Please drop the guilt tripping.

books:

	• Summer Knight (The Dresden Files, Book 4) Jim Butcher Roc, 2002 - 371 pages average customer review:based on 102 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

What in the fairying forest?

The ambitious plot of Summer Knight is largely dependent on actions occurring in previous books and too complex to effectively do justice in one book. Readers diving into Harry's world for the first time may want to start with a different title. Those familiar with the series (like me) may also become confused by the multiple characters in Harry Dresden's faerie-war fantasy epic.

Based on Harry's heroic actions at the end of Grave Peril, the Vampires of the Red Court have declared war on the White Council. Meanwhile, the faerie courts of Summer and Winter are gearing up for war after the Winter Knight's murder, which has resulted in a power struggle that could potentially affect mortal kind with a new ice age. Harry Dresden, as usual, is unwittingly thrust in the middle of the faerie conflict after Queen Mab acquires his debt from his faerie godmother Leanansidhe, thereby forcing him to become the Winter Emissary and investigate the Summer Knight's murder to clear Mab's name. To that end, he receives an unexpected and shocking surprise in the form of a visit from the Summer Emissary, his lost love Elaine.

Harry wants no more involvement with faerie-kind--he is too busy wallowing in self-pity and seeking a cure for his girlfriend Susan's vampire curse--but the White Council has decided to hold a vote to determine whether he should be stripped of his Wizard status based on actions in Grave Peril, and the tiebreaker refuses to vote unless Harry can secure the Winter Court's support in their battle with the vampires.

The cast of characters is massive and too confusing to keep track of, and most of them are introduced for the first time in this novel. Faerie-kind abound in the form of foes and allies (Ogres, Trolls, Faerie-Wannabes, Seductress Queens, Plant Monsters, Toot-Toot and his pixie friends). Harry's chief source of aid are the Alphas, young-adult werewolves from Fool Moon, and Detective Karrin Murphy, to whom he (finally!) confesses the whole sordid, supernatural history about himself and the NeverNever.

Maybe it's just me, but having read the first four first Harry Dresden books back to back, I am starting to notice irritating idiosyncrasies that interfered with my enjoyment of the novel (the expletive "Hell's bells" is colorful and quirky, but grates on the nerves when used so repetitiously). Harry's penchant for guilt trips and stumbling headlong into danger because of rookie mistakes (gullibility chief among them) grows tiresome after four books in a row. One hopes the character will develop more maturity in future books. Some of Harry's decisions seem downright foolish for an experienced Wizard, but to be fair, Harry does accept help from friends on this case, a marked departure from his typical lone-wolf style of doing things.

Butcher seems to have a pattern of ending chapters on a high tension note, and following new chapters with a sluggish "explanation" of something before connecting previous threads, like TV episodes that recap the first half of the show after commercial breaks. This makes for bloated narrative, and while the story overall is fast-paced and full of action sequences, the prolonged descriptions can sometimes be tedious, especially towards the end of the book. Harry's last-minute magical escapes (often) seem to come out of left-field as he pulls the proverbial rabbit out of his hat, so to speak. Considering his Wizarding credentials, I would have liked to see him in a more commanding role during some of these magical misadventures.

In comparison to previous novels, Summer Knight just did not hold my interest as much. Perhaps reading the books back-to-back contributed to this lackluster appreciation of the story, but I am not giving up on the series. I will definitely be reading Book 5, but may have to take a break from Dresden's world to decompress first.

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Please drop the guilt tripping.

In the fourth novel of the series, Harry Dresden continues his seemingly unending guilt trips. He feels guilty about killing his mentor (who was trying to ensnare him in black magic). He feels guilty about killing his fellow orphan and girlfried Elaine, though he didn't kill her. He feels guilty about not honoring a deal he made with his fairie godmother, though he was underage and desperate when the deal was made. He feels guilty every time Lieutenant Murphy asks for his help, and he doesn't immediately solve the crime. He feels guilty for not telling Murphy about aspects of magic that must be kept secret. Then he feels guilty for telling her some of those secrets. He feels guilty when Murphy gets hurt, though he had warned her of the risks. He feels guilty for involving Michael in dangerous deeds, though God himself is sending Michael to help. He feels guilty about the acts of a dead wizard's ghost, though he couldn't have stopped the ghost from forming. He feels guilty about stirring up a war between vampires and wizards, though he had no real choice in his conduct. He feels guilty that his lover Susan is almost a vampire, though he told her not to go to the vampire party, and her presence there nearly got him and Michael killed. He feels guilty that he cannot cure Susan, though the best wizards in the world have been unable to devise a cure despite centuries of effort. Because of this last failure, Dresden has become self-destructive. Only luck and the fact that powerful beings want to use him keep him alive.

Flawed heroes are common in fiction (see Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant books), but too much of a bad thing ruins the novel. Dresden's guilt is the flip side of an ego the size of Jupiter: you can only feel guilty about things you believe you can control, and Dresden believes he can control everything magical within 50 miles of downtown Chicago. At this point in the series, I am tired of Dresden's ego and his guilt. I hope future books concentrate on his magic, detecting, and bravery.

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A Rollicking Read

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire, the only one in Chicago's Yellow Pages.
His latest client is Mab, the Winter Queen of Faerie. She makes Harry an offer he literally can't refuse. Harry has to find out who killed the Summer Knight or die trying.

Butcher does an exceptional job making wizardry seem normal. His characters are quirky and surprisingly believable. I enjoy his plots, I have yet to figure out before hand who did what. Harry has ethics and a strong moral compass. He is an eminently likeable protagonist.

I highly recommend the entire series. You will be seeing more as I have finally purchased all the ones that have currently been printed.

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Fantastic

Wow. They just keep getting better. This 4th book of The Dresden Files is for and away the best one yet. IF you even remotely liked the first 3 then buy this book.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Private detective/wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden is suckered into tangling in the affairs of Faerie, where the fate of the entire world-and his soul-are at stake.

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