Fool Moon
Ratings580
Average rating3.7
*Warning: Very small, unimportant spoilers. (The only reason I'm even tagging this as having spoilers is because it was removed from B&N.com - the reason being that they thought it had spoilers.
I picked up the first three Dresden files novels in a set for the price of two. Judging by the majority of the reviews raving about the books, and the brief-lived Sci-Fi channel show (which I enjoyed) I thought I'd give them a shot.
While I do like Dresden's sense of humor, I'm beginning to find his basic personality annoying. He has an overly protective streak when it comes to the women in his life (his reporter girlfriend, his one-time apprentice, the ‘cute' cop) where he doesn't want to tell them anything. It's as though he believes that if he doesn't tell them what's really going on out there, they won't be in danger. Thankfully, he seemed to realize that wasn't going to work towards the end of the book. Hopefully he won't be quite so protective, and at times condescending, in the next book.
He also isn't very intelligent. Sure, he gets beat up every five pages (exaggeration, though not by much) but that's no reason to miss some very obvious points in the story - at least he missed them until it was convenient for him to notice.
About the beatings... He get's beat up, then shot, then beat up and kidnapped, beat while he's kidnapped, and beat up again. And all the time he's thinking that he's not tough. At one point he even thinks about the tough guys you always hear about that won't be broke - but he was. Now, that might endear a character to some people, but not me. Oh, also a day or two after he got shot - just in the shoulder (as though the shoulder isn't as painful as a leg) - he jumps out of a moving car. Allow me to clarify: he didn't have to jump out of the car, it was being driven by one of the ‘good' guys, he just did it to protect the driver - a female, of course.
The female characters are of two types: the, commonly referred to as cute, ‘good' females and the ‘evil' females, referred to as sexy (or some facsimile). The male characters - at least those that do not want to kill Dresden - dislike him. Also, almost invariably, every time Dresden sees a character for the first time in Fool Moon, they are described in a paragraph - which is very jolting to me. One description that was used on the first female was ‘ lovely in an old-world way'. And that was three paragraphs in. I kept expecting Mr. Butcher to describe Dresden when he looked into a mirror - though that was kind of dealt with while he was talking to his subconscious while he was asleep.
I like werewolves - not as much as vampires - but still... At least I like ‘typical' werewolves - think Lon Chaney Jr. - not the four subcategories in Dresden's world. The hexenwolves, werewolves, lycanthropes, and loup-garou. Now, I've never researched the subject, so Mr. Butcher might not have made any of these up. Though I wish he would've chosen one and just stuck with it.
In summary, to me this book reads like an adolescent boy's fantasy - complete with naked women and an abundance of curse words.
If you haven't read the first in the Dresden files series (titled Storm Front) you should start there. Although I wouldn't say it was actually an better.
The books are told in the first person perspective.
Similar enough to the first that I'll keep going. Felt a bit.. themed but at least it was somewhat justified by the plot.
They're reminding me of Charles Stross' Atrocity Archives in format and pacing, though I will say those get bonus points for the computery lovecraft vibes.
A compelling second book!
This was a very compelling second book in the series, I certainly liked the mystery this time better than storm-front and the characters had many more moments to shine. I hope this trajectory continues into the 3rd book.
I like it better than the first one, though it's still... hmm...
I like the variety of the werewolves.
I kind of think this series (or at least the first 2 books so far) is like Percy Jackson for grown ups.
In a good way!
I enjoyed the first book immensely, but this one did even better (or maybe I was more in the mood for it).
The plot was very well woven and the character work was amazing. But the best thing about the book was the atmosphere. There's just something about it that makes me want to keep on reading. Like a pair of comfortable shoes.
What was even better about this book is the fact that we are starting to see shades of the main plot and I am so excited about it.
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher is the second book in the Dresden Files. Wizard Harry Dresden returns investigating strange murders and finds himself in a truly hairy situation. Overall I liked this book better than the previous one. I found the plot more compelling and some of the characters have begun to grow on me. I still find Dresden himself to be somewhat unlikable. While the popularity of this series still surprises me, I am enjoying it enough that I plan to continue. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another non stop thriller. Very satisfying.
An action packed story. Although I had forgotten about the different types of werewolves after reading what Bob said.
Entertaining and easy to get through. I'm excited to see where this series goes!
Once again the Dresden files makes me fall in love with the world and the characters. I love the way he handles Susan, I love Dresden, and I absolutely love the way he handles their relationship. I love the way he handles relationships in general. Murphy and Dresden. Murphy and Carmichael. Ughhhh.
I love Butchers take on Werewolves. Mild potential spoilers after the period.
There are 4 or more different types of werewolves, and they're all absolutely thematic, flavorful, and well handled.
Really enjoying this series. Fun, fast read with interesting cast of characters. Well written prose.
This book stepped it up!
As is expected with most sequels of books with a great concept, this second in the series is a massive are up over the first and gets more gory and more gritty than the first!
There's more obvious relationships being built between the characters now and the writing continues to have me smiling, whether it's because of humour or just the interesting detail and the phlamboyant nature with which Jim Butcher writes. Downloaded and started the next one already!
Actual rating: 3.5 ⭐️
I liked this book more than the first one. The plot was better, the pace too, and the new characters added more depth to Harry's story.
I'm still not sure if I'll continue the series, but it's a possibility in the future.
This is a really fun read. A wizard that helps the police with paranormal investigations. Enough said.
I like the bones of this series and the character of Harry Dresden, but I didn't think this book was as good as the first one. It was enjoyable and I plan to continue the series but I did find that the story seemed to drag on a bit.
Well, for a guy with “out-dated and chauvinistic attitude towards women” (page 41) I think he did a lot better here than in the first book. Women's makeup was only mentioned once that I remember, so... improvement? haha
I did still like this book, I think I got confused by all the different types of werewolves, but I tried! It was just hard to keep them separate when they are so similar.
Harry seemed a bit less dorky here : ( on the plus side though we are getting little peeks of his past, which I like. I don't mind the slow reveal– like a gently blossoming flower. I'm used to it from the Kate Daniels' series haha and I while it took me awhile to get behind, I feel it can connect the series together and help with character growth.
I'll keep reading this! I'm looking forward to more ^_^ and hopefully some more empowered women who feel equal to Harry.