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Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
Jun. 9th, 2007 02:06 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
There's an entire world that exists alongside the everyday life of mankind. Vampires. Werewolves. Faeries. Demons. Monsters. They're all real.
Harry Dresden is the only professional wizard in the Chicago area phone book, and paranormal investigations are his stock-in-trade. Luckily, he's not alone. Although most people don't believe in magic, the Chicago PD has a Special Investigations department, headed by Dresden's good friend Karrin Murphy. They deal with the ... stranger cases.
It's because of Karrin that Harry sneaks into Graceland Cemetary one night to meet a deadly vampire named Mavra. It seems Mavra has some incriminating evidence that would destroy Karrin's career. The vampire's demand is simple: find her the Word of Kemmler and all the power that comes with it. But first, Harry would kind of like to know just what the Word of Kemmler is. Before long, he's in a race against time - and six necromancers - to get the Word. And to prevent the good people of Chicago from experiencing a Halloween night that will truly wake the dead ...
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
A solid read that's entertaining and Butcher handles his backstory in a competent and interesting way. One of the best in the series with some good set-ups for the future books, albeit I have concerns that Butcher could take a lazy way-out with some plot strains and I'm not happy with the Dresden/Murphy story-line.
Harry Dresden is the only professional wizard in the Chicago area phone book, and paranormal investigations are his stock-in-trade. Luckily, he's not alone. Although most people don't believe in magic, the Chicago PD has a Special Investigations department, headed by Dresden's good friend Karrin Murphy. They deal with the ... stranger cases.
It's because of Karrin that Harry sneaks into Graceland Cemetary one night to meet a deadly vampire named Mavra. It seems Mavra has some incriminating evidence that would destroy Karrin's career. The vampire's demand is simple: find her the Word of Kemmler and all the power that comes with it. But first, Harry would kind of like to know just what the Word of Kemmler is. Before long, he's in a race against time - and six necromancers - to get the Word. And to prevent the good people of Chicago from experiencing a Halloween night that will truly wake the dead ...
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
A solid read that's entertaining and Butcher handles his backstory in a competent and interesting way. One of the best in the series with some good set-ups for the future books, albeit I have concerns that Butcher could take a lazy way-out with some plot strains and I'm not happy with the Dresden/Murphy story-line.
