Dead Beat: The Dresden Files, Book 7

In this book, you will see dead people. Not only that but zombies. And necromancer. Oh my!Who are you going to call?Not The Ghost Busters!But... Harry Dresden?

I have been reading (and mostly rereading, because I stopped keeping up with the series after Changes) the Dresden Files for years and this is one of my favorite books of the series; it's tied with Summer Knight for absolute fav.Whereas my favorite part of Summer Knight is the focus on the nonhuman characters - particularly the Fae, who I think are really well written as an amoral Other rather than just plain evil nonhumans - what I like about Dead Beat is the focus on some of Harry's best qualities: his dry and sarcastic humor (this book reads as very funny to me) as well as his ability to think on his feet and use adaptability to face and change situations that seem hopeless (the entire situation with the necromancers; just: all of it). I also really like the supporting characters in this novel (Thomas Raith, a White Court vampire who's also Harry's half-brother, and Waldo Butters, an ME who's a recent addition to the in-the-know crowd), the twisty-turny plot (first this, then that, and oh look someone finally thought to take advantage of certain downsides to magic), and the fact this book is more reflective on certain parts on the Dresdenverse than other books have been (everything from wizard healing to the meaning of choice to the actual function of the Wardens gets a mention).What I don't like about the Dresden Files - that Dresden himself is a sexist ass, which doesn't change even though it does get less pronounced with certain characters over time (I'd forgotten about Murphy helping destroy nest of Black Court vampires in the book before this one) - is less pronounced in Dead Beat for one reason: the lack of female characters. This is something I'm torn on. I'm happy that, at least for one book, Dresden's patronizing chauvinism plays a relatively minor role and I didn't have to put up with it for long as there are exactly five female characters in this book that play any role - Murphy (who goes off to vacation in Hawaii at the very beginning of the book; she's completely uninvolved in the rest of the plot), Mavra (a Black Court vampire blackmailing Dresden for the plot's macguffin who shows up for two scenes that bookend the novel), Kumori (an apprentice to one of the necromancers, supposedly in the service of eliminating death), the Corpsetaker (one of the actual necromancers and who only counts on this list because they're in a stolen female body for most of the book), and Shiela (the imprint of the Fallen Angel Lasciel) - and, of the five, only Shiela/Lasciel recur more than a few times and are meant to be anything other outright villains. The characters are there (in that have at least one scene and they're named), but have little in the way of actual characterization; they read less like people and more like archetypes (Lasciel is the Temptress, Kumori is the Misguided Girl, etc). This is like saying 'Well, if example-MC treats nonwhite characters in racist ways, just have fewer nonwhite characters, put them in smaller roles meant to do/symbolize specific and discrete things - thus having a smaller range of potential interactions - and that aren't meant to be have good connotations anyway; problem solved.' As this would not 'solve the problem' of the example MC's racism, such similar treatment of female characters in Dead Beat does not appropriately deal with the issue of Dresden's sexism. Though somewhat masked, it's still there and will still return full force in later books.

As Jim Butcher continues the Dresden series, the sensation of accumulated damage leading to massive shifts in the setting and characters are becoming more apparent. In Dead Beat, Dresden is put into a position where compromise is essential for his survival. The plot of the novel is a step up from Blood Rites, with stronger antagonists and a brief return of a wonderful villain. The underpinning of the plot is a story of a man taking his first step into the abyss of moral ambiguity.In case it's not apparent, there's going to be some spoilers going forward. Back in book five (Death Masks), Harry Dresden made a decision to pick up a coin. Innocuous enough if the coin had not been the fetter of Lasciel, a fallen angel of the Order of the Black Denarians. In Dead Beat Dresden must confront the consequences of that decision. Despite putting the coin behind a powerful binding, a shadow of Lasciel has inhabited Dresden's mind. One after-effect of this indwelling is Dresden's magic being augmented by Hellfire, a powerful otherworldly substance.As a character Dresden has always been a hero. He's practical and pragmatic to a degree but he's always been written by Butcher as possessing a strong moral center. In past novels, Dresden has been offered greater power but always turned it down. In Dead Beat, Butcher puts his main character into a fight Dresden simply cannot win. Rather than use a deus ex machine or some outlandish new power that appears simply to resolve the plot, Butcher has Dresden compromise his moral center just a bit to give himself a fighting chance. Dresden agonizes over this decision but he comes up with the necessary rationalization.Lasciel's shadow is an intriguing addition to the Dresdenverse. Temptress seems to be the easiest designation but that would be rather simplistic. Lasciel is cunning and I would venture to say she has the potential to be as diabolical as the Denarian attached to Nicodemus. While she makes multiple statements to her desire to simply help Harry, Dresden and the readers are left with the overwhelming feeling there's more behind her pleas. It's an interesting development and I'm looking forward to how it grows in future novels.Speaking of interesting developments, Dead Beat progresses the war begun in Grave Peril to a zenith. One of the downsides of a first-person narrative is the lack of scope and scale. Having an overarching metaplot is excellent but with a first-person narration it requires characters to arrive and become exposition-heavy talking heads (as opposed to Bob the Skull, who's a tongue-in-cheek talking head). Butcher handles such scenes well. The war update in Dead Beat drags on a bit too long but it serves a necessary purpose. Butcher is setting the stage for the war with the Red Court draw to a close but it's a conflict that will leave the universe Dresden lives in worse for the wear.The novel has the excellent set-piece moments a reader should expect from the Dresden Files. The title reveals plenty of the story elements. Butcher makes good use of the undead in this book. The standard zombies make an appearance as well as ghosts. Butcher uses the undead in a fashion similar to other supernatural in this series: he highlights how terrifying they can be. It wouldn't be a Dresden novel without a fair amount of wisecracks and witty banter. Butcher devotes a good chuck of the opening to bringing Butters (a recent addition to the mundane human cast) into the fold fully. The conversation between Dresden and Butters concerning this universe's version of the Masquerade is the first time Butcher has put the concept on paper in full detail. It's a minor point for me (having read enough stories that use a Masquerade of some kind) but one I felt needed to be detailed. For others new to this concept, it might be a little difficult to swallow, especially considering the events of the novel.I enjoyed Dead Beat as much as I've enjoyed the other books in the series. I can see some of the end-game threads start to form. Butcher is laying in place the foundation for the next several novels and the war that has consumed much of what Dresden cares about. To say I'm intrigued is a vast understatement. Seven books into this series and I still find reasons to enjoy it and to keep reading. I definitely recommend Dead Beat and would suggest getting into the Dresden bandwagon.

Para mim foi o melhor livro da série, pelo menos dos que eu li até agora (estou no livro 8).

Very entertaining like the others books.Vert helpful to improve your vocabulary if you're studying English.The character gets better with every book!

Ritmo serrato e trama meno dispersiva per questo settimo volume delle avventure di Harry Dresden, mago professionale.Un volume che ci mostra Harry alle prese con i cambiamenti avvenuti nella sua vita negli ultimi tempi, con l'escalation di potenti nemici che sta affrontando, e con i dubbi sulla sua stessa sanità mentale.E che ci porta a un ulteriore e inatteso cambiamento nella vita di Harry.Oltre a donarci immagini splendide come la cavalcata finale con Sue, nuovi personaggi come Ramirez e sane secchiate di ironia e strafottenza made in Dresden.Sette libri e tutto va bene, anzi molto bene.

This book, in my humble opinion, is decidedly inferior in comparison to its predecessors in the Dresden Files. It was heavy on loss, death, pain, devastation, misery, and everybody-v/s-Harry. Simultaneously it was light on humour. I had even considered quitting. It was only the reanimated Sue who had kept me going. But after concluding the book, and comprehending the arc somewhat, I think that this one was actually a very good book. Recommended as a Dresdenesque book: scarred, dangerous, attractive and heroic.

Ce volet des aventures de notre magicien loser est à mon sens l'un des meilleurs si ce n'est le meilleurs de la saga, à ce stade.Le thème de ce tome est la nécromancie, et notre Harry va se retrouver confronter à un lot de pratiquants que l'on peut qualifier, pour ceux qui ont des origines rolesques ou qui viennent de l'heroic fantasy, de gros bill. De bon gros bill comme on aime en voir, de ceux qui ont la fâcheuse tendance à provoquer l'ouverture soudaine de la mâchoire de Harry, qui donne l'impression d'être un nouvel arrivant de Poudlard capable au mieux de faire des étincelles avec une baguette quand en face il peuvent anéantir le monde. Bien entendu, tout cela reste enrobé d'un humour agréable.L'intrigue en soi est déjà plaisante, mais l'auteur se permet également d'approfondir le personne de Harry un peu plus, ses sentiments et ses interrogations sur ses choix, ses envies, ses relations. La distance se creuse avec Thomas, la relation avec Murphy semble être vouée à l'échec, et Harry commence à tâter virer du blanc vers le gris, en communiquant un peu plus avec Lasciel.Tout est combiné pour faire de ce tome un livre captivant, haletant même, qu'on a du mal à lâcher.