Welcome to my book channel! I make weekly spoiler free reading vlogs, weekly spoiler reviews, and weekly videos about anything bookish from discussions, deep dives, rankings etc. The goal is to have a cozy space to chill and chat about books.
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I enjoyed listening to all of the Dresden Files books on Audiobook. Jim Butcher is a great writer.
Always do spoilers!
This is the book where the series kicks it up a notch. Each book is more interesting and intense. I only listen to audiobooks and James M does a great job!
One of my favorite parts of the book was when Mouse lead the group. As I have never listened to the Audio book, though I have sort of wanted to listen to the series on Audio book, I do not know if that was included. Also, as this was such a serious book, I do not recall if there was an opportunity for Butcher to over describe an attractive female. I am not sure if there is a lot of opportunity for Side Jobs to have spoilers. If there are, please do so.
There is a hilarious fan-fic that spawns off this book and crosses over with the Game of Thrones world called "A Song of Ice and Fires That Aren't All My Fault". The culmination of the curse blows Harry and Maggie into the GoT universe and Harry has to deal with being a full-fledged wizard in that setting. It has been unfortunately abandoned by its author with no resolution but it goes on for a good long while, enough to have some hilarious fun with the concept if you're a fan of both series. Should still be fairly easy to find with google search.
This is my favourite Dresden Files book, and the one that FINALLY sold me on this series. Yes, it took me 12 books to be sold, but now I'm a legit fan. Great video, Merphy!
Is this the natalie portman movie? I havent seen it.
Can you please give your thoughts on the Netflix show?
Ebenezer's staff is the blackstaff
I also liked that even "Mr. Neutral", Mac, was on Harry's side...I've always felt that the Series plays like a Role-playing Campaign, where Harry's power grows along with the threats, from a local killer in the first book, to Existential Threats in the latest...So good! I'm glad you're enjoying the series. I know that for "Ghost Story", they changed narrator's but there was such blow-back, that they got James to re-do it. I should try to find that version and re-listen ...
For situations like keeping track of reviews/stats in May where it was too hectic to do during the month, have you tried to make audio notes for the review and have Microsoft Word or some other transcribe service put it into text for later? I'm running into the same challenge (wanting to write my thoughts on research properly at the time), and finding that it's very hit or miss. I'm not sure I'm sold on whether quickly rambling reminders in an audio file is easier or as helpful as I'd like it to be each time, but it's certainly faster than typing for me and is much more flexible since I can do it with my phone anywhere rather than typing where I want a keyboard, etc. Would love your thoughts on that as a process improvement if you already have tried this! Loving watching your Dresden Files journey!
I'd still enjoy a spoiler video after you read Side Jobs. The short stories and micro stories(available on his website) are the only times we get perspectives from other characters.
So excited for this, I've been waiting. My favorite book in my favorite series.
I agree on how you pointed out that the sacrifices Harry was making were chipping away at his soul. But you glossed over one that I felt hit harder than all the rest. When Harry ‘chose’ to murder Susan. Not with the knife, but when he knew he could goad her into sacrificing herself. “One day I hope God will forgive me for giving birth to the idea that came next. Because I never will. I knew how angry she was. I knew how afraid she was. Her child was about to die only inches beyond her reach, and what I did to her was as good as murder.” That’s the line that sticks with me from Changes.
Sanderlanchhe the book. 6 books-worth of buildup all falling into place in the best way possible. Great series overall.
Will you continue reading Robin Hobb?
SPOILER BUT IMPORTANT - I just want to warn you because you’ve expressed some disappointment with how butcher describes women and that’s ENTIRELY warranted. It gets a little heavy in description again moving forward but with purpose this time around, with the deal he’s made.
“False gods!” she cried, her blue eyes blazing as she stared at the Red King and the Lords of Outer Night. “Pretenders! Usurpers of truth! Destroyers of faith, of families, of lives, of children! For your crimes against the Mayans, against the peoples of the world, now will you answer! Your time has come! Face judgment Almighty!” -Angel via Murphy So many great moments but this one always stands out to me, so powerful.
Oh man it was so powerful to relive this incredible book through you today. One of my favorites of all time, and right with you on how powerful the character work is in it throughout, hitting so hard emotionally. Not sure if Side Jobs will be worth a review, but maybe as part of a vlog where you can comment on a few stories at a time. Can’t wait for you to continue on with Ghost Story!!!
The thing is... when you have me wishing Bayaz would come in and wipe Leo out you know Joes written a trash character. I hate Bayaz and the fact that i want him to win troubles me
The voice acting for this book series is an absolute clinic on how it should be done and I hope that the guy who did it got awards for his skillful interpretation.
Yeah that ending was rough, and the wait for the next book was brutal.
Oh Merphy Napier you and I could go for hours arguing the various points you brought up here even though we both ended at Amazing Book lol. Changes is my number 1 Dresden Book and a Top 5 at a minimum book overall for me. Your review of Side Jobs should be interesting to see and then we move on to probably the most polarizing book of the whole Files with Ghost Story. Can’t wait to see what you think!
I think my favorite thing about this video is that other than the first sentence of the book, there aren't any *real* (imo) spoilers until like halfway through 😁
Happiness. All Dresden fans at listening to your reaction of Changes. 😁 Like all cliches, it's a cliche because it's true. Just wait for Changes. We all heard it, we all mock it, and those of us who have read the series also MEAN IT. You're bang on, from page one, Jim Butcher has us off and running, and it's a marathon distance sprint. Reveal after shock after bombshell after reveal it simply keeps going until the moment (in movie speak) the score goes silent. "God forgive me." The falling action is all the more resonant coming after the scale of the story, and to be left as Harry descents into the cold and dark? Man. Jim Butcher's come a long way since Storm Front. The scene you wanted feedback on, the one where Mab makes Harry the Winter Knight, I sort of agree with you? For me, while there's clearly a sexual aspect, it speaks symbolically to an intimacy Harry doesn't wish for but needs. That he isn't going in with arms fully open, or unwavering willingness, makes the necessary intimacy feel much closer to an assault, and I think that the uncomfortable feelings we have reading it shows that Jim did it right. That Toot had the innocent curiosity to ask about Mab's temperature helped me see it as Harry tries to describe it. She's the Winter Queen, not simply a woman. The scale of Power in her is elemental, for even a symbolic joining of Winter Powers they needed to inhabit a *different plane of existence*. The 'act' was on so many more levels than merely physical. Murphy and the Sword had a moment of breathtaking Glory, and I love love love that even having created her with such a strong Faith, Jim Butcher also created a woman who would cherish her individuality. Her right to be herself. On the one hand we see how immensely effective she would be if she chose to pick up the Sword, on the other we see that even the Swords allow for freedom of choice. 😥I wish Harry had soul-gazed her before he got fricken' shot.
I like how Harry had three separate deals with the devil he could call on when his broken back was against the wall.
One of my favorite scenes... When Mouse talks to the Leanandsidhe....
I absolutely love your reviews, so more is always a good thing. Yes, I’d love a spoiler review of “Side Jobs”
I'd do a spoiler review for Side Jobs, at least a few stories of the collection.
could you create a playlist of all your dresden videos? One of my favorite series and would love to have your thoughts on whole series in one place. thanks either way!
I was like number 667. You're welcome. It was dicey there for a bit.
Ahh, it's so cool to see Borne on here! I actually was given this book by a university professor - i was studying "posthumanism" in literature and we had some fascinating discussions about what defines a human in regards to this book!
Still blows my mind that spike from Buffy the vampire slayer is the narrator.
The audio book is more heart wrenching by a lot. I've done both. I recommend the audio book but sometimes a reread tells you more the second time. Agree on the Mab thing. It was definitely the r-word. I don't see another way to describe it. Harry is in danger of doing a full Anakin fall to darkness. Really excited for you to see the fallout for this and how Molly deals with it. This book more than any other shows how different the Dresden Files reads if you think Harry is an unreliable narrator. He grabs a ton of power, murders his lover and all the witnesses are dead. If we didn't trust Harry, he would look like a bastard.
Maybe I’m just not flexible but the premise fell a little flat for me when a random child was introduced. I get it. It makes sense in the book. But it still felt like it came out of nowhere so I was immediately less invested. I still enjoyed the book enough just based on the writing style and the world I am already familiar with. That being said, the next book also involves some big changes but I really liked that one and thought it was a fun way to shake up the norm.
Michael is right, the correct term is quadrilogy. In English it generally goes: Duology (Or a "Dilogy" if you prefer greek prefixes) Trilogy Quadrilogy (Or "Tetralogy" for similar reasons as above) Quintilogy Hexalogy Heptalogy Octology etc. The "-logy" in this context means "narrative", so "Quadrilogy" is just "four narratives (forming a whole)"/"a narrative in four parts" Duet, Trio, Quartet, Quintet, etc. are just groups of 2/3/4/5 etc. people (mostly) or things. You can technically call a quadrilogy a quartet, but the former is more specific and accurate.
I've never cheated on anyone, but i have done things that were horribly wrong, and that whent against the image that i had for myself in my mind. I think that the cognitive dissonance and rationalizing that Quinton displays is extremely realistic especially for somone in their early twenties figuring out euo they are.
The Harry/Mab rape scene is actually treated exactly how most men I've met treat their own experiences of sexual assault and rape. It's joked about as if it were consensual and rarely, if ever, expressly called what it was. I've had a bunch of my friends tell me stories about being lied to, tricked, or physically forced into sexual encounters they otherwise would have avoided to the best of their ability, not one of them said they were raped until after I pointed it out. most still wouldn't use that word even after they acknowledged that it fit.
I watched a friend read the end of this book. as in they were reading and I watched their expressions. I could tell where they were at by how they reacted. definitely elicits strong feelings.
My favorite part of the book is when they all transform into dogs and we FINALLY hear Mouse talk. And he’s even more awesome than we thought. I agree that Butcher did a great job of making us empathize with Susan and Harry’s choices.
My favorite part of the book is when they all transform into dogs and we FINALLY hear Mouse talk. And he’s even more awesome than we thought. I agree that Butcher did a great job of making us empathize with Susan and Harry’s choices.
I think Side Jobs is definitely worth a spoiler review! Many fun stories and a few from new perspectives that merit spoilery stuff 👍 Great video. I love reliving the books through these reviews
Wierd take with Mab.
Never clicked on a video so fast, I've been waiting for this 😁
"Hard book for him, great book for me" has been Jim Butcher's motto for the last decade+
I still don’t think it made sense she hid Maggie from Harry. I don’t think the justification even makes sense. Edit: Then you hide your daughter in the same continent as the one the Red Court completely controls when you are fighting against them, and then not letting her father be an extra layer of protection. You’d think she’d hide her in like Norway or something. It’s the only problem I have with the book.
Yeah....the one thing I disagree with Merphy on. She said she sympathises with Susan because she's a mother, but I, also a mother, was completely infuriated by Susan's choices lol. It cemented my complete dislike I had for her which started in Grave Peril. But I also like that another mother could have such a viscerally different reaction to me lol
Unrelated question: Does anyone know if Merphy ever read or intends to read New Spring by Robert Jordan? Curious.
Adding some of these to my reading list 😃
Please do the review on Side Jobs it has a story in it that picks up right after changes
I literally read this entire book in one straight shot without breaks. I normally have a little more restraint, but I just couldn't put this one down. Personally, I wouldn't call this the best in the series, but it's definitely up there. I think my favorites are still Proven Guilty and Turn Coat. As you said, the best part of this book was watching how much Harry has to sacrifice in order to save his child, and how the book grapples with what that means for Harry's morality. The one thing that really didn't work for me was Martin being a triple-agent, that felt like a really unnecessary plot twist. As for your question about Susan, I think that while what she did was not right, she was doing what she believed was best for her child, and I can't really fault her for that.