Well, Jim Butcher, You’ve Done It Again!

So I just finished Ghost Story, the latest installment in the Dresden Files – probably my favorite sci-fi/fantasy series of all time. And I have to say: wow. Yet again, wow. How on earth Butcher manages to keep coming up with long, involved, original, interconnected-yet-never-derivate plots is utterly beyond me.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Harry Dresden and his fabulous world, let me start off with a few basic facts:

• Harry is the only professional wizard in Chicago
• His closest/oldest friend is Bob the Skull – a spirit who lives in (wait for it) a skull
• His allies throughout the course of the series include cops and gangsters, RPG-loving werewolves, literal guardian angels, and tiny fairies who work for pizza
• Technology hates Harry even more than it hates me
• Harry is, quite often, the last man standing between the world and the Things That Go Bump In The Night

Ghost Story is the thirteenth installment in the Dresden Files – and I can honestly say that each and every book has been a thrill ride. In a true testament to Butcher’s story-telling skills, the latest book opens with his hero Harry quite well and truly dead. Or is he? With more twists and turns than a switchback mountain road, Harry’s adventures as a dead man made this an even more unusual tale than previous books in the series. This book had a slightly different feel than earlier ones; Harry is a little more introspective, there are more flashbacks and recovered memories, more lessons-learned and more rueful realizations. All of which are handled with a delicate touch – this is scalpel work, not machete chaos.

The book opens with Harry being sent on a mission from God – literally. Or, again, is he? He is set on the quest to identify his own killer, in order to save the people he loves. Along the way, he is continually redefining his own post-death self as he is forced to adapt time and again to the challenges hurtled at him by the forces of evil – and of good. Butcher’s ability to reimagine Harry’s capabilities, weaknesses, and the very structure of his world-space is truly impressive. With his protagonist dead, Butcher gets to reinvent many of the operating rules of Dresden’s world, and he manages to do so without losing an ounce of the magic that has made that world such a darkly fascinating place to visit since book one (Storm Front).

Harry always manages, despite an inherent regular-guy quality that makes him aggravating and endearing simultaneously (like so many regular guys, teehee), to rise head and shoulders above his circumstances. He faces decisions and choices that are literally world-altering, and despite his own oft-expressed doubts about his nature and ability to manage those decisions/choices, we his audience always know he will manage to walk the line between good and evil as well as anyone imaginable could. Butcher sprinkles life lessons, truisms, and startling bits of self-realization into the narrative seamlessly, letting the reader glean from Harry’s experiences what s/he may.

Many a time I found myself reading passages over again, or out loud. Not because I needed to clarify a point. Quite the contrary. Because the point was so subtly made, so intricately layered that I wanted to reread to make sure I fully appreciated all of the finesse behind it. This is writing as craft, and for those who argue that only classic literature or “serious” (translation: dull, heavy, difficult) fiction contains masters of that craft, you are woefully mistaken. Butcher is indeed a master with language. He weaves subtle messages into a narrative that is often goofy, nearly always darker than Harry would like, and as fast-paced as the best action films.

There were a few surprise twists thrown in along the way that I definitely did not see coming – especially at the end. I was starting to get nervous that Butcher was tying up loose ends as a way of signaling the end of the series. Let’s just say I’m not so nervous anymore, and can’t wait to see what kind of life- and world-altering trouble Harry will manage to find himself in next!

A review copy of Ghost Story was provided free of charge by the generous folks at Penguin Group (ROC publishes the Dresden Files books).