Numerous characters, particularly Billy, express their discomfort with Harry's new attitude. Dead Beat is about Harry as a person and how much he has changed in five years. It feels out of character for Harry to cooperate with a blackmailer, especially one who is a Black Court vampire.Īlthough I don't think the writing here is perfect, I'm not going to blame all of Harry's characterization on bad writing. I don't normally complain about loose ends, since I appreciate the series' ongoing arc. Likewise, I'm not so happy with the abruptness with which Harry hands over the Word of Kemmler to Mavra at the end of the book. Maybe this is the work of Harry's subconscious again, but it all feels a little too contrived. They exist to save members of the Order of the Blackened Denarius they would save Harry too. Harry has seen how the Knights of the Cross operate. I don't buy Harry's fear that Michael wouldn't look at him the same way, or worse, that Michael would somehow have to come after Harry and hunt him down. It is harder to believe, however, that Harry chose to bury the coin rather than turn it over to Michael or Father Forthill. Later we meet his darker subconscious, who confesses to being the id to Harry's superego. Harry's excuse for picking up the coin-instead of the baby who was about to touch the coin-is that some part of him must have wanted the coin and the power implicit in possessing it. I have to wonder how much of that is wishful thinking on my part and how much might be contrived drama on Jim Butcher's part. And on this second read-through, I admit that Harry seems a little less likable than I remember. Taken in context, it's clear that this is a result of all that's happened to Harry in the five years since the events of Storm Front. Dead Beat has a very high quotient of grey-area morality. I'm reviewing this with you because long-running series can make it difficult to see this transformation take place (unless you read the books nearly back-to-back, as I've been doing). Indeed, Harry and The Dresden Files have come a long way since book one. Harry's gone from "Chicago's only professional wizard" to "vampire-bane, faerie-killing wizard." As if losing the woman he loved wasn't bad enough, now Harry has to contend with the shadow of a fallen angel yammering at him to accept her coin so he can gain power. Last time we saw him, Harry was taking down a scourge of uppity Black Court vampires along with not-so-human mercenary Kincaid and all-too-human Chicago police officer Karrin Murphy. Since then, he has started a war between the wizards and Red Court vampires he has killed a faerie queen and prevented a war between the Summer and Winter courts he has been offered the mantle of Winter Knight and picked up the Blackened Denarius of Fallen Angel Lasciel. Let us take a moment to look back at how far Harry Dresden has come from busting a sorcerer in Storm Front.
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