Skin Game

When Peace Talks came out, I went back and read the two books before, since no Dresden since May of 2014. That’s a long time to remember all the plot lines. I wasn’t reviewing my books then.
Mab forces Harry to assist his arch enemy to break into Hades vault. Yeah, that Hades.
Very complicated plot, but we are talking Mab, poster child for devious. The introduction of Harry’s parasite was surprising, his head is going to explode?
This book is a tome, 610 pages. Didn’t want it to end.

This is Dresden and I have loved him since the first time I opened a book and found this wizard who is flawed but tries to do the right thing no matter the consequences. I expect a great story with characters that are believable and more than meets the eye, and that is just what I got. The story is pure Dresden and true to who the characters have come to be as this tale has continued. The few new characters who were introduced fit very well with those we know so well. Everyone is evolving and becoming more than they originally were whether for for better or worse, and everyone is surprising in how they react to Dresden.

When Harry became the Winter Knight he thought he would be able to deal with it and maybe find his way out as he has so many times in the past. What he didn’t expect were all the complications which kept him working for Mab even though he wishes he had made better choices. Because of the parasite growing in his head he has been living Mab has kept him isolated and is wearing down his humanity.

Nicodemus Archleone, a Knight of the Blackened Denarius, is back and Mab has a debt to pay off to him. That is where Dresden comes in, Mab is loaning Harry to a man he hates and has defeated in the past, to help. Lucky for Harry he is given some say in how things will work and enlists the help of Karrin Murphy, ex-cop and good friend, to go on this particular adventure with him. The goal, to stay alive and thwart Nicodemus at all costs.

It may be just me but I have not found a Dresden novel that did not make me very happy to have read. As that is the case I will recommend this to any fans of Harry Dresden who have not already read it. If you want to start a really good series, then start with Storm Front and work your way up, they do need to be read in order as reference is made to early incidents.

** I listened to it for my second time around because I have fallen under the spell of James Marsters who I could listen to all day and be very happy. He is Harry and don’t let anyone tell you any different. I hope he will narrate all the books as they come out because I would not do audio without him. Enjoy this book both ways!

This review will have spoilers from previous books, so make sure you are caught up before reading this.

Of course, I had the audio because they are simply the best when it come to this series and James Masters does such an excellent job with them.

Holy smokes what a wild ride this book was once again!!! There was so much going on it was crazy. Of course, we get some pretty big plot twists along the way that throw us for a loop.

Harry is almost back to normal if not even better than ever before but of course that doesn’t last long and it soon shows that his new position has more drawbacks that he first thought. He is still dealing with the fallout from a couple books ago and still working on getting people trust back. Which I really liked that, that was something not just thrown under the rug but was addressed.
Harry must venture into the underworld, yes, that underworld and he meets Hades. I really enjoyed how Hades was portrayed. Speaking of that there were a few other well-known mythology creatures we meet. I thought it was cleverly done and enjoyed it.

He also is working on some stuff with his daughter, I’m interested to see how that will be handled later on.

Him and Karen come to an understanding… whatever that may be …. I will leave it at that.

Butters, wow there was so much Butters in this book and I loved it. I loved it even more to see how much he has grown since we first meet him. Of course, Butters has Bob now and things get even more interesting. Bob is still a favorite of mine and I enjoy everything with him.

One big thing for me was that Michael and the rest of the Carpenter’s are making a comeback in this book. I loved that I missed that clan so much. Of course, not everything is sunshine and flowers, but that is what makes it real and fun. I also enjoyed how far Charity and harry have come in the relationship.

Mab, ugh well we once again see how she rolls and we never know if we can trust her or not. We learn a lot more about the Courts, but not only that but also Angels and Demons, Knights of the Cross and so much more. Like I said before there is so much going on in this book, it’s insane.

I loved that we had the old gang almost back together and working together again and not against each other. Thomas was absent though and I missed him but I’m sure we will see him next book. I hope.

Overall, epic book, so much information but it still was fun, action packed, but also once again had some very tender moments for us. We are 15 books in and I’m still not tired of this series and each book has me asking for more, that is not something that you see often after 15 books.

The end was peaceful in a way but also has me worried about what is about to come for Harry and the clan.

I rate it once again a full 5 and will start the next book ASAP.

A fun livley read.

Review of audiobook version narrated by James Marsters

This is the tagline of this book per its author, Jim Butcher: “The whole premise of SKIN GAME is he gets loaned out to the Evil League of Evil so they can pull a job. So that’s what he’s busy doing. He’s got to hang out with all these jerks and psychopaths.”

Mab, the Winter Queen of the fae, and Harry Dresden’s boss from hell in his role as Winter Knight, is at it again. His second assignment from her is even worse than the first one, which forms the plot of Cold Days. In Skin Game, Mab trades Harry’s reluctant services to pay off a debt of honor to one of the most evil beings on the planet, Nicodemus Archleone, who is also Harry’s arch nemesis. Nicodemus is an actual fallen angel, known as a Denarian, who has been incarnated for over 2000 years.

Nicodemus is determined to steal the actual Holy Grail from the vault of none other than Hades himself. But to get to that particular corner of the Underworld, Harry and a crew of supernaturally talented criminals brought together by Nicodemus will first have to work together to break into the highest-security bank vault in the country, and maybe in the whole world. It is designed, owned and operated by none other than Chicago’s most powerful gangster, Gentleman Johnny Marcone, an incredibly dangerous man to cross, perhaps more so even than Hades.

Once again Harry will have to call on his closest friends to help him carry out his assigned role in this deadly scheme. And even with the best helpers available watching his back, Harry knows he has only a small chance of surviving this horrible escapade.

I was fascinated to discover this book continues a scary storyline which has existed across multiple books in the Dresden Files series. It involves Nicodemus and some prominent members of a gang of his fellow evil Denarians. There are some amazing surprises contained within their dastardly machinations in this book, none of which did I see coming, at all.

This is not a series for which it is good idea to read any of the books out of order, and that is particularly the case with the most recent four books, Changes, Ghost Story, Cold Days, and this book, Skin Game. A major plotline, dealing with Harry’s young daughter, Maggie, and the consequences of the extreme actions Harry took in order to save her life in Changes, play out across these four books. It culminates in some crucial scenes between Harry and Maggie in this book, which are very heartwarming.

In every book of this fabulous series, Jim Butcher magnificently presents a complex magical world, which we experience with great immediacy through the first-person point-of-view of wise-cracking, defender-of-the weak, Harry Dresden. In every book, and definitely this one, Harry is massively outclassed by terrifyingly powerful, magical villains. So all of the many, many fight scenes in this book, particularly the climactic battle scene, are major nail-biters.

Under the corrupting influence of the terrible power of the mantle of the Winter Knight, Harry continues to fight to maintain his soul and conscience. He is determined that Mab will not distort his personality into a robotic extension of her cold, callous will. Once again Harry has wonderful allies in the form of his closest friends and his magical dog, Mouse, who not only support and defend him physically, but also help to bolster his determination to remain on the ethical straight and narrow.

The audiobook version of Cold Days is narrated by James Marsters, an extremely gifted actor and voice talent. 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 unabridged audiobook is outstanding. As we fans have come to expect and rely on, Marsters does a fantastic job on every part of his performance. He is fabulous at portraying every type of male and female voice, of all ages and various national and regional accents. Listening to him is a delight.

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

Still going strong

For any and all ‘Dresden Files’ fans you will love this as it fills in the gaps between the books. I really like that Jim Butcher gives a little stopped about what lead to the story. Thanks Jim for all the great adventures!

By far my favorite book series. Great combination of whit, character build and gut laugh funny.

Awesome read

Jim Butcher did it again great read.