Blood Rites: The Dresden Files, Book 6

I've been reading through the Dresden Files books at a pretty fast clip and I'm almost out of the ones I got in the $1.99 Kindle promo! So the first thing I will say about these books is that they're easy to read. But don't go too fast, because there are some funny lines stuck here and there that you don't want to miss.I think a lot of aspects of "Blood Rites" are pretty solid. Love that we're seeing another side of Murphy, that we're getting more information about Harry's past (and it's not just infodumping, but actually is revealed in relation to the self-contained story within this book). White Court vampire Thomas and mercenary Kincaid are back, as is Harry's mentor Ebenezar. We learn more about all of them, as well. The information is introduced in a way that makes sense, in terms of the story; there's a bit of telling with regards to background information, but it is smart for the author to do it that way -- if two people are angry with one another, and Harry doesn't understand why, someone has to explain it to him (and, thereby, also to us).At any rate, even though Harry is the POV character, we're far enough along in the series that we are getting to know the other characters better, too, and I like that. Too often, first-person POV novels involve a trade-off, wherein you just don't learn much about the supporting characters. It's still a slow process to learn about Harry's companions, but I like the progression. Harry is gaining depth, as well. We learn more of his feelings about family, his sense of loss at not having known his mother. He's also getting better at asking for help instead of going into a location and blasting away. It makes him more sympathetic and less aloof, and that's good.The action is pretty intense for the entire second half of the book, with multiple confrontations that build in intensity. (Suppose that was the case for book 5, as well, but I feel like the final confrontation had more impact in this book than the final confrontation in book 5 did.) Vampires once again feature pretty strongly in this book; we learn a lot more about White Court vampires (the Red Court is absent here) and there's a battle with Black Court vampires, as well. (White Court vampires aren't exactly good guys, which you learn here, but they feed on emotion and tend to work against each other in secret, subtle ways. Black Court vampires, on the other hand, are the nastiest ones out there.)My first thought upon the conclusion of the confrontation with the Black Court vampires was that things had been too easy, that that couldn't be all there was to it. Thankfully, the characters address this later on, so I know the author deliberated on this before writing the scene and didn't just add it as filler. One thing I've said about past books, and it's true here as well, is that I like the way Butcher doles out additional pieces of information about the supernatural world. It's not all thrown at us at once; rather, each book generally goes deeper into one or two of the world. It's much easier to keep track of everything that way.In case you didn't know, this is book 6 in the series. I'd highly recommend reading the first five books (in order) before getting to this one. Nearly all of them contain bits and pieces of information that shed light on events in this book, as said events relate to the greater story arc of the series. There are a couple of things you won't get at all if you haven't read the previous books. Small things, but noticing them added to my enjoyment. All of these books have self-contained mysteries and all of them reveal bits and pieces of magic, the supernatural, etc., as these things exist in the Dresden universe. I think this book is one of the better ones at integrating the mystery and its solution into the overall series.In this book, Harry is hired to protect the cast and crew of an adult film from a curse that's killing performers in the film, one by one. Further, the war between wizards and vampires (that Harry started back in book 3) is ongoing. As you might expect, there are a lot of descriptions of women and their physical features, but this is par for the course for a Dresden book. There's definitely some sexual content and a lot of blood, gore, and violence. These books do have a dark, bleak tone.I wasn't able to predict the ending (I'm never very good at guessing who the killer is in traditional mysteries), but all the clues made sense to me. Nothing seemed too implausible (at least within the universe of the story). I'm just pleased to have figured one thing out on my own (one character is engaged to be married but no one seems to know who the fiancee is), although by the end of the book, there weren't many candidates left, so that may have been process of elimination.The setting was (again) Chicago, but there wasn't really anything specific to the city in this book. The writing was similar in tone and style to previous novels in the series, perhaps with a few more snarky one-liners than in the past (I like this). This is definitely not a difficult book to get through.If you've enjoyed the previous books in the series, you should like this one, too.

Sexy vampires have been part of pop culture for the last 20-odd years. In literature, one could say Anne Rice began the trend of mixing eroticism into vampire storytelling. Later writers like Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlene Harris (of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series and The Southern Vampire Mysteries series, respectively) would continue the trend. In the Dresden universe, Jim Butcher first introduced the White Court vampire Thomas in Grave Peril. Blood Rites, the 6th book in The Dresden Files, places the White Court at the center of the plot. The White Court members are the seductive vampires, the ones who excel at manipulation and sexual slavery. But this is Harry Dresden’s world and sexy vampires are still vampires.That clear distinction is what separates Butcher’s writing from Hamilton’s or Harris’s. Butcher never fails to remind the reader that while the White Court is the most human-seeming of the vampires, they are still predators capable of capricious behavior. The character that goes through the biggest transformation (aside from Dresden and Murphy) is Thomas, a supporting character who takes on a substantial role in Blood Rites. Up until this point, Thomas was cast as a playboy vampire, always looking for the next good time and secretly more serious than he let on. While he had always been honest about being a liar, he often seemed like the most honorable of the monsters Dresden has encountered. His arc over the course of Blood Rites shows the flippant Thomas is more like Harry than readers may have guessed.The White Court isn’t the only group of vampires at play in Blood Rites. Mavra, an antagonist from Grave Peril, makes a return appearance along with a group of Black Court vampires. One of my favorite aspects of Butcher’s writing is the emphasis on the environmental effects of the monsters. A scourge of Black Court vampires, the cadaverous foils for the urbane White Court, has a deleterious effect on the slum they occupy, making the rundown, forgotten neighborhood worse. The details matter in stories like this and Butcher paints a sufficiently bleak landscape for the more horrific elements of his created universe.I have to say I’m pleased with the progression of the character Karrin Murphy. One of my complaints of Storm Front and Fool Moon was that Murphy seemed one-note and stuck with the Idiot Ball. By the time Blood Rites comes to a close, readers are shown a more mature character, but a more damaged character as well. Consequences are inevitable and Butcher is great when he lets those consequences play out. Dresden used his Wizard’s Sight on Murphy in Grave Peril and saw an angelic being, resplendent and glorious. In Blood Rites, less than two years later, Murphy still appears as an angelic being in Dresden’s sight but she is no longer immaculate, in nearly constant pain, and wearing soiled robes. Murphy is a willing participant in Dresden’s crusades but there is always a price to pay.For Dresden as a character, Blood Rites is all about changing the status quo. One of the dangers of serialized storytelling is the lead character exhibits miniscule changes; or in the opposite extreme, drastic changes that alter the character on such a fundamental level it’s no longer recognizable. Dresden has gone through such changes before in the series. In this book, Dresden is forced to confront his own need for family. Without spoiling things, Dresden’s family increases by two. The dog Mouse is an excellent addition and a great foil for Mister, the house bobcat who runs Dresden’s demesne. My understanding of Mouse is that he’s more than a simple dog, which is more than appropriate for Dresden’s world. But most importantly, Dresden is forced to confront the darkness of those closest to him. Hard truths are the most difficult to face but also the most necessary. A character’s worldview has to be shaken up every now and then. Butcher refuses to let his lead character stagnate, which gives readers like me something to look forward to in each book.Having heaped out some praise, I must admit to be unimpressed with Lord Raith as a villain. Even Harry admits someone so clichéd wouldn’t even exist in a Hollywood movie. Whereas the previous novels had strong villains, particularly Death Masks, Lord Raith felt stale and unmotivated. It’s a minor gripe because the point of Blood Rites isn’t the villain or the murders. Those are scenery for the real heart of the story: Dresden gaining someone worth losing. The personal growth of mainstays Karrin and Harry are what made this book an enjoyable read. Like the previous novels in the series, I highly recommend picking up Blood Rites for newcomers and fans of the series.

If you hate sexy vampires and Twilight, this book is not for you. These vampires don't sparkle. Even worse, they glow.

I got this for my brother. He is enjoying the series.I love The Dresden Files Series which is why I'm getting the books for my brother.

Conforme à mes attentes.

The 2nd read made me like it even more and the flaws I found on the 1st read seems insignificant this time , partly because I see the bigger picture now , having read other books in the series and now I appreciate the foreshadowing . Also I get the setting with this one , the idea wasn't to be sexist pig , the idea was to put Harry in an uncomfortable environment and have fun , and nothing can be more uncomfortable for a shy/idealist guy then to be placed in the middle of a porno movie set .

Muy divertido y entretenido.Funny and entertaining.

In questo volume dei Dresden Files la storia, anzi le storie (il caso assegnato a Harry, il coincidente assalto ai suoi danni da parte della Black Court e la questione parallela della famiglia di Thomas, che si ricongiunge poi con il caso di Harry), passano in secondo piano.Il caso, tra studi di prouzione di film hard, pornodive e malocchio, è meno interessante degli altri casi che abbiamo visto in passato, i vampiri neri non sembrano mai una minaccia credibile (e non possiamo che concordare con il consiglio finale di Kincaid)... ciò che rende interessante questo libro, a mio avviso, sono i cambiamenti che introduce.Si comincia con il cucciolo di cane (così banale? Non penso, ho idea che Mouse abbia un bel legame con il suo antenato illustre venerato dai monaci...), si prosegue con Harry che forse forse capisce di provare qualcosa per Murphy, si arriva poi al fratello segreto di Harry (annunciato bene o male nel libro precedente), alla verità sul suo mentore, e all'evoluzione dei suoi poteri, legata probabilmente alla moneta del caduto in suo possesso, così come la rabbia crescente che prova.Oltre al piccolo dettaglio della mano distrutta.Insomma, diversi cambiamenti nella vita di Harry, che avranno ripercussioni principalmente sul suo essere, su come si vede, su come si comporta.Una lettura veloce e piacevole, gradevolissima.

Not as good as the others thus far. Still loved it though