Chuck

Overall I thought the book was fun to listen too. The story was good and kept me interested and involved the whole time. The steam punk portions of the book were fun but at times seemed a bit too fantastical. The narration was okay. Not great, but not bad either.

The main thing that really bothered me about this book is in the last 1/3 of the book the author not once, not twice, but three times retold portions of the story he had told earlier in the book. Granted, he told them from a different perspective, but still, we already knew these things had happened and telling them from a different perspective added nothing to the story nor progressed the story in any way.

I did think the length of the story was good. The author maintained the flow of the story and didn't really waste the readers time (with the exception of the retelling in the last 1/3 of the book). It was a pretty quick listen, fun, and imaginative. I liked the story enough that I will definitely listen to the next book in the series.

Butcher continues to amaze with this great story and our boy Harry Dresden is bigger and badder than ever. As the Winter Knight (and Mab's play thing), Harry has to battle not only the Winter Knight's Mantle that is trying to take him over, but Mab, Maeve, and seemingly the entire Winter Court. Throw in Outsiders, Demonreach, and oh, Harry trying to deal with all the relationships he had before dying and coming back, Molly, Karrin, and Thomas, and you've got a fast paced roller coaster ride that seemingly will never end as more and more obstacles get thrown in Harry's path.

If there is one problem I have with this book (and it's happened in several of the other Dresden books, though not frequently) is that Butcher seems to continue to pile on Harry's troubles. There is the requisite "issue" Harry is dealing with, and the little subplots that surround it, but then Butcher just keeps adding more and more roadblocks, issues, and problems that seem to stretch Harry beyond his capacity. It just feels, I don't know, like he's making it overly dramatic just for the sake of doing it. It always ends up working out in the end and I do realize that it all has a purpose in moving the story forward. Butcher also does this thing where he puts Harry up against immortals and such that severely outclass him, and Harry even says in the books "there is no way to beat such and such a creature" and yet, in the end, Harry miraculously prevails and finds some loophole. It's a minor gripe, and doesn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. This is still an excellent book and great continuation of the series. I can't wait for the next book!

James Marsters narration gets better and better with each book and he does an excellent job reading Cold Days. When I first started listening to this series I wasn't crazy about him, but now, he IS Harry Dresden!

This was a very fun book to listen to. I could tell Butcher had fun writing these little one off short stories, and I loved hearing the stories from Thomas's and Murphy's perspectives. That was a neat switch from normally seeing things from Harry's point of view. This was a great little side jaunt away from the regular series and definitely adds to the enjoyment of the entire Dresden story line.

Hands down the best book in the series to date. There is nothing in Harry Dresden's world that will not be affected/changed by the time you get to the end of this book. Butcher seems to deliver knock out blow after knock out blow as we delve deeper into Harry's life. The story of this book is great, but the overall machinations that Butcher continues to manipulate as the series grows longer are overwhelmingly impressive.

This was by far my favorite book of the series to date. This book had almost a little bit of everything. White Court, Senior White Council, Morgan on the run, a new twist (the Skinwalker), and a partridge in a pear tree. Watching Butcher bring all these elements together and have Harry juggle everything was impressive. No spoilers here, but the White Council traitor plays a huge role in this book. Did Harry uncover him or not? It's worth the listen to find out.

Butcher surprises and pleases again and again. The longer this series goes the better it gets. I love how Harry is tied into all realms of the supernatural, this time Mab comes a callin. The billy goats gruff are also an awesome addition and we see further and further into Harry's psyche. Kincaid reappears, "gulp" for Murphy and Harry. Awkward! Anastasia Lucio's role in this book is very well done too. Awesome book. Anytime the Fae are involved, how can you go wrong?

The story line in this book is great. I love the continued inclusion of the White Court and Marcone and how Harry gets deeper and deeper with both. Treachery in the White Council? Hmmm, me smells trouble in Harry's future. Butcher continues to peel layers back from Harry and it just gets better and better the deeper we go.

Butcher continues to impress with this great series. The addition of Molly in this book is great and continues to flesh out Dresden and allows us greater insight into his past and who he really is.

James Marsters continues to grow on me as a narrator. He did an admirable job with this book.

In my opinion, this is the best Dresden book to date. I loved the story line and the dark and slippery slope that Harry seems to find himself on gets a bit more slippery. I also liked how Harry gets more entwined with the White Council's comings and goings.

One thing that didn't make sense to me, although I guess it ultimately went toward further defining his relationship with Murphy, was the inclusion of Marvra. Maybe Butcher is setting up future plot lines.

Marsters narration of this book was much much better than Book 5, and better than Book 6. He seems to be settling in to the role. He's still not my favorite narrator, but he did better this time around.

In my opinion, this is probably Butcher's best Dresden story. The combination of having both White and Black Vampire Courts in the book was cool. Plus, we get a lot more background information about Harry. I like when Butcher moves Harry's character along and we learn more about him and his past. Plus, he throws some great twists in which make this a great read.

James Marsters performance of this book was still not great, but, it was better than the last book. Maybe he's growing on me. Much better work this time around.

This is a good continuation of the series. There are some good twists and turns, and per the usual, Butcher gives the reader a little nugget of information that reveals a bit more about Harry's past and keeps you coming back for the next book to learn more. I also liked the inclusion of Susan and her role in the book.

There is one thing about the book I didn't care for. By this point in the series it seems that Butcher is kind of falling into a pattern and each book seems to follow it. It goes like this: "Harry stumbles across some BIG trouble from a seemingly innocuous task. Nigh unbeatable bad guy appears, Harry is beaten to within an inch of his life, is miraculously saved at the last second, recovers within hours to chase said bad guy down, defeat (or least chase off) bad guy, solve mystery, everybody's "happy" at the end." Yes, that's a bit simplistic, but that's what it feels like. It won't keep me from continuing the series though. It's a good series. Also, one thing Butcher does do well is grow Harry as a person. You can see him changing as a person as the books continue. It's subtle, but it's there, and very well done.

I was not impressed in the least bit by James Marsters narration. This is the first of this series I've listened too (I read the first four) and James added nothing to the book. Most of the time it felt like he was stressing the words wrong, his inflection was off, his tone didn't match the scene, etc. I don't doubt that it is incredibly difficult to narrate/act out a book, I doubt seriously I could do it, I just wasn't impressed, hence the two stars for performance.