Death Masks
5 out of 5 Fallen Stars
"Illegal is such a strong word."
I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- poor Harry can never catch a break. It's just problem after problem for the guy, and while I do feel bad, his challenges make quite an interesting and fun read. Death Masks continues where Summer Knight left off, and the action is non-stop in this fast-paced, intense addition to The Dresden Files.
"I'd seen corpses before. Hell's bells, I'd created some. But I hadn't ever seen anything quite like this."
Plot-Line:
Not only is Harry being targeted by hitmen from the Red Court, has a duel planned with one of the Red Court's champions, been hired to find the Shroud of Turin, has his ex Susan showing up around town, he's also got fallen angels -- called Denarians -- to deal with, along with a cryptic/apocalyptic prophecy. Just an average day for Harry Dresden. Susan's still battling her semi-vampiric nature, Ortega wants Harry dead to end the war between the Red Court and the White Council, and the Denarians want Harry for their own evil reasons. All Harry is trying to do is protect the ones he loves, but that's a bit hard to do when be attacked from all over. Harry's got a lot to deal with in this chapter of his life, and the odds aren't looking good for him. He'll need all the help he can get to keep himself out of hot water -- or dead. It's a good thing for Harry then that Michael and the rest of the Knights of the Cross are there to help. It seems they may be the only ones he can trust.
"Life would be unbearably dull if we had answers to all our questions."
Notable Parts:
We're given tons of new information throughout Death Masks, but Butcher never makes it feel overwhelming. It's a real talent that he can continue building and adding to the world of Harry Dresden without making it seem like he's listing out facts or just throwing information at his readers. Not only are we given more information in potions and entropy curses, we're also introduced to the Archive, Denarians and their coins, and Mordite, also known as deathstone. There's Shiro and Sanya, Knights of the Cross, who really come in handy when fighting the Denarians. The humor and sarcasm is as great as always, giving us some chuckles between dealing with corpses and fights. There's only one annoying mention of how Harry needs to protect women -- in the novel, he says it would not be any less wrong if something bad happened to a man, but in his gut it isn't the same. Considering this was the only mention of Harry being a chauvinistic pig, I decided to overlook it and focus on the rest of the story instead. The vampires are important throughout the novel, and it made me wonder: do all vamps look like ugly, demonic bats under their human mask, or is this just for the Red Court? I hope to find out in the next book, Blood Rites, as the summary says that Thomas is going to play a major role, which will give us more information on the White Court of Vampires.
"There are things you can't walk away from. Not if you want to live with yourself afterward."
Overall:
Death Masks is a great installment to an amazing series. The flow between novels and the continuation of the overall story arc are written wonderfully. I love the increasing complexity of each novel; nothing is ever black and white in The Dresden Files, and everything becomes more muddled and grey with each installment. We're being given pieces to a puzzle one novel at a time, and I can't wait to see what they create in the end. Time to start Blood Rites and see what Butcher has up his sleeve for Harry next.
"It isn't good to hold on too hard to the past. You can't spend your whole life looking back. Not even when you can't see what lies ahead. All you can do is keep on keeping on, and try to believe that tomorrow will be what it should be -- even if it isn't what you expected."
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