Just finished Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe which is pretty phenomenal. Would highly recommend whether you're a fan of fantasy, science fiction or literary fiction.
The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer. Finished his W.A.R.P. and Artemis Fowl series and the standalone Supernaturalist.
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Thanks for the sig Scot-and for the help with my avatar
When someone annoys you, it takes 42 muscles to frown but only 4 to reach out and bchslap them upside down on their head
Reading the newest Dresden Files that got released this week: Peace Talks
__________________ Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a Chicken Boo.
I went through Peace Talks pretty quickly. It's quite short compared to Butcher's more recent works. I did have a minor gripe before I started reading it though. Because the next book is already dropping in September IIRC, but the title can arguably be considered a spoiler for Peace Talks. I mean, seriously, when you call the book after Peace Talks [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Battle Ground, it pretty much tells you how things are going to go, at least in a general sense.
__________________ Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
haven't read any Dresden Files in ten years... probably loads more out by now. I like Harry, he is different enough to Constantine and other makes to be interesting, Butcher writes well. But i started to find them very formulaic. I bet, they are an easy read.
I didn't know what the title of the next book was until I finished Peace Talks. With that said I don't think I'd have minded too much because I don't think anyone who has been following the series ever thought the peace talks would end well lol. Yeah it was short compared to more recent stuff, though not his shortest book in the series. The reason why is probably because another book is coming out so soon. Since you seem to be a fan I'm sure you're aware the last book in the series he released was back in 2014. So I wonder if Peace Talks and the next book were written by Butcher as 1 book and the publisher maybe had him split it into two so they could make more money off of it given he hadn't released anything in a while.
Overall I enjoyed it. I've been wondering where [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Lea is? I found it suspicious that in Cold Days she didn't show up in the beginning to attend Harry's birthday party, it was said all of winter had to be there as this was pretty much his introduction as Winter Knight to the winter fae. Even the Erlking was there and he's not even a part of winter. It's not Butcher's style to just forget a major character like that so there has to be a reason she wasn't there, though I'm surprised Harry didn't note her absence. I suppose he did have other stuff on his mind.
Also did you ever read the short story Jim Butcher published online on Christmas of 2018? He published it for free. It takes place after Peace Talks and the book that follows too. Here is a link in case you haven't read it:
__________________ Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a Chicken Boo.
Last edited by Surtur on Aug 10th, 2020 at 06:50 PM
Well probably not as many more books as you might think. In the last decade he has released only 4 Dresden novels, including Peace talks. Peace Talks is the 16th book in the series.
I think the series was going strong and I think it really picked up upon the release of the 12th book Changes.
__________________ Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a Chicken Boo.
Sorry, haven't been around as much recently, so only spotted this now. And yeah, I think Peace Talks & Battle Ground were probably going to be a single novel. But I think it's more likely that Butcher found himself, as he was going along writing, realising he had two full stories that could and should stand on their own. The transition would probably have been a pretty jarring shift halfway through the novel otherwise. The sales bonus doesn't hurt either though. Because they can be pretty much assured that anyone who bought Peace Talks will grab the next one, if only to see how everything set up plays out. Because they really upped the stakes this time.
As to [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Lea? Maybe shes' still on probation. She was one of those infected by Nemesis after all. Or maybe serving some kind of penance duty. Which, on a somewhat related note, we now definitively know why Harry never got infected himself despite his repeated encounters with it over the years.
Wonder what's going to happen to Thomas. Also, once Alfred got back in the swing of things, he seemed awful enthusiastic lol.
I also wonder if any other gods are going to come crawling out of the woodwork, on either side of the coming conflict. Because looks like Odin (let's just call a spade a spade) and Ferrovax are on team people it seems. Because, IIRC, it was mentioned in an interview by Butcher that Dragons like Ferrovax are more like the ones from the Eastern myths, where they are basically massively powerful celestial gaurdian entities, as opposed to the European mythical depiction.
__________________ Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Last edited by TheVaultDweller on Aug 22nd, 2020 at 08:09 AM
Well as for Lea...[SPOILER - highlight to read]: Remember she has appeared after being cured of her Nemesis taint. She was in Changes at the battle at Chichen Itza and also Ghost Story helping train Molly. So I doubt it's probation, she was probably on some mission. Yeah, I wonder what caused Thomas to do what he did. I just don't buy that the only reason was someone threatened Justine.
Yeah I suspect Ferrovax might be a part of the grey council. And it wouldn't shock me if a bunch of other gods began to come out.
It was nice to see Harry and Murphy finally get together. Though also bittersweet though: Harry will have to endure watching her grow old and die. And if his daughter isn't a wizard he'll have to watch her grow old and die too. Though I can't imagine Butcher won't have her displaying some magical talent before the series is over(I think he said he plans to do no more than 20 books, and peace talks was 16)
__________________ Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a Chicken Boo.
Last edited by Surtur on Aug 23rd, 2020 at 09:47 PM
Could be [SPOILER - highlight to read]: she is actually manning the Outer Gates while Mab is dealing more with real world issues maybe? Maybe as someone who was been cured of the taint, she's more suited to sniff it out in others? No idea TBH.
Also seems Ferrovax is pretty powerful. It's pretty much outright stated that the main reason he has to hold himself back from taking more direct action is because he is so powerful that the collateral damage from him using his power would itself wipe out the city.
As to Murphy? Well, this isn't supported by anything official, but I have a feeling there's a reason Butcher's forged ties between her and a crew of immortal Viking warriors. Maybe she dies along the line and gets brought back among their ranks? She's pretty much an honorary member after all the time she spent with them anyway.
__________________ Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
And to add to my point about [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Murphy, consider that her "true" form under a wizard's sight is basically an angelic Valkyrie-type warrior already, IIRC. Then again, she doesn't follow Norse religion. But, then again, as we've seen with the current two Knights of the Cross, you don't always have to have conventional beliefs that fit exactly into your role. So, even if she doesn't worship him, she does know that Odin and co. are legit at this point.
__________________ Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Last edited by TheVaultDweller on Aug 24th, 2020 at 05:36 AM
Yeah [SPOILER - highlight to read]: her helping to deal with the outer gates situation seems like the most likely story.
And yeah Ferrovax is quite strong. Remember when he said Harry's full name at that Halloween party?
Also that seems like a possibility, though I wonder what restrictions she might have if she becomes one of them. Would she be free to just be with Harry? And then of course the situation gets flipped on its head because then she will have to watch Harry grow old and die, though it will take many centuries.
I wish they would try to do another tv series that is more true to the books. Rate it TV-MA and put it on netflix. I don't ask for the mature rating cuz I want it to be all dark, since the books definitely aren't that...but to fully capture the essence of what happens in various storylines you would need a mature rating.
__________________ Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a Chicken Boo.
Wasn't even his full name IIRC. From what I can recall, he just said, "Harry. Dresden." And it floored Harry's ass. Even the Faerie Queens (except the Mothers, who could "erase you with a stray thought") usually need some kind of link/bargain induced connection to exercise that kind of power over someone.
And maybe, but not necessarily. From some of Mab's past comments, she wants to make Harry a permanent employee. For example, at one point in Skin Game he responds to one of Mab's orders with something along the lines of, "I'm only human." To which she replies, "For now." Makes sense she would IMO. Considering her main purpose, having [SPOILER - highlight to read]: a permanent incorruptible champion against the Outsiders who also wields Soulfire, one of the few things that can really put a hurting on those things, would be pretty handy from her point of view. She is nothing if not pragmatic.
And I just remember the TV show being awful. But then it's not an easy thing to translate to live action. Not only would you need a decent budget and people very familiar with the source material, just casting Dresden would be a pain. Because even though Paul Blackthorne is taller than average, he's still like half a foot shorter than book Dresden. Because one of Dresden's trademarks isn't just that he's above average tall. He's taller than The Undertaker (his wrestling billed 6'10" is BS, he was like 6'8" at his prime).
__________________ Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Last edited by TheVaultDweller on Aug 29th, 2020 at 04:23 PM
Of course, in terms of most powerful characters depicted in the books so far, one character is leagues above everyone else as things currently stand. Because this WoG statement from Butcher is echoed in the one novel:
Dresden also once commented that he could destroy, "all planets. Everywhere." If his character was there, he'd probably be looking at current events and thinking, "Ugh, what a nuisance."
Though this was a pretty interesting Reddit thread on "Mr Ferro":
Yeah it wasn't his full name. And yeah Mab probably would want him around for a long time.
You ever read The Nightside series by Simon R. Green? It sort of reminds me of The Dresden Files.
__________________ Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a Chicken Boo.
Nah, I haven't. I will check it out some time though.
I was thinking though. There is already a potential possibility for Dresden's lifespan being extended beyond that of a normal wizard, exactly because of the Winter Mantle. Because the Mantle of a Knight of Faerie is pretty much the Dresden-verse equivalent of being a Super Soldier, in that your body is pretty much the pinnacle of what a human of your size/build can possibly become (plus some extra magical power). And unlike most Knights, Dresden has the added benefit of wizard healing too. And based on what's been shown so far, the two seem to heavily compliment each other.
Even Butters amended his previous "boxer accumulating injuries" theory from previous books in the latest novel, admitting that while his healing can be overtaxed, Dresden's body does indeed repair all damage if given time. There have been a few examples, like healing from broken bones, cuts etc. seemingly very quickly, but the main example is his spine. It was mentioned that that type of injury would normally take a wizard like 50 years to heal. And early in his Winter Knight career, when Dresden was briefly cut off from his Mantle, he was paralysed again. But in Skin Game, when he was cut off from all magical access for a period of time, his body was in bad shape, but he could move about under his own power. Suppose it could also just be Mab selectively enforcing her power though. IIRC, one act was in defiance of Winter while the other was in service of it. But who knows how Butcher will decide to play it.
__________________ Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Last edited by TheVaultDweller on Aug 30th, 2020 at 07:29 AM
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