Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
The Dreden Files Book 7
Published by Orbit and out now
Dead Beat is book seven in the The Dresden Files series. The problem in reviewing series is that there a is a lot of commitment required and the commitment of a reader can be tested if the writer takes it for granted and doesn’t make each story compelling in their own right. Trilogies are a completely differently kettle of fish.
With a bit of a wobble in the last one, Death Masks, Harry is back on form and has bigger problems than usual. Not only is his house a mess, Karrin has gone on holiday with someone that it isn’t Harry. Then to top it all off there are several Necromancers in town trying to find the Word of Kemmler before Harry does and it Harry doesn’t find it the vampire Mavara has planned something nasty for Murphy.
Jim Butcher really piles on the pressure for Dresden in Dead Beat. Not only doesn’t he have Murphy, Bob isn’t 100% reliable as some past secrets are revealed, he can’t rely on the Alpha’s as he’s made a deal he can’t break. Not to mention that there is more than one Necromancer wanting to kill him.
He also has internal struggles. The consequences of using Hellfire still plagues him though the Morgue guy, Butters, has a theory about that. The source of the Hellfire isn’t as contained as it should be. And he’s out of his league in both power and skill.
As you can see. There is a lot going on. Butcher though doesn’t linger. He piles of the pressure and the plot leaving Harry no choice but to try and find the Word of Kemmler before the others.
You can hopefully tell that I enjoyed Dead Beat a great deal. I said in my last review that in a series you end up wanting the same but different. Well Dresden gets taken up a notch. The subplot from earlier books about the ongoing war makes a significant leap.
And I think I’ve given plenty of hints.
If you’ve enjoyed any of the previous books in The Dresden Files this is a book that’s definitely for you but you might want to read the others first as lots of tunes as playing under the surface of Dead Beat. If you’ve not read any of them before. Please read up to this one. Proven Guilty is next!
