Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files

Note: I feel that Death Masks, Book 5, is where reading this series out of order starts to do you an injustice. This book does work as a stand alone to some extent, but you will get major spoilers for the previous books in the series and it also pulls in characters we have met before. So I recommend reading the previous books before you jump into this one.In the previous book, Changes, Harry Dresden, Chicago’s finest (and only) wizard, lost everything in the gambit to save his daughter. He lost his office, his apartment, his car, and broke his back. So he had to make a deal with the lesser of three evils. His ability to walk restored, he soldiered on and while he saved his daughter from the Red Court vampires he also lost his life at the end of Changes. So this story opens with ghost Harry in a train station. There he meets a familiar face, Karrin Murphy’s old partner who died in one of the earliest books. He gives Harry some info but mostly evades questions as he ushers Harry over to Captain Murphy’s office – Karrin’s long deceased father. There Harry is given a choice – he can continue on his ghostly journey (and, no, they don’t know what waits outside of their ghostly city) or he can go back as a ghost to prevent harm from coming to three of his friends.Of course, we all know what Harry decides. So he’s dropped off outside Mortimer’s because he’s the only guy Harry knows that has the ability to reliably communicate with ghosts. There we meet one of Mortimer’s protectors, Sir Steward. Sir Steward explains more about who the ghost world works and Harry has to be rather careful to not think too loudly less he attract ghosts who want to devour his essence. I really liked Sir Steward. He had a dry sense of humor and a strong sense of honor and a very solid idea of who and what he is, which has allowed his ghost to live on as long as it has.Harry had an uphill battle the entire time in this book. It was crazy. He’s been dead for 6 months and while no one retrieved his body, there was far too much blood left at the scene. So lots of folks have trouble believing that either Harry is dead (Karrin) or that he is a ghost zipping around trying to rescue folks (nearly everyone). Even Mortimer, who accepts that Harry’s dead, doesn’t want anything to do with his ghost. But Harry saves his life and Mortimer gives him a small amount of his time, initially. Harry has to keep on hacking away (pleading, bargaining, threatening) at Mortimer to get more of his time.Things have gone to rubble while Harry was away. Molly has become unpredictable and homeless. Karrin lost her job. The streets are dangerous now in nearly every neighborhood. Things that had stayed away from Chicago because Harry protected it have come creeping in. But not all is doom and gloom. Mister, Harry’s cat, made it out of the fire in the last book and found a decent home. Mouse, his dog, is happily guarding his daughter who also landed in a loving home. There’s plenty more along those lines, some of which jerked some emotions out of me. Harry, in classic ghost story form, gets a good look at what his presence meant to those that cared for him.OK, so besides all the feels in this book, there’s plenty of action too. Harry has been tasked with finding his own killer, which is no easy feat. Then this bully and low-level magic user makes his presence known by ordering a drive-by shooting. Through him, Harry learns that one of his old enemies is in town, but this enemy has a new and powerful sidekick. So Harry is floating around (or sometimes zipping around) Chicago learning to use his ghostly skills and fighting crime. Yay! He’s also learned to make use of that grave that the Black Court vampire lady bought for him several books back. A ghost has to rest sometimes.Since memories have power in ghostland, and can also be used to trade for favors, we get to learn more of Harry’s past. I was particularly intrigued by the memories of his time with Justin DuMorn. Harry keeps getting more and more complicated – and I like it!The ending was fantastic! I loved the final fight scenes and how folks came together to do what they could. It was a lot of fun but also filled with tension and since Butcher killed off Harry I have this fear that he might start bumping off favorite characters. Lots of good stuff went down in that final fight scene.Afterwards, we learn a few more tidbits. The mystery of Harry’s killer has been revealed. Harry has a chance to see his family members, such as Thomas. I have to say that I felt Butcher bent the rules just a little on the Thomas/Justine love but don’t touch thing. It was sweet but I also felt it was a cheat. Anyway, it’s such a minor thing. The ending did have one last surprise, so I hope you have the next book handy. This was another excellent addition to one of my favorite series.Narration: This book was originally narrated by John Glover but fans had become accustomed to James Marsters’s performances and didn’t want a switch in narrators this late in the series. So Penguin Audio re-recorded it with James Marsters. Hooray! His performance was spot on, as always. Harry has some really complex emotions in this book, usually about his daughter, and Marsters did an excellent job of getting those across to the listener. I also loved his voices for Molly as she impersonates various characters from the original Star Trek crew.

I liked it. I have no issue with the book in how it was written and the characters developed. With one small caveat. It seemed very fast paced. I would have enjoyed having Harry interact with more people than he did in the two days he was there and back again. Highly recommended if you have read the rest of the series. Might be confusing to try and pick it up book 13 of the 14 books published (Side Jobs is 12a). Read it and make your own decision!SPOILERSUriel kept Harry on ice for 6 months before putting him back in the game. Mab and Demonreach (and a parasite which I hope is no longer relevant after those roots came out of Harry's veins) spent 6 months repairing and sustaining the meat suit while the soul was out and about. All this begs the question of why? Why did Uriel get involved?If Harry never died, and from what I can gather from Mab's statements he didn't, then how did his Soul get up and out for a quick adventure. Obviously Uriel did it but again why was it allowed. Uriel stated that he was balancing the action taken by the opposition and seemed to take a personal level of exception to that action. The seven words that led Harry to kill himself by proxy.Mab's motivation is clear but lacks detail. Demonreach seems to be possessive and proud of Harry and given what Ebeneezer wrote I am quite sure there is a fascinating story coming soon. It's Uriel that seems to be using the actions of what I hope is Lasciel but could just as easily be Lash as a way to get around the usual rules.If it was Lasciel as the dark shadow whispering lies in Harry's ear then how did "she" get out of the coin and wherever the coin was taken by Father Forthill?If it was Lash I am at a complete loss to explain her actions. She chose to sacrifice herself by taking a psychic bullet and took some of Harry's soul when she either died or left. That would indicate some positive feelings for Harry so I hope it wasn't her.I think that the shadow was most likely Anduriel (and notice how a lot of the Fallen Nickel-heads seem to have Uriel as part of their name. I am wondering if that will come back to bite Harry in the future or not.) as his form seems to be a shadow as evidenced in Small Favor in the museum. Nicodemus will most likely choose to deal with Harry in the future by using proxies after the necktie party Harry tried to give him ;) but that probably means that Nico of the Nickelheads was at the church that night.The book ends with several questions raised but not answered. Here is a quick list of the top of my head:Molly is in trouble and seems to be wearing herself down to a nubbin at the same time she is PTSD, injured and being eaten alive with guilt. I think she actually needs to talk to Elaine but that has friction built in to it so we shall see.MurphyEarly retirement and becoming Batman of the Chicago Alliance (oh it's true. Batman is not a POWERFUL individual. What he is is a contingency planner and he uses his brains to win by fighting only when necessary and as smart as possible. Sounds like Murphy to me.) on top of losing Harry after agreeing to "see what happens". The possible guilt of Kincaid and suspecting Molly all the while killing people instead of arresting them. she needs help as well.Mouse is fine but bored. I wonder if he talks to the angels on duty to pass the time.Tomas is recovering but Lara is certainly expanding her Court to take advantage of the vacuum. Justine will be there for him until Jim decides to kill her. I think Tomas will be quite frightening on that day.Bob worries me in this one. I hope that he gets his wayward piece under control but I predict that Winter Knight Harry is going to have to talk pretty fast to keep Bob alive in Cold Days/Daze.Mort will do everything he can to stay out of this fight but he has already announced how much of a badass he is in this arena so good luck.Butters - I am wondering how Jim will play it when the White Council finds out about Butters. I hope Butters comes as an utter shock to them when they try to kill him and he has used all of Bob's knowledge to keep himself alive.Maggie Dresden - My brother believes that Maggie will have something as a result of being conceived by a Wizard of Harrys abilities and a member of The Fellowship of St. Giles. It is possible but we shall see.Daniel seems to be angling to take up a sword but that seems unlikely if he is actually seeking it.The Alphas seem to be down to 4 wolves. Actively participating I mean and that counts Georgia who is probably at home with her child. Killing any and all Fomor agents that come to visit :)The Grey Council - I predict some friction upon general knowledge of Harrys survival. Ebeneezer, Ramirez, Luccio, Rashid, Listens to Wind and the younger wardens will throw a party.The White Council will [...] a brick. I predict some knee jerk reactions from them over destroying the Red Court and hiding for 6 months as well as the Winter Knight business.The Black Council will [...] a brick pile. I would love to hear Cowl's reaction not to mention the Nickelheads. A recording will do as I don't need to be in the room. :)Harry Dresden - tasks on his plate as I see it in no particular orderWinter KnightWarden? Warden Sword in his future?Wizard of the White Council and GreyOdin's pawn/agentfather of Maggiegrandson of the BlackstaffSponsor of Sword of Damocles probationer Molly Carpenter -suspected Dark mind mageneeds a new homeneeds a new staffneeds a new labhas to work out some kind of arrangement about Bob w/ Butterslet's not forget Toot-toot and Co.Help Molly get her balance backHelp Murphy get her center backTwo Magic swords to hand outconnect w/ TomasGet Tomas and Ebeneezer in the same room - Fireworks!come back to life officially - IRS, FBI, DHS, USPS... much fun to be had by all.Jim Butcher is a sadist and we are his willing victims.

Maybe my review is not the most common but, despite the fact that this book is quite different from the rest, is my favourite

Notre Harry se retrouve dans une situation bien délicate, privé de ses pouvoirs. Or il doit aider ses amis en danger et surtout tenter de retrouver celui ou celle qui a ordonné son assassinat. L'identité du tireur d'élite est assez simple à deviner - il n'y en a pas cinquante. Mais qui a bien pu commanditer le meurtre?Ce n'est pas mon tome préféré, je ne suis pas vraiment fan des histoires de fantômes et l'histoire comporte certains passages proches d'un dessin animé, qui surprennent un peu. Je mettrais une évaluation de 4,5 étoiles.Cela dit, c'est toujours très bien écrit, plein de suspense, et on comprend à la fin pourquoi Dresden doit en passer par là. L'histoire est tortueuse et bien complexe. Impeccable pour faire travailler nos neurones! L'auteur ne ménage pas ses efforts et nous réserve bien des surprises. Une excellente série en général.

Dopo il finale mozzafiato di [book:Changes|6585201] non si può non correre a leggere questo libro, curiosi di capire cosa possa succedere adesso, cosa cambierà, come la serie continuerà.E la prima parte del libro è sorprendente, un viaggio allucinante in un mondo che quasi non riconosciamo più.Perché Dresden è morto, e ora si ritrova a vagare come fantasma in una Chicago fantasma, a metà strada tra il mondo reale e l'oltretomba, con tonalità che ricordano moltissimo il capolavoro [book:Midnight Nation|100094].Qui gli viene dato un compito, scoprire il proprio assassino. La posta in palio? La sopravvivenza di tre dei suoi amici. E questo da sempre è uno dei motori che spingono il buon Dresden all'azione.Ma adesso non è più il potente mago che conoscevamo. E' un fantasma, uno Spirito dotato di ricordi. Niente corpo, niente possibilità di interagire col mondo materiale, niente magia.Nel mondo immateriale degli spettri vigono altre regole, che lui ignora e che dovrà imparare velocemente se non vuole essere divorato dai wright o semplicemente distrutto dall'arrivo dell'alba.E una volta tornato a Chicago, in cerca di aiuto per la sua indagine, una sorpresa lo aspetta.Il mondo è cambiato, in questi sei mesi. In peggio.Lo sterminio della Corte Rossa ha creato un immenso vuoto di potere che ha scatenato una prevedibile guerra aperta tra svariati gruppi di mostri desiderosi di prendere il posto dei vampiri, e a loro volta i vuoti lasciati da questi gruppi vengono occupati da nuove gang soprannaturali nelle varie città del mondo.Una nuova guerra senza esclusioni di colpi per il Bianco Consiglio, insomma, scatenata ancora una volta dalle azioni di Harry Dresden.Ma anche la sua stessa morte ha causato enormi ripercussioni: finora, apprendiamo, Chicago era stata relativamente al sicuro dalle minacce soprannaturali grazie alla reputazione di Dresden, il mago che la proteggeva e che negli anni si è dimostrato capace di fermare minacce di livello globale, contro ogni aspettativa.Ma adesso Dresden non c'è più, e l'oscurità si è infiltrata nelle strade di Chicago.A contrastarla, in questa nuova città dove dal tramonto all'alba la gente evita di uscire di casa e dove a maggio c'è ancora la neve alta, un'inedita coalizione guidata da Marcone da una parte, aiutato dai guerrieri del Valhalla, e da Murphy dall'altra, ormai non più un poliziotto. Al fianco di Karrin ci sono gli Alpha e Butler, ormai una sorta di Giles senza poteri ma con un grande cervello e una enorme conoscenza a disposizione.E poi c'è Molly, trasformata nella Ragged Lady, alle soglie della pazzia, cacciata dai Warden per stregoneria e temuta dai difensori di Chicago. Terrore dei criminali e spauracchio delle forze oscure, combatte da sola il grosso del male che arriva a Chicago cercando di continuare la missione del suo mentore.Uno scenario dispotico che sembra quasi uscito da un What if?, da un universo alternativo.Con Harry impotente, il libro principalmente ci mostra le evoluzioni dei personaggi dopo gli avvenimenti recenti.Molly e Murphy, ma anche Will e Butler, Daniel Carpenter, Bob.Ed Harry, ovviamente.Perché tutto ruota intorno all'evoluzione di Harry, ed è questa la cosa che mi è piaciuta meno.Mano a mano che ci avviciniamo alla fine del libro, e continuiamo a chiederci come Harry tornerà in vita per poter proseguire la serie, diventa sempre più chiaro il senso della missione, il senso del libro.Fino alla spiegazione finale.E onestamente, per quanto il libro sia bello, gli scenari dipinti affascinanti, il ritmo forsennato e non sia riuscito a staccarmene se non a fatica, la ragione dietro a tutto ciò mi è sembrata molto fragile, debolissima.Cioè, si parte da una scusa bella e buona per mettere in moto il libro, e lo scopo ultimo erano quelle sette parole? E un po' più di consapevolezza per Harry che le sue azioni hanno grosse conseguenze?Peccato perché se il finale fosse stato all'altezza del resto del libro, probabilmente sarebbe stato un altro volume stupendo, come Changes.Invece mi sento un po' deluso.Comunque penso che in questo libro Butcher si sia divertito come non mai a giocare al nerd, tra citazioni di Star Wars, Star Trek, X-Men e quant'altro.I Bamf di Nightcrawler, l'intangibilità di Shadowcat, la plancia di comando di Star Trek... Butcher deve essere una persona che vale la pena conoscere!

This was the adventure that Harry Dresden had, AFTER he had died. But that didn't make it less scary, or less painful, for him as well as for those who matter to him. The story was complex, with several intertwined threads fusing in & out, in the process confusing the reader about the original quest. It was also VERY GOOD. Recommended.

Conforme à mes attentes.