable.

I’ve mentioned how happy I am with Butcher’s Harry. He’s a flawed, heroic smartass. I admit, in his quest to inject some imperfection into his protagonist, the author does, on occasion, go a bit overboard, but not so much as to interrupt the enjoyment of the stories. Many of Butcher’s other characters are just as wonderful. Michael is particularly enjoyable – a bit of a Sue at times, but I think his character balances Harry nicely. (I’m especially fond of his daughter Molly, who I have a feeling, will play a larger role in upcoming books. Just the way she was introduced suggests some setup for future interaction with Harry. But even if she was just for comic relief in this particular story, her teenage insight into handcuffs and sex, as well as Harry’s awkward reaction to it, was utterly priceless. Not to mention the fact that he actually takes her advice later in the book regarding Susan: “Why don’t you tie her up? . . . If she can’t move while the two of you are bleeping, she can’t drink your blood, right?” Harry may bow out of the conversation, commenting on how "bleeping disturbing" it is, but thinking, "Hmmmm.")

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the other Knights in this book, though I really liked Shiro toward the end. I find myself eagerly looking forward to Harry’s interactions with Bob in each book. And, of course, Murphy is always a favorite, as is Thomas the White Court vampire. Mister the cat is so fun and Ivy the Archive is an absolute doll.

Ship-wise, I’m not really sure whom I favor – Murphy or Susan. The end of this book seemed to have a bit of closure in the Susan arena – though she and Harry did share their raciest round of coupling yet during Chapter 25. (Its wording bordered on some fanfiction I’ve read, but was still tastefully done. And, okay, yeah, so I read it a few times!) I’m not sure how I feel about her leaving, and I’m almost convinced that she’ll be back. Maybe not in the next book, but soon. Whenever characters get so adamant about how something can’t be done (read: curing Susan's vampirism), it seems almost certain that something more is going to happen along that story arc. All of the hopeless “there’s no cure, there’s no cure” insistences just make me think there is something more there – and that Harry will probably find it.

As for Murphy, there are times when she seems too pal-like or kid-sistery to be a love interest, but that doesn’t mean the possibility doesn’t intrigue me anyway. Harry’s vision of her as a beautiful avenging angel in Book 3, his subconscious telling him he should stop repressing and ask her out already in Book 2, and her unprompted kissing him on the forehead when she thought he was unconscious in Book 1, they’re all leading up to something. And the fact that he hasn’t shared a soulgaze with her yet means that something significant is building. I get disappointed with her convenient appearances, only to vanish into the background for the rest of the story during the last few books. I’m just waiting for her to say, “To hell with police and city government bureaucracy! I’m going to stand by my friend!” But at the very least, the trust between them has grown by leaps and bounds since the first book. So maybe that step is next.

The last three pages or so of this particular book were probably the most chilling I’ve read in a while. And, that late in the game, during a chapter where Butcher traditionally wraps up everything fairly optimistically, I really didn’t see that coming. I’m speaking, of course, of the part where Harry intercepts the object Michael’s baby (and Harry’s namesake) is about to pick up, only to discover that he’s slapped his hand over the coin bearing Lasciel’s sigil. That, and the fact that he hides this information from Michael. Of course, we know that more will come of this, even though it seems like the subject is buried (both literally and figuratively). This scene, more than anything else in the book, reflects on the growing character development of Harry, as well as Butcher’s skill in portraying him. Flawed and subject to temptation – in this case, something stronger than he is that can very easily be his undoing, even though it came about through a selfless act. (I wonder if Charity will be made privy to this information. It will be interesting to see her dislike for Harry conflict with the fact that he saved her son from a horrible fate by taking the burden upon himself.)

Probably the one bothersome thing that I notice in these books, -- undoubtedly a bit more than I should from a professional novel -- is the surprising number of grammatical, spelling and continuity mistakes. For example, there are a number of times where Harry’s shield bracelet appears and disappears during a single scene in Book 5. (Not to mention the fact that I thought it was destroyed previously.) Book 3 probably held the most spelling errors and for as good as the book was, I was disappointed by how it jarred me out of the story whenever I saw them. Also, Butcher seems undecided on how he wishes to spell McAnally’s. (Or is it ‘McAnnally’s’ now?) I try not to let these things affect my enjoyment of the books themselves, but sometimes they’re awfully glaring. It’s unfortunate.

Now the dilemma is: to read ahead, or not to read ahead.

For as anxious as I am to get to the next book of the series, which comes out in August, I’m resisting the lure of the first 3 chapters that have been posted at Jim Butcher’s site. While I’m happy to make my own speculations, I prefer to remain as unspoiled as possible, and, in all practicality, don’t want to have a month-long gap between reading the first 3 chapters and the rest of the story.

Guess we’ll see how long that lasts.

EDIT: Thanks to monkeyscorpion, I finally have Dresden icons! Thanks so much!