Is it just me, or is Murphy the worst?! My thoughts upon finishing Jim Butcher’s 2nd installation of The Dresden Files is excitement and anticipation. Jim continues to seek out the voices of the characters in Full Moon, and does so in a way that the reader is happy to labor through with him. The story continues along in the breakneck pace as the first book while also being able to flesh explore the characters and their motivations, while providing arcs for nearly all of them; something you don’t always find in books that move at the speed that it does. The tie-in at the end is very comic-book-esque and sets up the future of the series beautifully. Thoughts of more adventure, higher stakes, more powerful foes is all present in the final 4 pages of the book. Whether it’s good or not, I do not know(I’ve only read 2), but after reading this, I am infinitely interested in finding out. The promise of ‘more’, very often, is made to an audience that is only about 75% sure they want it. After experiencing the first 2 books, I see a lot of promise in that promise.
The story, as the simplistic title may suggest, delves into the world of werewolves. And not just a werewolf — werewolvES. We have werewolves for days. And just as describing a bird would not do justice to describing an Eagle, neither would merely understanding the premise of a werewolf as compared to the gripping lore that we’re introduced to in the book. We find out which characters to expect as regulars early on in the book, and are even introduced to another that we might expect to be a regular. The development of these characters and their relationships are satisfying, albeit a mixed bag; with some relationships progressing forward while others in the opposite direction. The introduction of new characters yields mixed results, with some eliciting stronger reactions by the reader than others, but very few being empty plot points.
For a book about a Wizard, Butcher was able to thoroughly hold my interest, throughout, without the wizardry. This book employs far less of Harry’s dark arts than the first. Harry appears as more of a Bruce Willis character in this book than a magical Batman. But it’s written in a way that makes you forget about that. The flowery language can be a bit much at times (a pitfall I see in all writers), but even it’s occasional presence does little to slow the overall pace of the book. My final point is on how Butcher ends his books. So often, the promise of a good 1st and 2nd act comes to a grinding hault at the end. And I will admit, I was ready to throw the book into a wall at the very end when I felt that he was slipping into that category, only to be pleasantly surprised when he turned it into a comical setup that left me feeling foolish for doubting him. Granted, I’m new to the genre, but not really new to reading. I look forward to the next one and the one after that.
AgingMillenial 