Book Review: Changes

Book : Changes
Author: Jim Butcher
Publisher: Roc
Review by: Larry

Just finished Changes by Jim Butcher thirty seconds ago and I am still in shock from the ending. I literally sat here, at the computer, thinking, “Wow!” when trying to come up with a summary of the 10th book of the Dresden series.


I will try to walk the tightrope of reviewing the book without giving anything away, but I know it will be difficult, so if the review is short of details, know that it is that I would rather give you the surprise and joy of discovering the climaxes and shocks of this very well-crafted book in the natural way than ruin your reading pleasure with a poorly written review and a couple of plot spoilers.

The opening line of the book is “Hello Harry, you have a daughter and the vampires have taken her.” From there the book is non-stop action to the last page. It is a “typical” Dresden book, with Harry Dresden against the world, the “world” in this case being the White Council of Wizards, the FBI, Chicago Police, Vampires, and deaf little old ladies/landlords and a race to save his daughter before she is made a blood sacrifice by the King of the Red Vampires.

If you are familiar with the Dresden series, then you are familiar with the Butcher formula of Harry Dresden fighting impossible odds and multiple foes and never giving up. Well, in this one, Harry finally realizes that he is unable to win this fight against the Bad Guys. The author does an admirable job of conveying Dresden's feelings of frustration and helplessness without dragging the story to a halt with “Oh, woe is me!” Very well done, Mr Butcher.

I highly recommend this book, but if you have read the nine previous Dresden books then you are most likely going to read this book regardless of any review. Just know that when you start Changes, that you will get NO work done until you are finished with this book!

Now, if you haven't read the book yet, STOP READING THIS REVIEW HERE as I will be discussing plot spoilers.

1.Is this the last Dresden book? Sure looks like it, but there are unanswered questions still, namely, Who/what is the “Black Council”?

2.How would the White Council handle a powerful wizard being the Knight of Winter?

3.Now that Murphy is off the police force, what does she do? Murphy as assistant private eye with Harry (if Harry is still alive?)?

4.Who shot Harry?

5.Where was the Merlin when the wizards arrived at the climatic battle?

6.Why was Odin at the fight?

7.What additional powers/strengths would Harry receive as the Winter Knight, assuming Harry is still alive?

8.Why would Mr Butcher kill off Harry when the series is as popular as it is and there is so much “life” left in the story?

Leave a comment if you have any thoughts or insights on the above.

Press Release: Angry Robot Books to Join Osprey Publishing

For reasons I'm not sure about Fantasy/Sci Fi publisher Angry Robot who was part of harper collins has switched to Opsrey publishing. For those of us in the US it is cool because they are distributed by random house. The only bummer in this is that all the books have been delayed 4 months. 2 of the books I look most forward to are Damned Busters by Matthew Hughes, and Pretty Little Dead Things by Gary McMahon. Well anyways here is the info on the change:

Leading Non-Fiction Publisher Acquires Specialist Sci-Fi Fiction & Fantasy Imprint


Following an acclaimed first year of publishing, the revolutionary science fiction imprint Angry Robot Books has parted company with HarperCollins UK. It will now run as an independent publishing imprint, with the full backing of niche publishing experts, Osprey Publishing.

Angry Robot will continue to operate from its Nottingham base and with its existing team under Marc Gascoigne, its founder and publisher. Marc said: “With the support of HarperCollins UK, my team and I have worked very hard on Angry Robot since it was founded. We have a great publishing programme in place and a dedicated bunch of supporters, the Robot Army, as well as some excellent sales of our first titles in the UK and an imminent launch into the USA. We are very pleased to have become part of the burgeoning Osprey empire. They understand our business and the enthusiasts who drive it.”

Chris Michaels, HarperCollins Digital Publisher, Fiction/Non-Fiction, who helped set-up Angry Robot, said: “Having helped build the foundations for a successful future, we are delighted that the Angry Robot team has found a new publishing partner in Osprey. We believe this will help them develop their niche offering, supported by Osprey’s specialist sales and marketing teams. We wish them good luck for the future.”

Marc Gascoigne added, “Our publishing programme for 2010/11 will be basically unaffected by these changes. There will be a short break while the transition is sorted out, but we will be re-launching in September 2010 and then it will be business as usual.”

Osprey’s move is a reflection of the company’s continuing strategic drive into niche communities that share a deep enthusiasm for their interest or hobby, whether it be military history (Osprey Publishing), heritage (Shire Books), or science fiction and fantasy.

Richard Sullivan, Marketing Director at Osprey commented: “We have a great deal of experience of serving specialist niches with a very tight product focus. Angry Robot is a great fit with our existing businesses. We are very excited about the opportunity to enter into a new market and we are looking forward to helping Angry Robot, its authors and its readers go to some exciting places.”