Focus on Bob the skull, and necromancy; the book "Die Leid der Erlking"; and Sue the T-rex from the Field Museum in Chicago. This must be the funniest story so far, following the plot, hopes come true as Jim Butcher writes in his story what I wished he would. Enjoyed this one immensely. ( )

I really had a hard time getting started with this book; I must have picked it up and put it down four or five times over the period of several months before I really got going. Around the midpoint of the book I started to get really interested in it, though, and then finished the book within a couple of days. I think my main problem with the books is that I find the protagonist to be unlikable; he seems an arrogant blowhard, and I find it hard to have much empathy for him. But the world setting is terrific and I actually like the supporting characters, and all my friends seem to love these books. These aspects have gotten me through 7 books in this series so far.

Despite having trouble with the beginning of the book, I found the ending to be quite good. (Spoilers) I especially liked how the hero used the tyrannosaurus as leverage against the rival necromancers, and the very subtle way the demon was able to seduce the hero with her power despite his vehement opposition. Liked the story arc and character growth of the hapless coroner caught in the adventure, and enjoyed the various wizard characters that arrive as reinforcements.
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These get progressively better! ( )

As a preamble, I’ll just say that I generally appreciate when books don’t do a lot of backfill narrative. But I think I’m reading these too slowly because I find I recall very few of the details of previous stories when I start a new one, and I find myself a bit at sea. However, in this outing there is enough going on that I didn’t have to worry too much about that. Harry finds himself blackmailed by a vampire, and in fulfilling the object, attempting to head off a massive supernatural cataclysm. He ends up enlisting, somewhat by accident, a civilian assistant to help him, rather than compromising his morals by accepting the help of a powerful being who claims to want to help him, no strings attached. The macho stuff feels a bit tiresome still, but it seems to work for him, although he has to repeatedly be brought to the brink of destruction in order to prove he is right. Somehow, being rescued at the last minute becomes more noble than risking his independence to be bolstered by a fairy. Anyway, I’m tempted to jump into the next chapter, to try and carry these details in my brain. I’ll see if I can get the ebook from the library! ( )

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