Cold Days by Jim Butcher – a Review

Cold Days by Jim Butcher is the 14^th book in his fantastic urban fantasy series, The Dresden Files.  For those of you who are not familiar with this bestselling series, it revolves around Harry Dresden, a Private Investigator, who uses magic and is a wizard.

Cold Days begins after Ghost Story left off, as Harry wakes up being taken care of by a young beautiful woman, Sarissa, who seemed somewhat nervous and meek.  Harry knew he was in Mab’s place, and once he begins to regain some strength, Mab puts him through the ringer for the next few weeks, testing him with every type of death defying attempts at his life.  This was her version of therapy for Harry, ensuring that the Winter Knight was ready and able to perform his duties. 

Harry is still Harry, and though he is beholden to the Queen of Air & Darkness, he still was determined to stay in control, and not become the monster that was the previous Winter Knight.  When she feels he is ready, Mab gives him his first order, to kill someone.  This is an early review, so I will attempt to give you my thoughts and basic description of the story, but no spoilers. 

Cold Days is one of the most exciting books I have read this year.  It doesn’t surprise me, as Jim Butcher is such a terrific writer.  There is so much action throughout the book, you don’t have a moment to blink.  Just when you think …whew, he got through that one, damned if you are not hit again, and again and again. 

We all know from previous books that Harry is a glutton for punishment, and Cold Days is no different.  He suffers through a lot, and yet nothing stops Harry.  Being the Winter Knight is not easy for Harry, as the powers at times causes him to fight off bad thoughts, but he manages to safely keep his control, until he needs those powers to save himself.

The wonderful thing about Cold Days, is that so many of Butcher’s fabulous recurring characters play a major part in this book.  His friends/family, such as Thomas, Molly, Murphy, Butters, Mouse are there to help, as well as being put into constant danger.  We do hear a lot about Maggie, his daughter, though she really is not part of this story.  Then there are the Faeries, who also play such a big role in this story, from Mab, the Winter Queen; Maeve, the Winter Lady; Lily, the Summer Lady; Fix, the Summer Knight, and many others, including the Sihde redcap, monsters, and other forces to be reckon with that Harry will have to face often to save the world.  One of the best exciting and fun part was the Wild Hunt, which Harry became a part of.

Yes Harry must find a way to save the world from evil, as he discovers on his island a catastrophe waiting to happen, that will destroy everything. He tries to find out who is behind this, but almost at every turn things seem to be stacked against him, as he is faced with constant mayhem, creatures, and enemies who will stop at nothing to kill Harry. They just keep coming and coming at him, and as we read, we too are out of breath. Jim Butcher does such a fantastic job of keeping you on your toes, as throughout the book there are so many twists, so many puzzles, and just when you think Harry has it figured out, boom the game changes again.

I can’t even tell you much more, as everything that happens is a spoiler.  Just that Harry is phenomenal, and he suffers badly, but like the energizer battery, he keeps going.  But I will say, the ending of this book was mind-boggling, a shock fest, and it left me wanting to go back to the beginning (515 pages) to start again, just to enjoy it all over again.  Cold Days is one of the best books I have read this year, and I have read some very good ones.  If you have not read The Dresden Files, it is time to do so.  There is no better hero then Harry Dresden, and it is hard pressed to find a writer such as Jim Butcher, who can keep this story fresh, and the hero still awesome.   Cold Days is a must read, and with that shocking climax, I will be hard-pressed to wait a year for the next book.    

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by publisher