Review: Cold Days by Jim Butcher
I am an avid Harry Dresden fan! Love the books. Been hooked since I read page one of Storm Front. I’ve felt every Dresden book has gotten successively better than the last, up until Ghost Story. While I liked Ghost Story, I was prepared for it to not live up to the AWESOME that was Changes just like Return of the Jedi could never really live up to The Empire Strikes Back. When I received Cold Days from my mother for Christmas I dove right in…because, you know, it’s Dresden.
Several weeks after finishing Cold Days, I’m still not sure how I feel.
Yes, it’s great! Just what we expect from a Dresden book. We’ve got all the action, snark, and geek culture references that we expect from Chicago’s only practicing wizard. (In this book, Bob the Skull wins the prize for his “special” obscure reference to Firefly.) I am in awe of Butcher’s ability to seamlessly toss in these references without seeming pretentious or pandering to his large geek audience. I think he and Community are currently tied for first place in this race. So, yeah, it’s got all the greatness that we’ve come to expect from Dresden and his posse.
The trouble I’m having is with the big change that happened in Changes. It seems to me that the series took a left turn, then a right turn, a pirouette through subspace to an alternate universe, and then came back to Dresden’s Chicago trying to pass itself off if nothing had happened. This isn’t a bad change. It’s just so different that it’s taking my mind a bit to catch up with everything. The great thing about Butcher’s writing is that he can make this swerve and have us hold on for the ride because he’s spent two books, Changes and Ghost Story setting us up for Cold Days.
Great read? Is it Butcher’s best? No. Just remember: Butcher at his worst is better than many writers at the top of their game. If you’re a Dresden fan, this book will NOT disappoint you. If you’re not a Dresden fan, what the hell is wrong with you? Get too it!
