#turn coat

[friendly-books]

Turn Coat live blog

Turn Coat live blog

“I answered it and Morgan, half his face covered in blood, gasped, “The Wardens are coming. Hide me. Please.”

His eyes rolled back into his skull and he collapsed.

Oh

Super.” pg. 15 Ha and what a way to start the book. 

“Truth be told, I still had nightmares occasionally, about being pursued by an implacable killer in a gray cloak,” pg. 18 Yep Morgan is the worst.

“Last place anyone would look for him be my guess.” pg. 18 Yep

“Oh bite me, wizard boy,” pg. 19 Ha

“I am. I’m helping him because I know what it feels like to have the Wardens on your ass for something you haven’t done.” pg. 22 Yep 

“So. How are the headaches?” pg. 22 Bonnie! Would Bonnie’s conception count as an immaculate conception?

“Thank you-“

“Oh shut up” I said, shuddering. “Neither of us wants that conversation.” pg. 28 Ha

“Aleron LaFortier is dead.” pg. 29 I’m not too sad that he’s dead. 

“Gosh. That was irrational of them, to jump to that conclusion.” pg. 30 Ha

“I went to bed two nights ago. I woke up at LaFortier’s private study in Edinburgh, with a lump on the back of my head and a bloody dagger in my hand. pg. 31 Suspicious 

“Stars and stones. What on God’s green earth  was that thing?” pg. 45 What did Harry see? Harry think of your poor brain and psyche. He’s got to stop poking things with his Sight. It’s bad for him. You’ve got brain damage now you’ve got to be careful. 

Oh good Harry got to Georgia and Billy’s house 

What is Harry muttering about the numbers?

Well now Harry’s using horrible memories to get use to the Sight of the Skinwalker. 

“Kirby was the only clearly lit object in sight-an ideal target.” pg. 56 Oh no

Oh no Kirby :( 

How long does someone need to be dead for it to be considered necromancy and not resurrection? 

“You nuked it” pg. 77 So cool

Zero is strange 

“That’s why this place is called Zero, I realized. Zero limits. Zero inhibitions. Zero restraints. It was a place of perfect, focused abandon, of indulgence, and it was intriguing and hideous, nauseating and viscerally hungry.” pg. 88 Not a fan of Zero

They seriously got a wanted poster for Morgan. Old school wild west style. Ha

Madeline? Like back in White Night with the thrall? 

“You are Jessica Rabbit, right?” I asked. “All slinky and overblown and obvious?” pg. 102 Ha

Good for Thomas and Justine for attacking Madeline

“You aren’t doing her any favors by going easy on her, Dresden,” he said, more quietly “You aren’t preparing her for exams. She doesn’t receive a bad mark if she fails.” pg. 129 What happens if Molly fails the exam?

“She threw stones at me” pg. 129 Luccio why would you do that? Why not snowballs or water balloons? Does Luccio and Morgan have a  paternal substitute similar to Harry and Ebenezar? Maybe that’s why Morgan lost it back in Dead Beat?

“Pain is an excellent motivator,” he said “And teaches one to control one’s emotions at the same time.” pg. 129 No that’s stupid. 

Morgan stop calling Thomas a “it” 

“You did a bad thing once” I said “It doesn’t make you a monster”

“What if it does?” pg. 134 No Molly isn’t a monster. Now Molly feels like a monster. I’m reminded of when Harry had similar thoughts back in Proven Guilty. Morgan sucks 

“The Council is not divided” pg. 139 Oh Morgan you sweet summer child. Open your eyes and stop being such a Council supporter.

“You two play nice.” pg. 142 Ha

Alright let’s see if I can sus out this traitor. So it’s got to be one of the senior council members or staff. Merlin, McCoy, Listen-to-Winds, Librety, Mai, Gatekeeper, and Peabody. I don’t think it’s McCoy as he’s trying to get rid of the black council. I don’t think it’s Listen-to-Winds as he’s got a friendly raccoon buddy. I don’t think it’s Merlin as why would he be the traitor he’s in charge? I don’t think it’s Gatekeeper as he seems to be on Harry’s side. I don’t think it’s Mai as she’s got those guardian temple dogs. I don’t know enough about Liberty and Peabody. But Liberty seems to be on Harry’s side. So by some less than logical reasoning I thinks it’s Peabody as he’s the White Council scribe so he probably knows things. And he talked to Merlin at Molly’s trial. 

“The only wizard I see less frequently than he is you.” pg. 153 Interesting I wonder why?

 “When I’d been young man, hauled before the Council to be tried as a violator of the First Law of Magic, they brought me to Edinburgh. The musty, wet, mineral smell of the place had been almost all I knew while I waited, hooded and bound, in a cell for a full day. I remember being horribly cold and tortured by the knots my muscles worked themselves into after so many hours tried hand and foot. I remember feeling more alone than ever in my life, while I awaited whatever was going to happen. 

I had been scared. So scared. I was sixteen. It was the same smell, and that scent had the power to animate the corpses of some of my darkest memories and bring them lurching back into the front of my thoughts.

Psychological necromancy.” pg. 158 Therapy please. This is trauma. 

“You have too much history with Morgan. This has got to be dispassionate, and you’re just about the lest dispassionate person I know.” pg. 161 Ha

“As the mind grows older, it gets established.” pg. 161 

Interesting that with time a person can’t be mind controlled. That does bring into question Luccio and her schrodinger cat position. As while her soul and personhood is centuries old the body she’s in isn’t. So would she be able to be mind controlled?

“Peabody gulped” pg. 164 Suspicious 

“What he doses isn’t dramatic, but his organizational skills have been a critical asset since the outbreak of the war.” pg. 164 That would make him a good spy.

How did Ebenezar know that Harry was holding Morgan?

Did LaFortier not use a death curse? Why didn’t he use it? 

So LaFortier was the point between the White Council and the other countries that weren’t in the Council. 

In every scene Peabody in so far he’s having people sign paper. Could it be part of his plan? Hmm 

“Peabody stopped before the Merlin, blinking.” pg. 182 Suspicious 

“You are an untidy person.”

“I put my hand over my heart, grinning at him “Ow” pg. 184 Ha

Why does Peabody keep wanting to get people to sign paper? Is that part of his plan? An inkwell, seriously? Is it the inkwell? Is it an evil magic inkwell? I bet it is. Who uses inkwells nowadays. Just use a pen. There is such a thing as taking an aesthetic too far. 

“Either LaFortier chose not to use it, or he was incapable of using it.” pg. 191 Interesting

So either LaFortier didn’t use his death curse or he couldn’t use it. If he couldn’t use it there aren’t many ways to counter a death curse. A sniper rifle could do it like what Kincaid said. But the wounds were defensive and no gunshot wounds. There aren’t many melee weapons that could stop magic. Wait hold up isn’t the Warden swords anti magic. So they can fight warlocks. So anyone with a sword could have killed LaFortier. The people who we’ve seen have swords are Morgan, Carlos, and Luccio. I don’t think it would be someone we don’t know. It isn’t Morgan as he claims he didn’t do it. And came to Harry for help. I don’t think it’s Carlos as he hasn’t really been mentioned. So that just leaves Luccio. With the mention of mind control magic and Peabody I think he mind controlled Luccio and got her to kill LaFortier. That brings us to Morgan and his suspicions of two day unconsciousness. I don’t think he was unconscious. I think he saw Luccio either kill LaFortier or stand over his body and take the blame. 

Oh no Thomas is in trouble 

Binder what kind of name is that?

“Binder gave me a gimlet stare. Then he rolled his eyes and shot a brief glance over his shoulder-then did a double take as his mouth dropped open.” pg. 212 Ha

“Ernest Armand Tinswhistle” pg. 213 Never mind his real name is so much worse.

“The sliver oak leaf.” pg. 222 Oh no

“Titania’s retainer told me. The entire Summer court has been laughing about it for months.” pg. 222 Ha

“I took it and pitched it into the haunted woods.” pg. 223 Ha

Toot-toot! 

“‘Accomplice is an ugly word. So is ‘penitentiary’” pg. 233 Ha

“He is kind of a drama queen.” pg. 237 Ha

“Who said anything about magic?” pg. 237 What else is Molly going to do?

“I think your mother would scream bloody murder” pg. 237 I’m screaming bloody murder.

“Morgan made a low, appreciative sound as the door closed.” pg. 237 MORGAN NO 

“Maybe. But that was just…just wrong.” pg. 237 Yep I agree completely. Wrong 

“Received, one six foot traditional Ozark walking club from Mr. Smart-ass.

That’s Doctor Smart-ass to you. I didn’t spend eight years in insult collage to be called Mister.” pg. 241 Ha

“I’m sorry sir,” she said “but the addition-counseling center is on twenty-six.” pg. 242 Ha

“I debated several answers and decided to start things off by annoying her.

I know. Me. Shocking, right?” pg. 245 Ha

“Her eyes were wide, her expression a mixture of terror and awe as she stared up me.” pg. 252 Evelyn what did you see in the soul gaze. Why terror and awe? 

Oh lovely another Mexican stand off now with Luccio. 

“There are monsters from whom I’d expect better behavior, once they had accepted my hospitality. What’s more, they’d give it to me.” pg. 257 Ha

“Bitch, I know you didn’t just say that.” pg. 258 Whoa there Molly let’s calm down.

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this,” I said. “So think real careful about where this is coming from. Have you people ever considered talking when you’ve got a problem?” pg. 259 Ha

“Sorry,” I told him at once. “Four-footed nonvocalizing company expected.” pg. 260 Ha

“You,” I asked “and Morgan?” pg. 262 What? I didn’t clock that at all. I’m just as bad as Harry. I didn’t see Luccio/Harry, Lara/Harry, and now Morgan/Luccio. So Morgan loves Luccio romantically. He must be so upset that Luccio and Harry are dating. 

“Who do I look like Kissinger?” pg. 266 I hope not. Kissinger is a terrible person. He commented war crimes.

“Is there any reason this can’t be civil visit?” pg. 270 Yes you brought Harry with you.

“Well. I couldn’t argue with that, but the words made Anastasia’s eyes narrow dangerously.” 277 I’m with Harry and Lara on their views on the White Council. 

“It was Thomas’s necklace.” pg. 296 Oh no Thomas 

“Because people in helpless situations come to you for help on a regular basis. And you help them. It’s what you do.” pg. 300 Yep that’s Harry in a nutshell.

“I always enjoy dealing with a man possessing  a well-developed sense if self-worth.” pg. 302 Harry doesn’t have that. 

“At what point did you forget that I am a vampire Dresden? A monster. A habitually neat, polite, civil, and effective monster. Her eyes drifted down the hallway, to where a well-muscled young man was being helped sit down, while a medic secured bandages over his eyes. Lara stared intently at him, the color of her eyes lightening to silver, her lips parted slightly. “So am I” pg. 307 Lara is scary

“He always worried that he’d never be able to talk to you. That the world he came from was so different. That he wouldn’t know enough about being human to relate. That he wouldn’t know about being a br-“ pg. 310 Aw Thomas 

“You’re like family to me, Harry. You always care.” pg. 310 Aw :)

“She focused sharply on Anastasia for a moment-and then upon me. 

Lara’s eyes flicked several shades paler as her ripe lips parted in dawning realization. A very slow smile crept over her mouth as she stared at me.” pg. 313 So Harry doesn’t have true love’s protection anymore. So that means Luccio doesn’t love him :( 

“Margret. You selfish bitch.” pg. 315 Whoa Luccio not a fan of Margaret I see.

I kinda agree with Margret about the council.

I don’t agree with Luccio. That’s a whole separate comment about her argument. 

“As harsh an experience as it created for you, Harry, the Laws of Magic are not about justice. The White Council is not about justice. They are about restraining power.” pg.  319 That’s my main issue with the White Council. I think they should be more about justice than they are. 

“Over. My. Dead. Body.” pg. 321 Yep Harry cares about his family. I wonder how Luccio figured it out but not Elaine. While Luccio had help from Justine it’s surprising that Luccio was able to piece it together but not Harry’s other friends. 

“Because you need your brother to be alright” pg. 325 Yep see previous comment. 

“Then if you want my help, things are going to change. I’m not charging blindfold again. Not ever.” pg. 337 Yep stop keeping your friends in the dark. 

“Then I made a fist and slugged his smug face hard enough to knock him over backward in the chair.” pg. 351 Ha

“The mighty Harry Dresden. Subcontracting detective work.” pg. 363 Ha

“Bear in mind that someone like him can do everything I can do and considerable besides. And even people on the bloody Council are nervous about that one.” pg. 367 Yep Harry can be scary.

“You lost a fight to one overgrown Boy Scout and one pint-sized mortal women, got yourself locked up by the police, of all the ridiculous things, and missed your chance to earn the reward.” pg. 369 Ha Harry is an overgrown Boy Scout. Why is it that these morally dubious people know that but the Council thinks he’s a black sheep/warlock? 

“The air smelled of cordite. Mouse’s fur, all down his left foreleg, was matted and caked with blood.” pg. 380 Oh no Mouse :( 

Oh no Molly broke a Law again. The same on too. 

“I promise that I’ll be beside you,” I said. “I can’t promise anything else. Only that I’ll stand beside you for as long as I can.” 

“Okay,” she whispered. She leaned against me.” pg. 393 Aw 

So subtle mind control. Maybe that’s what Peabody is doing with the inkwell. I don’t trust anyone who uses an inkwell. Just use a pen. 

“I think someone has tampered with Captain Luccio. I’d bet my life on it.” pg. 394 I knew it 

“You were acting?” I said “To make it hit Molly harder?” pg. 394 Good for Mouse.

“A real party. Practically everyone who’d wanted to kill me lately would be there.” pg. 399 Harry given your track record with parties I don’t see this going well.

“That is the plan” I confirmed. Then I bent down and kissed her forehead and her mouth, gently, and leaned my forehead against hers. “Love you too,” I whispered.” pg. 492 Yay Harry/Murph moment! 

“And yet here I am about to pop you in the nose,” I muttered. “Am I daring or what?” pg. 410 Ha and if it works on sharks it should work on Demonreach. 

“It rocked back at the impact. Not much. Maybe half an inch, though that column of fire  would have blown apart a brick wall. But I had moved it that half inch. There was no doubt about that.” pg. 418 So cool

“I am Harry Dresden, and I give thee a name, honored spirit. From this day on, be thou called Demonreach.” pg. 418 So cool

Demonreach is so cool. Harry names another. I wonder how this will play out. 

“I slid will into my voice as I said, simply, “Thank you.” pg. 419 Aw :) Harry being nice to Deamonreach. 

“I’ve got nothing going on in here at the moment.”

I realized what I had said just as the last word left my mouth, and glanced at Morgan. He lay on the bunk with his eyes closed. His mouth was turned up in small smile. “Too easy.” 

Molly fought not to grin.” pg. 426 Ha

So cool that Harry challenged the entire Senior Council. 

I like Toot-toot 

Gatekeeper! 

“I cannot decide,” he said “whether you are the most magnificent liar I’ve ever encountered in my life-or if you truly are as ignorant as you appear.”

I looked at him for a minute. Then I hooked my thumb up at my ridiculous head bandage.

“Dude” pg. 452 Ha

“There is the world that should be,” he growled, “and the world that is. We live in one.” 

“And must create the other,” Ebenezar retorted “if it is ever to be” pg. 469 So cool

“And then it hit me. They were dealing with something far more dangerous than me, Harry Dresden, whose battered old Volkswagen was currently in the city impound. They were dealing with the potential demonic dark lord nightmare warlock they’d been busy fearing since I turned sixteen. They were dealing with the wizard who had faced the Heirs of Kemmler riding a zombie dinosaur, and emerged victorious from a fight that had flattened Morgan and Captain Luccio  before they had even reached it. They were dealing with the man who had dropped a challenge to the entire Senior Council, and who had then actually showed, apparently willing to fight-on the shores of an entirely too creepy island in the middle of a freshwater sea.” pg. 471 So cool! 

Not a fan of ancient Mai 

“He was not truly your apprentice. You kept watch over him for a mere two years.” pg. 473 Yes Harry was an Ebenezer apprentice and it was an important two years!

I love that we got a glimpse into Harry’s appearance time. Yeah, having killed Justin a bunch of bully teenagers isn't all that scary in comparison. 

“Lady Raith,” Ebenezer said, calmly. “Touch that boy again and only things left for your kin to bury will be your five-hundred-dollar shoes.” pg. 479 So cool! I love how much love Ebenezer has for Harry and vice versa. 

“Wile E. Coyote” I said to him soberly. “Suuuuuuper Genius.” pg. 483 Ha 

Ebenezer used a force choke. It was cool.

Ahhhhh!!!! Lara is terrifying. Madeline didn’t deserve that. Why would you do that Lara? I’m going to have nightmares. Lara is definitely a monster. I don’t want her anywhere near Maggie.

“Someone had to be human.” pg. 512 Yep 

Poor Thomas :( 

“Bring it! Bring it, you dickless freak!” pg. 530 Ha 

Toot-toot to the rescue! 

“Mother says you have no place here.” 

“Father says you are ugly” pg. 539 Ha

“Just gonna kick your ass up between your ears.” pg. 540 Ha and Listen-to-winds is so cool. 

“Retribution,” Ebenezer said. “Not justice” pg. 555 It definitely isn’t justice. It’s retribution and vengeance. 

“I remind you that Dresden and his apprentice  aided and abetted a fugitive from justice.” pg. 556 Stop calling it justice it’s not justice.

“Little guy like that, taking on something so far out of his weight class. That was a sight to see.” 

Ebenezer snorted. “Yeah. Wonder where the pixie learned that.” pg. 558 Ha and where do you think Harry learned it from. Definitely not Justin. 

I think Harry should learn from Listen-to-winds. 

Oh no Ebenezer doesn’t know about Thomas. Maybe Harry and sit him down and they actually have a conversation about Thomas. I can dream ok. 

Oh no poor Thomas what happened to you?

“Wile E. Coyote,” I said wisely. “ Suuuuuuper genius” pg. 569 Ha 

“Ebenezar was of the opinion that apprentices were always hungry. Can’t imagine where he got that idea from.” pg. 576 Ha

Ebenezer is a cool bookworm. I wonder if Harry got being a bookworm from Ebenezer.

“The Merlin has demanded that we put the boy under surveillance at once. I think he’s a damn fool.” pg. 578 Ebenezar is right. Harry would not be happy about that. White Council looks like a police state. 

“But then again, I trusted Maggie’s too” pg. 578 Maggie as in Harry’s mom? Did Ebenezer teach Harry’s mom? Do they have a parental substitute dynamic? Actual parent and child? Look I’m going to get one of these relationships right I swear. 

“Merlin,” pg. 579 As in the original Merlin?

“Mai looked daggers at Injun Joe” pg. 584 Not a fan of Ancient Mai

“Mai looked as if someone had hit her between the eyes with a sledgehammer. “That,” she said, in a breathless tone “is a Foo dog.” She stared at me “Where did you get such a thing? And why were you allowed to keep it?” pg. 588 First of all Mouse isn’t a thing or an it. He was the best boy there ever was. Second of all Harry didn’t pick Mouse, Mouse picked Harry. 

“It is my belief that Peabody has been drugging the ink for the purpose of attempting greater mental influence over the decisions of members of the Senior Council, and that it is entirely possible that he has compromised the free will of the younger members of the Council tonight.” pg. 588 I was right!? I knew that inkwell was evil. Never trust an inkwell. 

I will begrudgingly admit that Merlin is a little bit cool with the whole telepathy thing. Incredibly begrudgingly :/

Morgan, what are you doing about it? You should be resting. Keep doing this and it’ll kill you. Go line down. 

I can’t believe I was right about Luccio's mind control. And with Peabody. Maybe I can be a P. I. like Harry lol 

“I knew that you knew how it felt to be an innocent man hounded by the Wardens.” pg. 600 He admits it.

“He died less than a minute later.” pg. 600 He died! :0 Morgan’s died? What? 

Harry’s got a cool eye scar now. 

The Gray Council is cool.

“That the only alternative is to stand around and watch everything go to hell.” His voice hardened. “We’re not going to do that.” 

“Damn right we’re not.” pg. 616 Good

“You’re not even forty.” pg. 622 So Harry’s still in his thirties. He’s grown so much.

Poor Thomas 

Glad that Butters is joining Harry’s D&D group. 

Final thoughts 

Great way to start the book. No Bi Harry moments. I thought the book was funny. I wish we got more Marcone to see who he is and if he’s picked up the coin. My working theory is that he picked it up in the last book. Unsure if he touched it bare handed and just has it in his possession or if he has it and hasn’t given in like with Harry. They both have a lot of willpower. He partnered up with Namshiel after Harry died and there was no longer a wizard in Chicago. I hope he shows up in the next book. I loved Mouse in this. I loved the Harry and Murphy moment. I’m shocked I was right about Peabody. That wasn’t anywhere close to a logical conclusion in my deduction. The inkwell was a total guess on my end. Lara is terrifying. I’m sad that Morgan died and what happened to Luccio. Didn’t like the Morgan and Molly thing. Poor poor Thomas. I hope he can come back from this. Loved Toot-toot in this. Not the biggest fan of ancient Mai and glad she was shocked by Mouse. I’m glad Morgan sort of apologized to Harry at the end there. Harry’s reputation grows among the supernatural community. I loved all the Ebenezer and Harry moments in this book especially with the force choke on Lara. Interesting that Peabody had the stuff from outside reality. So this Black Council is in league with the Outsiders(Is that what they’re called?) my question is why? Presumably the Outsiders want to destroy reality so why would anyone want to side with them? Are they possessed? Also if they’re so bad how did Harry defeat one at 16? Glad Harry and Ebenezar are forming the Gray Council if Merlin isn’t going to do anything. Love that has a cool eye scar. Ebenezer really shaped how Harry views magic and life. That must have been such an important two years. Hope we get more glimpse into it. I’ll probably make a whole different comment on Luccio's argument and why I think it’s wrong. 

Onto the next book! Oh boy it’s the big one.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

You Have My Attention: Dresden Files First Lines

I tend to give a book a few pages or even the first chapter to catch me, but for some readers, you get one line. Despite my complicated feelings about the Dresden Files as a series, Jim Butcher is a bit of an evil genius for first lines (note the plural on that). Here are the first lines of every book (excluding the short stories because that's a whole other kettle of dragons).

"I heard the mailman approach my office door, half hour earlier than usual."

--Storm Front

"I never used to keep close track of the phases of the moon."

--Fool Moon

"There are reasons I hate to drive fast."

--Grave Peril

"It raned toads the day the White Council came to town."

--Summer Knight

"Some things just aren't meant to go together. Things like oil and water. Orange juice and toothpaste. Wizards and television."

--Death Masks

"The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault."

--Blood Rites

"On the whole, we're a murderous race. According to Genesis, it took as few as four people to make the planet too crowded to stand, and the first murder was a fratecide. Genesis says that in a fit of jealous rage, the very first child born to moral parents, Cain, snapped and popped the first metaphorical cap in another human being. The attack was a bloody, brutal, violent, reprehensible killing. Cain's brother Abel probably never saw it coming."

--Dead Beat

"Blood leaves no stain on a Warden's grey cloak."

--Proven Guilty

"Many things are not what they seem: The worst things in life enever are."

--White Night

"Winter came early that year; it should have been a tip-off."

--Small Favor

"The summer sun was busy broiling the asphalt from Chicago's streets, the agony in my head had kept me horizontal for hald a day, and some idiot was pounding on my apartment door."

--Turn Coat

"I answered the phone, and Susan Rodriguez said, 'They've taken our daughter.'"

--Changes

"Life is hard. Dying's easy."

--Ghost Story

"Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, has unique ideas regarding physical therapy."

--Cold Days

"There was a ticking time bomb inside my head and the one person I ttrusted to go in and get it out hadn't shown up or spoken to me for more than a year."

--Skin Game

"My brother ruined a perfectly good run by saying 'Justine is pregnant.'"

--Peace Talks

"Apocalypses always kick off at the witching hour. That's something you know now."

--Battle Ground

[myopinionisimportant]

'You'd hang your own man out to dry. Even though you know he's innocent.'

His eyes glittered with a sudden cold fire, and I had to work not to flinch. 'I will do whatever is necessary. Bear that in mind as you "help" me.'

- Pretty sure I would read at least a trilogy just about the Merlin and his rise to power.

[charliethejumper]

It’s a horrible feeling to realize you’ve skipped a book while your 2/3rds of the way through.

[girlzoot]

For the record, surgeries aren’t pretty. There’s a hideous sense of intimately inappropriate exposure to another human being, and it feels something like accidentally walking in on a naked parent. Only there’s more gore. —Jim Butcher/Turn Coat

[clevermird]

Review: Turn Coat (Dresden Files, book 11) by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden thought he was prepared for anything – until his old nemesis, Warden Donald Morgan, shows up bleeding at his front door and begs for his help. Someone has framed Morgan for murder and he needs shelter, medical attention, and help to find the real killer. Against his better judgement, Harry says ‘yes’ and in the process attracts the attention of vampires, skinwalkers, and even a private investigator. 

I often struggle to review Dresden Files books simply because so little that would be relevant to a review changes between the installments. If you love the staples of the series – fast moving scenes, multiple plotlines that crash together at the end, flashy magical fights, snarky first-person narration, and a huge cast of characters – then you’ll get what you want here. If you don’t, then there is nothing in this book that will change your mind about the series. 

What Turn Coat does have to offer is some fleshing out of the wider word of wizards beyond Harry, including a glimpse at the White Council headquarters, as well as some development on Morgan and a few other unexpected side characters. Molly and Mouse continue to be a source of side hilarity and there are several moments at the end that are truly heartfelt if you’ve grown attached to the characters – giving me plenty of feelings both happy and sad.

My biggest complaint about the book is related to my complaint about Small Favor – when I reviewed that book, I felt that there were several plotlines left unsatisfyingly unresolved, more so than is usual for the series, and none of them really moved forward in Turn Coat. Apart from a quick mention, we get no insight into how Michael and Charity are faring, nor is there any time devoted to the possible consequences of The Archive’s traumatic experience at the hands of Nicodemus. While the focus obviously lies elsewhere, with the amount of time that’s apparently passed between the two books, it would have been nice to have a bit of an update.

But although some of the weaknesses of such an expansive series are starting to show, Turn Coat is another solid read for fans of Harry and company and promises both excitement and emotion aplenty. 

Warnings: Because the White Court is involved, expect plenty of strongly implied sexual assault. Additionally, while the series is no stranger to violence, Turn Coat contains a notable increase in the level of graphic details and gore over previous books.

Rating: 8/10

[b0tster]

sleeveless coat weather 🌳💧🪄

[puppyeared]

me when the laikas comet. is this anything

@laikascomet

[pinacoladamatata]

"couldn't stand looking at the bastard i saw in the mirror anymore..."

[fashionsfromhistory]

Fireman's Coat

Late 19th Century to Early 20th Century

Japan

Japanese firemen's coats are reversible. When fighting fires, the coat was worn as shown, together with close-fitting trousers, a hood, and gloves. Saturated with water, these garments gave protection against flames. A bold, legible pattern on the back identified the fireman’s brigade. For festive occasions, the pictorial side faced outward. This coat shows the Toad Spirit offering to teach the robber Jiraya magic, provided he used it only to benefit humanity.

Denver Art Museum (Accession Number: 1999.265)

[void-and-virtue]

Lying on the floor in a puddle of my tears and staring blankly at the ceiling as I once again think about all the fucked up, multi-dimensional ways that Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung encompass the god vs creation and deity vs worshipper dynamics

[gaycrittercentral]

BEHOLD!! I made an entry to Skunkape's 2023 Holiday Contest! :'Dc I worked so fuckin hard on it hhhrhrhrhgdhsjglshgjdjfh and let me tell you, I do not at all hope to win but I do hope it makes Steve snicker. Just the thought that he'll be seeing it is wild. Hope it makes y'all snicker too ehehehe!!

[checkoutmybookshelf]

It's Complicated...

The latest two Dresden Files books were part of one of the early posts on this blog, and it's no secret that I'm extraordinarily not a fan of the stupid abelist turn those books took. Normally, that would have been more than enough to disqualify the series from getting discussed here. What makes this series complicated is that when I was tutoring ESL students, I had a really sweet, bright teenager who wasn't feeling reading. Out of sheer desperation, I handed him the first book of this series. A week later, I was expecting to talk about the first couple of chapters. He walked in halfway through the second book. So let's talk Dresden.

There are, quite simply, too many books in this series for me to go through one by one, so I'm going to speak mostly about this series in general, overarching strokes, with the odd spotlight on a few particular books.

The Dresden Files start out as urban fantasy crossed with pulp, noir, and hard-boiled detective fiction a la Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. For you classic film buffs, think Humphrey Bogard as Sam Spade and add magic. That original premise is strong enough to carry over the first few arguably mediocre novels, but once Butcher hits his stride as an author, the writing quality improves to be worthy of the plot and character work that was never not strong. However, the pulp, noir, and hard-boiled roots of the books mean that there is more than a little cynicism, sexism, misogyny, violence (particularly sexual violence and violence against women), and mega male gaze.

When I started the series, all of this was very present in the early books, but I was willing to overlook it, if not forgive it, because of the literary tradition that the fantasy was being couched in. I took a detective fiction class in grad school, and aside from the monsters and magic, early Dresden Files is basically bog standard hard-boiled noir pulp. You can hate a genre's conventions, absolutely, and I have issues with it, but it's the genre the author chose to draw on, so on some level, it's not the genre without the things.

It kind of feels like the lady doth protest too much, so bottom line: Genres have conventions for a reason, and these are the conventions we deal with for the genre of the early Dresden Files books.

After Summer Knight, though, there is a very subtle shift from the lone detective against a cruel, uncaring world, to exploring institutions. The CPD, White Council, Knights of the Cross, Ordo Lebes, and various other magical insitutions thrust more and more into prominence. And actually, I think Butcher does institutional politics WAY better than he did pulpy noir. The factions are clear and they have inherently conflicting needs and wants, and Harry himself has fingers in multiple institutional pies, and watching him get pulled in ten different directions by ten different imperatives with increasingly high stakes is never not fun.

This shift from lone ranger Harry to member of too many communities Harry really comes to a head in Changes, when he leverages his current connections and changes the entire structure of the series. And I remember when Changes came out, and waiting for Ghost Story to release was paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaainful. But at this point, despite the remnants of all the negative things from the pulpy roots of the series, I was extremely a Dresden stan. And I stayed a hard core Dresden stan through Skin Game, which supplanted Small Favor as my favorite of the series.

Skin Game was something magical, because it's the book that really took all the growth from the series and married it to a heist movie while also returning to the hard-boiled noir pulp roots of the series. This book knocked me flat, because Harry getting recruited to a heist crew by freaking Nicodemus to break into Hades's vault is literally the premise of the book and it just gets better from there. I can't say enough good things about this book.

Then we come to Peace Talks and Battle Ground, which are collectively the reason I am so hesitant to recommend the series to new readers. Maybe some of it was my feeling that I really didn't want to read about a massive, potentially world-ending disaster in summer and fall of 2020 (I actually think we were still in some level of lockdown when both of these books came out; I certainly couldn't go TO the bookstore to get them, they had to be delivered). But that at least made sense given the interorganizational and interpersonal politics that had been set up in the series up to this point. I could manage disaster fiction in the middle of a disaster, although I wasn't like...the most psyched about it.

What I was LEAST psyched about though, was the ableism. I've already talked about it in some detail in another post, so I won't go into detail or spoilers here, but I will say that ableism mixed heavily with sexism in the middle of a mass disease and mass disabling event pissed me right the hell off. I was not ok when I read this, you guys, and I am still furious two and a half years later. I am going to die mad about this. And frankly, I don't want to support authors who are so massively comfortable with that level of ableism, so I'm not inclined to recommend the Dresden Files to people.

And yet, these books got one of my students--and an ESL student at that, so the barriers were even higher for him--to read. And I cannot easily dismiss the power of that hard fact. This is a bit of a personal character arc for me, because dumbass 18-year-old undergrad me fully did not value the Twilight books for the fact that they got how many teens who might otherwise not have read reading, and I really should have. We can have conversations about aspects of books that are problematic or that perpetuate inequity, patriarchy, and violence, but with this series in particular, I struggle with the balance between "these books get teenagers reading" and "these books perpetuate ideologies that actively harm marginalized populations."

I don't have an answer to this one, guys.

Harry Potter was easy enough to let go from my life because trans people being safe and happy and existing are objectively more important than those books/movies/games/literally everything else in that franchise that supports the active harm that JK Rowling does.

Butcher is, as far as my research has turned up, not actively harming populations. That would have made my decision easier, but the thing is, reiterating ableist tropes subversively can reinforce that ableism is ok for uncritical readers. And yet if you look at popular media and the western literary canon, the ableist tropes are all throughout them. We give this a pass for plenty of so-called great authors and filmmakers and creators.

Hell, I was willing to give the Dresden Files a pass for a ton of stuff that perpetuates ideologies that can be harmful to women, and that's without the erasure of nonbinary and LGBTQ+ identities by sticking to heteronormativity. So, frankly, this is complicated. I don't have answers here, but I wanted to at least begin to think and talk about this. Because for better or worse, Dresden Files is in the SFF zeitgeist, and we have to reckon with it, as we do with lots of books that we think deeply about.

[niccoguedes]

BABY SAID...

ty!

Hello, thank you for the support on my BG3 fanart. 🔥❤️

Some of you asked for individual full shots of them, so I decided to make it. There's an interesting suggestion with Shadowheart and Karlarch I might do as well...

"Can I use it as wallpaper/screen cover?"

Sure. Just don't remove my signature or modify the drawing.🤘

"Can I print it on my own?"

If possible, please consider supporting me via INPRNT. If you can't, ofc, I won't hold you, go on, print it and later drop me a coffee at ko-fi, darling! You can also share some cents via paypal. Send pics as well of your achievement. For personal use only. 🔥

"Can I print it to sell, use commercially?"

No. Unless you pay me 100kUSD.

🇧🇷"Tem print?" Sim. Só me enviar comprovante de 50$ no pix: 51648094000140 e endereço de preferência para o e-mail: niccoguedes @ gmail.com . Envio no tamanho A4 com rastreio.

[risariba]

this is very important

[birbwell]