Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, Book 7)

This is a fun read start to finish. It was very cool to see so many things from past books pop up, and the final battle felt earned. It's interesting to see the web of people around Harry grow. The book arrived in a timely manner and in decent condition.

I love all the Dresden books, and was finally able to order some. Most of them were in great condition. This one, however, had the back cover partially torn up. I had to tape it up so it wouldn't come off all the way.

Not a lot of Murphy in this one but another excellent installment to the series. This book has everything from zombies, necromancers, and even a battle involving the white councils wardens.

These books just keep getting better and better! Harry is battling Necromancers! They are all looking for a book! Can Harry find it first?? Must read!

This is Jim Butcher's seventh foray into the darkly magical modern world of the Dresden files. As the seventh book in addictive and entertaining Dresden Files, Dead Beat contains characters and relationships that have had a great deal of time to mature and crystallize. Like a fine wine, the characters of Dead Beat in particular and of Dresden's world in general have aged not just gracefully but impressively. Throughout Dead Beat Butcher keeps us tightly focused on Dresden, the entire novel unfolds from his sardonic, witty, and occasionally grim perspective. Seeing the world through his eyes, with his mind as subtext and narrator is vastly more entertaining than doing so on our own or as apart of some disembodied third person perspective. Dresden isn't just the protagonist of the book and thereby the world; he's its tour guide, news anchor, and occasionally bitter revolutionary all in one. Within the pages of Dead Beat Dresden must face deadly and disturbing new foes wielding a dangerous and dark form of magic, grapple with unknown rivals who could be friend or foe, struggle with his own place in the hierarchy of wizards, come to terms with his own inner demon, and do his best to stay one step ahead of the vastly powerful beings who seek to garner his service or enslavement. Between the violence, the desperation, the passion, the fear, and glimmers of hope Dead Beat is a truly immersive and exciting experience.

Kudos to Jim Butcher for getting his first hardcover publication in the Harry Dresden series! Definitely liked the presentation: cover illustration is great and the overall work is of excellent quality. To the story: Chicago's only Wizard PI, Harry Dresdent's latest story opens up with him agreeing to take care of his cop-friend (who could be more) house while she goes away to Hawaii with another man. Harry wants to stop her. Something tells him Murphy wants him to stop her....but he doesn't.... Then, he's contacted by Mavra, a vampire he thought he'd killed before. If he doesn't get her the "Word of Kemmler" Murphy is going to be disgraced by some seriously incriminating pictures. Murph comes from a cop family and this would destroy her. So, the chase for the elusive Word begins. In the process, Harry discovers that Kemmler is definitely bad juju. He was a black wizard sho specialized in necromancy--til he died. Now, his disciples are on the chase for the Word, too, competing with each other, hoping to gain the power the Word will provide. It's a fast-paced story with some really good messages within, particularly relating to Waldo Butters and courage. I don't think DEAD BEAT is as well-paced as the other Dresden novels. There are some spots that actually drag. Can't decide whether that is the novel length requirement for hardcover or that Jim Butcher is distracted with his new series. I think I could have done without most of a scene with Harry debating with Alterna-Harry, but skimming will get you the drift. Still, I highly recommend all of Butcher's DRESDEN FILES novels. They are well-written. Since Butcher is a martial artist, the action flows nicely. The characters are folks you care about--interesting, flawed, but worth knowing. I am grateful most of all that Harry has stayed pretty much Harry. He's a good guy, who fights to do the right thing and keep the world safe. HURRAY FOR HARRY AND JIM BUTCHER!!!!

I read this book straight through the night and found myself reading chapters over again. In this latest installment, Dresden must contend with necromancers to stop their deadly struggle for dominance in the mortal world. It's more of Harry Dresden going up against impossible odds to do the right thing. Along the way, the man grows, and not just him. Butcher takes the most minor characters of previous books and fleshes them out VERY nicely. This is not a book to start the series on, but long time fans will get a kick out of some old aquantinces popping in. They not only make appearances, but they save the day on more then one occasion. For a loner, Dresden picks up some great friends. As the plot of the book ticks along, other plot threads from previous books are picked up and woven into this story. I can no longer honestly compare it to Hamilton's Anita Blake series anymore. It's moved so far beyond that series, even in it's prime, that it is not funny. Not just in quality, but in scope. We get glimpses of the Vampire War that the White Council is waging, a new romance that takes an unexpected turn, and we see Harry laying not just his life, but his heart and soul on the line to save....well everyone. Dresden is not some lone crusader out to stop all evil in the world. He takes help, and cuts deals, some not too smart, but wholly within the charcter. Butcher doesn't intentionally make Harry a heavyweight superhero, but somehow you can't stop thinking of Harry Dresden as anything else. Rather than force Dresden's outstanding skill and power down the readers throat (Anita Blake anyone?), he tosses Dresden into the fire and takes the pains to craft a story that requires him to fill those shoes. And it works. This book is not perfect, I wanted to see something happen in this book between Harry and another character, and it was not meant to be. And I got a "rushed" feeling during some portions of the book, as if Butcher was going for something more but didnt' have the time or didn't know how he wanted to go with it. But I give it five stars anyway because it has me drooling for the next Dresden Files installment. I bless the day I walked in a bookstoore on a boring Monday evening after work 5 years ago and picked up Storm Front on a complete and total whim. Butcher has not let me down, and he shows no signs of doing so in the future.

I was going to start this review by saying, "Dead Beat is the best book yet", but I'm not sure if that's true. I mean no criticism though. The quality level of the series has reached the point where every book is such a solid 5 stars that trying to compare them is beyond me. In Dead Beat Harry once again has to save, if not the world, then at least most of Chicago from an awful fate. Yet Mr. Butcher manages to keep the plot from seeming repeative by throwing some great twists at Harry - some good, some not so good. The climax was delightful and well foreshadowed - no deus ex machina here. I do have a complaint for Mr. Butcher. Harry's supporting cast is too diverse and interesting, so I am inevitably dissapointed when one of my favorites doesn't appear. Thankfully we get an appearance by some old friends who we haven't seen in a while, and Thomas gets quite a bit of screen time, but it's not enough! I almost hope we get a book at some point where Harry goes missing and all of his friends need to work together to find him. Overall Dead Beat is another fantasic addition to the series, and I can't wait for the next one.