Death Masks by Jim Butcher

Book 5 of The Dresden Files

Another Harry Dresden adventure. And another reading experience with complete and total lack of disappointment! These books are so much fun to read!

I’m beginning to expect a somewhat reliable pattern to the novels in The Dresden Files: Harry takes on a job that turns out to be much more important than he realizes; he gets himself into big, big trouble in the course of the job itself and/or with any number of the other enemies he has made throughout the series; he makes some new friends/enemies/frenemies; he gets beat up or tortured, almost killed, exhausted, as do most of his allies; he finds some way to keep from losing hope, usually by being more stubborn than anyone could have guessed. This formula is far from boring, and, for a formula, isn’t all that predictable, really. And I love to see Harry get buried up to his neck, and how he’s going to get out of it this time.

Harry turns out to be an inferior hero in Death Masks, inferior to both his friends and his enemies. His allies, very serious soldiers of God and his old girlfriend, Susan, who now has some new talents of her own, are stronger and more dedicated to their personal missions than Harry could ever be. Harry’s slight unscrupulousness and inability to take orders (or sometimes even listen to reason) allow him to break through the seriously hard-core situation threatening, well, all of humanity. Where the others would back off, he soldiers on. He cannot do it on his own, of course, and his friends’ sacrifices must save him. He also must make some difficult decisions and it remains to be seen what kind of trouble that slight unscrupulousness of his will lead to in future stories.

There’s nothing less than the Shroud of Turin, fallen angels and their followers, a plague curse, and a wickedly powerful vampire to contend with in Death Masks. There’s also plenty of sword fighting, fiery explosions, sexual tension, and Harry’s special brand of wizarding magic. It’s exhausting being Harry Dresden, but very entertaining to read Butcher’s accounts of his unusual life.

 

Coming next: The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny


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