rowdya22's reviews
137 reviews

Grave Peril kickstarts the Dresden files. It introduces so many characters that will be crucial in the long term and the start of many storylines.

At the beginning with the ghosts of Chicago going crazy Michael Carpenter is there facing spooks with Harry. One of the three Knights of the Cross.
Susan comes out of the background and ends up starting a major international incident.
Thomas, the unlikely White Court vampire ally, makes his first appearance.
Murphy is largely ignored and sidelined throughout most of the book.
We meet Harry’s godmother, Lea and learn why the never never was only hinted at in previous books.

While running on magical empty, thanks to the Nightmare, Harry pulls out some of the most powerful magic yet at Bianca’s party.
We get numerous examples of faith “magic” thanks to Michael and Susan. With time to prepare we see that Harry can be really clever but still likes to just blow things up when he gets a chance.

Don’t get between a wizard and his girlfriend. The war with the Red Court vampires has begun.

Having read to the end of the series thus far there are so many little nudges and hits that are dropped that I love picking up on.
In Summer Knight the series really kicks into high gear. With the white council in town Harry must get out of his funk and dead with his most difficult trial yet....fairies. Queen Mab makes an appearance and starts pulling strings to get Harry to find who killed the Summer Knight.
Scrambling, Harry teams up with Murphy to get info on the murder and finally clues her into the whole magic scene. They have an awesome encounter and shootout at Walmart. We get to enjoy Murphy kicking ghoul and chlorofiend butt and saving the day. She gets hurt in the process taking her out of commission for the big end battle.
Elaine shows up and is Harry’s counterpart in the trial between the fairy courts.
Harry takes Billy and the werewolves to the never never battle above Chicago at the stone table. Queen Mab realizes that the gate keeper is helping Harry and we get a hint of the connection between the two.
Harry gets to stop his “nemesis”, the summer lady, and coincidentally instate a new summer lady and knight who are friendly to him. Toot toot helps turn the tide of the fairy war and Harry earns a secret cleaning service obsessed with Pizza.

Super Susan is back and ready for a fight. The denarians show up along with all three Knights of the Cross. Butters makes his first appearance along with his polka music.
Harry is approached by a red court vampire seeking to put an end to the war through single combat. He sets out to duel Palo Ortega and win. We get to meet the Archive and Kincaid and see what an amazing pair they are.
Harry gets kidnapped by Nicodemus and must work with Michael and Sonya in order to stop the plague curse. The duke it out on a train with help from John Marcone And reclaim the secret shroud from Nicodemus stopping the plague.
“Phone calls cost more than a quarter these days“

Lots of great revelations in this book. First and foremost we meet Mouse the dog. Harrys working a job with the help of Thomas and accidentally gets to keep the little guy.
Thomas asked him to help out Arturo and his movie studio. Harry discovers an entropy curse targeting those around Arturo. While seeking the source of the cursed hairy plans to take down a scourge of black court vampires that are in town targeting him. Harry calls out the big guns and Murphy, Kincaid and wizard McCoy join the fight. Harry throws around some crazy magic and has to hold off flamethrowers with his shield. They make it out and Harry and Murphy go on to take down the white king and rescue Thomas.
Harry no longer is alone in Chicago having found Thomas to be his brother and Lashell his protector....

Jumping right in, Harry is working with Thomas solving cases and getting annoyed at their living arrangements. Movera blackmails Harry in order to find the Word of Kemler. This causes Harry to dig into Kemler's past. Necro-Bob has some nice things to day about how to get more power and was once owned by Kemler.
Harry investigates odd deaths in the area and Butters gets involved in the fight. Necromancers show up in Chicago hunting the word but Harry and Butters find the trail first. Harry actually gets a date but it's a bust. Harry uses Mortimer to help track Necromancer activity and follows the bad guys.
Calling in the White Council, Harry pulls out all the stops to find a way to stop this ritual that will turn one of the Necromancers into a mini god. When the council arrives, they have suffered a recent defeat at the hands of the red court. Five wizards show up to help Harry and he himself is drafted to be a warden.
While tracking down the word, Harry comes across Sheela who turns out to be the subconscious presence of Lashel. Realizing this, Harry sees how his actions have looked "off" to those around him as he has been interacting with someone who doesn't exist to others.
Armed with new clarity and the word, Harry uses Lashel to translate and understand the Word of Kemler. He uses Necromantic energy to animate Sue the T-Rex and take Butters to help stop the dark hallow. Bob comes to the rescue and takes control of Sue at a pivotal moment disrupting the ritual and causing it to fail. He makes it out alive even if he is a little worse for wear.
"The door is ajar"

This book has a lot of great characters for me. The way that it begins and ends similarly is really cool.

Newly appointed warden of the white council Harry Dresden gets a tip from the gate keeper that black magic is a foot in Chicago. While trying to find the source, he is interrupted by Molly Carpenter, looking for bail money.

Molly asks Harry to prove that her friend is not the one behind an assault at SPLATTERCON. Molly has distanced herself from her family and is working at the convention. While investigating Harry finds links to back magic and Phobo Phages appearing and attacking visitors looking like movie villains.

After several close calls Harry sets up a spell to send the Phages back against their summoner. Harry cuts loose and fights a few stragglers and then tracks down the summoner....all the way to the Carpenter house.

Unknowingly Molly has used back magic to try to help her friends. By causing them to feel fear when they want to use drugs, she became a conduit allowing them to enter the world. Once Harry realizes his mistake he calls out all the favors he can to get Molly back who was taken by the Phages.

Murphy, Charity, Thomas and the summer knight and lady team up to storm Winters Heart and take her back. After a successful raid and much destruction they return to the mortal world.

Molly must face the White Council and plea for mercy. Harry once again goes all out to protect her and gains the popular vote but looses to the Merlin. Thanks to the gate keeper, Michael the Knight of the Cross and Mollys father arrives having just rescued several members of the senior council. Thanks to this fact, Molly is freed.

Harry wins the day and gains a new apprentice.

A string of disappearances is occurring in the magical community and Harry could be to blame...
Many women are seen with someone matching his description just before they vanish. Murphy gets tossed one of the “suicide“ cases and calls Harry in. Harry find some clues and tracks down presumed killer using little Chicago only to have a section of it slagged to bits in an attack.
Harry thinks he discovered the next victim and pays a visit to her apartment. Someone has used magic to put the entire complex to sleep. Harry’s dog Mouse gets his time to shine and wakes the entire complex with a series of magical barks allowing for them to escape.
Following up on leads Harry finds a group of women all in the magical community who are meeting regularly and pays them a visit. He discovers that Elaine Mallory is back in town and tracking down the killer. Working with Elaine Mary finds that the killer might be none other than his own brother.
Doing what any caring sibling would do, Harry takes Thomas’ spare key and breaks into his apartment. While getting to see his apartment for the first time Henry finds his war room and a crazed wall with potential targets as well as past victims. Harry uses a locator spell to track Thomas and he and Elaine go to confront him.
Henry finds that Thomas thought that he might have been corrupted by some outward influence and actually be the murderer. Thomas has been abducting the women before the murderer can get to them and taking them to safe houses. Their reunion is cut short when our heroes face an enemy army of ghouls at the marina. We get to see some fancy magic from Elaine and Harry cuts loose with fire magic in order to take the heat from Lake Michigan and freeze a section of water to allow them all to escape. While doing so Harry takes an icy plunge into the lake.
Upon waking harry puts two and two together and believes he’s figured out the real plan. There is a power struggle in the white court. While Harry’s out tracking down the killer he realizes that someone in the group of women that he and Elaine are protecting is working for the killer. Frantically racing to reach Elaine he uses a communion spell to contact her only to find that she is under a psychic assault and moments away from being convinced to end her own life. Thankfully Harry gets through and helps Elaine realize what is happening. She cuts loose with lightning magic and tears the entire front of a hotel apart.
With Elaine wounded and temporarily out of the picture he calls in Ramirez for support. Together they had to the white court vampires estate to challenge the guilty parties to a duel. Molly who has been trying to prove herself the entire time has a breakthrough that magic just isn’t about power. It’s about why to do things. Realizing this she graduates and decides to come and help. She becomes the getaway driver.
Harry and Ramirez proceed with the duel and are actually winning for a while. Their opponent then cheats and calls in outsiders from the never never. Thankfully Harry knew this was a possibility and had his own back up lying in wait. There’s an amazing confrontation and moments away from a successful escape, everyone is flattened by a psychic assault of despair. Lashell or Lash now comes to Harry and begs him to take up the coin. She has grown from her time in Harry’s mind and has taken on some his best characteristics. Influence works both ways. She decides to do all in her power to help Harry knowing that it will likely doom herself. She helps Harry shrug off the psychic attack so that he can save his friends.
They all escaped through the never never and Harry and Lara Wraith escape together through the deeps. Harry decides to set up an organization to make sure that everyone in the magical community will be able to reach someone who can help them should something like this ever happen again. Throughout all this there is one casualty. Lash is gone. She gave up her very existence and sacrificed herself to help Harry live for another day.
“Kiss Me”

The book begins with a training session of Molly's in the Carpenter back yard. She shields while the family assaults her with snowballs. The party is broken up when Gruffs from Summer attack Harry. Everyone escapes but Harry gets called by Murphy about a case.
Seems like someone trashed a building of Marcone's and threw around a lot of magic. While investigating, Harry is visited by Mab who informs him that Marcone has been taken. She charges him with finding and returning him safely.
A few visits and clues later, Harry and Thomas meet Hendrix and Miss Guard at a safe house. They are all attacked by a group of Denarians. Harry does what he does best and brings the front of the building down on them letting everyone escape. Guard was wounded badly and is recovering but gives Harry the information he needs to track Marcone.
Harry and Michael head to Union Station to pick up what they need. While there, the lights go out and Hobbs attack all in sight. Harry pulls off a cool bit of magic to cancel out the darkness that the Hobbs have conjured. The Archive/Ivy arrives to hopefully resolve things peacefully between Marcone and the Denarians.
A meeting is set at the aquarium and while Harry is talking to Nicodemus, a trap is sprung. Harry realizes in time and gets inside the giant magic circle before it closes and manages to take out several Denarians with the help of Kincade. Despite all he and Ivy can do, she is taken.
Harry plans to exchange all the coins and one of the three holy swords with Nicodemus to get Ivy back. They plan the exchange in the middle of lake Michigan, on an island that seems familiar to Harry.
Everyone double crosses everyone else but Harry manages to get Marcone and Ivy. While being extracted Michael is shot and critically wounded. Harry escapes into the woods and steals a boat and is rescued by Thomas. Thankfully everyone lives to fight another day.
"Likest thou jelly within thy doughnut?"

We open on a phone call between Susan and Harry “they have our daughter“. The revelation shocks Harry to his core and brings all his emotions to the surface and forces him to throw caution to the wind.
Susan and Martin arrive seeking intel on the location of where Maggie is being held. Harry finds out that he’s been paying rent to the red court. While investigating they’re ambushed by a squad of red court vampires. Harry cuts loose with soul fire infused flame and all but brings the building down. Shortly after they escape the building, the vampires detonate the explosives around his office bringing the building crashing down.
Harry confronts Dutchess Oriana in Edinburgh who pleads innocence and confusion. He returns to Chicago to find that the FBI are trying to pin the explosion on him. He frantically tries to remove everything illegal from his apartment and fleas to the never never. Unfortunately he discovers that it’s the home of Leahs garden of wild centipedes. He’s able to escape but it’s taken into custody by the FBI.
After being held and sprung thanks to Murphy he returns to his apartment to find Leah there. He obtains knowledge from Leah that his mother entrusted to her. With this new knowledge he inherits all of her knowledge about the Ways.
Harry uses his newfound power to scout a location where they have a lead on Maggie’s location. Upon returning to Chicago to plan his apartment is hit with a Molotov cocktail thanks to more vampires. Harry barely manages to escape but goes back to help the other residents of his apartment building. Doing so he’s critically wounded.
Harry is taken to Saint Mary’s and decides to make a deal with Mab and becomes the next winter night. She heals his broken back and allows him to protect his child in exchange.
With newfound power and strength Harry gets the team and they head to Mexico.
The battle is epically described. When all seems hopeless a close betrayal happens taking everyone by surprise. Susan is turned and surrenders her life to save Maggie. Her death completes the ritual and just about every red court vampire in the world is killed.
Dealing with the aftermath Harry and Murphy finally have their moment. Harry goes to meet Murphy after getting ready for their date and is shot. Fade. To. Black.
“Nothing ever gets any easier”