Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
May. 12th, 2007 12:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.
Business has been slow lately for Harry Dresden. Okay, business has been dead. Not undead - just dead. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work - magical or mundane.
Just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise. A brutally murdered corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon.
Take three guesses. And the first two don't count ...
Much of what I said in my review of Stormfront is applicable to this review. Whilst I admire the fact that Butcher always keeps the action moving (literally - Harry seldom takes a minute to just sit down and relax and he's constantly travelling somewhere, dropping something off or fighting something) and has given Harry a strong and distinctive voice, his supporting characters are really nothing more than foils to make Harry look cool and whilst the mystery at the heart of his book was stronger than in Stormfront, I did find that I'd got most of the twists. Part of the reason for this is the way in which Butcher structures his exposition. For example (and showing how much thought he's put into the books), he very carefully sets out the different types of werewolf that exist in his world and then proceeds to have us encounter each of those kinds, which is a little too much tell and tell and tell for me to find enjoyable.
My biggest gripe with the book is, bizarrely, something that Butcher himself seems to acknowledge at the end. Much of the action hinges on there having been a lack of trust between Murphy and Harry. This is partly a hangover from Stormfront (in which Murphy felt that Harry was holding out information on her, went to his office to rifle through his belongings in an illegal search and got herself poisoned by a giant scorpian for her trouble) and partly based on Harry failing to tell Murphy the most innocuous things (e.g. the central breakdown of their relationship in this book comes from the fact that Murphy picked up a piece of paper with a protection circle drawn on it, which Harry refused to help a former apprentice of his to work - Murphy, for some contrived reason, keeps this piece of scrap paper and then when the apprentice turns up dead, automatically assumes that Harry did it). We're told that Harry withholds information for Murphy's own safety and because there are some things that he can't tell her owing to the way in which the White Council works. Unfortunately, this simply isn't enough to counter the fact that the whole backstory to this series (which is constantly reinforced) sets out that Harry and Murphy have worked with each other before on supernatural crimes and had a good relationship. Assuming therefore that this working relationship was successful, it should have led Murphy to trust Harry more, regardless of whether he was telling her everything, and presumably, should have seen her learn some things from Harry's world. Twice now, we've seen Murphy (who we're told is a good cop) leap to implausible conclusions that it's Harry who's the killer or abetting the killer based on tenuous withheld information. To be honest, had Butcher not had a scene where Harry recognises that he's going to have to start telling Murphy more about what she's facing so she can protect herself and investigate more credibly, I might not have continued with the series.
As I said in my review of Stormfront, one of big concerns is that Butcher structures the book to make Harry the coolest character (even when he's put in unfortunate situations). That pretty much continues here but has the added factor that Butcher definitely wants you to believe that Harry is a good guy. The most disappointing scene in the whole book is the final battle where a magically depleted Harry is forced to put on a Hexenwulfen belt to try and defeat the bad guys. Butcher has a nice change in narrative voice here to convey the way in which Harry is almost overwhelmed by the magical bestial urge to kill and drink blood BUT he does so to show how, in comparison to the others who wear the belt, Harry is strong enough not to give into that urge to commit murder. In fact, Butcher goes out of his way (and in a somewhat implausible manner) to make sure that whilst Harry severely injures the bad guys, he doesn't kill them - instead the bad guys kill each other. I couldn't help but feel disappointed by this because one of the central themes in Harry's character is how there's always an underlying urge to give into dark urges and I think that had he given in to this urge during this scene, even once, then it would have set up a nice inner moral dillemma that could have shaped his future development. As it is, the closest Harry comes to killing anyone as a Hexenwulfen ends when he sees that Susan (the somewhat bland and two-dimensional reporter girlfriend who exists only to need rescuing and protecting) is watching him in horror.
Saying that, Butcher does at least make a serious attempt to make Harry vulnerable by depleting him of his magical abilities for most of the final third of the book. It's an interesting set-up because it forces him to confront the fact that magic won't always save him and it does allow him to show an innovative side as he uses a combination of other magical and mundane means to accomplish his aims.
There are some excellent and very visual set pieces in the book. I was particularly impressed by the sheer verve and imagery that Butcher showed when Harry has to break into a police station to try and contain a loup-garou before the full moon strikes and a scene where Harry is captured by the Street Wolves and is rescued by Tara and her Alpha Pack - both were real page-turners and skillfully set up.
I was less impressed by some of the dialogue which is very by-the-numbers and sometimes too clunky - particularly for the supporting characters such as Susan and Tara. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that Butcher doesn't know how to write women. I also think that Butcher needs to work on some of the humour because whilst I can see he's trying to put it in there, there's nothing that's particularly laugh-out-loud and in fact, in one scene he rips a line from Young Frankenstein that really doesn't work in the context of what's happening.
Finally, I wanted to mention that we get more of the backstory/overriding arc to the series here in that we do learn more about Harry's mum and what might possibly be happening to him. This is not handled as well as in Stormfront because rather than the subtle hints and mentions, we're given somewhat clunky and contrived scenes such as the interview with a demon and then there's a soul gaze scene towards the end where it's implied that Harry will have something to do with the bringing of hell. It also seems that Butcher is going for the same kind of Mummy Issue as Simon R Green takes in Something From The Nightside (although I'd rush to point out that Butcher's books precede Green's by three years).
The Verdict:
If you take this as the popcorn fiction that it's intended to be, it's fast-paced, fairly well written and entertaining. If however you like your fantasy to have a little more depth, then you'll find the female characters frustratingly two-dimensional and find yourself wishing that Butcher took a little more time to write them to get rid of the clunky dialogue, exposition and plot signposting. It's cheeseburger fiction - you'll enjoy it but sometimes you wish you'd gone for something more substantial.
Business has been slow lately for Harry Dresden. Okay, business has been dead. Not undead - just dead. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work - magical or mundane.
Just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise. A brutally murdered corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon.
Take three guesses. And the first two don't count ...
Much of what I said in my review of Stormfront is applicable to this review. Whilst I admire the fact that Butcher always keeps the action moving (literally - Harry seldom takes a minute to just sit down and relax and he's constantly travelling somewhere, dropping something off or fighting something) and has given Harry a strong and distinctive voice, his supporting characters are really nothing more than foils to make Harry look cool and whilst the mystery at the heart of his book was stronger than in Stormfront, I did find that I'd got most of the twists. Part of the reason for this is the way in which Butcher structures his exposition. For example (and showing how much thought he's put into the books), he very carefully sets out the different types of werewolf that exist in his world and then proceeds to have us encounter each of those kinds, which is a little too much tell and tell and tell for me to find enjoyable.
My biggest gripe with the book is, bizarrely, something that Butcher himself seems to acknowledge at the end. Much of the action hinges on there having been a lack of trust between Murphy and Harry. This is partly a hangover from Stormfront (in which Murphy felt that Harry was holding out information on her, went to his office to rifle through his belongings in an illegal search and got herself poisoned by a giant scorpian for her trouble) and partly based on Harry failing to tell Murphy the most innocuous things (e.g. the central breakdown of their relationship in this book comes from the fact that Murphy picked up a piece of paper with a protection circle drawn on it, which Harry refused to help a former apprentice of his to work - Murphy, for some contrived reason, keeps this piece of scrap paper and then when the apprentice turns up dead, automatically assumes that Harry did it). We're told that Harry withholds information for Murphy's own safety and because there are some things that he can't tell her owing to the way in which the White Council works. Unfortunately, this simply isn't enough to counter the fact that the whole backstory to this series (which is constantly reinforced) sets out that Harry and Murphy have worked with each other before on supernatural crimes and had a good relationship. Assuming therefore that this working relationship was successful, it should have led Murphy to trust Harry more, regardless of whether he was telling her everything, and presumably, should have seen her learn some things from Harry's world. Twice now, we've seen Murphy (who we're told is a good cop) leap to implausible conclusions that it's Harry who's the killer or abetting the killer based on tenuous withheld information. To be honest, had Butcher not had a scene where Harry recognises that he's going to have to start telling Murphy more about what she's facing so she can protect herself and investigate more credibly, I might not have continued with the series.
As I said in my review of Stormfront, one of big concerns is that Butcher structures the book to make Harry the coolest character (even when he's put in unfortunate situations). That pretty much continues here but has the added factor that Butcher definitely wants you to believe that Harry is a good guy. The most disappointing scene in the whole book is the final battle where a magically depleted Harry is forced to put on a Hexenwulfen belt to try and defeat the bad guys. Butcher has a nice change in narrative voice here to convey the way in which Harry is almost overwhelmed by the magical bestial urge to kill and drink blood BUT he does so to show how, in comparison to the others who wear the belt, Harry is strong enough not to give into that urge to commit murder. In fact, Butcher goes out of his way (and in a somewhat implausible manner) to make sure that whilst Harry severely injures the bad guys, he doesn't kill them - instead the bad guys kill each other. I couldn't help but feel disappointed by this because one of the central themes in Harry's character is how there's always an underlying urge to give into dark urges and I think that had he given in to this urge during this scene, even once, then it would have set up a nice inner moral dillemma that could have shaped his future development. As it is, the closest Harry comes to killing anyone as a Hexenwulfen ends when he sees that Susan (the somewhat bland and two-dimensional reporter girlfriend who exists only to need rescuing and protecting) is watching him in horror.
Saying that, Butcher does at least make a serious attempt to make Harry vulnerable by depleting him of his magical abilities for most of the final third of the book. It's an interesting set-up because it forces him to confront the fact that magic won't always save him and it does allow him to show an innovative side as he uses a combination of other magical and mundane means to accomplish his aims.
There are some excellent and very visual set pieces in the book. I was particularly impressed by the sheer verve and imagery that Butcher showed when Harry has to break into a police station to try and contain a loup-garou before the full moon strikes and a scene where Harry is captured by the Street Wolves and is rescued by Tara and her Alpha Pack - both were real page-turners and skillfully set up.
I was less impressed by some of the dialogue which is very by-the-numbers and sometimes too clunky - particularly for the supporting characters such as Susan and Tara. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that Butcher doesn't know how to write women. I also think that Butcher needs to work on some of the humour because whilst I can see he's trying to put it in there, there's nothing that's particularly laugh-out-loud and in fact, in one scene he rips a line from Young Frankenstein that really doesn't work in the context of what's happening.
Finally, I wanted to mention that we get more of the backstory/overriding arc to the series here in that we do learn more about Harry's mum and what might possibly be happening to him. This is not handled as well as in Stormfront because rather than the subtle hints and mentions, we're given somewhat clunky and contrived scenes such as the interview with a demon and then there's a soul gaze scene towards the end where it's implied that Harry will have something to do with the bringing of hell. It also seems that Butcher is going for the same kind of Mummy Issue as Simon R Green takes in Something From The Nightside (although I'd rush to point out that Butcher's books precede Green's by three years).
The Verdict:
If you take this as the popcorn fiction that it's intended to be, it's fast-paced, fairly well written and entertaining. If however you like your fantasy to have a little more depth, then you'll find the female characters frustratingly two-dimensional and find yourself wishing that Butcher took a little more time to write them to get rid of the clunky dialogue, exposition and plot signposting. It's cheeseburger fiction - you'll enjoy it but sometimes you wish you'd gone for something more substantial.
