After being mostly dead, Harry Dresden is pulled back to
the mortal world by Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness. As
her new Winter Knight, Harry has no choice but to swear his
loyalty to her. No matter what she asks of him, and she's
asked the near impossible: kill an immortal. To make
matters worse, Harry must also stop his island Demonreach
from exploding and taking all of Chicago with it. Gathering
his friends and allies close, Harry must fulfill his duty
to Mab, save millions of innocent lives, and find a way to
keep the only thing he can still call his own...his soul.
COLD DAYS, A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim
Butcher is
the fourteenth Harry Dresden novel. As a newbie to the
series, I have to say that I really loved this novel. I was
expecting a more PI/detective feel because of what I'd
heard about the series and COLD DAYS doesn't fall easily
into that category. There is plenty of action, plenty of
lies and half-truths flying around but the nuts and bolts
of a good PI investigation weren't there. What COLD DAYS
does have is a sharp sense of humor, a spectacular world
and an epic adventure.
Butcher takes everything I love about Epic Fantasy and
Urban Fantasy and combines them into one fantastic story.
While there is the quintessential battle between good and
evil Butcher deftly blurs the lines between them so no
character falls into a cliché of good guy/bad guy. Mab's
complexity is a perfect example of this shading.
Harry's struggle with his new role as the Winter Knight
further smudges the line. As the Winter Knight, Harry isn't
so much a detective any longer but an assassin and this new
role doesn't sit easily with him. Harry's desperate attempt
to retain his humanity and the core of his beliefs drives
his actions. All the powers of the Winter Knight are darkly
seductive. I love Harry's fight to use the power but not
fall prey to the corruption.
COLD DAYS by Jim Butcher is a fantastic story. If you've
never read a Dresden File, you can jump right in and enjoy
this story immensely. As for me, I'm already searching out
the previous stories! The characters are sharp, witty, and
complex. The world is unique and perfectly detailed. COLD
DAYS will keep you on the edge of your seat with suspense,
laughter, and heart-thumping action.
HARRY DRESDEN LIVES!!!
After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his
way through the realm between life and death, and being
brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe
death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry
Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard.
He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of
Air and Darkness. After Harry had no choice but to swear his
fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death
steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now,
her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do,
no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she
wants him to kill.
Guess which Mab wants first?
Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination.
Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill
an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters
worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable
source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble
that will make death look like a holiday.
Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends
and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents,
and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his
newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his
own…His soul.