Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, Book 11) by Jim Butcher
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Book Summary Author: Jim Butcher Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2009-04-07 ISBN: 0451462564 Number of pages: 432 Publisher: Roc Hardcover |
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Book Reviews of the Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, Book 11)
Customer Review: How to write a great story badly
Summary: 2 Stars
I picked up "Storm Front" about two years ago and quickly ready through the first 10 books. I love the characters, the relationships and the Chicago setting. "Turn Coat" has Harry trying to exonerate fellow warden Morgan - a nemesis throughout the series. The story has all of the traits that have made the series popular - lots of familiar faces and new and improved magic. I love the idea of Harry continually getting more powerful and how he uses that power to fend off his advisories. I won't spoil the end, but after the action has subsided, the last 40 pages offer some very unexpected twists that frankly, I hated. But I hated them in a good way - they make sense and I want to see what happens in the future.
For the bad part - turns out "Turn Coat" is written like every other chapter of the Dresden files. Each turn is described in similar fashion, the twists and turns through the first 90% of the book are expected, and it turns out that Harry can do things Wizards hundreds of years older than him cannot - again. I really enjoyed Harry outsmarting foes like he did in the earlier books versus turning into a modern era Gandalf. In short - new tricks are okay with me, becoming a God, not so much.
I used the word "turn" five times in the above paragraph. That is my major gripe with Butcher and the series. I enjoy them and really want to see what happens to the characters, but it would be nice if someone would buy him a thesaurus. How many times are the words "padded" (how Mouse ALWAYS moves), "Growled/Snarled" (how angry Harry Talks), "sneered" (how all bad guys monologue) in any given book? In "Turn Coat", I noticed three instances where the same imagery or phrases were used within a few pages, but in separate context. I'm not sure if it's a deadline that causing a rush in the books or his editor won't speak up and make changes; but for an accomplished writer to be that lazy is unacceptable. I've heard Butcher wants to go 20 books in the series, here's to hoping he keeps up the great story arc AND tightens up the writing.