SUMMARY
After
being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm
between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry
realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry
Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.
He is now Harry Dresden, Winter
Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to
swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal
away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no
matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no
matter who she wants him to kill.
Guess which Mab wants first?
Of
course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest
minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right?
And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable
source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make
death look like a holiday.
Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his
friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a
way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only
thing he has left to call his own…His soul.
REVIEW
The
worst thing about Cold Days is that finishing it means you will have to wait
another year or so before you can read another new Harry Dresden book.
Besides
that very sad fact, this book was amazing.
Cold
Days starts out by introducing readers to Harry’s new life situation as the
Winter Knight. Harry’s rehabilitation plan with Mab consists of everything from
deadly fae trying to kill him, poisonous spiders, and pretty much every other
dangerous and terrible fate thrown at him in a “if it doesn’t kill you it’ll make
you stronger” sense. Of course once rehabilitated, the fun really starts, as
Harry’s asked to do the impossible, kill an immortal.
The
story moves on from there in a fashion somewhat similar to Butcher’s other
books in the series. That said, while Cold Days does follow a similar pacing
and formula for revealed points of information, there are some attributes that
make this holy different. First, the entire book is seen through a dark and
grave lens, making everything much more perilous and fewer moment of humor.
This is reminiscent of the situations our heroes are facing, everyone has been
damaged emotionally and physically by Harry’s passing and in the time
afterwards. Further, readers will be shocked by the new secrets and alliances
that are revealed in this installment of the series. The puppet master’s
themselves are revealed for the first time, giving a brief glimpse into the
Black Council, the cause of the infighting between summer and winter courts and
the red and white courts, and the rise in power of the Fomor. Of course, with
every question answered even more are raised.
That
said, this in my opinion is one of the best things about the series. How
Butcher builds these relationships and subplots over time, that even dedicated
readers will be shocked by. Characters that barely had a mention five books
prior are suddenly at the forefront. Everything can come back to haunt you.
This constantly keeps readers on their toes, making the series utterly
fantastic.
Each
book in the series now, become a bestseller, and there’s good reason for it.
It’s an amazing series, with fantastic characters that grow and change
throughout the books, they are filled with action and adventure sure to keep
readers guessing until the end. All in all, go buy Cold Days, but make sure to
read the previous books in the series first, but don’t worry, it’ll be worth
it.
INFO
Publisher:
Roc
Published: November
27, 2012
Price:
$27.95
I have listened to all of the Dresden audiobooks, and I just finished Cold Days. This is a wonderful series and I can't wait till the next book. I hope that Jim never tires with the Dresden Files, and keeps going for a long time. Cold Days is a wonderful book and I enjoyed it from the first page to the last! Well done Jim Butcher, keep it coming!
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