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After an appallingly long break, the Reading Bingo is finally back!
For the "A Book Published This Year" square, I went for Jim Butcher's 15th book in the Dresden Files series, Skin Game, which was released two days ago. The Dresden Files are a great series of books about a detective in Chicago who's also a wizard. They are the perfect marriage of detective stories (the gritty dark settings, the weird sense of humour) and urban fantasy at its best (vampires, angels, wizards, fairies). I read the first one on holiday in Greece three years ago, and I was hooked from the start. Harry Dresden is a compelling character: he's witty and funny and has gone through some pretty shitty stuff, but he always keeps fighting the good fight. His nerd knowledge is really out of date, and he loves quoting obscure movies at villains at the most inappropriate times. Most of the time when I'm reading a Dresden Files book I have to read aloud my favourite lines, and giggle like a lunatic. :D
The urban fantasy part is perfect. What I love most about these stories is that there are rules, and they can't be broken. Fae can't lie. Blood will help evil creatures to track you. Guests are sacred. Most of the rules come from folklore, and they're never ignored. Most of the time in urban fantasy literature magic seems to mean "everything is possible", and I love how Jim Butcher treats it like science, like something that exists and needs rules like everything else.
The plot twists are also amazing, but they never come out of nowhere. They made me scream in shock most times, but they were always hinted at at the beginning of the book, and they always made sense. Plus Harry is rarely the one who defeats the evil creature, and he always needs to rely on the help of his friends, on teamwork. Another one of my favourite things!
And the female characters are all awesome, realistic characters, with motivations and personal stories, and they're all different. There's not a Strong Female Character (TM) to fill the quota, but there are many different characters, good and bad, who have their own reasons to act, and their own plans.
About Skin Game, without going into spoilery territory, I loved it. It focused on the Knights of the Blackened Denarius, the Knights of the Cross, and on a few main characters (Michael, Karrin, Nicodemus), and since it's my current favourite storyline (that and the Winter Court), I was ecstatic. Although there was no Thomas and very little Molly, which was a pity. I devoured it in a few hours, and now I'm seriously considering re-reading the whole series while waiting for the next one. I have a Reading Bingo and a reading challenge on Goodreads, I can't! Stop me, I'm weak!
For the "A Book Published This Year" square, I went for Jim Butcher's 15th book in the Dresden Files series, Skin Game, which was released two days ago. The Dresden Files are a great series of books about a detective in Chicago who's also a wizard. They are the perfect marriage of detective stories (the gritty dark settings, the weird sense of humour) and urban fantasy at its best (vampires, angels, wizards, fairies). I read the first one on holiday in Greece three years ago, and I was hooked from the start. Harry Dresden is a compelling character: he's witty and funny and has gone through some pretty shitty stuff, but he always keeps fighting the good fight. His nerd knowledge is really out of date, and he loves quoting obscure movies at villains at the most inappropriate times. Most of the time when I'm reading a Dresden Files book I have to read aloud my favourite lines, and giggle like a lunatic. :D The urban fantasy part is perfect. What I love most about these stories is that there are rules, and they can't be broken. Fae can't lie. Blood will help evil creatures to track you. Guests are sacred. Most of the rules come from folklore, and they're never ignored. Most of the time in urban fantasy literature magic seems to mean "everything is possible", and I love how Jim Butcher treats it like science, like something that exists and needs rules like everything else.
The plot twists are also amazing, but they never come out of nowhere. They made me scream in shock most times, but they were always hinted at at the beginning of the book, and they always made sense. Plus Harry is rarely the one who defeats the evil creature, and he always needs to rely on the help of his friends, on teamwork. Another one of my favourite things!
And the female characters are all awesome, realistic characters, with motivations and personal stories, and they're all different. There's not a Strong Female Character (TM) to fill the quota, but there are many different characters, good and bad, who have their own reasons to act, and their own plans.
About Skin Game, without going into spoilery territory, I loved it. It focused on the Knights of the Blackened Denarius, the Knights of the Cross, and on a few main characters (Michael, Karrin, Nicodemus), and since it's my current favourite storyline (that and the Winter Court), I was ecstatic. Although there was no Thomas and very little Molly, which was a pity. I devoured it in a few hours, and now I'm seriously considering re-reading the whole series while waiting for the next one. I have a Reading Bingo and a reading challenge on Goodreads, I can't! Stop me, I'm weak!
