Cold Days

"Cold Days", despite what you might expect from the name, is not a heartrending tale concerning furnace malfunctions, but, rather, is the 14th book in the fantasy series, "The Harry Dresden Files", a series which I have been reading for many years now, and have thoroughly enjoyed. And yes, you read that corrrectly: Jim Butcher has 14 books in the series, which beats out just about every other fantasy series I've known (except maybe for the Dragonlance chronicles, but since those are mass-produced by monkeys at typewriters, there is no comparison).

Like the other Dresden books, it was an extremely enjoyable mix of witty banter and fast-paced action, with a hint of mystery and obfuscation that made the big reveal at the book's denouement as enjoyable as laying out a full house in poker. Here, however, is when I am forced to stoop to criticism. Fans everywhere, be warned: Dresden, though it has held out for many years, has begun to reach the point of serialization.

What do I mean by this? Think James Bond: it's the exact same plot in a different country each time. Shark attacks are replaced by barfights, blondes are replaced by brunettes, and Sean Connery is replaced by Daniel Craig (though you can thank the lord that we'll always have the same Harry Dresden, assuming Jim Butcher doesn't die in a tragic automobile accident). The point is, Butcher has run out of new plot devices, and has been forced to reuse all his old characters without adding anything particularly shiny or new to any of them.

This does not mean I did not enjoy the book: in fact, it felt good to re-visit old themes, and appreciate how far things have come since the very first book. If you want a good read, this one is a winner, though reading the first 13 is beneficial (and, in fact, necessary). Just don't expect it to be full of fireworks as the previous books were.