Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 15 April 2010) Series: Dresden Files – Book 12 Length: 15 hours and 26 minutes My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Amazon As promised in the previous posts for Small Favour and Turn...
Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 15 April 2010)
Series: Dresden Files – Book 12
Length: 15 hours and 26 minutes
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
As promised in the previous posts for Small Favour and Turn Coat, this Throwback Thursday is a four-way special as I look at another epic entry in the exciting and fun Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. This review looks at the 12th entry in the series, Changes, which is one of the most intense and compelling books that Butcher has so far produced.
It is Harry Dresden’s darkest hour. For years, Dresden has been Chicago’s only defence against the various mystical and monstrous threats that seek to destroy it. His crusade to keep Chicago safe resulted in a deadly war between the White Council of wizards and the vampires of the Red Court, with Dresden firmly in the centre of the battle. After years of fighting, the Red Court look set to launch their final killing blow, aimed directly at a weak spot Dresden was unaware he even had: his daughter.
Kept from him by his former lover, Susan Rodriguez, Dresden is shocked to discover that he has a child and that she has been kidnapped by a vengeful vampire noble. Determined to get his daughter back no matter the cost, a reckless Dresden begins a new battle against the Red Court. However, with the White Council unwilling to back him, Dresden has few options available to him as he is relentlessly hunted by agents of the Red King.
Injured, tired and desperate, Dresden will need all his most powerful allies to survive, but even the full might of Dresden’s most loyal friends isn’t enough to overwhelm the forces in front of them. To succeed, Dresden may be forced to compromise everything he has ever believed in, especially if it brings him the tools and power he needs to save his daughter. But the price demanded may be far more terrible than anything he could imagine.
Well damn, now this must be one of the most intense and powerful entries in this already outstanding series. Butcher outdid himself with Changes as he wraps up several brilliant storylines while also taking his protagonist to the very edge in the worst ways possible.
Butcher provides a very powerful start to Changes, which places Harry in a dark position as he finds out that he has a daughter and that she has been kidnapped by Red Court vampires. This expertly follows on from several long-running storylines around Dresden’s war with the Red Court (including those started Grave Peril and Death Masks), and it was really interesting to see an emotionally untethered Dresden trying to come to terms with having a child and the evils being done to them. The first half of Changes is highly compelling, especially as Dresden faces attacks and obstacles he hasn’t seen before, with his office building getting blown up and increased interest from law enforcement in the city. There are several great set pieces here, and Butcher quickly builds up the many threats surrounding Dresden as well as unprecedented stakes.
However, Butcher really saves the best for the second half of the book, as Dresden finds himself going down some dark roads to save his child. After a particularly heartbreaking moment in the centre of the book, the weakened Dresden is forced to make a Faustian deal in one of Changes most powerful scenes. However, this proves to be only the beginning as Dresden leads all his allies to the big final battle, which was something particularly impressive. There are several outstanding fight sequences, including a magical pitched battle with everyone involved, and the ending sequence of the entire event is pretty dark. There are losses, tragedies and massive changes featured here, and you really are left blown away by just how epic and brutal Butcher made everything. However, that is only the beginning as, after a series of revelations and sacrifices, Butcher chooses to end Changes on a massive cliffhanger, one that is guaranteed to shock every Dresden Files fan and force them to dive right into the next book.
Changes is definitely one of the most impressive and expansive entries in the entire Dresden Files series, and it had me hooked the entire way through. Thanks to the massive battles, intense and extremely epic action scenes, and the game-changing and emotionally charged moments where the protagonist is forced to make all the hard decisions, it honestly proves very hard to put Changes down and I loved how well Butcher wrapped up several long-running storylines while setting up key elements for some of the later novels. This is one of the darker books in the Dresden Files series, although Butcher still manages to maintain a good amount of inherent humour and investigative focus. I felt that the typical Dresden humour blended well with the more desperate and brutal parts of the book, especially as it helps to underline just how grim Changes becomes in places. Unlike some of the previous books in the series, I would not recommend Changes as a place to start reading the Dresden Files books. While Butcher provides his usual excellent recap of prior events throughout the book, there are way too many ongoing storylines and complex character moments featured here that you won’t get the full effect of unless you understand the full history of the protagonist and all he’s overcome. This was honestly one of the better books in the entire series, especially with how much Butcher raised the stakes, and I love just how well the entire story came together.
Out of all the Dresden Files novels Changes has some of the best character moments in the entire series, mainly because of just how big events turned out to be. Dresden, despite his attempts to keep his usual defiant humour intact, is emotionally wrecked time and time again in this book following the revelation that he has a daughter he didn’t know about. Enraged, desperate and determined to not leave her alone like he was as a child, Dresden is forced into some very dark places to save her, and the resulting scenes where he sells his soul are very heartbreaking and emotionally charged. A lot of these compromises come after he has been physically chopped away at throughout the book, and you can really understand why he is forced to make these decisions and just how much they cost him spiritually and morally to do so. As such, Dresden spends a good chunk of this book unsure of whether he is making the right decisions, but he remains determined to do so all the same and would even go further if needed. Despite this, Dresden still has the support of his friends, and it was great to see how they kept him grounded and certain that he was on the right path. I particularly enjoyed the fun Lord of the Rings analogy that was revealed to him by his friends to show how they see him (he’s more of a Sam than a Gandalf), and Dresden’s concern that he might instead be a different, less heroic character from the series hits you right in the feels. I may never forgive Butcher for how brutally and effectively he tugged at my heartstrings in Changes when it came to Dresden and this is probably one of the most substantial novels in the entire series when it comes to his character development.
Aside from Dresden, Changes features a great range of supporting characters, many of whom return to help the protagonist in his hour of need. A lot of focus went into Susan Rodriguez, Dresden’s former lover and the secret mother of his child, who has struggled with her vampiric corruption since the third book. While there is a certain amount of resentment towards her for her actions, you can completely understand why Susan might try to keep her daughter away from both herself and Dresden, which is honestly heartbreaking. Butcher does a great job of featuring Susan again here after a lengthy absence, and I felt that he wrapped up her storyline and the relationship she had with Dresden really well. Several other characters get a great showing in Changes, with Murphy becoming a literal Holy Knight for one particularly glorious sequence and Dresden’s apprentice Molly really showcasing her skills and her emotional vulnerability. I also must mention one of my favourite characters, Dresden’s dog, Mouse, who continues to be one of the best figures in the series, especially here where he reveals more of his supernatural potential and his actual intelligence. The scene where you can hear him talking is just hilarious, especially as Mouse has a very different view about his relationship with his human. These characters and more really help to turn Changes into one of the most emotionally charged books in the entire Dresden Files series, and I loved seeing each and every one of them.
As has been the recurring theme with the Dresden Files, I checked out Changes on audiobook, which was another epic listen. Narrator James Marsters can do no wrong with this audiobook, and with a runtime of 15.5 hours, you will find yourself quite engrossed with this elaborate tale. Thanks to Marsters’s exceptional narration, I absolutely powered through this audiobook, and I loved the sheer emotion and power he brought to the production. The epic set pieces were particularly cool in this audiobook, and I loved how well the climatic battles came across in this format. As a result, Changes is definitely best enjoyed as an audiobook and I cannot recommend this format enough.
Unsurprisingly, Changes also gets a five-star rating from me and it was honestly one of the most impressive Dresden Files novels that Butcher has written. The powerful character work and brutal story had me hooked the entire way through, and it honestly has some of the most significant moments in the entire series. In fact it was so good that it instantly made me start listening to yet another Dresden Files novel, Ghost Story (that cliffhanger at the end left me no choice), which I am also reviewing today. This is an exceptional read that once again shows why Butcher is such an incredible author.
