Shadowed Souls Anthology: Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Tanya Huff, Anton Strout, Kat Richardson, Kevin J Anderson, Lucy A Snyder, Jim C Hines, Erik Scott De Bie, Kathryn Rusch, Rob Thurman

This anthology has a theme – and it’s generally a theme it’s handled quite well. Shadowed Souls are people who do not stand neatly in black and white morality and definitely straddle that uncomfortable grey shadow zone (ooooh title reference).

Firstly we have Cold Case by Jim Butcher with a story from the Dresden Files series. And if anything this is the story that defines the meaning of the book.

I like the exploration of Molly, now one of the younger Winter Queens with all the power and moral ambiguity of the Winter Court. The Winter Court has always been savage and dangerous and vicious – by design. It’s the bulwark against terrible outsider evil, it’s a court that has been built to fight an eternal, brutal war against monsters. The Winter Court is the very essence of dubious morality; of using monsters to fight monsters

I also like the how we go some way to explaining the rather bizarre horniness of the Winter Court. After all, Winter =/= generally mean sexytimes (except in Canada when hockey is cancelled). The bleak idea that Winter fae are super horny because of the war – because of the need to constantly breed because the war inflicts atrocious attrition on them is horrifying, bleak and very much in line with the theme of the court and the book.

So we have Molly, a character we know is a good and ethical and moral now with a whole lot more power and urges she has to learn to control – and having to do some really terrible things and make some really terrible choices for The Greater Good. Which is all the harder because Molly is a child of one of the Knights of the Cross, a man so good he gave literal demons multiple chances to repent. That’s a hard path to follow. We see both the good – upholding her duty to her people – and the terrible, her having to enforce the rules and sacrifices of the Winter court. And it is brutal. I love it

I am less thrilled with HOW Molly’s sexualness is portrayed here. So, yes, the Winter Court is horny, we know this – but in Molly this is interpreted by lots and lots of flirting. Which is fine, flirtiatious and sexually charged female characters are not a problem: but when Harry had the Winter Mantle he wasn’t sexually flirting – his thoughts were creepy and outright pushing for rape. It’s a stark contrast between male and female sexuality – especially when Molly also comes with a celibacy contract. And, yes, the story of sacrifice and suffering inherent to the Winter Court is powerful – but the backstory sets it in dubious light.

We do have a latino mage and several Native American supernaturals who play a decent role in the book

Sleepover by Seanan McGuire

While the opening story defines the theme of the book, I don’t see this book as fitting into the theme. The protagonist is a succubus but not inherently or unduly evil nor forced to make evil choices. She is coerced into a mission – but the mission is to rescue a child. That’s not morally ambiguous. And while we have a definite misunderstanding about why that child went missing, again there’s no real grey area so much as just a complete misunderstanding on the part of the humans as to how these beings work

I do love the whole concept of the world created – so much so that I think this book would be an absolutely awesome lead in to a new series so we could look at the Lilim and the Bogeymen and the culture and societies that are there that people have completely gotten wrong. If this is an excerpt of a longer series, count me in because the introduction of the main character and the world building definitely has me hooked

Also, lesbian protagonist who nods at LGBT cultural milestones without being defined by them – definitely here for this.

Skin Game (Dresden Files #15) by Jim Butcher

Mab, Harry’s boss as the Queen of Winter, has a job for Harry, one he is not allowed to refuse. He must work for the Order of the Black Denarius; perhaps the most evil people Harry has ever encountered. He has to help them steal something

Of course… once it’s stolen Mab considers the deal finished.

Working for the enemy who hates him almost as much as he hates them, Harry has to be ready for the double cross – and to get his double cross in as soon as he can; and try to reduce the casualties along the way

Which would be difficult under any circumstances – let alone trying to raid the vault of a Greek God.

There were so many awesome things in this book.

Harry delves through so many personal issues in this book in an excellently written way. It can be hard to have your character have personal growth moments without a whole lot of clumsy info-dumping or monologues that don’t work. Harry’s growth fit within the story without being a distraction or out of place, it meshed ideally. Which is great because there was a lot to unpack

Most of which is just what side is Harry on now. He’s the Winter Knight (though, thankfully, the whole rape element of that mantle has been pushed out in this book), he’s working for the Unseelie Queen, an association that has now got him working with the Denarians. Fallen Angels and the very personification of evil in the series. These are not the associates of a good guy and he’s painfully aware of it. There’s a constant thread of him trying to cling to his morality while forced to go along with these people, trying to draw lines, having to accept a level of evil and wondering how far he will go. But it’s not just Harry, but also his friends. Murphy has faith in Harry – but that’s only after she learned that in the last book; Butters asks reasonable questions and they are reasonable, not remotely unfair. Harry is now associating with evil people, he is apparently signed in on an evil scheme. Not only that, but Harry has been absent from all his friends and supporters for a year – Butters has reason to doubt and reason to be afraid, especially since Harry is so powerful and dangerous. Butters reasonable doubts stop Harry’s own questions from being rather standard protagonist moping; they add context and reason

Butters brings a lot of excellence here – someone stepping up incredibly heroicly to try and fill the void Harry has left takes incredible courage especially since Butters isn’t special or powerful. But there’s more parallels with Harry and his growth. Butters is taking some terrible risks, not just for himself, but by using some resources he is risking giving his enemies a vastly powerful tool. He is risking them all, he could doom them all; but what choice does he have? This is an excellent counterpoint to Harry’s own powerful regrets, especially around the destruction of the Red Court. As much as Michael’s deep wisdom, Butter’s own example throws a context on Harry’s acts and doing the best you can in hard situations.

Which also brings us to the Swords. The might, incredible, powerful holy swords of the Cross and their strict moral requirements for their useage – the goodness they require, the moral standards they uphold are pure and wonderful and… not always practical. No-one can argue the powerful goodness of swords and their knights, but Nicodemus and Murphy showed just how such impossibly high standards don’t always work; they’re a powerful tool but if you rely on them to the exclusion of all else, you will lose. Their inflexibility makes them impractical. Which further feeds into Harry’s morality debate – because to actually achieve good and protect the innocent he cannot hold himself to unworkable standards

I think there’s another character who, without giving any spoilers, is a pretty awesome side point to this as well – it’s really well done

Bringing it all together we manage to approach Harry’s growth and morality from several different angles that comes together in an awesome whole.

Review: Cold Days by Jim Butcher, Book 14 of the Dresden Files

Harry Dresden is back from the dead, convalescing in the less-than-tender embrace of the Winter Court and newly empowered as the Winter Knight. Winter Court politics are far from easy – especially when Mab, the Winter Queen, seems to be feuding with Maeve, the Winter Lady. And politics in the Winter court come in the form of constant assassination attempts.

Not that he has time for politics. We learn the true nature of his island, Demonreach and that it’s poised to explode and destroy a significant portion of the US – if not more – unless Harry acts. And he has to choose between killing Mab or Maeve – with the bonus of not knowing how to achieve either.

It’s a good thing he has the new power of the Winter Knight – and, even more, the support and strength of his good friends. But there is a darkness that connects all of Harry’s cases and the Nemesis can corrupt anyone.

And the new power of the Winter Knight comes with a cost – it changes people and Harry can feel its influence slowly eroding who he is and turning him into a monster like his predecessor.

I have been looking forward to this book for so long – counting the days. The minute I got my greasy hands on this book I sat down and started reading. Anyone who came near me was treated to the death glare until they retreated to minimum safe distance. I continued to read until the book was finished and I looked up to realise it was now 5:00am. I then spent an extra 10 minutes staring sadly at my Kindle and trying to figure out how to magically make it continue.

This is what Harry Dresden does to me and my sleep patterns.

Just about everything that makes the series one of my favourites was there. We had some amazingly awesome fight scenes, some excellent action and some truly amazing epic. There is no author I have ever read that comes close to packing the amount of blood-fizzing epic into a book as Jim Butcher does in the Harry Dresden series. I find myself torn between not moving my eyes from the page and just needing to move because to the power and pace of what is written. It may not be as epic as riding a Zombie Tyrannosaurus Rex through downtown Chicago – but leading the Wild Hunter and Father Christmas in an amphibious assault against demons is pretty up there. The pacing is electric, the snark is funny to hilarious and it was a joy to read.

But more than just the glorious epic, is the meta development. After 14 books of epic stories and occasional hints it has come together and the Nemesis has been revealed. And it is tying in everything – the previous Summer Lady, Harry’s very first case, the Shadow Council, the courts of the vampires. The Nemesis has had a hand in every previous book and it’s all coming together in a wonderfully complete, epic tapestry. With that has come a considerable amount of world building including expanding the nature of the Outsiders and filling in the role of the Winter Court. We also have a lot of very shiny major powers being expanded and developed – like the Queens of the Courts. These major, epic figures are expanded and heightened that add such excellent flavour to this awesome world.

Magically Diverse, Humanly Erased

One thing we love in most Urban Fantasy is a rich world. I have to say that they’re my favourite kind - maybe I’m jaded, maybe I’m greedy, but vampires alone just don’t do it for me any more. I love A world that has a vast range of creatures in it - it has vampires, it has fae, it has magic, it has werecreatures, it has demons and angels and all variety of things that go bump in the night. We have different realms, we have creatures drawn from every corner of the world’s mythology - and it makes for truly excellent worlds and stories. These diverse worlds are great to read, great to watch and among some of our favourite Urban Fantasy products.

Unfortunately, it does make something glaring - we have these worlds with this vast diversity of monsters, but the humans within these stories are anything but diverse. We have these homogeneous worlds lacking in more than a token appearance of POC or GBLT people or other marginalised people. We can have this vast portrayal of every kind of creature imaginable - but only ever one or two kind of people

We see several extremely rich worlds that have, at best, only the slightest of minor tokens. Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files has an amazingly diverse world. We have three vast and very different courts of vampires, we have several variations on werewolves. We have the warring Summer and Winter courts of the fae and the vast diversity within each. We have wizards, we have demons (several kinds again) we have an incredibly rich world here. And we have, at best, token, brief appearances of POC and no GBLT characters at all. This Chicago is magically diverse yet incredibly homogeneous.

Speaking of Chicago - Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland Vampires also have a growing diversity of creatures - vampires, wizards, river nymphs, sirens, wereanimals - it’s all there, each more fascinating then the last. The people, however? As straight and white as they possibly can be.

I absolutely loved the succubus series by Richelle Mead.  I loved that it had a large world that included many supernatural creatures but it did not escape my notice that Mead could not be arsed to even attempt inclusion.  All the characters were White, straight, cis gendered and able bodied.  So much imagination had to go into writing lines for a succubus who was friends with demons, vampires and an imp.  At times it felt like the large supernatural cast was meant to cover for the lack of diversity in the series itself.  

Last year we coined the term the Marginalised Maris. One of the ways in which authors attempt to allude to diversity is by talking about a marginalized character without ever really introducing the character to the audience.  A perfect example of this is the Anna Strong Series by Jeanne C. Stein.  Stein went to great care to create an extremely diverse word which includes, several forms of shape shifters, vampires, witches etc., but manages to do in an all straight, white, cis world. In, The Becoming, we are told about Michael, Anna’s gay best friend.  The only thing we learn about him is that he has been gay bashed. He never becomes a part of the story, he exists solely as a cheap reference for some quick GLBT inclusion.  Stein was far more interested in creating a diverse cast o supernatural creatures than having a diverse cast of marginalized human beings. 

2011 in Review - and looking to 2012

So, the first year of Fangs for the Fantasy has passed (well, half year since we started in August) so it’s time for a review of the year and what we’re looking forward to from 2012


Renee:
What were you Top 3 series/books you read this year?

I think the best series that I read this year was easily The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games is a sci-fi and it falls outside of our purview, but I was compelled to read it after receiving multiple recommendations.  The Iron Druid Chronicles was the series to make me actively into a fan poodle.  I loved this series from beginning to end, and can be found on Twitter occasionally encouraging Kevin Hearne to spend more time writing.  Finally, I would have to say the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead. For me, this is an example of how to do paranormal romance the right way.  I found the books engaging, and could not help but root for Seth and Georgina.  

What book(s) pleasantly surprised you?

I would have to say White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland. Just based in the title alone, I expected this book to be a hot mess from beginning to end, and instead found a well thought out plot that closely examined class.  

What was this year’s guilty pleasure? Which book/series are you embarrassed to admit you liked?

I would have to go with the Argeneau series by Lyndsay Sands.  There is so much wrong with these books from beginning to end from a social justice perspective, but I found myself laughing in spite of myself.  Yes it’s wrong, but a vampire biting a penis during oral sex because she got a sudden craving for blood is hilarious.  This of course was doubly funny, because the man owning the penis in question, really should have known better, because he was after all having sex with a newborn. I also like The Elemental Witches series by Anya Bast, though it had the most vanilla sex possible because the plot intrigued me.

What was your favourite Television series this year?

This question is actually quite easy for me.  Hands down the series that I loved the most is The Walking Dead.  This season has not been as great as the first season, but I am still intrigued and read the comics as soon as they are released.

What was the worst thing you read this year?
This is actually quite hard because I read so much crap this year.   I don’t think I can narrow it down to just one, and so I will give you a few.  The Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey because it started off with a good plot, and descended to one big testosterone pissing contest.  The Iron Duke by Meljean Brooks, for celebrating rape culture in the most horrendous way. Finally, Generation Dead by Dan Waters.  This book has the honour of having the most appropriation of marginalized bodies that I have ever read in any urban fantasy book or series.

What television series did you enjoy the least?
Okay, hands down that has to be American Horror Story.  I found every episode torturous, to the point that when the season finally ended for the year I was relieved.  Each episode the writers of the show seemed to want to include as many isms as they could, thus making the show racist, homophobic, and ableist.  My second choice would be Grimm.  The sad thing about Grimm is that it still has so much potential, but has become stalled with doing the monster of the week, week after week.  We have learned next to nothing about the characters, and therefore it is difficult to form any real attachment to them.  It makes me just want to scream meta-plot repeatedly at the screen while the show is on.


What are you looking forward to being released in 2012?

I am really looking forward to the next Hollows book by Kim Harrison.  Now that Trent has made it clear that he has feelings for Rachel, I just have to know what happens next.  I also must find out what adventures Kevin Hearne has planned for Atticus in the next Iron Druid Chronicles. Finally, the next Sookie Stackhouse book, simply because I have to know how this series ends, though it is clear from her last book, that she is bored with this story.


Sparky:
What were you Top 3 series/books you read this year?
First for me has to be the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. hilarious, fascinating, well written with a great world and amazing characters - I even got them on audio book so that I could listen to them in the car. I fanpoodle in his name

Joint second for me has to be the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews - perhaps the best world building I have ever seen in the genre. Joint with Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate for utter hilarity, and the strongest protagonist I’ve seen in a long time.

Third, I choose Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden Files, simply for brilliant stories and bringing the epic over and over. No other book has had me on the edge of my seat, or excited as much as this one

What book(s) pleasantly surprised you?
My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland. I expected utter awfulness from the title, I’ll be honest, and I didn’t rate the cover art. I expected trash, I expected fluff - and what I got? I got a subtle, nuanced analysis of class and personal growth and development and addiction, all with some amazing character development and a strong world setting. It was a gem that I totally didn’t expect. In fact, I am really looking forward to interviewing Diana Rowland in the New Year - beware, Ms. Rowland, we fanpoodle!

What was your favourite Television series this year?
I’m going to have to go with The Fades. So many powerful scenes, such amazingly good action, such genuine tension without needing a huge special effects budget. The acting carried this series - and it already had a dark and gritty story and a wonderful world.

What was the worst thing you read this year?
I would have said Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instrument’s series, except then she released Infernal Devices that was even worse. They had a good world and some decent story - but the truly awful characters and the horrendous over-writing was just intolerable. An editor could have cut these books by half without compromising the story or characterisation, the writing was that padded

What was the worst thing you watched this year?
American Horror Story, beyond a doubt. We just had -ism after -ism after -ism show cased over and over again for no damn good reason. It was a failapolosa, painful to watch and really not worth it.

After that, I’d have to go with Secret Circle simple because it was so damn predictable and lacking in even the slightest pretense of depth. I knew how each episode would end almost before it began.

What was this year’s guilty pleasure? Which book/series are you embarrassed to admit you liked?
Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter Series. I’m really trying to hate these. They’re full of awful romance tropes, they ignore the very intriguing plot, they’re nearly completely erased. With the world they could be so much better than they are - instead of being predictable, cliched, problematic and... fun. Yes, fun.

What are you looking forward to being released in 2012?
Tricked by Kevin Hearne, Heartless by Gail Carriger (I am fanpoodling all the way here). I’m also hopeful for more Jim Butcher since we ended on such a cliff hanger and more Ilona Andrews because her world is so awesome and she’s finally revealing her history with Roland, the Master of the Dead.





So readers, what about you?

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher, book 13 of the Dresden Files

This was a heavy book with a plot that tied itself in knots - and my mind with it

Harry is dead. Shot with a high powered rifle, his body falling into Lake Michigan. Dead and gone – and his friends have had to spend the last 6 months without him, grieving and dealing with the world.

And the world is not a happy place. The Red Court is dead, one of the most powerful forces in the supernatural world. The power vacuum begs to be filled and dark powers from across the world are rushing in to fill the void, to raise themselves up to be the next great power. In particular, the fomori are staging a massive come back, hitting talents across the US. And for Chicago, dark times are darker by the lack of Harry Dresden. As a Warden of the White Council, and as a wizard who had faced down some of the greatest and darkest powers of the world, his mere presence made sure Chicago was safe. Now he's dead – and the dark things are coming out to play.

Except there has been a celestial irregularity. Someone broke a rule – allowing Harry to return as a ghost. Ghostly Harry lacks most of his powers and can't affect the real world, but he still has a mission – to find out who killed him.

Except Harry also has to see what Chicago has become in his absence. His friends are fighting a desperate battle, wounded by his loss and the war at Chichen Itza, they are fighting a desperate struggle and he can't abandon them. Dark things on the street are committing atrocities he would never have tolerated before – and he can't let that pass. And vast powers are rising over Chicago, over his city – and he can't stand by and ignore that either – not even to catch his murderer.

Traumatised Youth in Urban Fantasy

What shocked us most about this trope, as we went through our Book Review Master list, was how common this trope was. Literally, we went down our master list and struggled to find series where this trope didn’t apply. No, seriously - nearly every last series we’ve read included this trope. It has become less of a trope and more of a requirement in the genre.

Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series has Kate with a dead mother, a dead stepfather and a hard childhood training to be a killer

Jennifer Estep’s Elemental Assassin series has Gin who was tortured and her parents were murdered when Gin was a child.

L A Banks’ Vampire Huntress series has Damali who lost her parents to vampires and demons when she was a baby

Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series has Harry orphaned and then raised by an abusive (and evil) wizard.

Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series has Kat’s mother raped by a vampire who then brought Kat up to loathe herself.

Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series has Sookie as a sexually abused orphan

LJ Smith’s Vampire Diaries has Elena and Jeremy both as having recently lost their parents.

The very premise of the Secret Circle requires that all 6 witches have lost a parent - or two.

Kelley Armstong’s Otherworld series sets new records with unhappy childhoods - Elena lost her parents as a child and was traumatised watching them die then went through a series of foster homes when she was sexually abused. Clay was abused as a child and ran away. Jeremy’s father was abusive. Jaime’s father was dead and her mother was (and is) abusive.

Laurell K Hamilton smashes Kelly Armstrong’s record - Anita lost her mother, Jason had an abusive father, Stephen and Gregory had a sexually abusive father, Nathanial had an abusive father - and of course Meredith Gentry has been beaten, tortured and faced repeated attempted murders by her aunt and uncle and has an abusive mother. The majority of the characters have an abusive or tragic past.

I could go on - Morgan Rice’s Vampire Journals, Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thomas series, Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments, Yasmine Galenorn’s Sisters of the Moon, Seressia Glass’ Shadowchasers, Kim Harrison’s Hollows, Vicki Petterson’s Zodiac series, Nalo Hopkinson’s Brown Girl in the Ring, Lauren Dane’s Goddess with a Blade - on and on, but tragic childhoods seem to be standard throughout the genre - an inclusive list would literally involve referring to nearly every book we’ve read and every series we’ve watched. It’s almost as thought the authors believe that the reader cannot identify with protagonist unless they are suitably traumatised in some manner. And we’re not talking about loss of a parent - we most certainly know that there are innumerable single parent households where the children have had happy and joyful childhoods. But these are not them. Perhaps the greatest link between these childhoods is not so much the loss of a parent - but suffering, tragedy, pain and angst.

In some ways the ubiquitous nature of lost parents and suffering children makes it impossible to absorb the impact of any of them. It reminds me of Monty Python’s 4 Yorkshireman sketch (originally taken from “At Last the 1948 Show” It has reached the point where it's almost a competition). I can see it now:

Author A: My protagonist had a sad childhood, no-one understood her.
Author B: Well, my protagonist was misunderstood and had a tragic accident
Author C: My protagonist was misunderstood AND lost her best friend
Author A: hah, well My protagonist lost her best friend who died in front of her
Author C: in front of her? My protagonist was splattered by the blood
Author B: Well my protagonist lost her mother - who died tragically in front of her AND was splattered by the blood
Author A: Well MY protagonist lost her mother AND her father and held their hands as they died
Author C: My protagonist lost her parents and was tortured horribly my vampires for 2 weeks
Author B: 2 weeks? My protagonist dreamed of only being tortured for 2 weeks! She was tortured for 10 years!
Author A: MY protagonist was tortured for 100 years in a special pocket dimension of torture!
Author C: My protagonist was tortured in the pocket dimension of torture AND sexual abuse...

And so on and so on. It has reached a point where I read of a character with a terrible, tragic past and I feel no impact from it. It has been so over done that it has lost its emotional impact. It has been used and abused so often as a form of cheap and quick drama that it is demeaned and diminished. I dislike intensely that these life changing and often horrific experiences are reduced to cheap drama and empty characterisation.

And it is empty. Very rarely do these characters have much in the way of long term effects from their traumatic experiences. We rarely see any of them seek therapy, or any kind of help to deal with their past. At best we see a few nightmares or sad moments designed to make them look tragic (or to add a brief barrier in the romance before the magical healing sexing kicks in) rather than to analyse the effects of the abuse. It is offensive that these real life horrendous experiences are treated so cheaply and used so casually without the respect and caution that they deserve. I also believe that this minimises the difficulties of people who suffer with PTSD and similar issues. How many times does true love - or even just good sex - cure the troubled heart, the hurt mind and the scarred soul? Major mental illnesses, extreme past trauma, doesn’t disappear on the wave of a magic wand or by applying a penis the size of one’s forearm. It sets up the idea that if you just push the trauma aside it will either dissipate or become easier to live with over time, or that it is easily solved and cured. To be clear, these are life shattering events and it would not be a weakness to seek help nor are they always cured.

So why do we have this repeated? Well it’s easy characterisation. The traumatic past sets the protagonist up as an underdog, the wounded character that we’re supposed to feel sorry for. By being pitiable we’re supposed to instantly root for the character - we want her to succeed and do well simply because she has been through so much. It’s instant (and lazy) way to get us to identify with the protagonist and to like them. And, again, that is problematic because these really devastating experiences are being used so cheaply - so disrespectfully.

Another usage for the loss of parents also works in a way that it leaves the female protagonist open to the influence of the supernatural. They are isolated, vulnerable and often lacking role models or people they can trust to advise them. In some ways this adds to the predatory nature of many of these relationships especially when we also consider the age gap between the supernatural creature and the, often, school aged protagonist. They are easy prey - wounded, alone and often with less support - which is, in some ways, further victimising them.

Many of these traumatic experiences are also outright abusive. The thing about growing in an abusive situation, is that it is far more often that when one matures the abuse is so normalized that when it occurs again it is seen as acceptable. There is no recognition that they are repeating the past or how the past has influenced their decision to accept clearly abusive relationships. That the woo is used to excuse the violence, stalking and manipulation ends up giving them cause to justify their repeated acceptance of this behaviour thus continuing the cycle.

Of course this is all serves to enforce the role of woman as victim and is therefore highly sexist. Women are not the heroes of their own stories and are only redeemed by the love that enters their life rather than finding the inner strength to seek help or to refute the abuse entirely with a declaration that they deserve more out of love, life and relationships.

All in all, this trope of abused and traumatic childhood is problematic on many levels. It cheapens and exploits severe abuse. It demeans how much this affects your life and it uses severe abuse not as a topic to explore in itself - but as a tool to be used for cheap and easy characterisation. These topics deserve better - and, really, is it really that necessary for every protagonist to be that tragic?

Side Jobs by Jim Butcher, Short Story collection from the Dresden Files

I approached Side Jobs with a degree of caution and a firm determination not to let my own biases sway me. See, I don't like short stories. I don't. I don't even like stand alone novels all that much. I like great big epic series with huge great meta plots and development and drama and on the edge of your seat excitement.

And while all those are possible within the confines of a short story, they're usually not there. I was especially leery of reading a Harry Dresden short story simply because the best thing about these books is the epic within. I don't think I've read an author that can match Butcher for the epic – but nor do I think you can build up to good epic in a short story.

And there was some mixed quality here. The stories were from every period in the series and while most of them were a hit (above and beyond what I expected), some missed badly. Restoration of Faith was pretty dull and clumsy and the second story Vignette isn't even a story. I actually wasn't too fond of many of the short stories that had Harry as a main protagonist because they kind of involved Harry just, well, doing what we've seen him do throughout the books but generally a bit more casually because this is his daily bread, as it were. And while it's nice to see his daily bread, it's not exactly a revelation – and with a good maybe 7 out of 11 of the stories being these daily bread style tales? None of them really adding development to the world, story or characters?

I think I'd have greatly enjoyed them in anthologies of other books where they were originally – if I was new to the Dresden Files they'd give me a sense of the world and intrigued me more – but put together we just get a series of “and this is a day in the life of Harry. And this is another day in the life of Harry” stories.

Changes by Jim Butcher, book 12 of the Dresden Files

Susan, Harry's old lover who was half changed by the Red Court vampires, is back in town. And she has a revelation for Harry – they have a daughter together. She's been brought up in secret, hidden even from Harry. But the Red Court have found her – her foster family have been slaughtered and the girl has been kidnapped.

Harry, who for so long has lived without family, now has to find and save his daughter from some of the most evil monsters he's ever faced. And he must do it with very little help, just his truest friends – the White Council has been mired in schemes and politics and a virtual coup – certainly none are free to help Harry. To make things worse, the Red Courts' greatest and most powerful leaders have gathered – including beings that were once worshipped as gods and have the power far beyond his own.

Harry is faced with a desperate choice – as more and more of his life is torn apart and to save his daughter, he looks to embrace power he has rejected for so long – and cross lines he refused to cross.

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher, Book 11 of the Dresden Files

Morgan, the Warden who has made Harry's life a misery, the Warden who has assumed Harry was a Warlock, persecuted him, attacked him, constantly looked for an excuse to drive Harry over the edge and give Morgan an excuse to execute him – arrives at Harry's door. He's injured, he's been framed for a crime he didn't commit and he's being chased by the other Wardens. And he wants Harry's help – to shelter him, to hide him and to help clear his name.

The Black Council is upping the ante – the White Council is buzzing with news of treachery and it's manipulations not only dragging in the White Council, but setting them up for a confrontation with the White Court as well as involving some of the greatest powers in the US. The White Council itself seethes with politics where truth and justice are rapidly pushed aside in the name of power, appearance and strength.

And Harry dives into all this feet first, as he ever does.

Small Favor, by Jim Butcher. Book 10 of the Harry Dresden Files

Harry's life is all exciting again and the plotting in the supernatural world is reaching greater, and more confusing, levels.

An entire building was destroyed by immense power and in the aftermath it was clear that Marcone, Chicago's mob boss, has been kidnapped. Harry is on the job working with Murphy – and only has more incentive when Mab, Unseelie Queen of the Winter Court, calls in one of the favours he owes her to get him involved – and threatens him with her not-inconsiderable wrath should he refuse. Of course, this is complicated because Summer objects most strongly – strongly enough to send champions to seek and kill Harry to end his involvement.

To make things far worse, the Knights of the Blackened Denarius – Fallen Angels bound to human hosts – are involved. Not just some as he had previously faced – but all of them in their infernal power and plotting, and he only has 2 Knights of the Cross to back him up.

And into this web of plotting and lethal intrigue steps the Archive – the sum of all the world and all of history's knowledge.

White Night, by Jim Butcher, Book 9 of the Harry Dresden Files

Magical practitioners are dying. Not Wizards, not members of the White Council, but lesser talents are dying not just in Chicago but across the US – their deaths a series of tragic suicides. Harry's looking to find out who and why – and whether his brother is involved or not.

Caught up by White Court machinations he also finds himself further enmeshed in the vampire politics behind the war. To complicate matters, he also has to balance teaching his new apprentice, the machinations of Lasciel, the Fallen Angel that has taken up residence in his mind and the ever-worrying presence of the mob boss, Marcone who always plays his own very dangerous game. Oh, and his ex shows up. Never simple, is it?

Proven Guilty, Book 8 of the Harry Dresden files by Jim Butcher

There are monsters appearing in Chicago. Literal Horror film monsters bursting from the screen, killing people and feeding on their fear (I'm actually kind of curious as to who did this first, since I've seen that plot line in about a dozen places). Harry must find out who is doing this and how – before more people are killed – or left living only to have their psyches mauled in the wake of the attack. It hits even closer to home when he sees that Michael's child Molly is directly involved in the horror and she and her friends are at risk.

The war between the vampires and the White Council continues, further confused because the expected support from the Summer and Winter courts has not arisen – much to everyone's surprise. Harry, as the Wizard most closely linked to the courts, must try to unravel why and secure their help

Harry is settling into his role as a Warden, though clashing with the Merlin over the severity of having to execute young wizards whose main mistake in life has been to grow up with power but no education or training. This only becomes more poignant as he is faced with the task of saving a friend's life – in defiance of this brutal policy.

Review: Dead Beat by Jim Butcher, Book 7 of the Harry Dresden Files

There are some new big bads in town – necromancers, some of the darkest wizards out there, have arrived and they're all looking for the Word of Kemmler. Kemmler, the greatest and most horrendous necromancer that ever lived, left his remaining knowledge in this book – a book that could bring untold power to the most evil of people.

And in addition to the Necromancers, Marva of the Black Court also wants the book – and if Harry doesn't get it for her, she's going to ruin Murphy's life. To further complicate things, Bob the skull has a disturbing past and even more disturbing secrets with Kemmler.

The war between the vampires and the wizards continues with the Wizards suffering a major defeat, the remains of the Warders must turn to people they'd shunned to try and prop up their numbers and can't offer Harry even a tenth of the support he normally could expect.

And to make things even more complicated – the Fallen Angel Lasciel has formed a bond with Harry, a bond she desperately seeks to develop through manipulation, illusion, confusion... or simple helpful bargaining. And while Harry does all he can to resist her – how easy is it to resist such power and knowledge when it could help you save so many lives?

Harry has to juggle all this and prevent a faerie god of the hunt from ripping his head off or all of Chicago may be destroyed. A busy Hallowe'en indeed.

Fangs for the Fantasy podcast, Episode 28

This week we discuss True Blood "Spellbound", Darkling by Yasmine Galenorn, Spider's Bite by Jennifer Estep, Dead Beat by Jim Butcher, the Succubus series by Richelle Mead, Raphael by DB Reynolds, Dead Iron by Devon Monk and Love Bites by Lynsay Sands

Review: Blood Rites by Jim Butcher, Book 6 of the Harry Dresden Files

The war between the White Council and the Red Court of the vampires continued to rage (in fact, it seems to include all 3 courts of vampires) and Harry Dresden remains at the heart of it as well as maintaining his limited income doing what jobs he can as Chicago's only wizard in the yellow pages.

Harry's life remains excitingly complicated. The Black Court is in town, perhaps the most dangerous and magical of the vampires and his old enemy Mavra is gunning for him with her followers. He has to take the fight to her before they succeed in bringing him down – especially since the Black Court can multiply so quickly and kill so many people. Meanwhile a new job pushed on him by his old almost-friend Thomas of the White Court leads to him trying to protect a porn studio from a powerful and random death curse as well as dropping him neck deep in White Court politics - and those pretty vampires are so much more devious and often more dangerous than their more brutal cousins. To top it all off, he finally learns more about his missing family – and how they're not all as missing as he had previously thought.

And as an added bonus, he also has to figure out how to pay a mercenary before that mercenary extracts his own payment and disturbing revelations about his mentor. Never a quiet life for Harry.

Yet another book in this series that I loved. Harry Dresden continues to grow as a character and managed to avoid annoying me when I thought it was inevitable in so many places in this book. But both his family angst and his working in a porn studio were handled surprisingly well – I wasn't bored and put off by the angst and Harry didn't skeev me out with all the pretty ladies. He still has a habit of over describing women, but the porn studio was actually handled with a level of respect and dignity I didn't expect.

I love how these books manage to have so much going on yet not feel crowded or padded. Too often when a lot is happening I feel there's a lot of extra nonsense getting in the way of the main plot, in this case everything seemed balanced, linked and, above all, relevant to Harry as a person, the meta plot and the world. I think this is the key to why I love the books – there's enough happening to keep them exciting, keep the pace going, keep it interesting and bring it all together without having all the excess waffle that is so common in the genre. The pacing and content balance is just marvellously done. It makes everything – from family angst to his mentor's revelations to the White Court machinations all just fit together really well.

Review: Death Masks by Jim Butcher, Book 5 of the Harry Dresden Files

Why, I do believe we have arrived.

Harry Dresden is dealing with the ongoing fallout of the war between the Wizard's White Council and the Vampire's Red Court. A war he started and where he still very much stands at the eye of the storm. The Red Court noble, Ortega is in town with a proposition for Harry. A duel. A duel between Harry and Ortega to the death. If Harry wins Chicago is declared a neutral zone. If he refuses the duel? His friends will be targeted and killed. Faced with this non-choice, Harry is forced to accept the duel against a vampire centuries his senior. But life is never so simple for Harry. Susan is back in town, still dealing with the affects of being infected with Red Court vampirism she must struggle against her urges and her attraction to Harry as well as forward her own agenda and the agenda of the organisation to which she now belongs.

Worst of all, the Denarians are in town. Not just demons, but servants and vessles of the Fallen themselves. They're in town and they seek to acquire the stolen Shroud of Turin and use it in their nefarious plotting (and yes, I got to use the words “nefarious plotting” in a serious sentence. Yes this amuses me) opposed by Michael and his fellow Fists of God, the Knights of the Cross and yet further complicated by John Marcone, crime boss also being involved.

Never simple, but most certainly epic.

I would say this is the book where everything this series has been promising to be has finally got into action. Every book until now seems to have been an introduction paving the way to this book, though Summer Knight was epic in its own right.