Book 9), White Night (The Dresden Files

Another hit in the Dresden Files. Where does it stop? Jim Butcher gets better and better. I could not put this book down, because the action was as fast as you expect it in these series and the humor was right there where you needed it. The reader gets to know Molly a bit better and her talents develop during the book. But Harry stays alone and lonely. I am looking forward to the next book. Will Harry find his soul mate?

I haven't read this particular book. but i'm reading the series and i look forward to reading this one. my father and sister are also reading the series and I'm sure they are just as excited to read this one.

This is my third time reading through the Dresden Files, first two times were a mix of hard back and paperback, I chose the more convenient route of reading by Kindle this time and am Painfully paying the price for it. I hungrily await Skin Games and may very well even wait to find it at a used bookstore because of these heinously overcharged Kindle books. Dresden would surely not want a 12yr old book to cost more, a decade later, on some electronic device where the publisher cant even fix old errors. I confess that I am a sincere Dresden fan, but because Penguin Publishing has not improved grammatical errors and still chooses to charge triple what I have found the books locally, I will not be purchasing another kindle book. Unfortunately I bought eight of the first nine via Kindle; but working full time in a new town has limited my physical search for the books. Hell's bells! It's my day off and I'm spending quality time teaching you kind folk a solid reason to stay away from buying this series on your whatchamagadgits, and get like me and wizard Dresden; reading the cheaper: real books. Stay away from the vampirical prices of electronic books from Penguin. Sure; convenient as hell... but.. well that's it now isn't it? Hell is convenient but not worth the waste.

I have just downloaded this, the ninth book in the Dresden Files, got to about 20% in (as my Kindle show) and just had to stop reading. Done with this one, and most likely the series. Why is that?

My attraction to the Dresden Files series is the elaborate world of magic with faries, demons, other worlds, various nasty monsters and all tied together by a skilled writer that keeps the pace hopping along. So this is my escape fiction. I sit down each night to escape into the well woven story of various monsters, some alluring, some terrifying and all unreal.

For me, attraction of this series is 'Escape', no politics, amorphous morality of good vs evil. There are some philosophical issues with fallen angels, misuse of power and a bit of sexual tension with his Murphy character, all in keeping with the story. Yes the five foot, 100 pound Murphy can beat up full grown men twice her weight, a fairly stock fantasy in entertainment, but that's all in fun and a well accepted stretch of reality now-a-days.

So what is the show stopper? Well, the show stopper is preaching to me from the 'real' world. And our Harry is essentially the pot calling the kettle black in the 'preachy' part. Our Wizard is using a stereotype of how Thomas' male lover would likely behave.

In Checking out the 'Thomas' apartment and finding information that might cause problems if revealed, our Wizard, when confronted by Security and Police puts on a stereotypical 'gay angst' charade to cover up why he is there. Then as the eavsdropping Wisard overhears the cops discussing the behaviors of gay love triangles he remarks on how the cops are 'bigots'.

Not just calling them bigot's once in passing, not twice to dismiss the blighted neanderthal cops, but Three times in as many sentences strung together does Harry refer to the cops as BIGOTS, just to make sure we get the 'message' I suppose. Do I care what other people think about sex? No. I'm reading a FANTASY story to get away from every yammering idiot instructing me on correct thoughts. This is NOT entertainment.

Done with this author.

This is the ninth book in the series, and touches quite a bit on the overall story arc. I've been binge reading the whole series in order, and reviewing as I go. My reviews focus on setting readers' expectations, rather than summarising plots.

The most important aspect is that the series has an over-arching story arc, with roots starting at book 3 (Grave Peril) but only becoming visible as more and more of the series unfolds. It's a great thing, but as it continually colours events around Dresden it's best to read the series in order.

*** What to expect
A thriller-paced urban fantasy, dealing with serial killers and vampires while Harry spouts his own brand of flippant humor.
As long time readers can guess, dealing with vampires touches on the series arc more than most and there are a lot of references to previous events. That aside, Harry does his normal best at beating (not before getting seriously beat up by) the magically talented bad guys.

*** What I like
I like Harry's wise-cracking attitudes towards life, and in dealing with supernatural horrors. I like the supporting characters in general, and my favourite one (John Marcone) makes an appearance in this novel. In general Butcher is doing excellent job in characterising and building recurring cast and introducing new characters.

*** Be aware
This is part of a series, and you really need to read them in order. Butcher has Harry's mental dialogue to recap previous events and dialogue for those who read the series in breaks, which can get a tad tedious (and also may grate on some reader's nerves as a "telling" style, or simply for being repetitive). It's just a function of a long-running series, but as entering the series mid-way is not recommended anyway it doesn't offer much to new readers while could be distracting to fans.
Also, some readers may find Dresden attitudes chauvinistic and misogynistic, though that is a both a trope of the genre and something of a failing of his.

*** Summary
While there are certain flaws in the book (especially if you're binge reading the series), this is a great example of a fast-paced, urban-fantasy thriller. If you want an excellent blend of modern-day thrillers with dark fantasy, this is the series to read - just start at Storm Front.

--
Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.

White Night is the ninth book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series of novels. The book takes place about a year after the events of the last book, Proven Guilty.

As is often the case, the story begins with Muphy calling Harry Dresden to join her at a crime scene. But it turns out to be an apparent suicide, which should be an open and shut case for the police.But something feels wrong to Murphy and thus she reaches out to Dresden to see if he can't determine if there's more at work. Unfortunately, the suicide is in fact a well-disguised murder of a magical practitioner with clues only a Warden like Harry could detect.

And it's not an isolated case and it's up to Harry to figure out what is going on. At the same time he's still juggling the training of Molly Carpenter, his young apprentice as of the end of the last book. Then there's the odd little mystery of his brother Thomas being missing in action for some time as if he were deliberately avoiding Harry. How all this comes together is the crux of how this book moves forward.

What I Liked: Over the course of the series, Dresden's adventures have taken him well beyond Chicago and into far off realms. So it was nice to really ground this story in the city and with quite a mystery as well. It's easy to get lost in the magical side of things and the big adventures but Jim Butcher never loses site of the mystery that gets our Wizard detective out of the house to begin with. And this book was quite masterful in this regard given how the clues were laid out and the bigger mystery eventually came together.

And the many manipulations that resulted in our big climax were pretty fascinating and with some far-reaching implications. And just when you think you have things figured out, there's even more to be discovered just around the corner and it all manages to make sense. And the book once again against with some pretty key shifts in the status quo and all these changes just get me more excited to read the next few books.

What Could Have Been Better: While I know Molly couldn't be the focus of this book, but I do wish she had a bit more of a role. As Dresden's apprentice, I sort of hoped she'd be by his side more or at least often waiting at home with Bob or something. Instead we had her deliberately trying to sneak into Dresden's car and such in order to become part of the story. Their dynamic together is pretty fascinating at least, and all the more I wish we had more of that.

Bringing in Elaine, Harry's first girlfriend, was an interesting twist but despite her relatively more prominent role in the story I was still left wishing we learned more about her. We had some reinforcement of prior statements about her being more skilled with more of magic's nuanced uses but not too much beyond that. Sure there was the flashback but it was more focused on Dresden's part in things.

TL;DR: White Night is a thrilling book in the series with a great mystery and a seriously big confrontation at the end. I enjoyed reading it from start to finish and I'm eager for more.

I’m putting out these reviews as I read the books so the opinions are fresh and accurate, so I will not be commenting individually on the eight previous Dresden books I have read. Suffice it to say that the first is pretty good and each subsequent book is better. Butcher has a habit of developing two major conflicts at once in each book so that each can interrupt the other before Dresden has time to finish anything. While this works well in keeping the action moving, it does become somewhat tiresome and predictable after a few books. In this book (and the two before it) Butcher breaks that habit and uses only one conflict, and beautifully. For me, two books ago was where the series started really getting good.

One of Butcher’s strengths is continuous action, never quit letting Dresden catch his footing before things get worse. In previous books, this has manifested as Dresden not being allowed to get sleep throughout the book due to time sensitive catastrophes. In this book, Dresden is allowed one full night’s sleep and the following day to recuperate and prepare, adding to the implied difficulty of the adversaries he must face, who almost overpower him even at his best. I appreciated this especially because the pause before the high action adds to the tension of what is to come, and is a sign of trust from Butcher in the power of the story to carry the reader without every moment being dire.

Butcher also always realizes his characters well, and in this book trends of behavior in Molly, Lasciel (or Lash, to be precise), Marcone, Ramirez and of course Dresden evolve in surprising but completely believable ways. The only thing I can object to is two separate redemption (or almost redemption) arcs in close proximity within the story. I felt that there was too many positive things, and with the severity of the battle I expected someone to die, but the only named characters who die do so to Dresden’s benefit. In many of the other books there are dire consequences immediately apparent after Dresden has saved the day as best he can (such as when Dresden starts the war between the Red Court and the White Council). Here, though there is sure to be some fallout within the White Court, there are no drawbacks to the victory. Added to the (almost) double redemption, the ending is unsatisfactorily positive; it seems too easy. Butcher tries to reverse this by having Dresden firmly assert that he’s still enemies with Lara Raith and Marcone, but he does not have to give up anything to them. This ending was particularly disappointing because Butcher is usually so good at making sure things always get worse in believable ways which Dresden can just barely fend off in ways that only get him in deeper trouble.

The book before this (the eighth Dresden) remains my favorite of the series, though I would still recommend reading this one (and all the ones before and after in the appropriate order) and look forward to the next. I rate this book 8/10.

This CD was so scratched that I never got through the second cd. I was very disappointed with this and really am very sad that I did not get to listen to the story. Please make sure that you do not get a old library copy of a story if they are like this story white night you will not like it.

Note: I feel that Death Masks, Book 5, is where reading this series out of order starts to do you an injustice. This book does work as a stand alone to some extent, but you will get major spoilers for the previous books in the series and it also pulls in characters we have met before. So I recommend reading the previous books before you jump into this one.

Karrin Murphy has taken a vacation day and she has chosen to spend that day showing Harry a supposed suicide crime scene. She has her doubts and Harry Dresden, Chicago’s wizard PI, has his ways of accessing info that most people aren’t privy to. Now Harry finds himself drawn into a series of murders (which look like suicides on the surface) of low-level magic users. As he starts chasing down leads, he and Karrin can’t help but turn a questioning eye towards Thomas Wraith as a man matching his description was last seen with several of the victims.

Harry is now in charge, officially, of Molly’s magical training and this is the first murder investigation he takes her on. The first step is the morgue and a visit with the mortician Waldo Butters. Harry takes the time to teach Molly the basics about reading a corpse of some of it’s final memories. Molly was pretty nervous but her first foray into this little magic trick isn’t what any of them expected. Ha! It does give Harry one more piece of info on the killer but not near enough to figure out who it is.

This book brings back some old enemies and frenemies and brings in some new ones. There’s gentleman John Marcone, Chicago’s crime lord, and a personal favorite of mine. Harry and Marcone often grudgingly swap info and this time Harry will need Marcone’s muscle. Then there’s Thomas’s sister Lara Wraith. A new enemy plus an enemy Harry thought was dead bring some ghouls to the party and the festivities are well underway.

Murphy and Harry have messed with ghouls before. Pretty messy things and hard to kill when they are in a group. In this book, Harry has some flashbacks to one of his side jobs during a summer in New Mexico when he was training some of the new Wardens in combat magic. Ghouls are gruesome and Harry has it out for them. I like that we have this degenerate enemy that we can feel guilt-free in totally hating but I also like that Butcher doesn’t make them mindless.

Harry and a few other wizards have suspected for a while that there is some evil force working within the White Council but Harry has had no proof and no person to point the finger at. In this book, Harry gets a few more hints and some definite indicators that this nebulous evil force wants Harry out of the picture. This being a reread for me, it’s great to see how well Butcher lays some ground work here for some big things that come later.

Harry’s old flame Elaine returns to the storyline and provides Murphy and Harry with some help on their investigation. Now, I’ve never quite gotten around to trusting Elaine fully. But Harry does and for now that will have to be good enough for me. On one hand, I find her hard to trust because she doesn’t have an allegiance to any group and she works hard to stay under the radar. On the other hand, I think younger Harry might have done much the same if he had gotten the chance. So until Elaine proves to be a bad guy, I have to mark her down as an asset and a good guy.

Ramirez strolls back in to the plot and strikes up a flirt with Molly. Ramirez talks a bit of a game but once he’s faced with the White Court vampires, his sexual prowess is revealed in detail. Ha! Still, Ramirez stands besides Harry in the thick of it at the end of the book. It’s quite a show down. It is one of my favorite fight scenes in the series, and a lengthy one at that too. Harry’s snark is allowed to run lose and Lara takes the brunt of it at one point. Mouthwash indeed!

At the end, Harry discovers how Thomas has been keeping himself so well fed and he’s quite surprised! So was I the first time around. Molly has learned a bit about her own limits when it comes to combat magic and situations. Mouse, Harry’s dog, is more than he seems. And there’s tons more fall out from the happenings in this book but I don’t want to get spoilery. Over all, this book has a bit more serious tone to it. Harry is still a smart mouth and that brings some much needed comic relief to certain scenes, but the stakes have gone up. With that, the characters are all getting a bit more serious, pushing on each other harder, lines are drawn in the sand. All together, this is one of my more favorite books in the series.

Narration: James Marsters continues to give this series a fine performance. I greatly enjoyed his voice for Thomas especially when Thomas is putting on a fake French accent. His ghoulish voices sound just as demented, wet, slurred, and deceitful as I imagined they would. Once again, he does a very convincing seductive and charming Lara Wraith.

It's been almost a year since I read a book in the Dresden Files! What is wrong with me? I love this series so much, and have no excuses except that there is not enough time in the day for me to read all the books I would like to.

It's always hard to summarize these books, especially at this point in the series, because I don't want to spoil anything. Quickly: Harry helps out a group of magically talented women who are being picked off one by one and may be pawns in the White Court vampires' game.

This was not my favorite book in the series. The first half was very good and the second half was very good. All of it was very good. It just felt disconnected in the middle, like there were two acts and the cord that tied them together was stretched thin. Normally, Butcher delivers a novel where everything fits together like a perfect puzzle, and while things did make a bunch of sense and it wasn't really disappointing, I'm used to much better connective tissue in this series.

As always, Thomas was my favorite character outside of Harry (because I adore their relationship; and there are some great scenes between them in this one). We finally discover what he's been keeping secret from Harry for a bit (and it well worth waiting for, if you ask me). The character that surprised me the most was Lash, who, up to this point, has been interesting but not really a character I could connect with. I was pleasantly surprised where her character ended up going, too. Another surprise: Carlos Ramirez! I forgot how much I actually really like his character; plus, hinting at a Molly X Carlos relationship? I'm pretty interested to see where that goes or if it's dismissed.

The ending broke me a bit. I can't say which part, but if you've read it, I think you'll be able to figure it out (hint: it's the same reason Harry cries; my eyes teared up quite a bit). It was all wrapped up beautifully, and save for that little bit of disconnect, I liked this book quite a bit. Unfortunately, the next book in the series is the only one I don't actually own, so I need to get it before I can read it.

4.5-5 stars

This was a great story and addition to the series. Things start out with Harry getting called in as a consultant by Murphy for a case...one that seems to indicate that someone is taking out women in Chicago with a low level of magical abilities. As he starts in investigate, he finds that Thomas is involved in some way but since he hasn't told Harry about anything that's going on, it worries Harry. Harry is relatively sure that Thomas isn't responsible for the deaths but is hard pressed trying to figure out what's truly going on and proving it.

As Harry gets more involved in the investigation, he's reunited with his first love, Elaine. They haven't seen each other since they ended up on opposite sides of a fairy conflict around 5 years before. Thankfully, this time they're on the same side...once they sort out everything. They work well as a team but although they definitely have a history that includes a closeness, their reunion isn't as anything more than friends (at least for now). The killings end up being part of a deeper plot that could have repercussions for the wizarding community at large so of course, Harry is determined to figure out who's behind it and how to stop it. It's not easy but Harry and company do come out of things alive and with things settled nicely.

This was a great story and I really enjoyed it. Harry is a sarcastic, smart-ass of a man but deep down, he's truly good and I love to see him succeed in his endeavors to help those in need. I also like the growing mentor/student relationship between him and Molly...it's a nice addition. Overall, I thought the story was great and it kept me engaged until the end. I'd recommend the story/series. :D

* note - I listened to the audio version of this story and James Marsters did a great job with the narration.

White Night was so full of vampires you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting one (disclaimer: no cats were harmed while writing this review). Is that a good thing? Sure, why not.
The White Court is in town, Dresden’s town, and he isn’t happy. Lots of action, lots of magic, and lots of relationship building, which I like. Molly played a bigger part in this one, as she should. She’s Harry’s apprentice, after all. Thomas was there, as was Murphy. I like Butcher’s stories where he develops the relationships more and more, so yes, I liked this story quite a bit.
That’s one of the things I like and appreciate about the Dresden Files stories. Not only are they showing the development of Butcher as an author, but he is doing that through the development of the characters. I must admit, I think of these characters as friends. Fast becoming one of my all-time favorite series. And that is saying something.
A great read.
4.75 of 5 Stars (rounds to 5)

This volume was high on magic, but low on detective work which wasn't the best trade-off; however the action and characters helped to re-balance the scales. Murphy was particularly awesome in this installment as was Harry's brother, Thomas. Molly got on my nerves a bit with her complete disregard for how her actions impacted others. She's learning though, as was evidenced by her growth towards the end. I really liked Ramirez too. When he called Dresden out on his sketchy behaviour, I expected the worst, and he surprised me. Lasciel's plot thread was another aspect that caught me off guard as well. Ooh, and MOUSE! And, here I was thinking that *I* had the best dog in the world. WHITE NIGHT definitely had a lot to offer, and I can't wait to discover what mischief Harry & co get into next.

I feel like a broken record. There isn't much more for me to say. I'm enjoying the series, but it's not going to ever be one of my favorites or end up being one that I return to over and over. It's kept my attention, and at times I really enjoy it, but it just doesn't really grab me and suck me into the story and characters like other series. I think about Patricia Brigg's Mercedes Thompson series a lot when I read it. It's very similar in feeling (though I believe Dresden came out before Mercedes Thompson did), but I just don't find myself falling in love with the world and characters as I do in that one

As my reviews will indicate, I considered Jim Butcher to be on a role from Blood Rites onward. Subsequent novels Dead Rites and Proven Guilty were amongst my favorite in the series and introduced series favorites Butters as well as Molly. White Night isn't quite as good as these volumes but is still really-really good and one of the last of the books I unambiguously loved without qualification.

Yes, that's a bit ominous isn't it?

The premise of White Night is there's been a series of murders across Chicago by an obvious supernatural force. These individuals aren't killed in the traditional "blood and guts" sort of way but in more subtle ones, including death-by-sex whose discovery is rather hilarious. All of the victims turn out to be low-level practitioners of the mystic art, witches and magicians not powerful enough to join the White Council.

Harry must find out who is interested in preying on those who have very little magic or involvement in the ongoing war with the Red Court of vampires. Complicating matters is Harry's possession by the demon Lashiel, a spirit who wishes to corrupt him to the Dark Side and is willing to do so through giving him everything he's ever wanted. Harry is losing ground every day through the temptation to use hellish powers to do good.

White Knight is an excellent story less because of the mystery, which is decent enough, than because of the follow-up on so many other plot-lines. We get a return of Elaine from Summer Knight, the Raith clan of White Court Vampires, Carlos Ramirez the Warden, Molly Carpenter, Butters, and even minor ones like Helen Beckitt. This is a very continuity-heavy story and yet for fans of the series, is quite enjoyable for it.

Part of what I liked about the book is the strong relationships between all of the characters. Murphy and Harry's friendship, Molly's crush on Harry, Elaine's past relationship with Harry, Helen Beckitt's friendship with her fellow witches, Butter's increasing interest in the supernatural, and a general moving away from the episodic missions of the previous books to full immersion in the overarching plot.

Another element I like is it goes further into analyzing what it means for Harry to be part of the Wardens now. Having been one of the criminals chased by the White Council for most of his life, he's now feared and hated by exactly the sort of people he used to consider himself to be a part of. Watching Harry try to deal with people who believe he's a mad dog killer as well as an instrument of the law is both funny as well as moving.

The White Court of vampires politics are another great thing to be enjoyed here. Lara Raith is a fabulous villainess, basically Cersei Lannister if she had all of her father's intelligence and cunning. Her scenes with Harry crackle and I really wish those two would get together. She's the best femme fatale in a series filled with them. The fact she's confirmably evil but on our heroes' side is something which adds to the ambiguity of her character.

The Lashiel subplot was one I felt was starting to drag after three books devoted to it but the conclusion to it here was quite satisfying, as well as a bit touching. I never thought I'd expect to be moved by a plot involving demonic possession but I was. Their interaction throughout the novel was a delight and you could see where each of them gave ground to the other.

Despite this, White Night didn't quite grab me as much as its immediate predecessors. It relies heavily on past continuity and doesn't quite pop out the same way. It's still a great novel, though, and something I think every fan of the series would enjoy. It's perhaps not the best book to start the series on, though.

10/10

*Book source ~ Library

Harry Dresden, wizard and PI extraordinaire, discovers that witches in his city of Chicago are committing suicide at an alarming rate. Not just alarming, but suspicious. Digging into the matter Harry finds out the magical community is afraid him now that he’s a Grey Cloak or Warden of the White Council. If someone had only talked to him about the suspicious deaths then lives could have been saved. But digging into the matter doesn’t just involve finding who is responsible. Oh, no. That would be too simple and nothing in Harry’s life is ever simple. Harry needs to figure out the players and the end game fast before more people, himself included, die.

Guest reviewers:
A ~ my 16-yr-old daughter
T ~ my 15-yr-old son
K ~ my 13-yr-old son

This series continues to entertain, but I’m sure that’s no big surprise. The humor, as always, is a big hit and the mystery kept us guessing and involved. We learned more magic and with Harry training Molly we like how he’s becoming more focused and disciplined with his powerhouse talent. Learning about the magical community was interesting since not much has ever been mentioned about the lesser powers in Chicago. Elaine is back in town and we find out what she’s been up to and there are more machinations by the White Court.

Favorite characters are back: Thomas, Murphy, Marcone, Ramirez and, as always, Mouse. Everyone agrees the magical fight towards the end was awesome and Harry’s solutions are always so fun to read. Lasciel is also back and what she does is…unexpected. New baddies are introduced and an unexpected baddie turns up, one we thought was dead. Also, everyone agrees that Harry’s idea of setting up a network for the magical community is a good idea. He doesn’t like being seen as a boogeyman for the paranormal community simply because he has to be a Warden.

Favorite quotes:

“Bring it, Darth Bathrobe!”

“She gave me a hard look. ‘No one likes a wiseass, Harry.’
“Are you kidding? As long as the wiseass is talking to someone else, people love ‘em.”

“There was a sound like a human yawn, and then the skull turned slightly toward me and asked, ‘What’s up, boss?’
‘Evil’s afoot.’
‘Well, sure’, Bob said, ‘because it refuses to learn the metric system. Otherwise it would be up to a meter by now.’”

I'm a fan of Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files," so it is difficult to give a mediocre rating to a series and writer whom I enjoy and admire. His clever blending of noir-detective with the supernatural works (and works well), the wise-cracking, self-depreciating and dry humor of Harry Dresden is enjoyable. That Butcher begins to tie together some of the plot points of previous books
(Summer Knight:The Dresden Files Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, Book 7),Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8)) was well-written and worked well in terms of the larger story-arc of the series. The devil, as they say, is in the details - and it was the details of _White Night_ that were just not as solid as Butcher's earlier work.

In an attempt to avoid spoilers, I will be vague: the ostensible serial-killer Dresden is searching for wasn't difficult to identify, in spite of several red-herrings. And while the cats-paws manipulation and shrewed manipulation and use of cut-outs were difficult to unravel, the resolution to Dresden's problem with Lasciel was a tremendous disappointment. I understand that Butcher had to (in one way or another) get out of the situation he created which essentially painted Dresden in a corner, I had issues with the way in which this was done- I felt a little cheated.
Still, I you've read the first 8 books in the series, it is very likely that you will read this one (and the others.) I certainly will as well. _White Night_ is really a 3.5 star book, but out of fondness for the characters and the series, I'll round up.

This urban fantasy series by Jim Butcher is one of my favorites. I've been reading them since I discovered them in 2007, but I've fallen behind with them. In an effort to catch up I picked up the next in the series, White Night.

Harry Dresden is back at it - protecting the world from evil supernaturals. Police officer and friend, Karrin Murphy, asks Harry to help investigate a suicide. However it's not just one suicide. Upon investigation it looks like these are murders made to look like suicides - but who is killing these young witches? When the finger points to Harry's own brother, Thomas, he takes a keen interest and together with Murphy and fellow Warden, Ramirez, they set out to find the killer/s.

I like Harry. He's a very likeable wizard, if slightly insane. He has a strong distrust for authority, an overly large cat, Mister, and an even bigger dog, Mouse. He also has Bob, who lives in a skeleton head and loves romance novels. What's not to love in the Dresden household?

White Night builds on stories in the previous books. Harry's now on the White Council and is a Warden. He's supposed to protect the magical community, however he believes that there is a "Black Council" that is feeding information to the vampires. The main plotline and the questions about this Black Council feature in White Night. The reader learns more about Dresden and Ramirez's thoughts on the Black Council and I liked that this is a plotline that is likely going to continue on in the next few books. I'm pretty intrigues by a council that has allied itself to the vampires!!

I really enjoyed White Night. It's gotten me interested in the Harry Dresden books again and I plan to pick up Small Favor very soon.

This is Book 9 of the Dresden Files, an urban-fantasy series about Harry Dresden, a private investigator in Chicago who is also a powerful wizard. In this story, Harry's close friend on the Chicago police force, Karen Murphy, has been demoted because of the unauthorized time off she took in Book 8, Proven Guilty, to storm the stronghold of Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, in order to rescue Molly Carpenter, who is currently Harry's apprentice. Karen calls in Harry to assist with investigating a death that has been declared a suicide, but which Karen suspects might be murder by magical means. Harry confirms her suspicion and soon learns that someone is systematically murdering local witches and making each of their deaths look like it is suicide--and the chief suspect appears to be Harry's brother, Thomas, a White Court vampire.

The ongoing war between the White Council of wizards, for which Harry is a Warden, and the Red Court vampires continues. Lasciel, the fallen angel/demon whose shadow self lives within Harry's mind and whom Harry calls "Lash," is strongly involved in this story as well. Lash is one of the most fascinating characters Butcher has created in this series, among a host of amazing characters. Harry's motley crew of allies, as always, is completely delightful, and the action is nonstop.

Harry himself continues to be a fantastic, extremely sympathetic hero. He is unwilling to ever give up when innocent lives are in danger at the hands of horrible villains, and he constantly displays his trademark snarky defiance in the face of impossible odds.

The sound quality of this audio recording is excellent and it is an unabridged version of the book. It is narrated by actor James Marsters, best known for playing the character Spike, a platinum-blond, British vampire in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel, between 1997 and 2004. Marsters does an outstanding job on every part of the reading, including general narrative and various character voices. Listening to him is a real pleasure.

If he had not been a good reader, it would have been hard for me to sit through the full book--bad readers can destroy one's enjoyment of even the most wonderful novel. I am extremely grateful for Mr. Marsters's reading talents not just for their own sake, but because experiencing this novel as an audiobook gave me the opportunity to admire Jim Butcher's writing even more than I did when I read this book in print--which I did not think was possible. In my experience of listening to audio versions of books, very few of them can stand up to the intense focus of being read aloud, which is much slower than reading silently to oneself. This relative snail's pace acts to draw attention to every problem of dialogue, pacing and plot. I am happy to report that under that intense spotlight, I experienced not a single flaw in this book.

I am not a person who often reads a book more than once--too much to read and far too little time. But this book was definitely worth experiencing twice. And owning this recording means I may listen to it far more times than that in the future.

This is one of the best purchases I ever made, and I am systematically collecting audio recordings of all of the Dresden Files books.

Basically more of the same from Butcher. If you like the series, this one is an enjoyable entry: nice set-piece action, almost no character development (on Harry, that is; his apprentice Molly is growing up quite a bit), and a complex interaction between several people's independent plots for our wizard-cum-P.I. to unravel.

This book focuses a lot of Thomas, Harry's vampire half-brother, as Harry and Thomas try to keep one another alive, use one another to further their own interests, and avoid actually talking to one another. The Harry/Thomas relationship has taken over the driver's seat of the series now that Harry and Sgt. Murphy are pretty much settled as a non-item, and the series is no worse for it.

In fact, the characters' sex lives are a recurring theme of the book. Harry's four-year dry spell, Molly's we-don't-talk-about-it wild teenage years, Warden Ramirez' "Spanish lover" bragging, and Harry's and Thomas' desire that Thomas not return to using sex to feed his vampiric hunger are all played off against one another. In the Dresden universe, magic is fueled by passion more than cold will, and the relationship between love (of several kinds), need, and passion is the undercurrent.

Molly's story continues to advance. This is a great way to replace the pages of navel-gazing the earlier books had regarding their moral dilemmas with instruction and challenge, which makes it not only palatable but interesting. All in all, White Night has about three pages of Harry just rambling to himself about his ethics, which is a big improvement.

Molly has to face a big question in this book: Is she willing to get involved in as messy a business as her father and Harry do? We're pretty certain of the answer (after all, her father is called by God Himself to fight evil), but she's going through the uncertainties and test-of-faith that should accompany the decision. It's also a good chance for Harry to re-examine his own involvement. His cooperation with the demon he buried in his basement, his anger over the vampires' destruction of his last healthy relationship, and his knee-jerk partiality when his brother is implicated in a string of murders all lead to some good questions and reflection. Murphy, Ramirez, and Holly all take him to task on how caught up he's getting and how he's starting to believe his own savior complex. How he handles it is the stuff of this (and hopefully the next few) books.

The actual plot addresses some great points that have been outstanding in the story: Who is the hypothetical Black Council that's working against the wizards and the vampired equally? How are the White Court vampires handling Laura Raith's covert usurpation of her father's will? How will Harry's conscription into the Wardens--a group widely feared by the less-powerful supernaturals--affect his reputation and business as Chicago's hero of the little guy? And just how tough is Mouse, his stolen magical Temple Dog, anyway?

The stuff of the plot is spelled out all over the place: someone is killing female magic practitioners, limiting off the pool of potential White Council members down the line (magic is often passed matrilinearly). The evidence increasingly points to Thomas as a "person of interest" and Murphy asks for Harry's help on the case--unofficially, since she's been demoted. Harry's first complication is the other evidence in the case: it looks like a tall, thin Warden is involved in the killings, and Harry himself is the only tall Warden in the Midwest. The more Murphy and he investigate, the more it appears that no one theory can explain all the killings, especially when Elaine, Harry's teenage love, comes back into his life with information about similar killings in three other cities, leading Harry, Elaine, and Murphy to unravel a complicated case of multiple murderers using and manipulating one another while deftly using Harry as their pawn.

Pure fluff. Pure fun. Nice entry into the series. Well worth the three or four hours it takes to read.

Even though this book was engaging, I had a hard time getting traction to finish it. If my review is a little scattered, it is due to this long period spent reading this book and lots of sleepless nights.

If you've read Butcher's books so far, White Night is more of the same. Harry is called in to investigate a series of suicides that are not sitting well with Murphy. However, once he starts to dig into the deaths, he realizes that they are no mere suicides--they are elaborate murders made to look like suicides. At the scene he is able to investigate--and one of the bodies his apprentice is able to look at--Harry discovers that there is a secret message: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." In typical Harry-style, he sets off to determine who is killing these weak magic practitioners, why it looks like Thomas is involved, and try to keep people safe.

There was little to no character development in Harry; however, I'm not sure how much further Butcher can go. Adding Molly into the series has given it a different element. Further, Harry has something more to focus his attention on. She is also starting to grow up, and she is struggling with whether this is a world she wants to be a part of.

Harry's constant complaining about his four years without getting laid is getting more than a little annoying. After it was made clear that he and Murphy would never be an item, he seems to spend more of his time whining about no physical contact. In addition, Elaine coming into town makes it worse. At some level, I found myself wanting him to just tumble into bed with her or Lara.

Since Thomas' falling out with the Raith family, it was obvious that they would come back into the picture. It was interesting to see the internal vampire politics and how they might be helping with the Black Council. That being said, the beginning and ending of the book felt rather disconnected. At some place between the killings, the Malvora, Vittorio, and all of that, something got lost in translation. In addition, I have to wonder whether Harry will get in trouble for throwing down with the vampires while in his Warden's cloak. Granted, Ramirez helped him, but I doubt it was sanctioned by the Council.

I'm still not sure how I feel about Lasciel/Lash issue. While I understand that she, the being in his head, is only a mirror image/fraction of the whole; however, everything surrounding what happened feels unbelievable. But we shall see in later books.

Butcher presents a couple of interesting concepts in this book and some things that will definitely come into play later. I'm curious to see how he plays with the peace with Lara, Marcone's new status, Mouse's continued abilities, and so on. However, even though the book was entertaining, I have to wonder how long Butcher can continue Harry's story.

Sometimes, it's good to be wrong. Jim Butcher has more than earned hardcover publication for his "Dresden Files" series. In my opinion, "Dresden" is one of the best urban fantasy series around.

What to the casual eye looks like suicides of magical practitioners turns out to be a serial killer using the quote from Exodus, "Suffer Not a Witch to live," as a calling card. There are several practitioners dead and more missing. Worse, it's not just Chicago that's been hit.

When clues start piling up implicating Harry's younger brother, Thomas, who is a vampire of the White Court, Harry has to work hard to clear his brother's name.

"White Night" should have a warning--don't pick this book up unless you have several hours to devour it. Like most of the Dresden Files, I struggled with the impulse to read the book right now--or just a few pages at a time and savor it. Devouring won.

"White Night" is very tightly paced. You have very little time as a reader to contemplate what's going to happen. This is also one of Butcher's more intricate novels. He's definitely improving with each book. Kudos to him, his publisher and many fans would still read him for a long time if he didn't challenge himself--and us. In my opinion, Butcher has reached the point with the mystery and crime portion of the series that regular mystery readers would cross over to him.

Of course, the stable of characters is excellent. I still prefer the novelizations of the Dresden Files to the series--with one notable exception. Bob in the novel now seems 'flat' to me once I have seen Terrence Mann bringing Bob to life.

Overall, this is an excellent book by a writer who ages very well. Kudos to Jim Butcher and the Dresden Files.

By the time you have gotten this far into a series you are most likely hopelessly hooked (as I am) and there is little that anyone could say to get you to read the next novel in the series sooner.

Well this is one of the better boos in the series and you will not be disappointed when you get around to reading it!

The only complaint I ever have about this series is that they start out kind of slow. But one you get between about 17% and 25% through the book these books just seem to fly! These would be hard to read in one sitting at the beech or the campground or besides the pool but they are still moderate to fast paced books that can be read in a few sessions!

Another fabulous edition to the Dresden Files. This one seemed to be very fast paced but still exciting as a whole. I'm not going to bother recapping the rest of the series as there are simply too many books for that. There's only one important thing really; Harry Dresden is a wizard.

As a Warden for the White Council of wizards and longtime PI in Chicago, Harry makes it his business to protect people. This time, someone is hitting close to home. A rash of suicides isn't all it appears to be. Someone is out killing the weaker magical community in Chicago, and its especially targeting women. When Harry is called in to look at one of these suicides he discovers a message, meant for him. Someone is trying to draw him in and its working, he can't leave innocents to die. The worse thing about these suicides is that they appear genuine; he won't be able to get any help from local law enforcement.

As he explores the case further, he discovers that his brother Thomas is involved. Not only him, but others of the White Vampire Court which makes things a little more difficult. Between dealing with his brother and his hard-headed apprentice, Harry's having a hard time looking out for everyone. Like in most of the books in this series, someone is trying to kill him and has a personal vendetta that is making him watch his back. He just can't figure out who it would be. One thing is for certain though, he has to find the killer of the women before its too late and expose them for who they are before more women die.

Harry was simply awesome in this book. He was tougher, had a wide range of emotions that were more believable, and wasn't as goody-goody as he can get sometimes. Not to mention, I barely remember him saying "Hell's bells" at all. Lasciel, his ever present companion was a good addition as well. Butcher gives her a little bit better of a role in this book and her interactions with Harry are interesting to read. Murphy, Thomas, and the rest of the gang are as good as ever too. Thomas got a great part in this book and it really expanded his character a lot further. Not to give too much away but I especially loved the scene with him at the end of the book, it was hilarious yet touching.

Butcher's writing is descriptive. It is written in the first person with Harry as its narrator. This offers a unique perspective because we get to "experience" being a wizard without it being strange or hard to handle. Since Harry is experienced in magic, we the reader are as well through him. Its written very naturally. The plot in this book was great. There was a lot of action, some mystery and intrigue, and the pacing was perfect. I truly enjoyed reading this one.

I'll be continuing on with the next in the series although I'm starting to run out. Its just hard to stop reading these at a voracious pace because they do get better and better each time. On to the next!

White Night
Copyright 2007
404 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2010

The Dresden Files have become my favorite of all my books. Now that Harry has taken Molly on as an apprentice things have just intensified. I'm sure that the stories have changed also. It seems like there is more details and Harry is feeling more sure of himself too and yet not in ways that change him but in growth. He goes through a lot in this book and there are so many surprises. Some that left me speechless! In this book Molly has finally found herself and realizes the danger that she has with her new found power NOT that she completely understand what that really means but it is a really BIG step for her. I liked that Elaine was back and how well they worked together. Maybe this new network that they are going to try and build will help her emotionally. She was pretty low when she left to go back to LA. Again I was blown away with the action and the emotional roller coaster that I go through with each book, but then every book just gets better and better! Can't tell you, but what a ending......

Harry Dresden had always had more than his fair share of problems in life, orphaned at an early age, left in the hands of an abusive mentor as a teenager, plagued by Wizards, demons, ghouls and vampires - even his Fairy Godmother was out to get him! As this 9th entry into the the Dresden Files series begins Harry's problems seem to be even more numerous than ever. Due to a severe shortage of powerful trained Wizards caused by the ongoing war between the White Council of Wizards and both the Red and White Courts of Vampires Harry has been pressed into service as a Warden and placed in charge of a large section of the US - an 'honor' Harry never expected nor wanted, and one he can see no way of escaping. His Warden duties have kept him quite busy particularly since he was assigned his friend Michael's daughter Molly as an apprentice. He has plenty of time though for the additional work since he has fallen out of favor with the Chicago Police Department and is not getting much consulting work through them, at least not officially anyway. His friend on the force, Murphy has contacted him on a strictly unofficial basis about a number of minor practitioners of magic who have died recently under what seems to her at least, as unusual circumstances. Harry is horrified to discover that the chief suspect seems to be his brother Thomas. Before Harry is able to sort out the various new problems in his life he will have to do battle on many fronts, even within himself.

This is the ninth in a series of urban fantasy novels centering on Harry Dresden a Wizard/Private Detective working in Chicago. The overall story arc if this series is quite pronounced with a complex mythology and a large cast of recurring characters. Many secondary plots are carried over from novel to novel so, even for those who many be familiar with the overall premise from either early books or the short lived TV series begin at the beginning (STORM FRONT) and proceed in order. This series would appeal to those who are fans of TRUE BLOOD/Southern Vampire series.

I really should have read these in order. It would have made the Dresden experience that much better.

I just finished Skin Game after Cold Days, skipped Ghost Story, and read the three before that in order. There's a lot to be said about all the stories prior to Changes. They show Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden as the "Wizard for Hire" and paranormal guardian of Chicago that he's famous for being. Harry's trials and tribulations with the Vampire Court Wars is nothing but a headache and when Thomas is getting more and more distant we find that Harry needs to take action. Throw in his ex-girlfriend in the deal and things get really interesting.

White Night is what you expect a Dresden story to be: Snarky, full of action, and good story telling. I highly recommend this to any fan of the Dresden files - just do yourself a favor and read the stories in order. Not that you'll not enjoy it if you go out of order, you just should experience the events as they develop. Butcher does a great job of bringing each reader up to date. I find discovering the nuances of each character a nice surprise when read chronologically.

There is just something exceptional and magnificent about White Night. Harry Dresden is an Urban Wizard who meets fantastic creatures and has the most mind-blowing adventures that anyone can have in modern (the sci-fi/fantasy version) Chicago.

Harry’s story unfolds in the first-person and usually encompasses an epic grandeur in its scale. White Night is no different. He is a complicated character with many layers to his personality. When you encounter him in White Night you find that you want to find out exactly who he is. There is always something new to learn or experience about him. You know that he is a good person but finding out the many layers of “who” he is becomes more complicated. He is generally for the underdog, the down trodden, and of course there is a soft spot, (or achilles heel), for all women. In White Night we also encounter more of the love he has for his half demon brother, Thomas Raith, and the love his half demon brother has for him. We first met Thomas Raith in Grave Peril, even though we did not yet know that he was related to Harry. The story of Harry and Thomas is captivating. Harry has felt a special kind of loneliness believing himself to have no family until Thomas reveals their shared heritage in Blood Rites. Their story continues here. The fact that they both struggle to know each other and love each other adds a depth to each of their characters that enthralls the reader. It also gives a breadth and depth to both Harry and Thomas that we have not seen previously. It raises the questions in our own lives, if Harry can love his half-demon brother, Thomas, can we not expand our own capacity for love in our own existences.

One of the most entrancing scenes is where Harry almost drowns after being attacked by ghouls on Thomas’ boat, the Water Beetle. His brother, Thomas, dives into the icy water without hesitation, after the ice breaks due to rampaging ghouls and gun fire, (Harry has made it icy with magic to save the women and children who Thomas had gathered to keep safe from the “culling”), and gets him out of the lake and carries him to safety. Harry awakens just for a few moments and knows that he is “safe“ because Thomas “has him.”
One sighs in relief along with Harry after experiencing this scene.In the entanglement between Harry and Thomas, we see shades of Wuthering Heights, both Harry and Thomas mirror the best and the conflicted in each other and in us.

The new characters introduced are interesting but they are not as fascinating as witnessing the further character development of old friends like Karrin Murphy, Mouse, Thomas Raith, Carlos Ramirez, Molly Carpenter and Bob (the skull), if you follow this series. We even come to appreciate Mouse more. Mouse is Harry’s adopted Temple Dog with Foo dog ancestry and has special powers who works at looking like a "regular canine." We first met Mouse in Blood Rites. Mouse does a great deal to keep Harry and those around him safe. In White Night Mouse gains a canine admirer, Toto, a small dog who belongs to Abbey, a new and minor character in this novel. This lends comic relief since Toto in, miniature, is always trying to imitate Mouse. The comic relief is beneficial since in White Night there is death all around, treachery, and a dastardly plot to kill off, serially, the unattached female magical practitioners of Chicago and perhaps the world.

Once again, Harry, and company must stand in the breach between good and evil. He must take the fight for the protection, shelter, and security of those in need to the Conclave of the White Court of Vampires. There the cause is won, just barely, in a magical duel to the death.

White Night is fast paced with moments of heart stopping action. It is simply magnificent. The pros are lyrical. If you follow the series, you welcome back Karrin, Molly, Mouse, Ramirez, and Bob like old friends. I highly recommend White Night and the series.

I bought White Knight because I had a vague memory of reading one or two other Dresden books from the library. See, I have this rule - if I read more than 3 of an author's books from the free library, I feel I owe the author some royalties and buy a couple of his/her books (paperback, of course, given my budget). Now that I've just finished White Knight, I'm going to have to buy all of the preceding books, and Small Favor, so that I can read them seriatim.

It's odd, really, because while I've loved SF and F&SF for more than 55 years, I've never cared much for "blood and gore". And the Dresden Files are very graphically overflowing with both in some intensely horrifying modes. I am much more the Mercedes Lackey kind of S&S reader usually, with side steps into Charlaine Harris and similar writers, but I usually prefer my mayhem off-stage.

I like Dresden. I like the development of the character, that he keeps learning about himself. I like that he cares about people who need help, whether (or perhaps especially not) because they can do anything for him. I like that he keeps fighting a system (the Council) which is, in my opinion, entirely too full of itself and entirely to dedicated to maintaining its members at the top of the hierarchy without respect to justice or fairness. I like that Dresden hurts when he loses because losing means some innocent is hurt or killed. I like his ability to accept the political realities he has to live with and work with, can compromise sometimes, when necessary, but not at his deepest belief levels, and that he finds intriguing work-arounds frequently, both magical and political.

I've appreciated the adding of characters, Murphy, brother Thomas, Molly, Mouse (and yes, I'd like to know a lot more about Mouse), Marcone, and the rest.

I think what intrigues me is that Dresden has a set of values that I can appreciate, that I think are good values; that he is willing to risk his life and sometimes his sanity or his soul because of his values. I like that he can lose, sometimes dreadfully, and get up and try again.

And now I have to go order some books.

Murphy calls Dresden to the scene of what is being classified as a suicide. But something doesn't feel right. And with his own brand of investigation, manages to find a hidden message: one that even the police would never have found. A message for him. Exodus 22:18. `Suffer not a witch to live.' Murphy things perhaps a religious fanatic. Harry doesn't think so.

As Harry investigates, he's finding more of the 'supernatural underclass' are turning up either dead or missing. And he doesn't like the looks of things. A security tape points right at Thomas, Harry's half brother, and Harry refuses to believe it. His brother wouldn't do that. But finding Thomas is an investigation in itself ~ Harry can't find him and he's started to get worried.

As Harry delves deeper, he and Murphy are targeted more and more, and he's suddenly thinking of a bigger picture. There's more to these supposed suicides, he's sure of it.

Without warning, Elaine pops into the story, surprising Harry with the actual amount of strength she has as a wizard. However, she's keeping a low profile; she doesn't trust men, refuses to be controlled by them again, and is staying on the down-low, refusing to call attention to herself. She wants nothing to do with the Wardens or the White Council and will do anything to keep it that way.

The investigation grows more complex, time is running out, and Harry has to figure out a way to stop the threat of a bigger war.

Harry knows he can't do it alone. But is he willing to throw his friends in the fray and watch as they get hurt or, worse yet, die?

I saw a different side of Harry in this novel, and at times, he even scared me. Harry is doing what he can to teach Molly the different between doing something right for the right reasons, knowing that if she screws up, it would be the end of the road for them both. But Molly doesn't really understand what Harry's trying to teach ~ that is until two seriously intense moments between them. One of them scared the daylights out of me - and I'm not a character in the book. Disturbing is just one word I could use to describe it. Even Murphy demands an explanation after witnessing that episode. And yet he finally manages to get through Molly's thick skull - by golly, she's learning. And while teaching Molly, Harry is brought back to his roots, revising everything he had learned at her age, and is finding new ways to deal with his magic. LOL, even patience has a new meaning to him.

When Harry and Murphy confront a group of women for answers to their questions, only more questions pop up. With the help of Lasciel, Harry discovers that there was someone else in the room, one that veiled themselves to keep from being recognized. Low and behold, Elaine had come to the aid of a woman seeking her help to protect her and the others. Then he realizes something: she's stronger than she's pretending to be. After a few questions answered by Ramirez, now Harry's certain. Finding out why she's keeping on the down-low is almost hurtful.

As the investigation goes deeper, Harry discovers that three of the other houses are attempting to overthrow the king of the White Court, wanting to stop the peace talks and throw their weight in behind the Red Court and their war with the Council. Harry is desperate to stop that from happening - should the war continue, and the threat of a Black Council rise, it would be the end of Harry's world. And he's determined not to see that happen, no matter the cost.

With the help of Molly, Murphy, Thomas, Ramirez, even Lasciel and Marcone and some of his men (including Hendricks), Harry puts an end to the fight. But it's a really close one.

Action scenes are incredible ~ I truly love watching/reading Harry in his battles. The end of the last fight scene was fantastic. The way he got through to Molly was damn near scary. At first, I wasn't happy with the way he did it, even though I understand why. He even reasons with Lasciel, making her understand his point about it all. His agreement with Marcone was something of a surprise, I most certainly didn't see that coming. And the more and more he investigates with Murphy, the more and more she's understanding everything. I'm glad that Harry and Ramirez talked. Harry knows not to trust anyone, and yet Ramirez gets fired up that Harry hadn't trusted him. Carlos even began to suspect Harry. Whew, glad that was put to rest.

What I like about Butchers novels is that, now matter how he does it, there is always something new to learn in about in Harry's world. In earlier novels, we learn the differences between the vampires: White Court, Red Court and Black Court, and what kind of vampires they are. In this one, we learn the differences between the families/houses in the White Court - sort of made me think of the mob. These novels are addictive ... darn near unputdownable. The dialogue is smooth, Harry is witty and fun to read. The plot simply flows - there's no slowing down. There's never the same old, same old. Always something new, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

You know a book is good when you've picked it apart, word by word, you know it inside and out, and it still takes your breath away when you re-read it.

This is the ninth Dresden Files book, and yes, it's White Night, not White Knight or White Nights. Easy way to remember: every single one of the Dresden Files titles is two words, with the same number of letters in each word--which is why Death Masks isn't Holy Sheet.

Anyway. The have-nots of Chicago's magical community--those people with just a bit of power--have been going missing. Several have turned up dead, mostly in apparent suicides. And somebody's left a message with the bodies: Exodus 22:18. Harry Dresden isn't religious, but that's a verse he knows by heart: "suffer not a witch to live."

And what makes things worse, for Harry at least, is that a lot of the missing women were last seen with either a very handsome man with dark hair or a very tall man in a gray cloak. Wardens of the White Council wear gray cloaks, which makes Harry himself a suspect, and the other man sounds very much like his brother Thomas, who's been secretive about his new job.

The plot is convoluted, but it makes sense once you get all the pieces, and what's really cool is that it's convoluted because that's the way the people involved do things. It's that level of detail that prompts the five stars. Everything in the book has a reason for being there, usually several reasons.

Harry's still training his new apprentice Molly, and that's got a bunch of layers as well--her strengths fit everything we know about her from previous books, and the effects on Harry show, too. It's not just "let's give Harry a teenage girl for a sidekick." It has so much consistency you'd believe they were real people.

Several characters from earlier books show up, ones we haven't seen for a while, and that's fun, and completely plot-driven. No Mouseketeer role calls here.

As you can probably guess from the fact that his brother is a suspect, the emotional intensity is up there. There's also a lot of emotion involved with Harry dealing with anger issues and with Lash, the shadow of a fallen angel who's living in his head. I needed tissues.

There were also plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and dozens of quotable lines, like "...age is always advancing and I'm fairly sure it's up to no good."

And some very cool special effects, which the TV show will never get a chance to use because it's been canceled, darnitall. Ah, well, they probably work better in my head anyway. Stupid SciFi Channel.

One caveat: this is a planned series: 20 books and then a big old apocalyptic trilogy, because who doesn't love apocalyptic trilogies? Which means that even though the books are complete in themselves, there is something going on that's leading to that apocalyptic trilogy. In other words: read the series in order. You'll get more out of it that way.

Wizard Harry Dresden is called in for an unofficial consultation as Sergeant Karrin Murphy has noticed a disturbing pattern of deaths among the magical community. Murder is being cleverly disguised as suicide while others are simply vanishing. Harry's investigation is about to land him once again in the heart of vampire politics as Harry's own credibility as a Warden of the White Council is on the line.

WHITE NIGHT is the ninth book in a series that only gets better and better. Harry is the ultimate hero, willing to sacrifice himself for others while determined that justice will prevail. The down-to-earth attitude keeps Harry from being over the top. Harry continually struggles with both his own demons and the tempting call of Lasciel and Jim Butcher does a fabulous job at showing the contrasts between good and evil, even in Harry's own character. Jim Butcher takes Harry's strength of character to a new level in WHITE NIGHT.

The signature humor is ever present in WHITE NIGHT. I don't know if this book is just better at really emphasizing the wisecracks or if I appreciate it more because of how I've grown to love Harry. Regardless, there are some true Harry Dresden moments in WHITE NIGHT that remind me of just why I'm such a fan of this series. I won't reveal any spoilers but there is one particular scene with Thomas that still cracks me up!

WHITE NIGHT is a real treat as Jim Butcher continues to amaze with his clever plot twists! Who can't help but love Mouse and the information that WHITE NIGHT reveals about him? As always, there are some ongoing threads and characters that reappear so it is best if you read this series in the correct order. Congratulations to Jim Butcher on yet another fantastic story with WHITE NIGHT!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

The police think it's a suicide, but wizard Harry Dresden knows better. It's murder--and a special kind of murder that can only be associated with a vampire. The White Court of vampires feeds on human emotions--and that kind of feeding could drive a woman to suicide. The particular women being attacked are minor mages, people without enough power to be associated with wardens like Harry, but people, nevertheless, who pass magic with their genes. If the vampires can wipe them out, they've created a long-term solution to their war with the wizards--they'll outlive them.

That part is obvious to Harry. Less obvious is who might be behind it--and why they'd want to leave a clear message for Harry to find. Harry might not be the most skillful warden around, but he's one of the most powerful and deadly. It might be possible to use him as a tool, but doing so would be so risky only a few could be daring enough to do so.

Harry's investigation is hampered because the potential victims don't trust him. They've hired another investigator, Harry's first girlfriend, Elaine, to keep them alive, but they suspect that Harry might even be the killer. From their descriptions, Harry wonders if his brother might be involved. Thomas is a vampire--and has exactly the kind of talent that could lead a woman to die of pleasure.

You don't have a DRESDEN FILES novel without a bang-up action scene, and the one in WHITE NIGHTS is a doozy. Deadly vampires, deathless ghouls, a cave full of human thralls, crime bosses with hired mercenaries, Harry's friend (and possible love interest) cop Murphy and even Harry's personal demon all collide in a huge dustup.

Author Jim Butcher continues his DRESDEN FILES series with an exciting combination of gritty detective novel and fantasy action. Butcher's action scenes are always well written and enjoyable and Harry's attempts to understand himself, deal with his ambivalent feelings about his allies (let alone his enemies), and his female troubles all make him a sympathetic and interesting character.

Looking for something I knew I would enjoy, I went for White Knight, the -- ninth? tenth? I've lost count -- book in the Harry Dresden series. I liked seeing the different strains of White Court vamps, especially when we got to see all of their powers in full bloom, so to speak, when Harry and Ramirez had to confront them all at the gathering. I liked how capable Lara Raith is at manipulation, though of course I appreciate that Harry is always able to find a way through her tangled web. I thought their final escape from the cave was great -- though I didn't think a whole lot of the super-ghouls that were the ultimate bad guy; smacked of Buffy and the Neander-Vamps. Especially the whole big-showdown-in-a-cave, with a gate to the underworld that they all come through -- you get the picture. And this book didn't have nearly enough Bob in it.

I did, however, love the resolution of the Lasciel/Denarian subplot that's been running through the last five books. I liked the way it worked, and I loved the message it gave: that everyone has a choice, and the simple fact of that choice makes us better people -- when we recognize and acknowledge the choice, that is. I feel like it makes me a better person when I realize that I'm living my life, I'm not trapped in it.

Anyway, I liked Thomas's part in this, and I loved Mouse, of course -- I dig his super-bark -- and Elaine was fine, though not a terribly interesting character. I liked her resolution, too, how she's going to become a champion of all the lesser magic-users who aren't good enough for the White Council; you just know that's going to come back and slap them right in their elitist faces. Workers unite! Viva la Revolucion! I also liked the insight into Gentleman Johnny Marcone and his relationship with Dresden -- though I'm not really sure I buy the gangster-with-a-heart; can you really be ruthless and run all of Chicago's rackets without hurting innocents? Then again, we are talking about a book about wizards here, so maybe I shouldn't complain about suspending my disbelief.

Harry Dresden's character has grown so much as a wizard that in this ninth book of the series, White Night, the story arc is coming to a near full circle. Harry went from being a suspected Warlock in Storm Front, to a Warden of the White Council in Proven Guilty. Now in he is Warden Dresden, has an apprentice, and protector against mystical predators.

In White Night, the plot centers on a number of suicides/murders involving women who are minor practitioners of the Art. Harry, always a sucker where the ladies are concerned, suspects black magic is the weapon being used against these victims and as the story unfolds it become evident that not only are paranormal politics come to play but also loved ones from Harry's past and present are tangled up in this complex plot. This book pulls you into the story immediately, its pace is rapid, the characters intriguing and the humor is wry and witty.

The quality of Jim Butcher's series has only increased with each successive book and White Knight is an outstanding read. Even the secondary characters are dynamic and complex. I'd love to see more of Thomas, Ramirez, Elaine, Kincaid, Molly, Luccio, the Carpenter family, Ebenezar, and even Marcone. I love Mouse and Toot but I'd really love for Murphy to go away.

Overall, this is an awesome and entertaining read. I have no reservations recommending this series to other readers.

"White Night", JIm Butcher's ninth installment of the Dresden Files unfortunately was my introduction to this series. With no prior background it was somewhat difficult to decipher the order of things and nuances of protagonist Harry Dresden's supernatural world.

Dresden, you see, is a Chicago based private investigator but also a wizard imbued with mystical powers and toting both a .44 magnum handgun and staff capable of dispensing lethal Hellfire. Dresden who holds the exalted status of warden in the White Council of wizards, often works with Sgt. Murphy of Chicago P.D.'s Special Investigation unit on matters outside the realm of normalcy. They presently were collaborating on a case involving the serial murders of a number of Chicago women in possesion of magical powers. The crime scenes contained clues that could only be discerned by someone with Dresden's mystical ability.

Evidence seems to point to Dresden's brother Thomas, a vampire, as the culprit in the killings. As the plot thickens we learn that the White Council is at odds with both the White and Red Courts of vampires. The killings of the local women is following a similar pattern seen in other large cities and that some nefarious plot is being hatched. Dresden recruits his long ago first love, the magically endowed Elaine Mallory with Chicago's pre-eminent crime lord John Marcone and West coast based warden Carlos Ramirez, and his apprentice the unrefined but powerful Molly to fight against the forces of darkness in a final battle which will decide the fate of the supernatural order of things.

Butcher's imaginative fable was quite well conceived but made me realize that I needed background information to appreciate it more fully.

An action packed, Harry Dresden adventure.

This is another in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Butcher's hero, Harry Dresden, is a wizard/private investigator who has his own battery of unusual resources and methods of getting things done. Because Harry's 'involvement' usually leads to confrontations, there is always something happening to keep your interest; it makes it easy to read on and on, often well into the night.

In this episode, some of Harry's lesser magical female brethren have being committing suicide, or have they; enter Harry and Murph to get to the bottom of this enigma.

Butcher's tales are fast paced and fun to read. The main plot, not unexpectedly, deals with fighting the evil hordes, but there were other things about this book that I really liked. There are, for instance, sprinklings of humor (often sarcastic or cynical), some eroticism and even some profound musings regarding love (and love lost), loneliness, pain and death. I found it hard not to like and feel some empathy towards Harry; he's probably one of my favorite fantasy figures.

In addition, there are also a number of 'side' characters in this book that I really enjoyed. Especially the lecherous Bob the Skull (my type of nonentity), Elaine, Lash and Lara, each with their own unique personalities and agendas.

Conclusion:
A typical Harry Dresden fantasy adventure; action packed, fast and fun, and with the occasional, ever so subtle, deeper philosophical moments.
If you like Jim Butcher's writing style, you'll love this addition to the Dresden files.

R.Nicholson

It is a rare thing for an author to handle a large, sweeping series with such aplomb. Witness Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (which I love) which even I have to admit got away from him and became unweildy and difficult to follow. By contrast, the Dresden Files plot flows nicely from book to book.

As for Butcher, his neo-noir style narration is spiced liberally with a warm humor that doesn't detract from the non-stop thrills. The protagonist is the unapologetically chivalrous yet lovelorn Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago Yellow Pages. Dresden, a supernatural gumshoe who lives in his rundown Chicago apartment makes for a lovable protagonist. While the series is driven more by (an outstanding) plot than by characters, the characters, too, are multifaceted individuals (for the most part) who learn (or not) from real mistakes. And Harry is very conflicted about issues of love, trust and the question of whether he is good or evil, which leads to some excellent drama and internal conflict.

In this book, magic users are disappearing from around the Chicago area. And though it's Harry's job to prevent it from happening, he finds himself suspected by many of the victims' friends. To top it off, his vampire brother is acting suspicious and may be involved. As he solves the mystery, Harry must fend off the temptations of a fallen angel, Lasciel.

Great fun. Outstanding writing. Paced for thrills with no slow spots. Darkly urban, contemporary setting. Magical, colorful characters. What's not to like?

White Night is the ninth book in the Dresden Files. In the last novel, Proven Guilty, Harry takes Molly Carpenter as an apprentice to prevent the White Council from executing her for practicing black magic. Proven Guilty begins with fairies being sent to centers of fear. Molly had used fear to cause her friends to quit using drugs, and in doing so practiced black magic and became a beacon for the "fear" fairies. Once she was captured, with Michael gone, Charity and Harry led an expedition to the capital of Winter to get her back.

White Night continues the theme lines from previous novels (the war with the Red Court, peace with the White Court, Elaine, Lasciel), but centers around a power play within the White Court. The three powerful families within the White Court are making a play for power by culling the human race of wizards. Jim Butcher also makes strides in the development of Lasciel, Cowl and the White Court.

This is the best book in the series so far; I could hardly put it down. The developments with Lasciel are very fascinating and the climax of this novel was very exciting. If I didn't know that Harry was going to live, it would have even been more exciting. I just thought of interesting plot line for future novels, Butcher could have Harry die, and then continue the series with Molly and/or Elaine to avenge him. Heck, he could even start a side series with what Elaine is encountering in LA with her as the main character. I highly recommend White Night to anyone who has read the first eight novels.

This is a strong installment in the Dresden Files. Harry has never been the cuddliest of wizards, but his anger is more frequent and he is lashing out. It doesn't help that he is being used by the White Court to their own ends. The White Court, the Vampire empire, where the rule is never approach something directly when you can do it through others. Its enough to drive him to ally himself with Marcone, the crime lord of Chicago, something Harry wouldn't have believed himself capable of.

And Thomas, his brother, seems to be stronger. Something he can only get when he is absorbing physic energy from humans. Thomas has deep secrets he won't share with Harry, some because of his divided alligence, the deepest because he fears what Harry will do if that secret is uncovered.

And "Lash" is always beneath the surface. Luring him to the dark side of magic. To pick up the coin and grow in power. And the theme of this book is the exercise of power. How the use of power changes the wielder as much as those who are on the receiving end. In the end what sort of Wizard will Harry be? Is Merlin right and Harry is not the sort to remain a warden (or even alive)? And whichever course Harry takes, Molly will go too.

A worthy part of the Dresden files that leaves many open fields for subsequent books.

Book came in generally beaten up shape and is missing the Dust Jacket. Did not see any mention of this on the page. Fairly recent book of the Dresden Files also, so the lack of cover is kind of puzzling.

Oh Jim Butcher, how I love thee! I laugh so much when I read the Dresden files. Harry is the best smart-ass character around. The little one-liners he tosses out are just priceless. It's great seeing Molly's progress as his apprentice and the knowledge she's slowly picking up from Harry. As always, Murphy, Ramirez and Thomas add a delightful flavor to the story. This time around, a supernatural baddie is taking out low-level female practiciners throughout Chicago. When Harry's ex, Elaine, is called in to help the ladies find out who's hunting them, things begin to get a little crazy. Add in the three Vampire Courts, and all hell breaks loose.

As usual, a great read from Butcher. Dresden is the best!

If you have followed the saga of Harry Dresden then you will find this an excellent addition to the series. This book is very important to the background myth-arc, with real development among the characters and a clever resolution to a one or two plotlines. (IMHO such resolution is a very good thing.) The writing still snaps, and there are one or two set scenes that come off very well. Harry continues to grow, and is dealing with the conflict between his anti-authority nature and his inevitable development into an authority figure himself.

If you are new to the series, then this is *not* the place to start. Butcher's work is superior to a lot of that in the field in that his character actually goes through changes and learns things. He's a supernatural private detective that actually tries to think once in a while. Things start dark and get darker in the first few novels, and now the protagonist is growing and learning. The series has excellent supporting characters and tries to deal with the moral choices the hero is forced to make, and their consequences. Do yourself a favor and start at the beginning ("Storm Front") and follow the saga.

You could not have gotten a better actor to read these books, James makes me forget that a whole cast of characters is not involved. He sighs or laughs along with reading the words. He has so many voices and accents that it is like watching a movie and I love it. Have all of them and looking forward to the next group. You just can not know how pleased I was to hear he was contracted for all of them and I hope that means any new ones also. I sing the praises of these audio books every chance I get.

Plus James is just so HOT.<g>

I LOVE the series and James Marsters reading is spot on and perfect in every way. But when I got to disk 6 it changed to a different book, have not tried disk 7 to see if it goes back to White Night and a new set is being sent to me so no problem there. Just wanted to give y'all a heads up, the first of the disk you are on ice escaping the killers and the next you are in Arizona. But hey if I can listen to the sexy voice of James Marsters does it really matter where you are.

I felt this book was a different feel and style to the rest of the Dresden Files Series. I did enjoy it but it was a bit rougher around the edges than his other novels of the series. I think he was going for that feel because of the huge shit storm that takes place in this novel.

I liked how you found out some more information and answers that the last book had left the reader guessing on. The black council, Thomas' new job and digs. It was nice to get some answers and thicken the plot surrounding the Black Council that's taking shape as the series continues.

It was hard to put down once it hit a bit beyond half way. I rate it 5/5 even though it was a different feel, I enjoyed reading it as much as the other books so far in the Dresden Files. I look forward to what book 10, 'Small Favor' has in store for readers.

Priscilla

White Night was a bit of a pleasant surprise. For the better part of the series I've been gritting my teeth and just trying to get to the end, hoping there was an end in sight, but books 9 was enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, Butcher is still a hack with little by way of talent for dialogue, exposition, or character but the story this time was engaging and the plot was not as creaky as in pervious outings.

Harry remains as one dimensional as ever, but there are hints he may be becoming nuanced. Though this may be more than I should hope for.

Recommended for readers of Urban Fantasy and YA

4 out of 5 Stars

First Sentence: Many things are not what they seem: The worst things in life never are.

Chicago wizard Harry Dresden is asked for help by his friend Sergeant Murphy. From appearance, a woman has committed suicide but Harry confirms she was murdered and, on the wall, finds the Bible verse notation Exodus 22:18, "Suffer not a witch to live." But this is not the only woman to die. Other practitioners have been killed and Harry agrees to protect one group of woman from a tall Warden in a grey cloak; his brother Thomas.

The series is so much better than the television series. Butcher makes the unbelievable, believable. His characters are great and the action non-stop, but there is also humor and humanity in the story. Butcher also provides a bit of information as to the paganism and Wicca. This is not series for the weak of stomach and, if you're new to the series I'd recommend starting at the beginning. However, I loved it and think it be the best in the series so far.

This is the ninth installment of the Dresden Files novels featuring Harry Dresden, Wizard for Chicago.

In each book, Harry is confronted with all kinds of nasty creatures from the Never Never: Vampires, Ghouls, other Wizards, Faeries, Necromancers and generally all around bad things who wreak havoc on the humans around them, as well as each other.

In this book, Harry is in the middle of a war. Oh, there is a war going on between the White Council of Magic, the good guys and the Red Court of the Vampires, the bad guys. But now the White Court of Vampires, one of which is Harry's brother Thomas, are in-fighting amongst themselves to make each House of the White Court the ruling House. They are doing this by killing off human women who could potentially produce offspring strong enough to overcome the Vampires altogether and win the war for the White Council. And the houses are each blaming the other, as well as using deceit, manipulation and all kinds of ghouls to complete the task.

Seems a bit extreme, but there are real bodies, and Harry jumps in to do what he can to save the ones who are left. He is joined by many of the characters that were introduced in previous books, Elaine, his first love, Johnny Marcone, the gangster who wishes to rule all of Chicago's human criminal activities, Sgt. Murphy, of the Chicago Police Department, Molly, Harry's apprentice, and of course, Bob the Skull, and now we see what powers Mouse, Harry's Temple Dog, really has. Sometimes bringing such diverse people together to solve a problem can be a problem in itself, as haryy learns.

Harry also brings in another Warden, Ramirez from California to help out with the subtle spells, since Harry is more of the Blow-them-wide open and burn everything type of Wizard. Ramierez is more subtle with his magic, but no less effective.

Here also, we see Harry dealing with some anger issues and finally dealing with the fallen angel Lasciel.

Some loose ends are tied up in this book, but other storylines are revealed for another episode in the life of Chicago Wizard Harry Dresden.

Harry's a powerful wizard, but not a very good bureaucratic employee as Chicago's warden. Part of the reason is that he tries to not make rash judgments, ones which would kill someone. Basically, everyone has a chance, albeit sometimes small, in Harry's book until you prove him wrong.

For those who have watched the Sci-Fi series, some of the earlier novels are the basis for many of the episodes. I think the books have much more detail in them than can be shoved into an hour, at least coherently.

Butcher's writing has great detail and character development. I'm afraid that if you choose this book to start reading you may be incredibly lost. If you insist, I would suggest going to a fan site and looking at the characters as well as getting a synopsis of previous novels. As Butcher spaces out the novels with at least a year in between, visiting a fan site may not be a bad idea even for those acquainted with Harry Dresden.

If you are considering reading "White Night" you have probably read books 1-8 of the Dresden Files (and if not, just go do that, please). In that case of course you should read "White Night". It's full of lots of "what happens next" to Harry and his friends. Jim Butcher does a masterful job of showing how Harry resists changing for the worse. So many sad paths are open to Harry - not only that of black magic, but he could also become numbed by how much death and sorrow he'd seen and become rigid, like the wizard enforcer Morgan. He could begin to believe that the end justifies the means, like the wizard hit man Ebenezer. Harry makes his own way, earning the (sometimes reluctant) love and loyalty of those he fights beside.

In "White Nights", Harry is kept on his toes by internal and external forces. The fallen angel Lasciel is still a temptation in his head against whom he must be continually wary. Meanwhile, he is mentoring Molly Carpenter in wizardry, which has its own challenges.

The character development in "White Nights" is first rate. The plot, however, is a convoluted Otherworldly political drama with layers upon layers. I'm content that Jim Butcher is setting us up for a longer story arc involving the shadowy Black Council, but the plot is so knotty that Butcher has to explain it to us through the device of having Harry explain it to Murphy. I would rather the writer show me, not tell me, and truthfully I'm not sure I could pass a quiz on who did what to whom and why.

However, I'm confident there will be another instalment of the saga (hopefully many more) and that (call me a girl) Harry will find love again.

Although there have been a couple of minor fumbles, the Dresden Files series just keeps getting better and better. Harry Dresden, who started out as a smart-aleck supernatural private detective, has grown and matured into a courageous, powerful and determined wizard - without losing his irreverent sense of humor.

While investigating some suspicious suicides of women in the magical community, Harry gets even more deeply embroiled in the politics of the Chicago PD, the White Council, and the Vampire Courts. Murders, black magic, fallen angels, vampires, rebellious apprentice - all a day's work for Harry.

For those who complain that Dresden is a one trick pony, in this volume Butcher begins to unveil some new powers for various characters which promise to liven up future books. These books are completely addictive, and I only wish Butcher could write as fast as I can read.

The Dresden Files continues with no sign of slowing down. Harry Dresden is no longer alone he has an apprentice to look after, Molly Carpenter the daughter of his friend Michel Knight of the Cross. She is stubborn and annoying confident of her own abilities which reminds Dresden more then a little of himself at her age.

This time around someone is killing small time practitioners of magic and it is up to Harry to figure out why with a little help from Murphy (who has been reduced in rank to sergeant for sticking her neck out for Harry one to many times)

Too top it all off Thomas has for all intents and purposes disappeared but Harry has bigger things to worry about right now.

Overall-I liked the book, Jim Butcher is always good for a read and the developing love interest between Ramirez and Molly is very interesting. The only downside is having to wait 7 months for the next book.

I am really impressed that Jim Butcher continues to improve upon and expand on the Dresden files. From Storm Front (Book 1) to White Knight (Book 9), Jim has managed to simply get better each time.

I have a long 3 hour train commute each day and always limit my reading to that time so that I can extend the amount of reading material I have. I wasn't able to do that with the White Knight. Oh, I tried, honestly I did - it was all the book's fault that I continued reading after I got home!

Seriously though, Harry is maturing, gaining both in power and in his control over his abilities. However, he's still the same wise-cracking, loyal, dogged, honorable Harry he's always been. We're also given more insight and understanding of his friends (and enemies) in this story and how his relationships with them grow ever more solid (or dangerous, depending on the character in question)

Jim Butcher indeed keeps on getting better and better and I sincerely urge anyone with an interest in fantasy and magic to pick up this series. Jim writes a great story with character and depth, relying on actual plot and character interaction (and the occasional act of magical destruction - hey, Harry does get in tight spots every now and then). I am particularly glad that he avoids the cheap ploys of sex/indiscriminate displays of romance that some other fantasy books have tend to overuse (that is not to say that there is no romance/"physical interaction" in this series, but rather they're not gratuitous).

I guess it's time to re-read Storm front...I can't believe I've just finished White Knight and will have to wait for another year or more before the next one!

The amazing thing about procedurals and the reason that make them such easy reads is how quick you can catch up with a character that you really aren't that familiar with. WHITE KNIGHT is my first Dresden novel and about hallway through I was caught up enough to have a decent understanding of the character, his motivations, and his travails. Not necessarily the most challenging type of work but there is a certain comfort you can find in these types of novels that allows for some pure escapism. Basically I found out that Harry Dresden is a good character to use in a series: The "Lone Wolf" archetype who just happens to have a group of close friends, occasional allies and former foes who have changed their ways to serve as his support when the going gets rough. Now make Dresden a crusading wizard and you have Butcher's take. This story starts very well with a gradually developing mystery dealing with murders of members of a witches' coven. The only problem is it eventually develops into an epic battle between competing vampire groups getting very into the Dresden mythology. I don't know if this is the typical dynamic of this series, but I liked it better as a simple mystery. I did find enough here to make me curious about Butcher's world and I will check out a few more books in the series.

This book was a bit slow to start, with the buildup taking up about 400 pages. But it was well worth it for the climactic showdown in the later chapters.

This installment of The Dresden Files has Harry Dresden, Chicago's only publicly practicing wizard and warden of the White Council trying to stop the apparent suicides off low level practioners in his town. The plot takes an interesting turn when a clue is picked up that links the White Court of vampires to one of the deaths, which invariably leads to his brother Thomas who has been acting strangely since the events in Dead Beat.

Butcher keeps things neat and continues to wrap up loose ends and pick up storyline threads begun in earlier books and expand upon them to a satisfactory conclusion or developement. The relationship between Harry and Murphy does not develop as it somewhat deepens at it's current level, stuck in the "Friends Zone" so to speak. We see insights on Harry's training of his apprentice Molly Carpenter, that yeilds some unexpected benefits. And Lasciel. The Shadow Hell Tart, stuck in his head. She continues to try and tempt Harry to take up the coin to fullfill her mission, or is she really doing that?

The buildup of the story and the expanding of the overall plot and little tidbits on previous characters and books basically show Harry's life at the moment. Not everything Harry is doing has anything to do with the plot of this novel, and that could have been a bad thing, but because of Butcher's care and his solid story telling he can pick and choose threads at will and drop them on us without you losing your place. I never find myself skipping ahead to bypass one subplot after another because they revisit so many interesting stages in Harry's developement. From reading a letter about Shiro's family lineage, to a incidental remark from Warden Luccio that delves into her overall character. We are given glimpses of what is to come and continuous advancement of stories gone by.

I love how Butcher does this while keeping us wanting more of the main plot.

The weakest part of the book however is that the plot is somewhat generic seeming until you get to the end and see how it all pans out. The White Court as the primary antagonist is not very exciting at first, but once we get to final showdown(s) you find why Harry is so unnerved by them. And we see the return of an old enemy, only to lose a close friend.

Butcher's developement as a writer has been one of the great joys of my life for the last few years. While corny as that sounds I don't mind. I love this guys stuff. Wonderfully imagined and impossible to put away. A modern day wizard with an old world sense of responsibility is a good idea that could have turned bad. But Butcher pulls it through.

Good job Mr. Butcher I look forward to your next installment as always. Until then I will enjoy the SciFi TV adaption of The Dresden Files.

ePub/Urban Fantasy: Book 9 of the Harry Dresden series. I'm trying to figure out if I liked this book or really liked this book. It does answer my question on what exactly happens in a Vampire vs. Warden war, via a flashback. The novel also ends, hopefully, an issue Harry has had for a couple of books now (no, he still doesn't get laid). Molly is back and I really liked that her character is growing and maturing. I did not like the ending. Not the ending itself, but the final showdown was really long. The writing is done really well, but there was a little too much dragging on. Three and a half stars. Small favor is next.

White Night by Jim Butcher

Mysterious bad guys are killing witches. Harry and friends track them down and provoke a confrontation.

Harry Dresden is getting hard. He is finding his value system is under attack. He has to deal with his personal demons. Once again fantasy is a metaphor for life.

Harry's trust issues cause him a great deal of pain. I enjoy the realistic emotions displayed by the characters. I particularly like Harry's loyalty to his friends and theirs in return. The action and violence are typical for the Dresden files and in spite of that, quite enjoyable.

I've enjoyed every book in this series.

I highly recommend the book and the series.

Jim Butcher just keeps getting better and better! This book is one of the best of the series, with the action and the plot so perfectly balanced it is amazing. As I read this book, I can only pray that Harry is not stopping his wizarding business any time soon! Another thing that is great about the Dresden Files, I feel the books have remained true to each character. In the Death Masks there were terrible losses and a moment of romance that I swear rivals any of the best romance writers to beat it for having heat, emotion, love, and sorrow all together. Yet, each one of these books is like watching Harry become ever so much more and with him we see in all their own shining colors the other characters these books have brought along for the ride. I say let the ride go on forever!

Butcher keep the high quality of the series up with the latest Dresden File. The mystery keeps on turning directions, taking on new dimensions further into the novel. I look at this masterful series, and I can't help comparing it to so many other works that fail in later installments (Hamilton, Rice, Hendees, Jordan, etc). Instead of falling down on the job, Butcher keeps up the quality, and may even be getting better.

I don't believe I can adequately summarize the body this book without giving too much away. Some of the characters that showed up hadn't been seen for several novels, and I don't want to spoil the fun.

Buy the novel. You won't regret it. Unlike so many others, the hardcover is worth the price.

Hoo-boy, this book was worth the wait. Quite possibly the best in the series. Everything is right: some loose ends tied up, some questions answered, some loose ends NOT tied up and saved for later, old friends, new thrills, and a kick at the end that you won't see coming. And (collateral benefit) Michael is not in it, nor his sanctimonious magic-denying wife, either. Molly, that best of the Carpenter breed, IS in it, and a welcome presence she is. The story focuses on machinations within the White Court of Vampires, with a not-really-surprise appearance by a former Dresden foe, who remains an enigmatic presence at book's end. Not as much Bob as I like, and not as much Mister, but there it is. This is a stellar addition to the series, and I can't wait for the next one. Whenever that may be; in the author's notes, Butcher waxes rhapsodic about his latest series, the Codex Alera, a more standard fantasy series, and I'm hoping hard that developing it doesn't take his interest from The Dresden Files.

I did enjoy the story, and had forgotten how much I enjoyed Harry's world, but I just feel the editors failed here. You can check out one of the many five-star reviews for the good things about this book. I'm focusing on what I didn't like.

The story is really stop and go, and while the filler bits go on and on with too much detail to be truly interesting, the important parts are sometimes given so little attention that I found myself going back to make sure I hadn't missed something. Molly's character is just too ridiculous to take her seriously enough to care about her training. I really used to enjoy Murphy's character, but after reading this book I can't for the life of me remember why. Susan is even more disappointing, and I've completely lost all interest in her.

I plan to pick up the next installment out of sheer curiosity, but they've really got to work on the flow of these stories if they expect anyone other than die-hard fans to keep up with the series.

This is another intriguing adventure in the Dresden universe. I like that Elaine comes back and that we also get see more of Thomas. It's also interesting to see Dresden in the role of teacher to Molly. The story is good. You'll like the plot twists and there will be some suspense. If you like the Dresden files, pick this one up.

White Night (2007) is the ninth Urban Fantasy novel in the Dresden Files series, following Proven Guilty. In the previous volume, Harry fetched Molly Carpenter back from Arctis Tor, with a little help from his friends. He took her back to her family, but she decided to turn herself in to the White Council for violations of the Fourth Law.

At the trial, the Merlin arbitrarily convicted her of using black magic and sentenced her to death. Harry pointed out that the Gatekeeper hadn't yet cast his vote. Then Ebenezar McCoy arrived with survivors of the Warden training group accompanied by Molly's father Michael. Merlin reconsidered his verdict and Molly became Harry's apprentice.

In this novel, Sergeant Murphy has a probable suicide, but she rides a hunch and calls in Harry. He checks out the scene and casts a spell at a particular place on the wall. The notation "EXODUS 22:18" appears and Karrin knows the victim was murdered.

Suddenly, Murphy strikes out with a foot sweep and a young woman -- little more than a girl -- becomes visible and falls to the floor. Harry's apprentice Molly hasn't done as he told her and now she has a few bruises and pains to remind her to obey her master. Not that she is going to pay attention, but one more lesson won't hurt . . . much!

Harry does congratulate her on the invisibility spell, but points out that both he and Sergeant Murphy had noticed a few out-of-place sounds and smells. Molly needs to put in some extra practice, but she is improving. Molly goes home happy, but aching in several places.

In this story, Harry and Murphy find other victims around Chicago and elsewhere. Most of the Chicago victims belong to a witch group known as Ordo Lebes, which Dresden translates in his correspondence course Latin as "Order of the Big Pot". Karrin, however, suggests that a better interpretation would be "Order of the Cauldron". But one victim does not belong to this order.

Harry also discovers that one of the Ordo Lebes is Helen Beckitt, whom he has had problems with in the past. Although she cooperates with Harry and Murphy and doesn't even deny her prison record, Dresden just can't bring himself to trust her. When he discovers that she works for John Marcone, both Harry and Murphy become suspicious of her behavior.

Harry meets another old acquaintance on this case. Elaine had been his first girl, but they had parted after Harry killed their mentor. While the White Council ruled that the killing was in self-defense, Elaine was already gone. Yet she had not forgotten him and even followed his career path as a consulting wizard.

This story also has a minor side plot involving the fallen angel Lasciel. The shadow of Lasciel residing in his mind provides some useful services, such as translation of dead languages, but is still trying to seduce him to the evil side. It occurs to Harry that such seduction can go both ways and he treats "Lash" as an almost trusted friend. Some surprising changes occur.

While Harry doesn't really like being a Warden of the White Council, he hasn't considered it as a handicap. Then a mysterious Grey Cloak is noticed as somehow involved with the dead witches and everybody is afraid to tell Harry. And his brother Thomas is often observed with these victims shortly before their death or disappearances. Being an enforcer for the Council is bad enough without the paranormal community wondering whether you are responsible for these passings.

Highly recommended for Butcher fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of preternatural creatures, paranormal individuals, and strange happenings.

-Arthur W. Jordin

When Harry Dresden finds out that women of minor magical talent are being murdered in the Chicagoland area - in fact, all around the country - he decides that he must find out who is the culprit, even if it is his own half-brother, Thomas. As a result, he ends up smack-dab in the middle of a fight for the throne of the White Court - the one group of vampires that are currently negotiating for peace with the wizards.

With non-stop action and plenty of twists and turns, Harry Dresden's adventures are sure to please anyone who is a fan of urban fantasy, science fiction and paranormal adventures. Well-written and not even close to running out of steam, this is a series to watch!

Someone has been stalking and murdering minor practitioners of magic in Chicago. When Harry Dresden starts to investigate, he learns that his brother appears to be involved, as well as someone in a gray Warden-esque cloak. Once Harry convinces the small remaining circle of witches that HE isn't the one murdering them, he has to track down the killer, while also learning to deal with his new apprentice.

This was another solid installment in the series. I listened to the audiobook of this, which continues to be narrated with superb delivery.

Another great addition to the series! Harry is growing in his role as Warden. Although he makes funny comments about his status as an authority figure, he understands how seriously he's needed by the White Council.
The war continues. Another clue about the Black Council. Lash still pesters Harry. Molly's role as apprentice is interesting as well as Thomas' (and White Court) involvement with Harry's case this time.

I love the groundwork preparation for the various intersecting plots. Aaaggghhhhh! The suspense is killing me!!! Jim Butcher really knows how to keep the readers glued to the seat. This book is full of twists, mystery, fight scenes. Wow!

What an amazing series! Off to the next book! I know I won't be disappointed.

James Marsters is an awesome narrator as usual.

Loved having more Marcone, LOVED the bit with Lash, and increasingly curious about the Black Council! Bummed that I have to wait on hold at the library for the next one.

Butcher's latest Dresden book is great. Through Harry, Butcher tells an exciting and interesting story. Fast paced and surprising. The plot is very well done, and the writing style is excellent.

You get to see a lot of character growth in this installment. You learn what Harry's brother Thomas is doing to keep himself fed and for a living, you see how his new apprentice is shaping up, and learn more about the relationship Harry has with the fallen angel occupying part of his mind.

On top of that, Harry is forced to play politics with some of the other power players in and around the supernatural community. And, there is the threat of more interference and involvment from the traitors in the White Council, the so-called Black Council.

In all, an excellent read and very entertaining. Well worth it.

In book nine of his fabulous Harry Dresden series, Jim Butcher offers an intriguing mix of interwoven plots. One thread concerns a noir murder mystery with Harry's half brother Thomas as the suspect. Another traces the development of Molly, Harry's new apprentice. The third is a gripping psychological thriller: is Harry losing ground in his struggle with the supernatural temptress Lasciel?

Like previous books in this series, opening the cover is like stepping on a rocket sled. Harry wisecracks and fights his way in and out of tight corners. Some of the most richly comic scenes in fantasy are here. But there is an element of self-consciousness, especially in some of the scenes with Warden Rodriguez. What works best is the murder mystery plot line--in investigating a series of apparent suicides among low-level magic practitioners, Harry is the quintessential wizardly gumshoe we know and love. The other two plots are necessary holdovers from previous books that need resolution. I would have been disappointed not to have them here, but the plot with Molly is a bit predictable. Also Harry's confrontation with Lasciel, while necessary, rang a bit flat. That's the only reason I knock off a star--in comparison to the other books in this series it's not quite a five. In all other respects, it's like a White Court vampire's kiss: seductive, addictive...and leaves you dying for more.

This is where it really gets darker and more twisted, peeps. Again, Thomas is on the forefront of the plot, and I love him to bits. Also, Harry playing the role of his scorned lover is hilarious. Thomas, Molly and Harry work as a pretty good team, and you would not be able to catch a break in this book, it's so full of action. Recommended.

I have to start by paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln "If you like this sort of thing, then this is the sort of thing that you will like." I happen to greatly enjoy Jim Butcher's "Harry Dresden" series. No book, whether short story, novel, or series survives without good characterization. Butcher creates good characters - it's as simple as that. I've always felt that a good character was one that you began to imagine yourself talking to. These characters have that quality. This series is not for everybody, but I've gotten my pennies worth every time. Thanks, Jim.

A trait of this series is that each novel has monsters and situations in them that somehow have to be topped in the next. That is hard to do. This novel is reaching the breaking point, and obviously will require a change of direction in order to maintain the intensity Butcher has created thus far. (I'll bet that he succeeds.)

I too obtained both my copy of White Knight AND my copy of the audio book of Summer Knight at I-CON. Those sweet ladies at the Buzzy Multimedia tables must have thought we were all a bit daft because we lined up on Friday before the convention was even official opened. I was able to get both autographed by Jim Butcher. He is as nice as he is smart and he is plenty smart :) Well that was Friday and by Saturday morning I was a bit bleary eyed but happy and then I started listening to Summer Knight. My God does James Marsters "get" Harry and he absolutely rocked with the voices of all the Fae folk.

On to the the review. As with all the Dresden Files books there are some fight/battle scenes that leave me breathless. I can feel the pain, the despair, the exhaustion as well as the on-the-fly tactics in addition to those well laid plans of mice and men. Love the way Jim Butcher not only comes up with characters that are interesting but has them evolve. He doesn't leave us hanging forever to see issues that were addressed a couple of books ago get resolved. I was a bit worried about the whole apprentice thing but Molly has grown on me and I have this feeling that she and Mister will be the best of friends. Good thing too, because although I adore Mouse, Mister seemed to have be sort of w-a-a-y in th background and I have a soft spot for Mister as well.

So if you haven't bought this book yet, hurry up. So what if it is a hard cover. Friends have a way of forgetting to return paper backs but I haven't had one forget about a hard cover ...yet. Plus you know they'll all be coming out in hardcover eventually and won't they look nice on the shelf ? As for by Dresden Files audio books, no one gets those on loan from me. They'll have to pry them out of my cold, dead fingers.

All Hail Jim Butcher !!! Hip, hip hooray !!!

Mr. Butcher has a clever writing style. Although I don't really consider myself a major fan of the genre, I like this series. Still can't understand why the TV series was cancelled so quickly. So, the book review: The long pages of dialog by Harry Dresden get a little old here and there, at least for my taste but the one liners make up for it. Butcher understands that just because he's writing fantasy, there are still limits to the story's logic and flow. So many fantasy writers never get that and their work is so over the top with absurdity that I often can't finish it. I finished this one.

I finished the new Dresden book, "White Night", today. Overall I enjoyed it, though not quite as much as some of his others. There's not quite as much action as in some of the books, and more putting-together-of-puzzle-pieces. This isn't necessatily a bad thing, though I felt that the ending was a little weak in comparison to some of the other stories.

On the other hand, Butcher's character development absolutely shines. I've really enjoyed seeing how Molly has grown since the last book, and the reappearance of Elaine. Harry himself has a few surprise twists in store, too, and I'm really curious to see where Butcher goes with it. And, of course, there's Mouse, the ginormous Temple Dog of Tail-Wagging Doom--as Harry says, everyone loves a story with a dog in it.

Highly recommend this one, though. Even though it's not my absolute fave, it's still far above most of the urban fantasy out there. After 9 books, this is a series that hasn't lost its shine one bit.

I'm not a big sci-fi/fantasy fan but I love a good mystery/suspense or action novel. The thing I like most about Butcher's Dresdin books is the way he puts a great detective/action hero in a sci-fi world but still writes about it from a real world point of view.

In addition, there are enough characters with rich histories behind them from the previous books to build an intriguing book that doesn't require the main character to carry the entire story. To that end, it helps to have read the other books before this one.

If you've only seen the TV show on the Sci-Fi channel, don't use that experience (I didn't like the show at all.) to judge the books. Like most cases, it's hard for TV or movie execs to shoehorn a great character or story into a 45 minute show focused on reaching a certain marketing demographic. This book is a great read and hard to put down.

I love Jim Butcher's "Dresden" books. This one was of course no exception. After watching the "Dreden Files" I really couldnt get back into reading the series. I had to actually put the book down half way through and come back three weeks later after I had forgotten most of the crap that was the TV series. Once that was done I was able to fully enjoy this book. Not so much Bob in this one which isn't a bad thing and I thought there could have been more elaboration as to what went on while he was training the new Wardens. But all in all a wonderful story that has me waiting for the follow up.

As always, Jim Butcher grabs you and holds you until the last page. As the other reveiwer said, you must read these books in order they were published to get the most out of them. Hope this helps you:

1-- Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)

2-- Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2)

3-- Grave Peril (The Dresden Files, Book 3)

4-- Summer Knight (The Dresden Files, Book 4)

5-- Death Masks (The Dresden Files, Book 5)

6-- Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, Book 6)

7-- Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, Book 7)

8-- Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8)

9-- White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9)

My wife convinced me that we should give the books a try after the SciFI Channel wimped out on the series. We read White Night first, then we went back to the beginning. Now we're on Small Favor and I feel deep anxiety as we come to the end of the canon . . . thus far.
Harry Dresden presents a clinic/seminar/example on how to face life's little troubles while staying cheerful. Once acquainted with the supernatural existential predicaments of the wry wizard, one finds it easier to cope with dyspeptic middle managers and blithering bean counters.
These books represent an anthem for the downtrodden, lovelorn and heroically unlucky plain folk of the world yearning to breathe the sweet air of fantastic realms . . . like Chicago.

Book 9 contained more action and a bit more fun than some of the later books in this series. The wizard and his companions continue to save the world, or at least substantive bits of Chicago. As this is Book 9, I suspect it would not be a good stand alone book for readers who have not followed the series.

Any series featuring a single main character runs a risk of getting stale, following a formula. I'm delighted to say that has not only NOT happened with White Knight, it's the best book yet.

Harry Dresden grows emotionally. His relationships with his brother and Murphy change and develop in both heartbreaking and heartwarming ways. And the main plot gets more exciting and more engrossing in each book, something that rarely occurs. My only complaint (as usual) is that it will be so long before the next book!

The Dresden Files series recovers from recent missteps in the newest installment with an actual plot and solid character development. The last books suffered from too many bloated action set pieces being strung together into a single thick mass, but thankfully this problem does not exist in White Night. Less fighting and more talking leads to a deeper, more interesting, and ultimately more satisfying story. Jim Butcher still retains his unfortunate habit of loading most of the really interesting character twists and growth points into the last few chapters, but this practice is not as pronounced in this installment as it was in his prior books. There are a few cheesy moments, and some of the dialog falls flat, but generally the book is solidly written with interesting- if not particularly challenging- characters.

If you're a fan of the series, pick this one up. If you haven't read the series up to this point, you'll probably be lost, so go back and start at the beginning.

This is an excellent book that will make you laugh out loud at times. My only complaint is Harry needs to get a full time side kick. Usually Murphy or Thomas fills that role but in this book six or seven side characters drift in and out to fill the sidekick role. It was Molly, Murphy, Elaine, Thomas, Carlos, and Lashiel. It was sort of hard to keep strait at times. I like a lot of the old characters and want to keep up with their development but if I hadn't read the other books I would have been lost.

And if Thomas shows up at the last minute to save Harry one more time he is going to have to change his name to Miracle.

I've never, in my life, ever said this about anyone, ever.

I am a FAN of Jim Butcher.

He has consistently written top notch novels, one right after the other. He's managed to build multiple, detail-rich over-arcing storylines, significant character change and growth, emotionally-laden highs and lows and the evolution of a world so complete that I have to remind myself to eat, sleep and go to work whenever I get started on a new Dresden Files novel. They are, intentionally speaking, mesmerising, pure magic every time.

As I said, Dresden isn't the ONLY Wizard when it comes to these books.

I am a BIG FAN started with Book One and have not stop.
White Knight is excellent read there are slow parts and Dresden is as good as ever.
Dresden is trying to find out who is killing women with talent for magic.
If you have read the pervious book you will not be disappointed with book.
If you have not read any of the previous novels, you will be confused the is a continuing story with characters that are build up over a least few books.

A solid book in this series. Dresden is truly maturing as a character, and some of the newer core characters -- Molly, his young apprentice, notably -- shine in this ninth book of the series. The only flaw is a somewhat confusing, almost convoluted, subplot involving an internal rivalry among the White Court vampires. But if you ignore the internal intruigue and instead focus on the overall story and how the characters develop, it's among the most satisifying Dresdens to date.

This is my first foray into Jim Butcher's Dresden series. It is not my last.

Action packed, with a hero to die for! Harry is one cool dude and only says one bad swear word in the entire book. That's good writing! The other characters were very interesting. Could not put the book down. I will reading this series from the beginning. I am a fan of Jim Butcher's imagination! Am not usually a SciFi fan but this series has captured my attention.

If someone told Chicago wizard Harry Dresden that he would one day be a warden in the White Council of Wizards, he wouldn't have believed them. Many of the council think he is too much of a troublemaker, but with the war with the Red Court Vampires, the ranks of the powerful wizards are needed. Harry had no choice but to accept the mantle of responsibility.

His friend Sargent Murphy (yes she got demoted) calls him to look at a dead woman. He opens his inner sense to find she was murdered and was a mid level practitioner of magic. When another corpse is found dead, killed in the same manner by someone, who left her to die, Harry believes it has something to do with the White Court Vampires who feed on emotions rather than the blood like their red court cousins. This makes no sense to Harry because the white court is seeking peace with the wizard's council. Across the country at least thirty-six were killed in the same manner. It soon becomes evident that some of the white court members don't want to make peace with the wizards and at each scene men in a grey suit that the warden's wear is seen. If the peace treaty is to take effect Harry and his allies have to find out who the rebels are and defeat them in the traditional manner.

Each novel starring Harry Dresden is better than the one that precedes it as Jim Butcher is a great world builder who makes the reader believes the hidden supernatural community is very real. Harry has changed and grown with the passage of time and now is part of the establishment that once wanted to destroy him. He handles responsibility as if to manor born with his dry wit and self deprecating humor which is part of the plot as it keeps him focused while using his adept skills. As Dresden goes the TV route, Mr. Butcher is a first class talent in the supernatural mystery fantasy genre as this book shows he remains true to his protagonist's roots.

Harriet Klausner

It's rather hard to review a book on CD I would think. You either like the reader or you don't. As always, James Marsters uses his talents to bring the Dresden world to life pulling you into the story so thoroughly that you are disappointed when it ends. The audio versions of the Dresden Files series has given my husband and I something to share on long driving trips as I have read the series and he's listening to it. We look forward to future title releases.

Butcher just keeps getting wittier & wittier with his writing and development of the Harry Dresden profile. I find myself laughing out loud regularly & have to remind myself I'm reading a 'scary' thriller! What joy, what fun!! Thank you, Jim Butcher, you provide a nice cognitive
'brain candy' relief from working on my doctorate!!

When Murphy asks Harry to look into some apparent suicides he quickly determines that they are anything but. Someone is murdering wiccan women and it appears it could have something to do with his brother, Thomas.

Although there is quite a bit in here about Harry's belief in and protective feelings for Thomas, we don't actually get to see much of the vampire himself which is kind of a bummer. However, we do get a smorgasbord of Harry's other allies with stand out performances by Ramirez and Molly, both of whom are really taking on three dimensions. This book seemed longer than the others, I'm not sure if that is really so or if it is just my interpretation. Unlike many of the Dresden books, there is one linear seeming plot without the branch offs into other matters, but the plot evolves so much over the course of the book where you wind up is nothing like where it starts.

Another fast moving, hard to put down adventure in Harry's Chicago!

I came onto this series by renting the TV series on DVD, and thought they would be fun to read. I already have the next in the series on pre-order, can't wait!

I love the "bad" puns & humor (many which are really witty and fun references on pop culture). The characters in this series are all have depth and are realistic, not cardboard props to the hero (this includes the pets!).

Harry Harry Harry, what an extremely entertaining life you lead. Lash is still hanging around, waiting. Someone is killing witches, someone that looks familiar....and a love is back what's up with that, hmmm ? Thomas stole the show from you Harry, at the end it grabbed it and ran. I loved it Harry ! I'm off to the next adventure. : )

"White Night" is the ninth book in the "Dresden Files" series by Jim Butcher, following the exploits of wise-cracking Chicago Wizard, Harry Dresden. In this installation, Harry is up against a band of evil beings out to destroy the White Council of Wizards while dealing with a new apprentice with authority problems, an ex-girlfriend, and an underworld crime boss. Butcher does an excellent job of developing twists and turns in the plot while continuing to develop the characters that he's brought to life over the course of the series. While you don't have to have read the previous eight books to understand this one, I heartily recommend starting at the beginning and devouring them all. While easy reads, they're still full of action and emotion. They're hard to put down. I'm addicted.

Harry Dresden, an odd person in his own right, hunting weird things down and such. In this tome, someone is hunting Harry more often than he is hunting them, and it leads places he does not want to go.
Well paced, humourous, campy and very well described as 'Mike Hammer with a Magic Wand', Harry Dresden is the penultimate private detective.

Jim Butcher's continuing saga of the world as he knows it does not disappoint. Most science fiction can be cheesy but Butcher wields his pen well with tongue in cheek humor and clean expressive language.

I just finished this book in less than a day, because I could not put it down! Jim Butcher does not disappoint with this latest in the increasingly popular Dresden Files series; in fact he seems to be improving with every book, which is rare with a series.

I must admit that at first I found many of the elements out of place, but I was proven wrong as Butcher neatly handled all the complexity and suspension this book had to offer, and left nothing unaccounted for. The story was fast-paced and full of plot twists and thickenings, keeping the reader frantically trying to keep up with Dresden as he chases the bad guys through the streets of Chicago and sitting on the edge of their chairs through the entire book.

Butcher clearly knows what he is doing here, and while both the reader and the characters may not be aware of what's coming, it is also clear Butcher has everything neatly and compellingly mapped out as he deftly increases the intricacy of the plot with every book.

A good read, interesting, but when you finish the book you'll feel like you've done a whole lot of running, but covered hardly any ground at all. Really, all he seems to do is reinforce plot concepts that we already know, and while he introduces a few more, they are of relatively little consequence. Butcher is still in that "The Two Towers" stage where he's trying to set up his ending. That's fine, all series end up there at some point, but we've been here for a while. Let's do something, Mr. Butcher.

With all of that said, I still think it's one of the best books in the series. It bogs down a bit, no doubt, but it's an ::excellent:: read, and holds on to the classic Dresden style that we know and love. And Butcher's writing has definitely improved a noticeable amount. Good times. Buy it, read it, tell your friends about it.

White Night is the 9th installment of the Dresden Files and many series would have been a victim of their own success. Redundant plots, stagnation of character development and loss of focus are all temptations that Mr. Butcher could have fallen into. Lucky for us he does not.

White Night is fun, exciting, and full of suspense and urgency. I could not put the book down. While Harry has been growing into his power, he is still fallable with sometimes less then perfect judgement.

Mr. Butcher's use of new characters with old keeps the plot fresh and always asking what is going to be next. I can not wait for the next book.

If anything, White Night is even better then its earlier brethren and Mr Butcher is becoming one of the best fantasy writers. Highly recommend the series and book

This is the ninth in a series of books that pits Harry against the wizards, demons, and black magic around Chicago. This is a easy read that will sink it's claws into where you want to know if Harry will survive against evil.

The Dresden Files are just a great series. Unlike a lot of the other paranormal series out there, the Dresden Files always stay consistent and true to the established characters and story lines. Harry's character grows without drastically changing and the plot lines seem realistic for the world Butcher has created.

As series start to expand, it seems like authors always feel they have to one up the previous installment, throwing in ridiculous scenarios or twisting the main characters out of recognition. Butcher instead keeps his novels consistent, always delivering what the reader expect while increasing the range of his story lines to leave the readers still wanting more.

Great and refreshing series. These paranormal series' need more Butcher-like consistency!

What I like most about this series is that Butcher manages to keep Dresden's character growing and developing. If you haven't read any of these books yet, be warned: you can't read them out of sequence. Harry Dresden isn't the same wizard or the same man that he used to be. The questions aren't black and white anymore (if they ever were), and it's getting harder and harder to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In most series featuring a recurring main character, one book is pretty much like any of the others. Butcher's accomplishment is that he has managed to make each of the Harry Dresden books unique. White Night is the best so far (the sub-plot involving the complex relationship between Dresden and a fallen angel is wonderful, and I hope we haven't seen the last of it), and I have a feeling that the series is only going to get better.

I have read them through book 11 and this one was among the best. I have enjoyed each and every one as an action packed light popcorn flick of a book. His struggle with Lasciel/Lash and Warden Ramirez' commentary were excellent in this addition.

Jim Butcher is one of those writers that improve with age. Each book he writes is better than the last. The White Night is the very best of the Dresden series. Butcher has everything that makes a Great Writer. Characterization, plot, dialog, the list goes on... but most of all he has a brilliant sense of humor and style. He makes you believe that his world is right outside your door, at least if you happen to live in Chicago! Jim Butcher takes the cake when it comes to Sci-Fi and Fantasy. He is my favorite author and I cannot wait to see more from him! If you see a book of his on a shelf, or on the store, pick it up before someone else does!

I have been a fan of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels from the very beginning. I can honestly say he has outdone himself this time. We are introduced to new and interesting characters and reunited with old friends. Harry's powers seem to have grown and being a mentor to his new apprentice have matured him as both a wizard and reluctant hero. The final battle is truly something to behold with several factions coming together for a magic slinging smackdown of astronomical proportions. As usual Harry saves the day by the skin of his teeth with improvisation and blind luck.

I am already chomping at the bit for Mr. Butcher's next offering. The Dresden files are a must read for any fan of the SF/Fantasy genre.

Snagged an early copy of this one (and got it signed by the author) this weekend at ICON 2007. Started into it the next day and spent most of my time burning through it. Definitely hooked me.

I'm most impressed with the lack of drop-off that the more recent books have (have not?) had. Most longer series tend to stagnate and dry up, but there's definitely none of that in this one. Strongly recommended.

This whole series is great, this may be the best book in it so far. If your a Butcher fan you know about Thomas,one of my favorites.I like how Harry has to look passed the evidence his brother may be a traitor. It's always amazing how the books pull you in. Feel sorry for Harry but wow, he's a wizard and getting better and better at being one. Poor Murphy is barely keeping her job because she helped him. He wants to trust Elaine but can he? And Lasciel offers him all the powers he wants, makes it sound like there wouldn't be a cost. Won't ruin it for you but if you know the series you'll love White Knight.

This book is fantastic. Jim Butcher writes fast paced stories with plenty of plot twists. I own every book in The Dresden Files series and I would certainly recommend Jim Butcher to everyone. His character, Harry Dresden, is very quirky and fast with the quips. Harry has depth and attitude with a strong belief in good verses what is the easy road. Harry isn't without flaws but that just makes him more human and likeable. I hope the people who haven't read Jim Butcher will take the time to pick up one of his books. They won't be sorry they did.

I enjoyed this book, and read it much faster than I expected. I would recommend it for any fan.
The book kept my interest and made sure I found time to read it. :) Even when I should have been sleeping.

Harry has to crank up the Responsibility and tone down the Reckless when he takes on an apprentice. It shows a new side to him. His connection with the fallen angel comes to a head, and Thomas is flitting around the fringes of Harry's life as well. There's alot of emotional development in this book, although there's no lack of action.

If you like any of the following: noir, comedy, magic, wizards, romance, action, adventure, crime dramas, goblins, hobgoblins, witches, and/or supernatural things; then you will enjoy this book and the entire Dresden Files series.

After reading 9 books of Dresden Files back to back, this is the only book I've gotten a sense that maybe his deadline came up too fast and there wasn't time to fix some things. Some of the details are confusing and contradictory (at one part he says he didn't mention Elaine to Murphy and then in the very next thing Murphy says she references his Ex!), and what has most bothered me is there is absolutely no reminder on who the Beckett's are!! I've had to come to the internet to see what the heck I'm missing and read spoilers to be able to realize that the Beckett's were in the first book, Storm Front, 8 books ago and he talks about them like I should remember who they are!! I have to give the book 4 stars though because I'm not willing to give less to such a masterful series.

Oh my God. Jim gets better and better in his writting. I was so happy with this book. I had to wait a couple of months for the paperback version to come out, and I was not disappointed. The plot was intricate and there were laugh out loud moments throughout it. The way the character of Harry evolves and changes from the first book is realistic. Its hard to believe that Harry isn't real. This series is in my top five of favorite series.

The newest installment in the Dresden Files is brilliant! It drags a little...sometimes a lot...in places, and the flashback with the ghouls sort of distracts from the story, but it's awesome other than that. I'm a bit of a book perfectionist that way. But other than that, this book is amazing! It's well worth the money!

I'm such a big fan of this series. Harry is growing in maturity and power. His mentorship of Molly and the bittersweet ending of his symbiosis with Laschiel is really launching him into a character that will be formidable figure in the war that is climaxing in the Dresdenverse. Of course, gotta love the dark comedy and allusions to pop culture in the here and now. Butcher's description of the Chicagoland area are described in vivid detail.

Anyone who has enjoyed the Dresden books up to this point will find this an excellent addition to the series. Harry is growing as a character and the stories are growing with him. This one was more about the character than the danger and adventure. As Harry's power has grown, his planning ability has grown as well. This book is more about showing how the character's have matured than about the mystery they are trying to solve.

All in all a fine adventure in the Dresden story.

A fantastic fast read, a real page turner. Harry as usual does not take the easy way out. He is continually growing as a character. He still struggles with his growing power. Jim Butcher makes his characters so real you see and hear them as you read. Can't wait for the next one.

An enjoyable read that follows what left off in the last book. Harry continues to develop as a personality and in this book you get another peek at his brother...I look forward to the next installation and I'm really wondering what is going to happen with the sword!

Must say that was hooked on the tv show before I realized there were a series of books that tv show was based on.

So have been quickly trying to catch up on the reading of the series. Have found at least one book so far they really did base tv episode on. Now Im hooked. Good read .................

I haven't read a book this good in a long time! I got through with this book in 4 days because I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! Jim Butcher has only gotten better with this series. Anyone who wants an action packed fantasy adventure should add this book to their collection.

If you've been reading the rest of this wonderful series, you should not miss out on book 9. You won't regret it. Questions are answered, more questions are posed, and Butcher is clearly setting up his audience for even bigger and better things to come.

The book is amazing, and wonderful. Unfortunately, the Kindle version contains some glitches/missing sections at the end of two chapters. There is a chunk missing at the end of chapter five and chapter seven.

This whole series is amazing. I like it more the more books I read. Harry is not a super hero but suffers for the good that he does, and keeps on doing good. He has help and support and thinks of unusual ways to solve problems, sometimes at the last moment.

If you're a fan of Harry Dresden, you'll certainly enjoy this book.

Of course, it really is a good idea to read the books in order. Fortunately, the store labels the titles since not all of them say on the cover what number they are in the series.

I love this series and enjoy the way it is going. Harry is amusing and this one does not disappoint. I do miss Bob the Skull. He was not featured as much in this one and i miss that... just my own personal quirk.

Just finished White Night early in the AM on New Year's Day 2008. Such a great read. Could not out it down. Read it in two evenings. Each Dresden novel is better than the previous one. Now it will be agony waiting for the next one. I am on to the Codex Alera series!

Being a witch myself I just love Harry. He is funny and romantic and heroic in this one and all my favorite characters are in it. I cannot wait until the next book comes out. I am also very thankful that most of the time my being a witch is not as dangerous. White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9)

This was yet another enjoyable story in the Dresden series from Butcher. The idea behind the series is intriguing, and the stories to this point have all been well-written. Probably one of the most significant points for me is how Dresden is a player, but not ultra-powerful. He still needs the help of friends and luck to get things done. It makes an unbelievable topic... beleivable. I'm looking forward to the next one, Jim. Get it done!

Harry Dresden is the most likable character I have met in a long time. Butcher has brought him to life in such a way that I have checked the yellow pages to see be sure he's not really there. From the onset, I didn't think a 9 book series revolving around a single main character would be any good. Butcher has proved me wrong, each book has only gotten better!

I love all of Buthcher's books. I can hardly wait for the next ones to come out. Very exciting and keeps you up at night until you're finished. Keep up the good writing! I am anxiously awaiting the next one.

Harry Dresden is old-fashioned cool! His life is one crisis after another and its always fun to see how he's getting out of this one
As always,a great read and a great ride. Can't wait to dive into Book 10

I enjoyed this book just as much as the rest of the series. A frien of mine recomended them, and in short order my boyfriend and I devoured them. We now own them all.

White Knight was a fantastic book all together. It is not often books make me laugh out loud, and this one does quite often. The worst part of finishing this book so early is having to wait for the next one.

If you are into modern day swords and scorcery or if you just want a little escapeism. This is the way to go. Butcher starts off with a bang and never lets up. The only thing is you will need to have read the rest of the series to understand some of what is going on. Other than that it rocks.White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9)

I thought this was a great addition to the Dresden Files. Given the length of the series, some authors end up repeating the same story with minor changes but Jim Butcher has managed to keep things fresh and interesting without losing what makes the Dresden stories so entertaining and fun to read.

Once again the Dresden files return. This is just as good, but perhaps I expected more after the TV show. Will still pick Dresden over any other in the genre, but wish it was longer, or came out more often.

I strongly recommend reading this series from the start as Butcher keeps developing his characters and keeps them interesting. At least go back to Summer Knight (The Dresden Files, Book 4) and read from there. I liked the previous book in the series Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8).

Spoiler warning if you plan to read Proven Guilty don't proceed.

Harry has Molly as his apprentice and she is a real handful as she is very powerful, has authority issues, and wants to help. This leads to some humor when she veils herself (becomes invisible) to follow Harry to a crime scene. There is humor throughout the book which has very well done characters and a very good plot. I was unsure about the flash back to New Mexico but it establishes Harry's anger management problems.

Some inconsistencies between this and the previous book and some internal inconsistencies and errors in fact keep this from being an excellent example of books of its kind. They aren't a big deal but annoying. For instance depleted Uranium (U-238) is not radioactive, but it does retain a small amount of radioactivity. However is is pyrophoric and toxic. In a breeder reactor it becomes plutonium 239 the preferred bomb material. It is used in sailboat keels and airliner flaps because it is several times denser than lead.

Another example is that there is no such thing as a heavy assult rifle today. Most assult rifles are 5.56 (.223 cal) or 7.62x39 Russian. The Gallel is 7.62 NATO. All relatively light calibers. The Barrett is .50 cal which is heavy indeed but its a sniper's rifle.

Overall just short of excellent as an outstanding exemplar of the genre. It has a good convoluted plot with lots of Vampire politics involved. Finally we see some of the folks who have been using the White Council and Harry in particular along with those around him as cats paws.

Absolutely the best so far in the series! Tightly written and attention grabbing, this was a book that had me all the way. I wish I hadn't read it, just so I could experience the immense pleasure of reading it again for the first time!

White night is roller-coaster of a book, impossible to put down once you start to read. Jim Butcher has consistently got better with each book in the series which when you consider the first was absolutely wonderful is no mean feat. If you haven't yet read any of his books start now, if you have I'm preaching to the converted. Long live Harry Dresden!

Once again Mr Butcher has written an awesome book! while some writers lose their flare for writing, this is not the case here, Butcher just keeps on going, if anything he gets stronger, Thanks Jim for another

great Dresden.

THIS IS POSSBLE ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS IVE READ IN A LONG TIME IT HAS A GOODMIX OF ACTION DARK HUMOUR AND IS WELL WORTH A READ EVEN IF YOU HAVENT READ ANY OF THE OTHER BOOKS GO TRY IT YOU MIGHT LIKE IT.

This is another excellent book by Jim Butcher, even thought it is the 9th book in the series it has lots none of the original charm of the Characters. The book is action packed will no stop action. Has a few interesting twists

I thought it was corny and the character of Murphy unbelievable. Not my cuppa tea. Sorry.

I saw part of one of the TV shows and thought it was different. So I figured the book would be even better but no such luck.