Death Masks

The tally continues – so far Dresden has help his own against demons, sorcerers, mobsters, vampires, fairies, ghouls, ghosts, and werewolves (not necessarily in that order).  For Jim Butcher’s next trick, he will take on angels (fallen angels to be specific) … while still occasionally dealing with the usual vampires and mobsters, etc.  In Death Masks, Harry finds himself re-teamed up with Michael Carpenter – one of the three Knights of the cross.  And once he has a couple run-ins with some Denarians (fallen angels who partner with human hosts for a corporial form), he finds himself playing backup to all three of the Knights. Read more “Death Masks”

Watch the Watchmen (On Second Thought, Maybe Some of You Shouldn’t)

I recently went to see Watchmen at the theater (which I mentioned previously).  In short, I really enjoyed it and would gladly go watch it again and will likely rent it (or even shell out the cash to buy it) when it comes out on DVD.  I’ve since read a few articles about the opening of this movie that have left me shaking my head.  It seems that a good number of people who had opted to go see this movie ended up walking out of it before the end.  Confused and curious, I felt compelled to read on only to find that the cause was what I should have expected – poorly informed consumers. Read more “Watch the Watchmen (On Second Thought, Maybe Some of You Shouldn’t)”

Point, Set, Match

I’ve been a proud fan of Jon Stewart and the Daily Show for some time now.  Across the spectrum of the poignant political commentary and the ridiculously humiliating antics carried out by his crew, Jon Stewart and the show he hosts acts as the court jester of America.  While everyone should know that the jester’s main goal and duty is entertainment, much of this entertainment comes naturally in the form of poking fun at the status quo and exposing the truths that many prefer not to bring to light.  In this task, Stewart is often up to the task and does his due.  This week – and most pointedly Thursday night – he has taken his game to a new level. Read more “Point, Set, Match”

Summer Knight

I have to give Jim Butcher credit for his punny titles – I almost wonder if he starts with the title and develops a story to fit it.  In this fourth volume of The Dresden Files, Harry finds himself getting perhaps more deeply involved than he would prefer with the realm of the fairies.  While most of the books in this series so far have featured fairies to some extent and certainly set the baseline definition of what these creatures are in the Dresden-verse, Summer Knight puts Harry right in the middle of a fairy-realm power struggle. Read more “Summer Knight”

Grave Peril

Demons and sorcerers?  No problem.  Werewolves of several varieties?  Piece of cake.  Now how about some ghosts, a conniving fairy godmother, and a den of vampires – maybe a little more challenging than usual.  But at least this time Harry gets a little help from some friends (which seem to include a reporter/girlfriend, a holy knight, and an incubus).  In Jim Butcher’s third installment of The Dresden FilesGrave Peril – Harry once again starts off in the heat of the action.  And as usual Harry’s luck tends to carry him from one frying pan into yet another inferno. Read more “Grave Peril”