Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

When we last left the mighty wizard detective Harry Dresden, he wasn’t doing well. In fact, he had been murdered by an unknown assassin.
 

But being dead doesn’t stop him when his friends are in danger. Except now he has no body, and no magic to help him. And there are also several dark spirits roaming the Chicago shadows who owe Harry some payback of their own.
 

To save his friends — and his own soul — Harry will have to pull off the ultimate trick without any magic…

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 This is a hard review for me to write, mostly because I'd love to just blab everything amazing and pertinent about this book all over the internets. BUT as that would most likely result in a pitchfork and torches carrying mob to come after me, I'll try to resist the urge and do this without spoilers.

If you haven't read Changes though you're about to be completely messed up because I can't talk about Ghost Story without addressing the obvious - Harry is dead and this is his ghost story. I love how Butcher maintained that the last book was not a cliffhanger, that instead it was the natural conclusion to everything that happened. Now I can't say whether I completely agree with how he's trying to spin it, but he's been very vocal that this is what Harry was fighting for; to protect his daughter even if it cost him his life - that it did was just sad. 

I was a little worried about Ghost Story because I wasn't sure how Butcher was going to swing the communication from the other side angle, if there would be rule and restrictions on who he could contact and how. Luckily he proved my fears groundless pretty quickly as he has Harry search out the one person who can help him contact the friends he left behind. From there it's got the same rapid plot development, soul searching, and action that makes each Dresden better than the last. And ultimately the mystery that's always been at the heart of these books is even more important in this one: who killed Harry and why? The question haunts (hah - haunts) the whole story and it's not answer till the very end. 

It's a great ending by the way, in case you were like me and concerned. Butcher definitely doesn't let you down and wraps things up so that it stays true to the series and Harry. I can't say much more without big huge spoilers, so we'll just leave it at that and I'll end by saying I think Butcher did the best thing he could with the story he has created, which is really all I can ask for.

In no way will this book will be as meaningful or amazing without the back story of the first 12 novels but it is amazing and I highly recommend it.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. 

Series - ...11) Turn Coat 12) Changes 13) Ghost Story

Strange Brew by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, and more

Today’s hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic!

In Charlaine Harris’ “Bacon,” a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher’s “Last Call,” wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.

For anyone who’s ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who’s imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!

This collection was pretty decent - though I decided in the end it wasn't decent enough for me to keep. There were just so many authors that the worst happened: even the best authors didn't have enough room to create a great story. Most came out just a good one, and the rest were mediocre at the best. The 3 big authors, Harris, Butcher, and Briggs, each brought their own considerable skill to this anthology with me calling a tie between Butcher and Briggs for the best story. Butcher always writes a good short story (though I liked the one in Mean Streets better) and Harry is a character beloved by many a reader (and Murphy plays a heavy role in this story too - yay!). Briggs writes an interesting one in this anthology, mostly unexpected because it doesn't seem to have anything to do with her hit Mercy Thompson series. Despite of that she writes a quickie, entertaining and interesting, though it really just leaves me wanting to read what happens next.

Overall Feeling - This one gets an eh. Pretty decent, but would check it out from the library and save yourself the price of trade paperback.

Series - The anthology collects stories from a few different series, so read at your own risk!

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

The Warden Morgan has been accused of treason against the Wizards of the White Council--and there's only one, final punishment for that crime. He's on the run, wants his name cleared, and needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog. Someone like Harry Dresden.

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--someone like Harry.

Jim Butcher has earned a place in my heart as an incredible urban fantasy writer. Though the Dresden novels are set in the present, it's a kind of present that while being completely fantastic, is at the same time completely logical and believable. Harry Dresden is the type of complicated, yet uncomplicated, hero that every reader loves to root for. Always there for the underdog, determined to preserve goodness in all it's aspects, he persists in doing what he can to make life better. Yet his own emotional turmoil while does so lets the reader empathize with him along his journey. This latest installment again continues with the type of bittersweet heroism that run through all the books. Romance and deception, danger and intrigue, all these and more make an appearance. An incredible addition and highly recommended - along with the entire series of course.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. Another great book in a series that is helping to define urban fantasy today.
Series - 1) Storm Front 2) Fool Moon 3) Grave Peril 4) Summer Knight 5) Death Masks 6) Blood Rites 7) Dead Beat 8) Proven Guilty 9) White Knight 10) Small Favor 11) Turn Coat