Turn Coat

If you didn't already know this about me, I love the Dresden Files series. I just absolutely love it.

My mom had recorded the first episode of the TV show and that was a really good TV show, if short-lived. In the opening credits, they mentioned it was based off of the book series by Jim Butcher, but I didn't really pay any attention to that. Eventually though, thanks to the Science Fiction Book Club that I got mail from, I bought the first omnibus to the series, with the first three books in it. And let me tell you something, the show is crap in comparison. The first book was just really good, but possibly the worst of the series. Butcher hadn't quite gotten into a rhythm with the series, so it was good, but a little too happy at the end. The rest of the series' ends aren't nearly as happy.

The twelfth book just came out last Tuesday, but I just finished the 11th tonight. Jumping onto the bandwagon a little late, I never really caught up with the series. I will soon, but it took me some time to go through the books. I went through the omnibuses pretty fast, reading through the 1st through 9th books quickly, but since there hasn't even been a fourth omnibus containing 10 and 11 yet, I had to get those separately. In general, it is easier (and cheaper) to buy the paperback rather than the hardcover. Plus, it is easier to take it places, as it is smaller. Still, the hardcover comes out around a year before the paperback, so the time also factors in. I got the 10th as a paperback, but not wanting to wait a few months for the paperback of the 11th, I just picked up the 11th in hardcover form, although I was reading other books at the time. When the paperback finally did come out, I hadn't started the hardcover yet, making me feel bad about that money waste.

This, though, is about the 11th book in the series, Turn Coat, and how amazing it is. Well, I really don't like spoilers, so I'll just try and give vague feelings. It starts out with a really big open and then picks up steam from there. There are plenty of twists and turns and it is an amazing book to read. Harry once again proves how crazy he is, this time invoking a Sanctum Invocation, making a place his sanctum. Oh, and he faces off against something way more powerful than him (again). Other than that, there is a small running gag in the book alone, in that there are people at his house who don't get along. He leaves by himself and comes back to find a "bizarre tableau." Three times. It gets silly, but in a good way. The series is both really good at making deep stories that are amazing, but also at realizing that a little humor every now and then goes a long way, with funny little asides and just enough snark from Harry to really make it feel right. The climax of the book went on for arguably 94 pages (maybe shorter, depending on what you want to consider the climax), and I think I read the last third to last half in one sitting tonight, just because it was so unbelievably good.

If you haven't read the series, I highly recommend to read the first book, then the second one if the first one felt a little stilted, as the writing and stories get better. If you just didn't like the concept, well, the second one won't help for that. Still, if you want to also see the series, do that first. It's available on Hulu (the entire thing) and it is really good. If you read, then watch, the show will seem bad. If you watch, then read, the show will be its own thing that was on its own (not as good, but different and a decent series if not something that's related to the books in any real way). So, to get the full experience, watch the show, then read the first book, the second book if the first's writing is just not quite there. It is an amazing series.