From the Bookshelf of Urban Fantasy Aficionados…

White Night (The Dresden Files, #9)

Jim Butcher

Start date: June 25, 2020

Finish date: July 16, 2020

Discussion: Series Read

Why we're reading this: Series Read 2020: Jun 25 - Jul 16
[close] Series Read 2020: Jun 25 - Jul 16

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Series Read

* UFA Series Read 2020 - The Dresden Files
By Valerie , DarthVal · 16 posts · 30 views

last updated Jan 03, 2021 08:42AM

UFA Series Read - Cold Days - Oct 13 - Nov 3
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last updated Oct 05, 2020 07:34AM

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What Members Thought

May 16, 2011 Duchess Nicole rated it it was ok

Shelves: z-audiobooks, library, read-in-2013, e-pcs, genre-urban-fantasy

Classic Dresden files book, so it was good. But this read just like about three or four of his other books...

**Set in Chicago...again
**White Court vamps are evil and the war is ongoing...still
**Bob the pervy skull gets a complete intro and helps out with witty candor...
**Thomas is hungry and Harry is suspicious of him
**Harry STILL doesn't get laid

I'm ready for Butcher to move on to a new subject, a new setting, and to settle the score with all of the above. How many times does Bob need an introd Classic Dresden files book, so it was good. But this read just like about three or four of his other books...

**Set in Chicago...again
**White Court vamps are evil and the war is ongoing...still
**Bob the pervy skull gets a complete intro and helps out with witty candor...
**Thomas is hungry and Harry is suspicious of him
**Harry STILL doesn't get laid

I'm ready for Butcher to move on to a new subject, a new setting, and to settle the score with all of the above. How many times does Bob need an introduction? If someone picks up book nine of a series and expects to understand everything, it's their own damn fault. I don't want to read the same thing nine times!

Same with Harry's chivalrous nature. I'm about tired of how Harry has to repeatedly tout his own heroics. Oh, the women and children...save the women and children! Must not see them suffer, even if they are cutting off my good parts and torturing my loved ones. If it's a woman, Harry will tell us, multiple times in the same book, how he can't bring himself to be less than courteous.

I think the reason this book bothered me so much was that the last book in the series had a different vibe to it, and I was so very interested the entire time I read it. That book took us to the land of fairy, gave Harry an apprentice, and I felt like it moved the series forward a few steps. So I expected this one to keep moving forward. Not so. It sort of moved backward, and it's annoying.

I listened to the audio again...James Marsters does an amazing job. You can hear how into his role he is, and it seems as if he has become more and more Harry Dresden with each installment.

I probably should give this more than two stars, but I ended up skimming through soooo much of it, and I really don't feel like I missed anything. I think I could have skipped the entire book and been just fine moving on to the next one. Maybe I need to just give the series a break for awhile so that it's all new again, because at this point, if the next book isn't vastly different, I may give up on Dresden. ...more

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May 14, 2007 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: witches_wizards, mystery, urban_fantasy, vampires, rereads, dtb-own

Re-read 9/2020: In which Harry has to solve/is suspected of a string of murders of women with minor magical talent, Thomas is suspected by everyone of being up to vampiric shenanigans, and there's a cinematically huge ass-kicking fight at the White Court's House Raith. I'm going way back in a re-read to refresh on the shifting political situation Butcher started laying out several books ago, which has gradually come to dominate the stories over the earlier "mystery of the week" books - the longe Re-read 9/2020: In which Harry has to solve/is suspected of a string of murders of women with minor magical talent, Thomas is suspected by everyone of being up to vampiric shenanigans, and there's a cinematically huge ass-kicking fight at the White Court's House Raith. I'm going way back in a re-read to refresh on the shifting political situation Butcher started laying out several books ago, which has gradually come to dominate the stories over the earlier "mystery of the week" books - the longer the series goes, the details of allies and betrayals become much more important. On the second go-round, White Night might be one of the best entries in the series. Though the mystery and consequences and story are plenty meaty enough, pacing stays nice and snappy. The Macguffin/mystery here (Harry is still a PI at heart, and has to solve a mystery in every case file) perfectly ties into the larger arc of what's going on. There's not a bunch of throw-away recap, but I'm not left floundering to figure out where we are here. Harry has always been a shoot-first-think-later kind of guy, and having friends good enough to tell him "dude, you're being a real asshole, maybe get yourself together," rather than a simple chorus of back-up assholes is deeply refreshing. I'm going to miss the hell out of Lash, but I suppose as a story tree grows some branches do inevitably need to be pruned.

Original review 4/2007: Butcher is now on the 9th of his Harry Dresden books, and in a truly magical feat, the series is still going strong. there is NO point in starting the series with this book...new readers will be lost in the alluded-to but not explained background stories of each of the detailed characters. for most authors balancing this many people, everyone's voices start to run together; not so here, so once you've caught up with the other books, there's no problem keeping up.

the whole series is a lot of fun, and each one is a pretty quick read. they're all well worth checking out.

the sci-fi channel started running a tv show based on these books in january 07, and while the show is pretty good, these books are worlds better. ...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Christal rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fae, favorites, demons, magic, male-lead, vampires, witches-warlocks-and-mages, urban-fantasy, pi-detective-cop, shady-government-agency

This was the first Dresden novel that I listened to and James Marsters did a great job as narrator. I loved this entry into the series. My husband listened to this with me as well and, even though he hadn't read any of the other books in the series, he loved it too!

This book starts with one plot (murder mystery intrigue) but by the end, it's moved into something completely new (White Court political showdown)! Mr. Butcher skillfully weaves all the plot threads together so you never feel lost or ...more

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Aug 01, 2010 Robin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Okay, so far I've given each book in this series four stars because I guess I'm a book snob. Five stars should be saved for good literature, right? Wrong. Oh my gosh! I LOVE these books. Each one is better than the last. The author throws in some great writing in between the funny dialogue and the suspenseful danger. ...more

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