August 17, 2011

Ghost story

     I noticed that a few of us are reading Jim Butcher's "Ghost Story" this summer, so while I can't do a full review of it -spoilers!- it does make a great relevant topic for the Bookshelf, so here goes-
     I love the references in the covers of the Dresden books- there is always something"hidden" in them- either it's a just-barely-out-of-focus face, or a building sign that you can hardly see, or something. The cover of "Ghost Story" is very cheeky- you can definitely read the tombstone that Harry is kneeling in front of. I won't reveal what it says here, but if you haven't looked at it yet, you are missing out on a wonderful plot point from a few books back...
     Oh, that reminds me of another thing that I like about Jim Butcher's writing- the way he weaves plot points, devices, characters etc. in among the books of the series. He doesn't get boring or predictable with it- the books don't pick up right where the last one left off; friendships develop or fail "offcamera"; and best of all, Harry has a life while we aren't "looking". Butcher doesn't rely on the books for his character's reality- he is confident (and sneaky) enough to fill in the blanks or create new story lines outside of the readers scope to keep the series moving forward at an unpredictable pace. I like that- it has kept Harry's story fresh for me. I don't know what has happened immediately before I pick up the next book. I don't know everything that Harry has been through. And since Harry bases his actions on his own memories and experiences, it has kept me from knowing what Harry's actions will be when I pick up a new book.  
     Oops- you caught me. Another book review before Friday. What can I say? I like to read...a lot!

2 comments:

  1. I am a very strange Dresden fan because I have read the first book, part of the second, and the most recent one before this one, which changed the status quo for just about all the characters. Although I am looking forward to Ghost Story, I have it on good authority that I'm not going to get as much out of it unless I go back and read the rest of them. This might take some time, but I do enjoy the character in print, on TV, and in RPGs. Now I have to go look at each cover and look for the Eastereggs!

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  2. I just finished Ghost Story yesterday and I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it. That being said, seeing the cover of Ghost Story made me really suspicious about what was going to happen in the book, especially since I'd forgotten what that stone said.

    I like the time jumps too. It's amazing how much can happen in six months, even if it doesn't seem like it should be a really long.

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