A review by pjonsson
Death Masks by Jim Butcher
4.0
This is the fifth book in The Dresden Files series and from a somewhat wobbly start the series seems to have settled into being quite read worthy books as far as I am concerned. They do not quite reach a full set of stars for me but they are definitely good books.
This book interleaves two main threads. The war with the Red Court vampires resulting in a duel for Harry and The missing Shroud of Turin. The latter is really the main thread in this book. It is much more than just a case of a missing artefact and as the story develops the case becomes increasingly sinister.
The book is the usual mix of investigative work, more or less witty dialogues (which can be quiet fun at times, less so at other times), the obligatory romance parts with Susan and outbursts of physical and magical violence. The world building with the various supernatural entities, Harry’s friends etc. is quite well done. I quite like that Susan have become a bit of a bad-ass herself (on the side of the good guys…so far).
I do find it a bit sad that Harry almost always seems to be the weakest card in the deck as soon as the action starts though. Having said that he is a lot better at kicking behinds now than he was in the first books. I would like that he stopped moaning about feeling sick and trying not to recycle his food all the time though.
The book does come to a conclusion but said conclusion have a few loose ends to say the least. It is not exactly a clear cut victory over the principal bad guy although his nefarious plot is foiled…this time.
For me this is a good and read worthy book. The characters are well done. There is an intelligent story. There is quite a bit of action. I will definitely continue reading this series.
This book interleaves two main threads. The war with the Red Court vampires resulting in a duel for Harry and The missing Shroud of Turin. The latter is really the main thread in this book. It is much more than just a case of a missing artefact and as the story develops the case becomes increasingly sinister.
The book is the usual mix of investigative work, more or less witty dialogues (which can be quiet fun at times, less so at other times), the obligatory romance parts with Susan and outbursts of physical and magical violence. The world building with the various supernatural entities, Harry’s friends etc. is quite well done. I quite like that Susan have become a bit of a bad-ass herself (on the side of the good guys…so far).
I do find it a bit sad that Harry almost always seems to be the weakest card in the deck as soon as the action starts though. Having said that he is a lot better at kicking behinds now than he was in the first books. I would like that he stopped moaning about feeling sick and trying not to recycle his food all the time though.
The book does come to a conclusion but said conclusion have a few loose ends to say the least. It is not exactly a clear cut victory over the principal bad guy although his nefarious plot is foiled…this time.
For me this is a good and read worthy book. The characters are well done. There is an intelligent story. There is quite a bit of action. I will definitely continue reading this series.