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    Eiskalt: Die dunklen Fälle des Harry Dresden 14
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    Eiskalt: Die dunklen Fälle des Harry Dresden 14
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    Eiskalt: Die dunklen Fälle des Harry Dresden 14
    Ebook728 pages14 hours

    Eiskalt: Die dunklen Fälle des Harry Dresden 14

    By Jim Butcher

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Kaum von den Toten wiederauferstanden, sehnt er sich schon wieder nach dem Tod. Er ist nicht länger Harry Dresden, Chicagos einziger professioneller Magier, sondern Harry Dresden, Winterritter Mabs, der Königin von Luft und Finsternis. Harry hatte keine andere Wahl, als Mab die Treue zu schwören, und sie lässt sich nicht von so etwas Belanglosem wie dem Tod abhalten, um zu bekommen, was sie begehrt. Nun ist ihr Wort Harrys Befehl, egal was sie von ihm verlangt, wohin sie ihn entsendet oder wen er für sie töten soll.
    Wie aber lautet wohl Mabs erster Befehl?
    Natürlich ist es kein gewöhnlicher Mordauftrag. Sie fordert von ihrem neuen Untergebenen nicht weniger als das Unmögliche: Er soll eine Unsterbliche töten. Kein Problem, oder? Um es noch ein wenig schlimmer zu machen, wächst die Bedrohung durch eine unerklärliche neue Form der Magie, die Harry die Sorte Ärger einhandeln könnte, die den Tod wie Urlaub wirken lässt.
    Umgeben von alten und neuen Freunden und Feinden muss Harry unzählige Unschuldige vor dem Tod bewahren und dabei einen Weg finden, um der ewigen Knechtschaft zu entrinnen, bevor seine neuerworbenen Kräfte das Einzige von ihm fordern, was noch ihm gehört …
    Seine Seele.
    LanguageDeutsch
    PublisherFeder & Schwert
    Release dateFeb 10, 2014
    ISBN9783867621939
    Unavailable
    Eiskalt: Die dunklen Fälle des Harry Dresden 14

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    Reviews for Eiskalt

    4.5/5

    1,245 ratings93 reviews

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    • 5/5
      He's baaaaaaaaaack! Harry Dresden is back amongst the living and he's back to his usual ass kicking self. Ok I admit I wasn't the biggest fan of Ghost Story, kind of an understatement really but it did inspire a little fear as to whether I was going to continue enjoying one of my favorite series. That fear was for nothing, Harry is back along with his posse that I missed so much in Ghost Story and up until I read Cold Days I didn't think any book could be as good or better than Changes. Once again I was wrong....oh so wonderfully wrong.While almost every Dresden book is filled with action from cover to cover and this one is no exception, it has sooooooo much more. Harry is now the Winter Knight for Queen Mab and the Mantle of the Winter Knight turns most who have it into a complete and utter asshole and while Harry at heart has always been a nice guy he has challenges fighting what the Mantle wants him to do. The mantle gives a whole lot more understanding of what his brother Thomas goes through constantly, oh and Thomas is back in this book fighting along side Harry and the reunion scene was awesome.This book ties so many story lines together that have been in previous books and answers so many questions while still having a killer cast of bad guys. You find out so much more about the Sidhe, the island Harry is tied to, the Black Council and who is the new big bad that has been organizing events throughout most of the previous thirteen books. Don't get me wrong while it answers a bunch of questions it also leaves you wanting more... sooo much more.Cold Days also has some humor, the usual one liners and pop culture references that are so amusing. One of the reasons I liked this book so much is that while Jim Butcher could always write a killer action scene he's getting better with the emotional aspects of Harry's character. Harry has to deal with his relationships with other people in this book and he is forced to learn that his actions have consequences involving more than just his friends' safety but the relationship between them as well.The ending....holy shit the ending. While it is not the cliff hanger we got in Changes thankfully, it definitely set up the story line for future books and there are some big changes that have happened! Cold Days is to date my favorite in the series and thus begins the wait for book 15....sigh.
    • 4/5
      I started into this series late and just recently got caught up this year. I read Dead Beat late in 2011 but after reading Proven Guilty over the summer I was hooked and consumed the rest to get to Cold Days today.

      Contrary to other reviews I loved Ghost Story. I thought the story brought a newness to the series to prevent it from becoming stale. After Cold Days there was plenty of new areas being tread upon, but I just didnt have that same feeling I did for the previous few books. It was a good story, but I try to be stingy with my 5 star ratings and cant find myself giving it this and it was a stretch to even give it 4.
    • 4/5
      I was a little worried going into this book. Changes was super dark and Ghost Story tugged pretty hard at the heartstrings in places. I was super concerned that this book would be too dark for me. That Harry Dresden wasn't going to be Harry Dresden anymore. That the humor was going to be sucked out entirely.I was plesantly surprised to be wrong. Oh, don't get me wrong, Harry's choices don't get any lighter and he's sort of a whiny bastard, but the story was enjoyable nonetheless. In fact, he was no more annoying than he's always been. I know people like that, though, that always think they know better than anyone else. And yet, he's still sympathetic, sweet, funny, and entertaining.I think it's taken Butcher quite a bit of skill to manage all of that after the last two books. I'm really very impressed.
    • 4/5
      After Ghost Story I thought The Dresden Files were over as far as I was concerned, but I decided to give this one a try just to see where it was going. So glad that I did! Harry is back to his old self with more action and wide-ass dialogue than ever. Mouse is back...Bob...Murphy...Thomas...the whole crew. It is absolutely great. NOW I can hardly wait for the next one.
    • 5/5
      It has been a while since I enjoyed a Dresden File book this much! The last few books were so depressing, with Harry beat down so much that it seemed every "victory" was Pyrrhic. I just didn't enjoy them. Cold Days finally brings back the old, smart ass Harry who relies on his friends and never loses hope. And to my delight, Thomas comes front and center again too.At the end of Ghost Story, Harry is in the care of Demonreach and Mab after being "assassinated." He's still the Winter Knight with a boatload of problems, and the world is about to end. Again. Which Thomas and Harry sarcastically say is "same old, same old." That is perhaps the best thing about Cold Days. Butcher returns to the trademark wiserassery and snark that makes Harry so enjoyable and relatable. I laughed out loud when Molly says to Thomas "Wait a minute.... We're his flunkies!" and Thomas snidely replies, "I'm his thug. I'm way higher than a flunky." There was a lot of humor, especially in the dire situations. There are also multiple plot threads, which do eventually tie into each other, but which kept the book engaging with lots of twists and turns.Mab gives Harry his first assignment - to assassinate a member of her court (I won't reveal who) and the target stuns Harry. This tiny beginning blossoms into an overarching plotline that will likely expand many more books, and which reintroduces an enemy that had been on the periphery. An enemy which is a danger to everyone, including all of Harry's foes and frenemies. This plot also allowed for serious expansion on the world-building of Faerie. Readers get a lot of detail on the hows and whys of Summer and Winter, and Mab specifically. When Harry is taken to the distant border of Faerie, the revelations there were a complete surprise and absolutely fantastic. We even learn just what is special about Harry's island, Demonreach, and its purpose. Also very cool. Moreover, though Harry does take some blows (physical and psychological), his victory is decisive and satisfying. Major plots are left open for further development, but the specific missions Harry was on are fully resolved.Overall, this was a wholly satisfying book that I could not put down. So glad to see Dresden in top form, and I cannot wait for the next installment.
    • 5/5
      Harry is back, with new problems, and and in great form, sarcasm in hand. What more can I say about this book? It's vadazzling.
    • 4/5
      Cold Days is one of the better stories in the Dresden series. Butcher manages to keep a really long series running pretty tightly, which absolutely cannot be said of most long-running series.

      Things are getting more serious, and the stakes are getting higher, but not because of some sort of exponential increase in the powers or abilities of the people, just because now, you care about many of the characters. Peripheral characters are so much better known that when things happen to them, it really does matter.

      It's actually kind of nice that Harry isn't getting smarter or better at an insane speed. Yes, he has more power because he's the Winter Knight, but when he removes that mantle, he loses quite a bit, and if he doesn't play by the rules, he also gets damaged. There are limitations, even to awesome.

      A whole lot happened in the last few bits of the book, and I'm looking forward to watching the repercussions hit in the next book.

      The only real complaints I have are:
      1. The random political lecture we had to have (thanks Butcher, but... uh... more magic, plz?)
      2. The expostion-ing. Seriously. This is book 14 in a series. We know how magic works, and I sincerely doubt that you need to worry about too many newbs picking up the first book 14 into the series.
    • 4/5
      All you really need to know is that Harry is back and the series is back on track. This installment had everything that the previous book lacked. There was plenty of excitement and genuine plot lines for the beloved secondary characters.
    • 4/5
      So Dresden is the Winter Knight and has to figure out what to do with it, or if he even has a choice in the matter. Imminent danger and the end of the world or at least of the Chicago area, are piling up around him and all the bad guys are out to get in his way.I won't say it left me cold, but it wasn't my favorite. I'm not sure I like this turn for Dresden. Also, maybe it's just me, but it seemed like the F-bomb was dropped a lot more than before. The end was intriguing though, and even though this wasn't my favorite of the series, it was good enough that I'm not going to quit reading them if Butcher writes more.
    • 3/5
      Honestly, this one didn't too much for me as Dresden File books go. It's perfectly readable and a bit of fun but, quite frankly, it felt like it was mailed in.Let's start with the stupid jokes. I'm not talking about Harry's wiseass mouth, which is as endearing to the reader as it is annoying to the characters in the book. I'm talking about Jim Butcher's wiseass mouth. The puns were too labored and some of the verbal/situational "jokes" were just plain stupid. It was if he (Butcher) suddenly decided to channel Terry Pratchett…without quite the flair to do so, nor the type of story that lends itself to that kind of thing.Second, the plot was formula: Harry faces an ever-greater menace, check. Can't possibly win, check. Tries to do it solo, check. Friends dive in to help, check. Wow, he wins, check. More dangers looming on horizon to form basis of upcoming books, check. In the abstract that has worked for a lot of volumes in this series. In the specific, the menace was too diffuse (we never really meet it) and the escalation too uneven to really give us the sense of menace we had in other episodes. And, for heaven's sake, the little twist that is the lynchpin allowing everything to work was just totally contrived and doesn't even make total sense within the context of the established world.Others have complained about Harry's new character as the Winter Knight—that's not a spoiler if you've read the series so far and, if you haven't, what the heck are you doing reading a review of the fourteenth book?—but I thought it was the best part of the story. Not that I like what Harry's struggling with personality-wise, but the fact that he's struggling works. In some ways it's a re-hash of the Lasciel subplot from several books back but it still gives some depth.Serviceable but in the lowest rank of the fourteen. Another reviewer used the phrase "jumping the shark"...honestly, I'm worried that's where we're headed. But I'll still check out number fifteen.
    • 5/5
      I was delightfully confused and overwhelmed reading Cold Days. It is a mystery to me how Jim Butcher manages to put Harry Dresden in situations with no way out of them and then find a way out of them, leaving me feeling completely brainwashed. Thanks for that!I did immensely enjoy the book. I love how the story is finally going back to the beginning, making me want to re-read the series all over again. Unimaginable things have been put into motion and figuring them out is quite intriguing. I loved the storyline of Cold Days - the courts and politics and faeries... I have never been a fan of Murphy, but I have noticed she is not Murphy any more, but Karrin, and I find it very sweet.And even though Harry Dresden says he is not into Molly, I really hope for some steam there! Because THINGS. HAVE. BEEN. PUT. IN. MOTION!
    • 5/5
      This is the fourteenth book in the Dresden Files series and it was an excellent read. Harry Dresden is back from the dead but was forced to become Mab’s Winter Knight as part of the deal. As he struggles to recover after his ordeal, Mab gives him a command...kill Maeve. Harry returns to Chicago in an effort to figure out why Mab wants Maeve dead, but while there he finds out that something very very wrong is going on with the island of Demonreach. Now as Harry tries to reunite with old acquaintances he is left with very little time to kill Maeve, figure out my Mab wants Maeve killed, and figure out how to save Demonreach.This was a great read. Harry is back to his old self in this book, but with new and awesome powers of the Winter Knight at his beck and call. We meet a great new character in the sarcastic and uber powerful Cait Sith. We also reunite with a lot of old favorites; Molly, Murphy, and Thomas all play large parts in this story.A lot of things happen in this story and a lot of truths are revealed that just absolutely blow your mind. There were two or three times where I was like “Woah, no way!” We learn the truth behind the purpose of the Faerie Queens and the truth behind all of the strange things that have happened throughout this entire series. This is a book that truly brings together everything that have happened previously in this series.I really really enjoyed it. This was a long book, but a good one. There are just so many awesome things in here. As you might guess Faerie is present in a big way; but we also get to learn more about the Outsiders.This series continues to be very well written and very engaging. I am impressed that Butcher has been able to keep up the quality storytelling and wonderful momentum throughout this series.Highly recommended to fans of this series. Also highly recommended to fans of urban fantasy; this is the series that started it all. It’s hard to believe that this series is still going strong and is still incredibly well done after 14 books! Can’t wait to see what the next book holds!
    • 4/5
      At this point in the series you really need to have read some of the previous books otherwise even all the infodumps will not keep you straight with everything that has happened in Harry's life. This book did leave me wanting to reread Summer Knight. And of course in the end it doesn't always come up roses for Harry.
    • 5/5
      I think this is one of my favourite installments of the series. Like usual there was action from the start till the end and it left my mind reeling as I tried to catch up.

      What I love most about the Harry Dresden Series is that I almost never guess the outcome. There are so many things happening (How many times can one fight in the span of 30 hours and survive? ;)) and it's hard to keep track of every detail.

      Harry often struggles with enemies but this time around he also struggles with himself and his own morale. It gave the book a different undertone and I really loved that. I felt like Harry was extra snarky and in addition to his usual sarcasm, it made for some awesome dialogue. I especially enjoyed the banter between Harry and Thomas, as well as the scenes between Harry and Molly.

      There are also a lot more sexual undertones than in the previous books which came with Harry's position as Winter Knight and I'm curious to see how the changes in him will develop and if he can keep straight on his own morale compass.
    • 4/5
      Harry Dresden is tasked by Queen Mab with killing the Winter Lady, but in addition to the problem of finding out how one actually kills an immortal, Harry must also make sure that Maeve is truly the villain in the piece and that it isn't in fact Mab herself. We've come quite a long way since Harry the PI graced our pages, but I am enjoying the widening scope, even if I sometimes miss the old Harry. As White Knight he is still funny, though, so I'll absolutely continue to follow his adventures. The last installment wasn't great, but this one makes up for it and, overall, this is a high-quality series that I'll recommend to anyone who likes urban fantasy.
    • 4/5
      I would rate this a 4.5. I listened to Cold Days as an Audio book as I drove in to work with my daughter. Actually, I had read this novel in hard back when it first came out and loved the story line and characters. I'm just amazed at the way Mr. Butcher has evolved this series over the years, with it still going incredibly strong with this, the 14th book in the series. I think I've read everything Jim Butcher's written over the years. I didn't especially like Ghost Story, but I thoroughly enjoyed Cold Days. I especially loved listening to Cold days as an Audio book with James Marsters, (Spike from Buffy) as the narrator (he was terrific.) I also loved getting back into Jim Butchers well drawn out characters and I got my wife hooked on the series so that now, she is almost up to Cold Days. Jack Murphy
    • 5/5
      A wizard that sometimes his plans don't work quite what he always plans . He has to save Chicago from a disaster about to happen. Will his friends believe he is back from the dead , will they believe it is him? Will they help him out to save Chicago? The book kept me on edge . I couldn't wait to find out all these answers to the questions. I give this book 5 / 5 stars. It is a must read!!!! Jim Butcher did it again!!!!
    • 5/5
      Yes yes yes!!!
    • 4/5
      When an author pulls the "Hero is dead; Hero is not so dead; Hero is alive" stint, things usually go downhill from there. And for a little while, it looked like that for Dresden - the last book was much weaker than any of the others in the series and I almost dreaded this new addition. I did not need to - Butcher is back to form. It is different from the early books - Dresden did die a few books back after all. Kinda. And unlike the previous one, this one actually does not feel like a filler. The fact that Harry has troubles is not exactly unexpected; the fact that he decides to play solo or that noone allows him to is what one would expect as well. And of course Chicago is about to be blown up again (well, this time for real) - it won't be interesting otherwise. But despite the old plot, the story works out - and there are a lot of nods to the older books. Plus regrets and memories. And a few deaths. And the sidhe.Plus a thread that ties together previously unrelated events from previous books (the name is really cliche though...), new information for old characters, a few changes characters (if someone had told me 5 books ago who will end up being the Winter knight and lady, I would probably have laughed...) and leaving a few dangling threads still dangling. When things started shaping this way, I was not so sure I like it - it almost looked as if Butcher just needed something to get his plot moving. It does work out at the end and sets the stage for a somewhat interesting next few books but... we will see where all that leads. I don't look forward to rehashing of old events and this might happen (to get everyone up-to-speed for example)...
    • 3/5
      Good not great.

      Butcher's later novels are busier and with more exposition than his earlier ones. And after the "groundbreaking" Changes, he appears to be struggling to find the story. Spending lots of time explaining what is happening in the verse, the plot, and who the villain is. Too much tell and not enough show.

      Other quibbles include a vague discussion about homosexuality that felt out-of-place. Harry Dresden is discussing it with Titania - the Summer Queen of the Fae, who wonders if such an immoral action can possibly meet with Dresden's approval - they are meeting a the "homosexual/gay lover's lane of sorts". Dresden states its not up to him to decide. People should choose what they want. And he won't tell them what to do. I'm not exactly certain what Butcher is trying to say here. Nor do I want to think too much about it. Chose to believe Butcher was for homosexual rights as was Harry, but it can be read either way.

      This is one of many mini-lectures or rambles ...another is on gender and how men and women think - with Harry ranting for about ten pages about how women are impossible to understand. Both conversations took me out of the story and made me want to shake the author.

      The writer does do a good job of developing the supporting character of Molly, but appears to have hit a wall with Murphy and Thomas. Butters, however, is moving along as well. The most interesting characters though are Harry, Molly and Mab...which is a good thing since they are more or less front and center. Karrin Murphy is barely in this novel and seems to be relegated to "love interest"/"side-kick" and bares an astonishing physical resemblance to Sarah Michelle Geller's Buffy, complete with bump on the nose and stature and crazy strength.

      Other than that I enjoyed the novel, but it's one of the weaker entries. Better than Ghost Story and Fool Moon and Death Masks, but not as good as the rest. Here's hoping the next entry in the series is better.
    • 4/5
      Rating: 4 of 5Yes, Harry Dresden IS back in full force! Thoroughly entertaining, and had it not been for the multiple instances of Harry repeating information to himself, I would've rated it 5 stars. But it was great fun nonetheless. I really loved how Butcher kept throwing everything and the kitchen sink at Harry. And I didn't see that turn of events coming at the end, on the island. I hope Butcher continues to push Harry's limits with the Winter Knight mantle. Definitely interested to see where Harry and his mates end up in the next book.
    • 4/5
      After reading all the previous novels from Harry Dresden series it's getting a little tiring. I guess there has to be a limit to author introducing new kinds of magical players - they are new to us but supposedly Harry always known about them. At some point it starts to defy our belief (ha-ha, as far as belief in fantasy book goes). Still, written as always well, a lot of action. I could live without some moralizing though that seems to be completely out of place.
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars. There's a reason why I think most urban fantasy books are short, light reads, and that's how I usually like them too. I was super excited to read this newest installment of the The Dresden Files series, was still really pumped for the first half of the book, but then admittedly lost quite a bit of steam after that.Why? Let me first say that I don't think Cold Days is bad just because I didn't give it four or five stars even though I adore this series. I think part of it is due to being mentally fatigued. Honestly, I know Harry having way too much on his plate in each book is nothing new. He's always got a checklist of nigh impossible tasks to finish or goals to meet by the end of the book, and Cold Days does not disappoint there.Thing is, this is probably one of the longer Dresden books and I really felt it kinda dragged on. It wouldn't be so bad if there had been more substance; but it was really just full of action. That's not necessarily a negative, but they say moderation is key, and ironically, the more action there was, the harder it was for me to stay interested, especially since all of it pretty much follows the same pattern -- Harry and pals go off to follow a lead, Harry and pals get ambushed/attacked by bad faeries, Harry and pals defeat said bad faeries but they escape, and then the cycle repeats itself for another two or three times. It's exhausting for the mind.I also have to agree with one of my friends I talked to about this novel, about how since Cold Days is essentially Harry's "resurrection" book, he expected a lot more from the story and that it should have been more "emotional". It didn't occur to me until I was almost finished reading, that my friend was absolutely right. And maybe that was what I wanted when I said what I did about "substance". Harry bumps into his friends one after and other, and it's just like, "Oh hey, man, you're alive, cool beans." I kinda wanted more there, and I felt his reunion with Karrin Murphy was ESPECIALLY lacking, given the history between them and how things were left off, but it was just glossed over.Speaking of which, I think Harry also needs to get laid. Like, seriously. For some reason, Butcher seems to love torturing his main character in the love department. The last time he was intimate in a meaningful way was almost a decade ago! No wonder he's chafing at the Winter Knight mantle. Not to reveal any spoilers or anything, but I was getting all excited and happy for him in that heartfelt scene after the final showdown and then...shot down. I mean, poor guy! Give him a break already.In sum, not a bad book, but the squandered potential for some deeper and more meaningful moments for the sake of action in this book is what made it slightly disappointing. I LOVED the ending though, can't really say I saw it coming, but then again the Dresden Files has long been moving away from the "detective" and "mystery" aspect to more supernatural-anything-goes so it's hard to really predict any outcomes anymore. Part of me really misses Harry Dresden's humble detective roots, but because of what happened at the end of this book I'm also now looking forward to what the next installment will bring.
    • 2/5
      I regard most of Butcher's Dresden series to be something of a guilty pleasure. The first few were jolly good fun if nothing particularly special. I admittedly had some serious issues with the ending of "Changes". When I learned of the planned interim release of "Side Jobs" I felt it was an unconscionable money-grabbing betrayal of his fans. The disappointing "Ghost Story" was a rather lackluster reward for the additional wait. Now we have "Cold Days" and I have to say that this series, which I initially regarded as the equivalent of a fun popcorn movie, has become far too formulaic for even that level of enjoyment.

      Butcher seems intent on throwing everything including the kitchen sink into the metaphysical reality of his series. In a reveal reminiscent of the scene in Men In Black where they kick open the door to reveal that our entire world exists inside a locker in a ginormous otherworldly bus station we are shown the Lovecraftian opponents from "outside" our reality that Harry now has to deal with. It all reminds me of nothing more than a journal of someone's high school role playing game. Harry levels up every couple of adventures but the only real result is that the DM Butcher just levels up all the opponents. Harry, albeit more powerful, remains a tortured underdog who behaves exactly the same way he did 13 books ago. I'm sorry but power levels should not be the primary sign of character growth in a series this long so I'm not sure I'm going to stick around to see what baddies Butcher dredges up out of his old copy of Deities and Demigods for Harry's next installment. I'm sure he's a nice guy but I don't think I owe him a living for essentially rewriting the same book every year or so.
    • 4/5
      I started into this series late and just recently got caught up this year. I read Dead Beat late in 2011 but after reading Proven Guilty over the summer I was hooked and consumed the rest to get to Cold Days today.

      Contrary to other reviews I loved Ghost Story. I thought the story brought a newness to the series to prevent it from becoming stale. After Cold Days there was plenty of new areas being tread upon, but I just didnt have that same feeling I did for the previous few books. It was a good story, but I try to be stingy with my 5 star ratings and cant find myself giving it this and it was a stretch to even give it 4.
    • 5/5
      "Build a man a fire and he’s warm for a day,” I said. “But set a man on fire and he’s warm for the rest of his life. Tao of Pratchett." and of Harry too...


      I waited a long time for #13 (Ghost Stories)and was frustrated after reading it. Sure, I enjoyed it it was awesome, not as good as #12 but par with the series. It left me worried about Cold Days because now he was to be a creature of Mab, and we had been, as readers left hanging. I enjoyed the anthology Side Jobs much more as a waiting waiting much better than Windows ME while waiting for a real book to come out kind of waiting. But I was left hanging with Ghost Story, it left me hungry. However, Cold Days? A perfect winter read (hehe get it .. winter.. cold.. Winter Knight.. bah you guys are no fun!) It ended up being the perfect meal and a total five star Harry Dresden reading experience!


      “My brother the . . . geosexual?” (Kindle shared Thomas to Harry)


      Immediately afterwards I am sitting there, my need to be left with the perfectly filled "belly" of adventure, humorous and off kilter urban chivalry sated. I had been worried Jim Butcher was going to go the way of a 90's Theme restaurant, just running out of fancy things to hang on Harry's wall of fame. No more unique stories to tell, but nope! The fear of him running out of ridiculous seeming challenges, which seemed a possibly for bit with the last couple of Dresden File installments, was squashed as I finished this. Sure there is a classic cliff hanger, but I am totally happy where it left off. Epic meal with an epic ending and a feeling of contentment and peace for me, the reader.

      "After it had been boiling for a few minutes, I took it off the fire, added a splash of cold water from the pump to settle the grounds, and poured myself a cup."(RECIPE from Harry, and how it is DONE! True Cowboy coffee (and mushers too!) shared and noted

      So if you are like me, like your epic crazy, snarky and smart. With just the right flavor cooked up into a tale that took my breath away just enough balanced with just the right dash of pow! I got it! I needed to know we would be getting more. I got it. I needed to be OK with how things were going go turn out...I did and with no indigestion, no feelings of frustration...this was by far the best one since Changes!

      '"Whatever happened to Ia, Ia, Cthulu fhtagn?” I muttered. “No one has a sense of style anymore.”'(sayeth Harry at the last standoff at Deadreach)
    • 4/5
      I a big fan of the Dresden Files. I read a bunch of pulp series, but there is something that sets Butcher and his stories apart from and above other writers in the pulp genre. I'm not sure I can articulate it well, but here goes.

      Above and beyond everything else he does, Butcher has rock-solid fundamentals. He plots his novels well. He's disciplined, so there aren't continuity errors or imbalances in the story. There is something very workmanlike (or a non-gendered synonym I can't think of) about Butcher's work, and I say this not to point out a lack of deeper work, but as a compliment. Butcher takes care of business on a fundamental level. He's not just making stuff up as he goes along, but his stories are laid down on top of well-thought out foundations.

      Beyond that, he writes good characters that change from book to book. He makes a bunch of pop culture references that don't annoy me. He also has a way of building up to climax events that makes what is going on seem reasonable, when taken out of the context of his structure, would just seem over-the-top.

      I guess that is as good a way of summing up Butcher and the Dresden Files as any: he does the background work to make ridiculous seeming plot resolutions appear reasonable and natural. There's a LOT of bad fiction out there that has similar elements. It's not rare to have an Urban Fantasy wizard who blows stuff up and has a temper, but really a softy on the inside. It is rare to read someone in the genre with enough restraint to put these elements into a disciplined order.

      So, yeah. Jim Butcher, master craftsperson. He knows how to construct a novel very well. So well, it is hard to tell if there is a deeper art to his work. I don't (DON'T) want to make a ham-fisted artisan-artist distinction. I just want to say that Jim Butcher does what he does really, really well.
    • 5/5
      The only thing detracting from this novel is the scope of Butcher's universe: with a bakers dozen novels preceding it - and a similar number of short stories - the sheer volume of information and the sizable cast of characters make this an occasionally taxing read. Those with a better memory - or who have read the rest of the series more recently than I - will tear through it that much quicker without having to pause and recall.
      It seems like someone from every novel makes a guest appearance either in person or in conversation, but thankfully none of them seem forced or shoehorned - their involvement flows naturally from the story.
      (Unlike cameos made in works by other novelist's with similarly lengthy canon's who are just plugging their earlier works or baldly laying Easter Eggs.)
    • 5/5
      "Okay, come on," I said. "You're going to buy me a lawsuit, Bob.""Hush, Harry. Or you'll go to the special hell."I blinked at that, confused. I'm not supposed to be the guy who doesn't get the reference joke, dammit. I find it … yes, inconceivable that Harry Dresden has not seen Firefly. That's terrible. Someone get him a shielded DVD player, stat. Somehow I seem to read the Dresden Files at just the times when they'll hit me hardest. ...I could almost pretend I was there again. That I was home.But they'd burned down my home. I had repaid them for it, with interest, but I still felt oddly hollow in my guts when I thought about how I would never see it again. I missed Mister, my cat. I missed my dog. I missed the familiarity of having a place that I knew, that was a shelter. I missed my life. I'd been away from home for what felt like a very long time. I didn't get to repay anyone for losing my home and my dog. It just happened. This was not the first time I had to put aside a Harry Dresden novel and … well, anyway. (Changing the subject rapidly) Gosh, I think there were more f–bombs dropped in this one; I haven't done a count or anything, but they seemed more frequent. Of course, Harry more than had reason. I went into this one with a little reluctance. I didn't want to hear about Harry Dresden, Winter Knight. I wanted his old life back almost as much as he did. I wanted the Scooby Gang. But the reunions made it all worthwhile. My note at 20%: "That is, and probably always will be, the only time a heartfelt "Asshole" has made me curl up and cry like a little girl." Warning: embarrassing levels of FanGirl ahead I always loved these books, always. But I may never read one again – not when I can have James Marsters read them to me. Are they perfect narrations? Not one hundred percent, really; there's an occasional missed accentuation that tweaks the meaning of a sentence – but a lot of narrators do that. And what he lacks in the occasional mundane accent, he more than makes up in dialogue, both standard and Harry's internal dialogue. Why would I go back to reading these books off paper or pixel when the "Oh" in my head wouldn't carry half the meaning that the single syllable can bring off when voiced by James Marsters? That man, my God... I want to lock him in a room and make him read me all my favorite books. (Hush about any other things that might come to mind, this is a family show.) I don't like using cliches; "Dream Team" is a cliche. But nothing else comes to mind that so perfectly describes these books: Jim Butcher providing the universe, Harry Dresden living in it, and ... just reading the books is like the first scenes of The Wizard of Oz. There's nothing wrong with that – black and white can be lovely and perfectly sufficient, and after all "Over the Rainbow" comes during that part – but for some things you just can't beat fully saturated technicolor. James Marsters's narration is wide–screen, HD technicolor. Practically 3–D. I always did crush a bit on Spike. It's nice to still be in love with James Marsters. It's a perfect marriage, this; Butcher's geekiness makes mine look like I'm not trying, and the wisecrackery with which he imbues Harry Dresden is PHD level. JM's Spike was part of one of the geekiest of geeky shows, and the wise Spike cracked was always among the sharpest and most fun (and quotable). Long may it wave.
    • 4/5
      I realized that Jim Butcher writes episodes as if in a TV show, they have a main story with an underlying story arch. I feel like this is one of the aspects that keep the story interesting as there isn't a lull with filler information. This and the previous book, Ghost Story, goes away from the episode atmosphere as Harry being a PI and getting over his head. Now they are more true sequels focusing on the main story. Ghost Story went stale quickly, but Cold Days redeems the story a bit. While not as good as many of the previous books, this book was good. One part that was confusing is that Ghost Story everybody was surprised or disbelieving that Harry Dresden's ghost was there, but now in Cold Days he is alive the majority of his companions just say "Hey, 'sup" (obviously simplifying). And all the issues that were affecting his companions In Ghost Story are not longer present and barely mentioned. (It almost seemed like Jim Butcher wanted to move away from events in Ghost Story and start fresh, which is okay in my opinion).