James Marsters – Workaday Reads

Review: White Night

Nov 062015

I find later-in-the-series book hard to review because I never know what to discuss. It’s not like the characters are all new, or I don’t know what kind of story it will be. Harry is a familiar character now, and I know he’s going to get into a crazy and complicated situation where multiple bad guys are going to try to harm him and/or his friends. That is certainly the case with this story. Although it’s not entirely new, the story itself is quite entertaining. I find this series has become a type of comfort read as I adore Harry […]

Review: Proven Guilty

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Aug 052015

This book surprised me by revealing a lot about a character that Harry has a spotty past relationship with: Charity Carpenter. She’s always seemed to hate Harry without any specific reason, and this book really helped fill in the holes in that attitude. It was interesting to get to know her better, and see what motivated her attitude towards Harry. The revelations really show how far in advance the series was plotted, and how intricate everything is woven together. Charity isn’t the only female Carpenter in the book. Molly is all grown up and in serious trouble of her own. […]

Review: Dead Beat

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Apr 212015

Reading this series is like listening to the latest adventure of a friend, and this book is no exception. This time around Harry goes through a lot of trouble, but comes out a little stronger than before. Character growth in a series can be a big deal, and Harry tends to grow very slowly. This book felt like it had some measurable growth, which is good since the bad guys keep getting more and more evil. Even if Harry’s personal growth seems slow, the growth of his family is much more obvious. Contrasting his relationships in this book with the […]

Review: Blood Rites

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Jan 212015

This installment of the series seemed to be all about series development, and it was awesome! Harry seemed to take charge in several situations, and this felt like a great improvement. Too often, it seems like Harry just goes with the flow, but he really seemed to be directing several situations, and it really fit him. Some of the bigger developments can’t be mentioned without spoilers, but one development was the appearance of Karen Murphy. It seems like she hasn’t been present much in the last few books, but she gets lots of page time in this book, which I […]

Review: Death Masks

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Dec 112014

This is a series that seems to get better with every installment. There more more creatures and ever escalating convolutions to plots. The only thing it’s missing is much development of the main character. Yes, Harry Dresden is still one of my favourite characters, but he never really seems to grow or change. This book is no different. He hasn’t learned any new magic since the last book, and yet he still manages to survive an encounter with an even bigger bad guy. I hope something about his character advances soon. This book saw the return of Michael from book […]

Review: Summer Knight

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Aug 112014

Oh, Harry, how I’ve missed you and your antics. This is an urban fantasy series that I felt immediately familiar and comfortable with, and even though I had a long break between this book and the previous, I was able to pick it back up without any hesitation. There is just something so easy about these books. As a series progression book, this one felt a bit slow, but as a stand alone plot, it was enjoyable. It’s odd, since so much happened in the book, including many things that will have long lasting series fallout, but the overall feel […]

Review: Grave Peril

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Mar 062013

This book felt very removed from the previous book in the series. This book takes place a year after the last one, and the main supporting character, Michael, is apparently Harry’s new best friend. Murphy barely features in the story while Michael is with Harry every step of the way. Where did Michael come from? There is a bit of back story provided, but I still felt very out of the loop. Harry felt much more vulnerable and fragile in this story. We learn more about his past when his godmother appears repeatedly. Harry has had a hard life, and […]

Review: Fool Moon

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Jan 302013

I have concluded that this series is basically one that I want to read to enjoy and not review or dissect. Part of the reason is that even after only two books, Harry feels like a character I know intimately. How can I objectively review his stories when he feels like a friend? That is definitely one of the strengths of the books. Moving beyond the fact that I love Harry and his nonchalent, casual attitude, the rest of the characters are also quite enjoyable. Karen was less present in this book, and that was sad. I love her gruff, […]