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2014 Book Review #60:Skin Game
Title: Skin Game
Author: Jim Butcher
Genre: Urban fantasy (part of long-running series)
Thingummies:3.5
Synopsis: Queen Mab backs Dresden into working for an old enemy; meanwhile, a parasite threatens to explode his brain.
Thoughts: Another fun romp from the Dresden Files. There's not much here that's particularly new, and I'll admit I'm starting to have trouble keeping track of all the guest stars. (At one point, it's dramatically revealed that a photo Dresden recognized is of...a woman whose name meant absolutely nothing to me. Also, later, he mentions his acquaintence with River Shoulders. Not only do I not remember who River Shoulders is, I can't remember what River Shoulders is.
We've settled into a new normal--the last couple of books involved shaking up the world-building, changing Dresden's life and nature, and reordering all his relationships. This one, though, reminds me of some of the older books in that we're far more concerned with the heist-of-the-week than with the overarching conflicts in his world.
Also, we're getting a little repetitive--I understand that Dresden is unsure of how his new powers are changing him, but the last two books have featured quite a lot of wallowing in that regard.
On the other hand, there's a cute twist at the end that will have you flipping back through previous pages, reevaluating everything that was said. It's gimmicky but still clever.
Author: Jim Butcher
Genre: Urban fantasy (part of long-running series)
Thingummies:3.5
Synopsis: Queen Mab backs Dresden into working for an old enemy; meanwhile, a parasite threatens to explode his brain.
Thoughts: Another fun romp from the Dresden Files. There's not much here that's particularly new, and I'll admit I'm starting to have trouble keeping track of all the guest stars. (At one point, it's dramatically revealed that a photo Dresden recognized is of...a woman whose name meant absolutely nothing to me. Also, later, he mentions his acquaintence with River Shoulders. Not only do I not remember who River Shoulders is, I can't remember what River Shoulders is.
We've settled into a new normal--the last couple of books involved shaking up the world-building, changing Dresden's life and nature, and reordering all his relationships. This one, though, reminds me of some of the older books in that we're far more concerned with the heist-of-the-week than with the overarching conflicts in his world.
Also, we're getting a little repetitive--I understand that Dresden is unsure of how his new powers are changing him, but the last two books have featured quite a lot of wallowing in that regard.
On the other hand, there's a cute twist at the end that will have you flipping back through previous pages, reevaluating everything that was said. It's gimmicky but still clever.
no subject
River Shoulders has not made an appearance in the novels. I've noticed Butcher likes to toss in characters, or just names of characters, in a manner that makes it seem like Dresden has known them for years and so should you. This technique was used to introduce Michael Carpenter, Binder, and to a lesser extent Hannah Ascher. I like this, but I rewound my audio book multiple times after he mentioned RS, trying to figure out if I am supposed to know who it was. I don't think we are. If the character has appeared in side material like the comics or short stories, I am unaware of it.
I do wish Molly had more presence in this book, considering what happened last installment. I have many thoughts about the "parasite" ...
no subject
Apparently River Shoulders appears in several of the short stories, none of which I've read.
I was also hoping for more Molly--I'm guessing he's going to string us along for a bit and then have a more fey-and-Molly-centered book?