As I said above, I just finished the fourteenth book of the Dresden Files series, Cold Days.

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I really liked this book. Much better than Ghost Story, and while Changes is still the ruling masterpiece of messing things up, we did get to know a whole lot of stuff that changed our perspective.

First of all, the purpose of Fae. I can see what people would get annoyed over, and I can even agree that now when Fae are nominally working "for humanity", they might lose a bit of that eerie strangeness that are their signature. I just can't get over the fact that when I read it, it didn't upset me. I might not be more down the line, depending on how things get spun (the series have been known for villain decay), but right now, I'm Okay With This. After all, the Faerie wouldn't want reality (used broadly to encompass both Earth and the Nevernever) destroyed; it's where they keep their stuff.

More annoying is the focus on Outsiders. For one, I don't like the term Outsider, not connected to the representation they were given in the book. Okay, so they live on the other side of this great big gate. What about it? Oh, they want to destroy reality. As opposed to... wherever they live? They seem pretty damn real to me. They just happen to live on the other side of the gate. Since they are hostile and aggressive, of course we have to defend ourselves, but I fail to see what makes Outsiders so alien as they are made out to be. There's just an arbitrary line drawn around Earth + Nevernever.

Second, the aforementioned villain decay. He Who Walks Behind was, for the longest tome, freaking terrifying. I think I even had a nightmare about him once. This new outside, He Who Walks... Before? Really? Anyway, he's a villain of the week. Given that outsiders now come by the dozen, it's much less impressive. I understand that this is justified in that Harry has grown stronger, and it is actually a valid reasoning. Still... eh, I dunno.

What I do know is that I'm not a fan of the adversary. I've seen this in many places. The magical amulet corrupts its wearer. They aren't really themselves, they were being manipulated and influenced. And now this gets applied retroactively to most opponents Harry has fought over the years? I'm sorry, but **** that ****. Making the Outsiders responsible for everything is stupid. I can understand them being the biggest threat right now, but retroactively making them the only threat detracts from those books. It detracts from the realism that Dresden Files none the less has by removing the ability for people to be *******s all on their own. It creates a Sauron.

Or it might. I hope it doesn't. I'll admit, it was pretty well handled in the book. I guess we shall see in the coming ones.

Well, that was a lot of complaints. What was good?

Also a lot. As I've said, just Harry being back is great. Even if he's not in Chicago, he's still on Earth, and he's growing in power all the time. I also liked Molly's transition into Winter Lady. I can't help but imagine how hers and Harry's mantles' instincts will make that particular relationship all the more awkward, provided that Maeve was influenced by her mantle and not just being Maeve. The fight scenes were good, the awesome moments were plentiful and the detective themes were intricate and well handled.

In conclusion, it's easier to criticise than praise, but I really liked the book. I'll think I'll start with the next one right away... oh. Right.