Yep AGAIN ! – Turn Coat ! (Dresden Files #11 ), by Jim Butcher : Book review

There’s a easy way for me to figure out when I really like a book. It’s when i realize that I manage to read books bulkier by 500 pages or so and arrive at the end pages thinking when did I finish all those pages?

Book Succinct :

When it comes to the magical ruling body known as the White Council, Harry keeps his nose clean and his head down. For years, the Council has held a death mark over Harry’s head. He’s still thought of as a black sheep by some and as a sacrificial lamb by others. But none regard him with more suspicion and disdain than Morgan, a veteran Warden with a grudge against anyone who bends the rules.

Like Harry.

So when Morgan turns up asking for help, Harry isn’t exactly eager to leap into action. Morgan has been accused of treason against the White Council, and there’s only one final punishment for that crime. He’s on the run, he wants his name cleared, and he needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog.

Like Harry.

Now Harry must uncover a traitor within the Council, keep a less than agreeable Morgan under wraps, and avoid coming under scrutiny himself. And a single mistake may cost someone his head.

Like Harry…

What I liked :

 

So basically past readers of this blog do realize there are things that i have always attributed to Dresden Files that I have liked and nothing changes here in that regards . The pace of the plot , the action sequences , the Hilarious jokes , witticism , the clever scenarios that Harry as a character creates to deal with UN-deal-able situations … well They were all there and in top form .

Special mention must be given to the jokes because they were the key to me holding on to this series during the series rough beginnings and somehow during the last book Jim Butcher toned the jokes down , a lot , and yet managed to entertain like he usually does with his well developed and amazing plot. This time however Jim Butcher didn’t sacrifice the jokes for the sake of plot and incorporated them perfectly to create a Hilarious page-turner with intense and well thought out plot .

Book Quote:

“There are bad things in the world. There’s no getting away from that. But that doesn’t mean nothing can be done about them. You can’t abandon life just because it’s scary, and just because sometimes you get hurt. ”

The growth of characters keeps on coming with Molly and Karrin Murphy given extra emphasis on character development . Molly’s growth especially in terms of being a character and her relationship with Harry was very charming . In fact the character development and the plot makes this book one of those books that you can neither appreciate nor truly understand unless you have read all the previous books in the series.

Another pros of Jim Butcher has been his skills to introduction and exploration of unheard myths , in fact apart from the first couple of books Harry has rarely dealt with many stereotyped characters associated with the Fantasy genre.And in this book the addition of , what Harry fondly refers to as , Shagnasty was simply marvelous.

Book Quote:

“If you can’t stop the bad thoughts from coming to visit, at least you can make fun of them while they’re hanging around.”

Jim Butcher has considerably improved in terms of his writing when compared to his first book as some portions of the book just refuse to let your emotions be hidden. Jim Butcher also has managed to completely throw out the sexism previously associated with the series and uses it in comical fashion to make fun of his own characters silliness

The fallout of events in this book really felt to be of epic proportion and it really changed the status quo of most of the characters making it feel impressive and scary at the same time .

What I Didn’t like :

The issues that I had with the book might not relate with every reader out there , so one might be right in many ways to call some of my criticism that I’ll list now , but that said these are the issues that really bugged me .

Book Quote:

“I love being a wizard. Every day is like Disneyland.”

One of my main criticism for this plot remains double edged sword that’s called secondary character development , I mentioned in my pros how much i enjoyed the growth of characters like Karrin , Molly , Thomas etc. but in trying to make them go from relevant to amazing it felt like these secondary characters sometimes took the spotlight completely away from Dresden at times .

In fact not to give away any spoilers but despite how satisfying the action sequences were I can’t remember a time in the book when Harry actually dealt with his foes himself in this book , Sure he did most of the grunt work but the Final Move was always taken by the secondary characters.Maybe Jim Butcher was trying to get the point across that no matter how strong you are, you simply can’t win them all

Book Quote:

“No one is an unjust villain in his own mind. Even – perhaps even especially – those who are the worst of us. Some of the cruelest tyrants in history were motivated by noble ideals, or made choices that they would call ‘hard but necessary steps’ for the good of their nation. We’re all the hero of our own story.”

The Mysterious villain also was a bit predictable to me . Now I have read on many forums that people really didn’t see it , but honestly I did , I saw it coming in Book 3 of the series and granted at times during the series I was suspicious of my initial conception but at the end I was right and it kind of left me crestfallen .

Conclusions:

In Turn Coat , Jim Butcher has managed to deliver one of the finest addition to the series . Which by all means may well be counted amongst the best of the series and yet i have had issues with certain elements of the story which ofcourse are very subjective . That said Turn Coat remains another exceptionally good addition to what has now become one of my favorite and most recommended series of books .

 

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