Book: Changes
ISBN-13: 978-0451463173
Author: Jim Butcher
Series: The Dresden Files, Book 12
Publisher: Penguin Group
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release: April 6, 2010
Length: 448 pages (Hardcover)
Rating: A+ (110 / 100)
Verdict
The aptly-titled Changes is the best book yet in The Dresden Files, which is, without question, abso-freaking-lutely the best on-going fantasy series being released today. Butcher delivers action, adventure, and pathos in perfect balance, punctuated by hilariously absurd comedy.
If you aren’t already reading this series, run, don’t walk to the nearest bookstore. But reader beware! These novels are HIGHLY ADDICTIVE.
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Pros: Excellent character development. Excellent action sequences. Big reveals. Rib-cracking comedy. Absolutely phenomenal cliff hanger.
Cons: The only real downside to the Dresden Files is that they eventually end. The wait for the next book is going to be torture.
Synopsis
In Brief: Harry Dresden receives the single greatest shock of his life when an old flame calls to tell him that he has a daughter and that she’s been kidnapped by vampires. Now, he’s racing against the clock to rally his allies and find a way to rescue his girl from the clutches of the ancient leader of the red court, whose centuries of rulership have endowed him with near god-like power.
Official: Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden’s lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it. Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it-against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry’s not fighting to save the world… He’s fighting to save his child.
Review
Over the course of the last decade, Jim Butcher has firmly established The Dresden Files as the gold standard of urban fantasy series, and yet somehow, he has managed to raise the bar yet again. Changes is the funniest and most emotionally intense book in series to date, and that’s a real feat considering the truly exceptional quality of the first eleven books in the series.
As one might expect from title, Changes turns the familiar world of Harry Dresden upside down. In it, Dresden is confronted with one life-altering change after another as he races to rescue a daughter he’s never met. In keeping with the gravity of the premise, Changes is a grimmer novel than previous entries in the series, with a great deal of emphasis on character development.
Harry, in particular, matures a great deal over the course of the book as he’s slowly pealed out of his comfort zone and stripped of the familiar accouterments of his life. Yes, Jim Butcher has done an impressive job thus far developing Harry Dresden into a lovable character, but in Changes, Harry is confronted with his worst nightmare. The situation forces him to re-evaluate just how far he’s willing to go to win the day. Harry is still funny and self-depreciating, but the humor is interwoven with anger, fear, and, at points, an undercurrent of self-loathing. The result is that Harry Dresden comes of age as a protagonist, deepening into a truly compelling character.
With this change in atmosphere, Changes is suffused with a grim edge-of-your-seat urgency that just wasn’t present in the earlier books. Confrontation carry the weight of dire consequence and many scenes will catch up readers and leave them emotionally exhausted.
What makes this such an excellent book, though, is that it ties together all the previous books in the series into one story arc that links Dresden’s origin story to the shadowy conspiracy that’s been lurking behind the scenes. The proof that Butcher has a clear destination in mind for this series is, in and of itself, extraordinarily gratifying. All too often, series in the urban fantasy stretch on interminably, either stagnating, caught in a comfortable and marketable pattern, or else petering out all together. (We’re looking at you, Laurell K. Hamilton.) With Changes, Butcher threads together what seemed to be eleven novels following a slowly developing character into a single storyline. And with the book’s climax, Butcher draws a sharp division through his series: here ends act one.
Act two, it seems, is slated to be a far darker affair.
Note: Newcomers should think twice before picking this book up. The Dresden Files deals with far too large a cast of characters over far too long a scope of time for readers to jump in mid-stream. These books are best savored in the order in which they were intended. For readers eager to jump into the thick of things, I would recommend the graphic novels based on The Dresden Files, “Welcome to the Jungle” from Dabel Brothers Productions.
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Further Information
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