Chicago wizard Harry Dresden gets a taste of the dead life in this novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.In his life, Harry’s been shot, stabbed, sliced, beaten, burned, crushed, and tortured. And after someone puts a bullet through his chest and leaves him to die in the waters of Lake Michigan, things really start going downhill.Trapped between life and death, he learns that his … and death, he learns that his friends are in serious trouble. Only by finding his murderer can he save his friends and move on—a feat which would be a lot easier if he had a body and access to his powers. Worse still are the malevolent shadows that roam Chicago, controlled by a dark entity that wants Harry to suffer even in death.
Now, the late Harry Dresden will have to pull off the ultimate trick without using any magic—or face an eternity as just another lost soul…
more
Ghost Story is book Thirteen in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters.
Well the surprises keep coming. Several months have passed since Harry’s death tho his body has yet to be recovered. In the meantime, the world has changed and Chicago has gone to shit.
Harry has awakened to find himself somewhere in the in-between. As he goes on this journey in-between life and death lots is revealed to Harry and the reader. As he journeys to find his killer we see how his death has affected the world and his friends. The world has changed after the Death of the Red Court, how screwed up Chicago is without him, and what has become of his friends. My heart broke for his friends. His death has messed up Molly and I’m worried about her. Murphy isn’t doing well either. Murphy, Butters, and the werewolves have joined forces to try and keep Chicago together and protected.
Their is no shortage of surprises revealed. We get evil ghosts and many battles. Harry finding himself powerless and a noob in this in-between life and as usual Harry risks much to bend the rules. He comes to terms with things and I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.
As always Butcher weaves a marvelous tail with danger, twists, and humor.
Narration: James Marsters did a superb job. He has become the voice of Harry. The audio is spectacular.
Ghost Story reads like an ending to the series tho I know there are more stories in the series. We are treated to another amazing tail from the Dresden Files, which should NOT be read out of order!
Rated: 4.5 Stars
This 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?
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. 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).
Many a time I found myself reading passages over again, or out loud. Not because I needed to clarify a point – because the point was so subtly made, so intricately layered that I wanted to reread to make sure I fully appreciated the finesse behind it. This is writing as craft, and for those who argue that only classic or “serious” (translation: heavy, difficult) fiction contains masters of that craft, you are woefully mistaken. Butcher is a master with language, weaving 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.
My review copy was provided by the generous folks at Penguin Group.
I read/listened to this book a few years ago, but without reading the other books in the series. It was as if I’d never read the book. I keep books that I’ve started for years and can fall back into the story. This one, not so much. It was a great ride.
After being shot, Harry goes back to Chicago to check on his friends and to try to help in the never ending fight against evil. Thing is, he is a ghost. Some of his friends feel that he is around, but he can only be seen by other ghosts.
Karen has become bitter and trusts no one. Molly lives on the streets and has become a vigilante. Butters has control of Bob, who can actually “see” Harry.
Things have pretty much gone to hell since Harry’s murder, and who murdered Harry anyway?
This review will have spoilers of the last book so if you are not caught up in the series. Go do so and come back.
First off, I listened to the audio again and of course it was fantastic, as always. James Masters does an excellent job with this series and I could not imagine reading it any other way.
Harry wakes up dead….. ish or something in between. Harry being confused investigates what is going on. He might be dead or might not be dead… But he has to find out who killed him in order to save his soul one way or another.
So, he starts… of course being dead…ish comes with its own unique challenges, more than normal but Harry being Harry finds a way.
But along the way he discovers that while it for him was a short time, in realty months have gone by and something big is going on in Chicago and people are dying and other weird things are happening. He sees people like he never seen them, well mostly to certain things he is still so very ignorant.
I love this book, it’s a bit different because we get to see and feel things we wouldn’t if he were alive. It also is so very heartbreaking at points to see and hear the aftermath of his death and what it was and meant for everyone else. The ripple-effect is massive and it shows in this book.
We also get a lot of info from his past; his childhood and upbringings and how he became the wizard and man he is today.
We meet some new people of course and I really liked them and hope we keep them around in a way, but I have a feeling that is a sure thing. We also learn some more about people we already know some will change our view of them, good or bad….
Oh, we also get a lot of Molly time, which I loved. Anything with her is always so deep and complex and I love that. But we also learn how much his training will help her or not.
Murphey, we don’t get much of her but it made sense and the time we get with her reveal a lot of their relationship throughout the years.
About 62 % in I had a theory about who killed Harry…. but nope I was wrong…. so very wrong. The truth shocked me and was nothing I ever saw coming, even though now thinking back…… I should have.
The ending…. again, very emotional and bittersweet and I cannot wait to start the next book. I just have to know how things will turn out, not only for Harry but everyone else around him.
Overall, even though it was darker and more emotional than most his books I still thought it had the typical Harry humor and action we know and love. And of course, some pretty big surprises along the way.
I give it full 5
So this book was the beginning of the end for me with the Dresden Files. I’d loved the banter, the give and take, and overall the irreverence of the whole thing. But I think Changes should’ve been the last book with the way things progressed from there. You hit a climax, you don’t keep chasing that crazy intense thrill seeking ride, you have to give readers a chance to come down and remember what it feels like to be normal again. This book was all over the place, and while unpredictable can be good, it was that out of left field that leaves you thinking “Really? Oh, okay then”
I love the character Harry Dresden, his beloved pets and his world of magic. Butcher’s Dresden Files Series has rich story lines with morals to the stories and to life, and the choices we make. Like the others, Ghost Story is full of the pain of our mistakes, loss, strength, courage, humor and redemption. I love the plot twists and the science of their magic. I love the return of characters from the past and how developed they and the story, have become. I have read the entire series, and read Ghost Story at least three times. While this is the story of a death, it is the story of hope. Great book-
Review of audiobook version narrated by James Marsters
Ghost Story is Book 13 in the Harry Dresden urban-fantasy series. It begins six months after the end of Book 12, Changes. In Changes, Harry received major, magical assistance from Mab, Queen of the Winter Court of the fae, in order to save his daughter’s life, in exchange for his solemn oath that he would fulfill a longtime desire of hers and become her Winter Knight. But before he could take up his duties, Harry was shot and fell into Lake Michigan.
In this story, Harry turns up in the form of what appears to be a ghost, and runs into a series of magical villains while wandering around with fellow ghosts in his long-time stomping grounds, the city of Chicago. He learns that malevolent spirits are endangering his friends, and he is determined to save them from harm, in spite of the fact that he is minus not only his body, but his wizardly magical powers.
Given that there are multiple books that follow this one in the series, in which Harry Dresden is very much alive, it will not surprise long-time fans of this series that there is something quite unusual about the wandering spirit of Harry Dresden that we encounter in this book.
This novel is filled with the usual, slam-bang action that we diehard fans of Jim Butcher have come to expect in all of his stories, and in the Harry Dresden series in particular. There is a continuing cast of beloved characters, and it is terrific to have a chance to spend time with them again.
I originally listened to this story narrated by actor John Glover. He did a good job, but over the years, the voice and acting talents of James Marsters have become utterly associated with Harry Dresden and his world, and it is such a relief that this book has been re-recorded by James Marsters. He is best known for playing the character Spike, a platinum-blond, British vampire, in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel, between 1997 and 2004.
The sound quality of this audio recording is excellent and it is an unabridged version of the book. Marsters does an outstanding job on every part of the reading, including general narrative and various character voices. He is equally skilled at portraying every type of male and female voice, of all ages and various national and regional accents. Listening to him is a real pleasure.
I rate this book as follows:
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Action-Adventure Plot: 5 stars
Worldbuilding: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Audiobook recording: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars
I loved the series until this book. It took a strange turn and left the background the first books used. I thought it was a little too out there.
Awesome read
** spoiler alert **
So, maybe for the first time after finishing a Harry Dresden book, I’m not going to say it’s the best ever. I loved Changes; it keeps the top spot for Harry Dresden books so far. And, at first, I’ll admit I was pretty pissed off at Ghost Story. Harry Dresden is dead? WTF?
But Jim Butcher has earned my trust as a writer, so I stayed on the ride. I knew he wouldn’t take me somewhere I didn’t want to go, and I was right. The brilliance of this book doesn’t smack you in the face from page one; it seeps to the surface over the entire story arc. After Changes, Butcher had to shift gears or risk a deadly denouement in the series, and he does so elegantly with Ghost Story. How many authors follow up the death of their character by writing an entire volume with the character as a ghost, getting a chance to see Chicago as it would be without him? It’s like Night of the Living Dead meets It’s a Wonderful Life.
It’s A Wonderful Night in the Life of the Living Dead…
Okay, sorry. No. That’s an awful title.
But the book is great. Join Harry as he’s stripped of his powers, watches as his friends try to keep Chicago safe while evil forces rush into the vacuum left by his own death.
And, of course, we have the snide and scintillating commentary of Harry Dresden to guide us along the way. That never gets old.
Of all the Dresden Files books in the series, I thought this one, particularly, was wonderfully imagined. The books in this series are all great. But this one stayed with me after finishing it. And it was hard to put down as well.
Wizards are bad at staying dead – Dresden never knew when to shut up and stop interfering and a little thing like no longer breathing is not going to keep a lifetime of habits, including saving the world, from continuing.
The Dresden files are one of the best series I have ever read.
The Dresden Files is an excellent urban-fantasy series, and this volume is an example of why. Dealing with the consequences of his choices and the fall-out from previous novels, Harry starts the novel dead – and things go downhill from there.
I’ve been binge reading the whole series in order, and reviewing as I go. My reviews focus on setting readers’ expectations, rather than summarising plots. The most important aspect a new reader needs to know is that the series has an over-arching story arc, with roots starting at book 3 (Grave Peril) but only becoming visible as more and more of the series unfolds. It’s a great thing, but as it continually colours events around Dresden it’s best to read the series in order.
*** What to expect
This volume deal with the fall-out from the momentuous previous volume, Changes. It deals with the choices Dresden has made in his life, why it got him to where he is (dead), and how he’s going to manage from now on. All, of course, while not being able to interact directly with the living world, watching the effect of his death on his loved ones, and more amazing world-building of the supernatural.
It’s a thriller-paced urban fantasy, with fast moving intrigue, action, and many plot twists. Though Harry spouts his usual brand of flippant humor in the face of the supernatural, this novel is darker than most.
*** What I liked
I like Harry’s wise-cracking attitudes towards life, and in dealing with supernatural horrors. I like the supporting characters in general, and I find Butcher is doing excellent job in characterising and building recurring cast and introducing new characters. The long-running support cast are especially complex, and one can see them maturing between books. They deliver emotional payoffs for dedicated readers, with their lives and deaths having meaning.
*** Be aware
This is part of a series, and you really need to read them in order.
Butcher has Harry’s mental dialogue to recap previous events and dialogue for those who read the series in breaks, which can feel like he’s talking too much (and also may grate on some reader’s nerves as a “telling” style, or simply for being repetitive). It’s just a function of a long-running series, but as entering the series mid-way is not recommended anyway it doesn’t offer much to new readers while could be distracting to fans.
Also, some readers may find Dresden attitudes chauvinistic and misogynistic, though that is a both a trope of the genre and something of a failing of his.
*** Summary
This is another great book in an excellent series. The premise is refreshing, and as a reader I keep wanting to know how Dresden will get out of his current mess. A great, fast-paced, emotional, urban-fantasy thriller. If you want a blend of modern-day thrillers with dark fantasy, this is the series to read – just start at Storm Front.
—
Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic – for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
While I never wanted Dresden to end, it’s possible that the author ought to have quit before the series began a nosedive.