Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: Once again, Jim Butcher has created a novel that carries you along on a roller coaster ride leaving you almost literally panting by the end. Being narrated in first person usually robs a book of suspense, because you know that the main character will survive to tell his story. Butcher knows his stuff, however. Rather than focus on whether or not Harry will make it, he focuses on how. Seeing into the mind of a wizard gives a view of the process of magic that is simply fascinating.Even the mystery in this book is not your standard fare. It's fairly easy to guess the killer a short way into this book. But that's not important. The key is determining the underlying reasons and power struggles which lead to the murder. Not an easy thing to do when you're dealing with the Fae. My personal favorite part of this book has to do with Dresden's interaction with his friend and sometime partner Murphy. I won't say exactly what changes, but let's say that Harry begins to finally realize how silly he's been in his dealings with Murph and he begins to correct the situation. Hurray for character development! :) All-in-all, a very strong installment in a very strong series.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Once again, Jim Butcher has created a novel that carries you along on a roller coaster ride leaving you almost literally panting by the end. Being narrated in first person usually robs a book of suspense, because you know that the main character will survive to tell his story. Butcher knows his stuff, however. Rather than focus on whether or not Harry will make it, he focuses on how. Seeing into the mind of a wizard gives a view of the process of magic that is simply fascinating. Even the mystery in this book is not your standard fare. It's fairly easy to guess the killer a short way into this book. But that's not important. The key is determining the underlying reasons and power struggles which lead to the murder. Not an easy thing to do when you're dealing with the Fae. My personal favorite part of this book has to do with Dresden's interaction with his friend and sometime partner Murphy. I won't say exactly what changes, but let's say that Harry begins to finally realize how silly he's been in his dealings with Murph and he begins to correct the situation. Hurray for character development! :) All-in-all, a very strong installment in a very strong series.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Fun Book in the Series
Review: One of his Web Sites states he sees about 20 books in this series. I'll be their for each and every one. There're a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Harry Saves the Day, Again
Review: Politics rears its ugly head in Book Four of the Dresden Files, particularly early on. There's a great deal of detail on the make-up and functioning of the White Council and the two faerie Courts. The information is important for understanding character actions and motivations; in the White Council's case, it's overdue. It's all carefully reasoned and well-written, but hardly pulse-pounding stuff. The actual story is slow to shift into gear, especially after the action-packed Grave Peril. Harry Dresden's spent the past 8-9 months obsessively seeking a wizardly cure for girlfriend Susan's incipient vampirism. He's a mess inside and out, nearly broke, about to be evicted from both home and office. The vampires' Red Court wants him dead. Some on the White Council blame him for the current wizard/vampire war. Then the Red Court offers peace if Harry is delivered up to vampire justice. His only hope of averting that fate is to take a case from Mab, queen of Faerie's Winter Court. His task is to figure out who murdered Ronald Reuel (with a nod to Tolkien), designated Knight of Faerie's Summer Court, and to retrieve what the killer stole. Relations between the faerie Courts are always strained; it's their nature. Reuel's death has drastically weakened Summer and is being blamed on Winter. The resulting escalation of hostilities is noticeable even in the mortal world. If Harry can't solve the murder and theft within a couple of days, the two Courts will wage a war that'll make the wizard/vampire flap look like a schoolyard scuffle. Harry doesn't trust Mab. The rest of her Court is less than cooperative. Summer Court thinks he's dangerously psycho. There's at least one professional assassin on his tail, equally likely to be working for the vampires or one of the faerie factions. He's perpetually hungry, sleep-deprived, injured, confused, and, well, harried. The emotional pounding isn't much fun, either. Harry's stunned when someone he believed long dead turns up working for the faeries. Summer Court's Lady Aurora says he desperately needs to take a healing time-out, immediately. Echoing his own past concerns about his darker side, she tells him "[m]onsters are born of pain and grief and loss and anger. Your heart is full of them." Godmother Lea delivers up a jolt or three to his world view as well. Luckily, he has allies. Some are old friends. Others turn up in unexpected quarters. Somehow, with their help, he manages to save the day and the world. And his own skin. At least for the moment. For all its slow beginning, Summer Knight eventually serves up a story every bit as engrossing as earlier books in the series. Harry musters enough grit to offer his usual wise-cracking façade to the world, though the façade itself is showing a few cracks. Harry's becoming more introspective, whether he likes it or not.
Rating:
Summary: Hits the spot!
Review: Poor Harry! As if anything can get any worse, it does in this installment, Summer Knight. Harry has been wallowing in deep depression and seclusion. He has no money, no food, no nothing. He's about to be evicted and his business is going to the dumps. To make matters worse the Red Court wants his head, and The Wizard Council doesn't mind giving him to vampires so the war (that Harry started) can finally end. Then Queen Mab, Faerie Winter Queen, comes to him for help. Summer Knight has been killed and everybody blames her. She wants Harry to find the killer, retrieve a stolen mantle, and clear her name. It sounds simple enough--at first. But this is Faerie politics, after all, and there is no such thing as smooth sailing when it comes to these folks. Soon our Wizard has to stop a war between the Summer and Winter Courts of the Faerie. If he fails, the victorious in the war will cause catastrophic consequences in the mortal world. Out of all the four books, this is the most satisfying and entertaining. Butcher--plot wise--is at his strongest here. Some characters do return in this round (Toot, Toot, Murphy, The Alphas), which is a good thing. The story ends with a cliff hanger, though. Somethings brought up since Grave Peril are still not resolved. Over all, it's a good read. Butcher is growing stronger in his writing and style.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best, but better than the last one
Review: The first book in this series was outstanding. The second was OK, and the third, frankly, was not much. This fourth effort is a good showing, however, and it's worth the time and money if you were disappointed in the last one. There's more action, and quite a bit of the plot has to do with the protagonist's prior problems and how he's getting out of them, instead of just dashing around on the "other side" getting into trouble. That goes on, too, but it's not the whole book. I also enjoyed seeing some of the characters back from the earliest books, as well. It's a fun series, and I hope it continues.
Rating:
Summary: Harry vs. Faeries in the Windy City
Review: The fourth book of Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" series continues the adventures of Harry Dresden, Wizard for hire. His girlfriend has left town to deal with issues resulting from book three, and Harry is down in the dumbs. Enter Queen Mab, the Sidhe (faerie) Queen of Winter, with a case for Harry: Find out who killed the Summer Knight. Harry becomes the emissary of Winter.
We see the first gathering of the White Council, and learn some of Harry's allies, such as his second mentor, Ebenezer, along with enemies like Morgan and The Merlin. There is also the shadowy Gatekeeper.
With a battle brewing between the White Council of Wizards and the Red Court of vampires, the wizards need safe passage through the Nevernever world of the faeries. However, there is also a struggle between the faeries of Summer and Winter. Harry must solve the murder and power struggle or be handed over to the vampires by the White Council. There's a lot at stake for poor Harry.
Luckily, Dresden has some allies on the Council, and enlists the aid of the young Alphas, the werewolves from book two. He also begins to regain his friendship with Lt. Karrin Murphy of the Chicago police Special Investigations unit. They have a couple key scenes, including one that involves a fight with an ogre, a ghoul and a plant-monster at a WalMart.
Add to all of this the return of Harry's first lover, the wizard Elaine, plus the various faeries, and we get the makings for a bit of intrigue.
As with his other books, the story is well-paced, with plenty of action along with plot development. Harry's use of magic is always interesting, and his humor carries him (and the reader) through some of the darker periods. There is a good balance of levity with shadow. Harry's character continues to develop, and his talk with Lt. Murphy is a major step forward for him. For the other characters, we mostly see them through Harry's viewpoint, but the way they react to him also reflects some development, if only at a minimal level.
Some of the things I bumped on were the way that characters seem to disappear for large chunks of time. Michael Carpenter, Harry's ally from book three, isn't even mentioned this time. Also the identity of the murdered was no big surprise, but here the who is not as important as the why. There are plenty of twists and surprises to keep a reader guessing.
With book five due out soon, I can only wonder what adventures will come Harry's way next. Will he be able to help Susan? What will become of Elaine? The vampires loom at the edge of twilight, but I suspect that Harry Dresden will be ready.
Rating:
Summary: Another turning point for Harry.
Review: The latest installment of the Dresden Files finds Wizard Harry Dresden in a faerie war between summer and winter, with more than just finding a killer at stake. The previous book in this series was almost painful to read as Harry tangled with the local vampires to a cost that was almost impossible for him to bear. At the start of this book he is still in deep depression. However, this wallowing doesn't last long, as Harry is confronted with a client (and possible income) that can't be refused. These books are intelligent and well written, with strong characters that you care about. It is magic set inside the world we know, however the action in this book mostly takes place outside this world in contrast to the other installments so far, which take place in and around 'normal' Chicago. It will be interesting to see where this character goes in the next book, as all the events in these books are built on each other. They are best read in the correct sequence to get the best out of them and the careful character development that has been built into them. If you like your fantasy mixed with mystery this is a series you should pick up.
Rating:
Summary: The best yet
Review: The Summer Knight of the faerie is dead, the Winter Queen is blamed and wants Harry to clear her. The White Coucil is in town and wants to serve Harry in a to-go box to the Reds (vampires). It is raining toads and gathering a heck of a snow storm in the middle of June. Someone has hired a hit-ghoul to bump him off. Some strange characters want him to find a missing girl. His fiance is still missing, but his first love is back, and working for the Summer Lady. And, just to make things really fun, Summer and Winter are gathering forces to go to war. If he manages to pull it all off, Harry will be cleared by the White Coucil, one step closer to being free of the faerie for good, he and his friends will be alive, balance will be restored, and the world, as we know it, will be saved. This book is a rolling thrill ride. It is fun, funny, adventurous, and wildly exciting. Though the danger is very real, the book isn't quite as grim and dark as GRAVE PERIL. Harry has time to take a breather between crises (though no time to get a haircut), and it was good to see old friends like Murphy, Toot Toot and Billy the werewolf. Harry learns to trust them and lean a little when he can't handle everything. himself.
Rating:
Summary: Not-to-be-put-down type of read
Review: This book was awesome. The characters were very real, even the faeries! The alpha characters from book # 2 (I think it was 2) are back and better than ever. Billy is pretty kewl. Harry is just as great as always. He still takes the Spiderman spiel "With great power comes great responsibility" to the extreme. Also we finally get to see more of the mysterious White Council. I can't say I'm too impressed as we didn't get much more than a glimpse at 'em. I can't wait to see what happens with the Red Court and the White Council. Also seeing how Harry's fairy godmother does love and care for him in her own unique inhuman way was pretty kewl. I love the character and hope to see more of her and Toot! Now hurry Butcher and gimme more!!
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