REVIEW: Cold Days

Cold Days
Author: Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden is transforming from Wizard for Hire to Winter Knight. Even dying didn't save him from keeping his promise to Queen Mab. When you give your word to an immortal, it's a bit difficult to weasel out of it. So, Harry has to fulfill his new role.....but he chooses to do it on his own terms. Or at least try. He has to become the Winter Knight without letting the power lead him to become evil. And Mab isn't going to make things easy. She immediately orders him to kill someone....someone he shouldn't be able to kill. An immortal. He learns quickly that his new job is dangerous....and might take away what little he has left....his family, his friends and his soul.

I love this series! Dresden mixes magic, humor, fantasy and lots of gritty action. Every story has him facing new adversaries and twisty plots. This time he comes up against several immortal beings, each with their own agenda. Every time I thought I had the twists figured out.....the story would zing off in another direction. Loved it! There's a lot going on in this 14th book in the Dresden Files series....and lots of characters, new and old, join in....everyone from Santa Claus to the Erlking is in this one!

My favorite scene in this book is a great chase and fight involving the Wild Hunt, a horde of supernatural fae and magically disguised humans. The hunt is after Dresden! The scene was just awesome and filled with action! I wish they would make this series into a series of movies or a television show that actually does justice to the books. I would LOVE to see the Wild Hunt in action on the screen!

I listened to the audio book version of this story. Narrated by James Marsters, the audio from Recorded Books is just under 19 hours long. Marsters reads with great style, hitting the characters' different personalities perfectly. He even manages to add in Dresden's signature sarcastic snarkiness. Great audio experience!

Another great book in the Dresden Files series. I'm almost caught up. I have slowly read this series over the last few years because Butcher hit a bit of a delay in his writing and hasn't released book #15, Peace Talks. It's a few years late...   And I hate cliffhanger endings. So I have been moseying my way through Dresden, hoping to not catch up before the new book comes out. One book left -- Skin Games. I will read Skin Games....then backtrack and read Dresden short stories....hopefully, that will get me through the time left until Peace Talks comes out. Or at least has a release date.

C'mon Jim....don't leave me hangin' for very long! :) I can't fault him for being late....he had a bit of a snag in his personal life. And family, real life, kids, relationships always take precedence. I (and the other Dresden fans) can wait. I really look forward to reading the new book with my hubby though! He rushed through the series and has been waiting on me while I just tiptoed through the tulips because I didn't want to catch up before the next book.....    It's really hard to avoid hearing spoilers when your significant other is several books ahead...ha ha.

On to the next! Skin Game!