Rating: 8/10
Synopsis
Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment
Ever since his girlfriend left town to deal with her newly acquired taste for blood, Harry Dresden has been down and out in Chicago. He can’t pay his rent. He’s alienating his friends. He can’t even recall the last time he took a shower.
The only professional wizard in the phone book has become a desperate man.
And just when it seems things can’t get any worse, in saunters the Winter Queen of Faerie. She has an offer Harry can’t refuse if he wants to free himself of the supernatural hold his faerie godmother has over him–and hopefully end his run of bad luck. All he has to do is find out who murdered the Summer Queen’s right-hand man, the Summer Knight, and clear the Winter Queen’s name.
It seems simple enough, but Harry knows better than to get caught in the middle of faerie politics. Until he finds out that the fate of the entire world rests on his solving this case. No pressure or anything..
Review
Summer Knight is the fourth novel in the Dresden series and if you’re not familiar with the character, he’s a wizard-private-detective who’s stories are set in a realm filled with nightmarish creatures, and typically centered on a murder or investigation where the character slowly uncovers the clues while battling Vampires, goblins, faeries and probably every living thing you can think of. And this chapter in the entire series doesn’t disappoint.
Without going into spoiler territory, Summer Knight picks up right after Grave Peril and involves a murder of the Knight of Summer, which focuses on the faerie godmothers of Summer and Winter (yes you got this right, the seasons). What follows is a series of events related to the investigation of said murder, while avoiding getting killed by a bunch of creatures sent to silence the investigation. Jim Butcher’s Dresden books never fail to entertain with witty dialogue and action-packed chapters.
My one warning for future readers of this series is; if you easily get offended by long sensual descriptions of women and how Harry—the main character—perceives these always perfect ladies (I mean, really? Every woman he meets is perfect), avoid these books as the character always seems to be extremely descriptive whenever a new lady joins the fray. I don’t mind them but it gets really annoying after one or two, where all I want to tell Harry is, get a room and please stop reminding us of your juvenile hormones. If that doesn’t faze you, then enjoy the ride as everything else is a blast.
The world-building is probably by far the most impressive element of the series. Along with the detective aspect of the story;I love how the character uncovers the clues throughout the books. Every book uncovers an extra layer of this prodigious fantasy world Butcher has built. And when he mixes the comprehensive magic Harry uses with all kinds of monsters, you can’t go wrong with any books in the series.
And what I love so much about the series is that you never get the same elements for the story setup (I mean Summer and winter godmothers?). So, if you enjoy noir-detective stories cooked with a flair for the fantastical elements, and enjoy good Halloween stories, the Dresden series and book four Summer Knight is a splendid narrative for you.
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