Well, a death curse is just using the energy of your body to fuel a spell; it's literally using your lifeforce to act as a pseudo-soulfire type deal. Harry cast a very powerful spell compared to what he'd been throwing around prior to that, and his heart stopped immediately afterwards.

Considering that the only physical effects he'd ever felt from magic use were exhaustion or migraine-like pain (when he was forced to use magic without an incantation), it's reasonable to think that his 'digging deep' for power actually used up enough of his life force that it would count as a death curse. Energy is energy, after all. You don't have to realise it to use it up. Just look at how close Harry got to evaporating himself in Ghost Story for evidence of that.

Adding in that my view of magic is that a Wizard draws in power from the external world and then forces it into powering his spell with an internal reservoir of power, I'd say that he used too much internal power for his first pyrofuego, thus making it a death curse.

 

Toot "I'm a Six-inch Bad Ass MothaFucka" Toot. General of the Za Lord's Army will forever be the best part of Dresden for me.

 

I'm waiting for the day Toot seizes the control of the fairy courts in the name of the Za Lord.

 

"You suck diseased moose wang, Marcone!"


Necroing like a baws.

 

When Lasciel sacrifices herself for Dresden showing that even the damned can still feel something.

 

Lots of great stuff in the books. Most of these quotes are funny more than memorable, but I think they do qualify as "best" in a way.

This one is memorable. I still rerember reading this and finally realizing what was going on, understanding that both of Harry's cases were connected and how.

A bit easy but nice.

Probably the best introduction to Mister and he has lots of good ones in various books.

Loooool. Pep talk, Dresden's way.

Another chilling-eliciting realization-moment, though this one was vaguer. It simply told me that shit was about to get real(er). I only wish we'd seen more of the two grannies.

A bit of a trope but nice. Most of the book finales are great.

Wiseass Harry in the face of danger... what's not to love?

:awesome

Rofl. Blood Rites isn't very appreciated, but it was the funniest book of the series, IMO. Not the best and not even the most entertaining, but it's the one that made me laugh the most. Exhibits A, B, C, D and E.

Funny stuff.

Lovely start for a mentorship.

OHHHHHH! IT BUUUUUURNS!

 

Something I remembered thinking from when I was listening to the audiobook of this. The way Aurora talks about 'wanting the hurting to stop' makes me think she was being literal. I think she felt pain every time she thought about the natural order and that the idea of upsetting it was planted in her mind and pointed to as a way to stop the pain. It would fit well with the idea that someone tried to use neuromancy on her and 'succeeded', as far as you could with the Sidhe.

On top of that - and this has just occurred to me - I've been wondering for a long while how the Black Council could have gotten to Aurora, but it's obvious now that I look at it. Elaine was under Aurora's thumb the entire time, had been a thrall under Justin DuMorne, was pretty desperate to get out from her debt to Aurora, and displayed a talent for neuromancy with the mindfog. Could be that she's part of the Black Council too, if not totally willingly.

 

Damn, I hope not. It makes some sense, of course, and would be the kind of 'Hey, get a load of how much I enjoy kicking the crap out of my boy Dresden!" sentiment Butcher has made his signature, but Jesus would that suck for poor Harry.

His first love, first real partner and friend in magic, thought to be dead with no closure then alive again, then sort of betrays him and turns out to be just a survivor like him, and finally turns out to be either a dupe (again) or really playing for the Really Bad Guys?


As much as I felt bad about Susan's ultimate fate, that would rate right up there on the kick-in-the-gut scale.


Not that I expect any one DF character to survive the entire series, mind you. I suspect McCoy and Injun Joe will meet their ends in the next two or three, and I don't think there's any way, now that it seems the Harry/Murphy 'ship has been scuttled, that she survives the series. I could be way off but that's my feeling on it right now.

 

I'm pretty sure he's going to kill Murphy off soon.

 

I doubt that. For two reasons. One, I think after all this teasing Butcher will have her to be a Knights of the Cross for few books. And two, I remember correctly she is one of four characters to appear in every book (along Harry, Bob and Mister). If Butcher decides to kill her then I expect it to happen in the last Files book or at the beginning of the Apocalypse Trilogy. To make a point like he did in Changes with other important things in Dresden's life.

 

She's getting a bit too old for Harry, though.

 

Elaine as part of the Black Council kind of fits. Remember when Simon-Whast-his-name from the Senior Council got whacked? Morgan thought that Dresden did it because Simons place was very well warded and only someone close to Simon could have done it.

I don't remember if Peabody had anything to do with Simons death, but if not we only have Elaine , timetraveling!Evil!Harry or Justin himself.

 

Pfft. Involving Simon Pietrovich (Recall: Red Court expert who conveniently just happens to "die" when the war starts, as a big Warden base goes boom in the process) in this conversation only helps fit my theory that he's Cowl.

Also, I <3 Elaine. So no Elaine being evil. That would be evil.

Immaterial. So long as teh Dresden/Molls occurs, and Murph's out of the way in whatever sense (Though I vote Knighthood badass into her seventies, rocking around the world on a motorcycle), yay will abound. Yay!

 

I'm kinda wondering if Marth Liberty, Merlin or McCoy are part of the Black Council. I'm willing to bet money at least one of them is.

 

I'd bet against McCoy being on the Council, but I could certainly see Liberty or Langtry siding with them.

My reasoning for McCoy is that if he was on the Council, so would Dresden. He coulda pulled a DuMorne as soon as Dresden was remanded to his custody and "corrupted" (purely psychologically) Dresden and made him into an asset instead of the single greatest hindrance (that we know of) to their operations. And if he joined after Dresden left, he would have needed one hell of a reason, which with his backing would likely be enough to sway Dresden anyway.

 

I've had Ancient Mai pegged for the Black Council for a while now.

 

I'm starting to think that a few books in, we'll realize that the black council and the grey council are the same thing.

As for Cowl and Kumori... Didn't Dresden assume they weren't entirely human cause of how they spoke?

 

They did have an oddity to their voices but that could easily be a case of identity protection as one of them is (99% sure) on the Council. Or they could be Old God splicing. Would explain a lot

 

The moment in Turn Coat when Harry realizes that three assembled members Senior Council and a handful of their most dangerous Wardens are intimidated by him.

I read Turn Coat fairly often, and that's always my favorite part.

Though I have to say the moment when Ebenezar shows Lara he could end her with naught but a hand motion is pretty awesome.

 

Dresden. That is all that need to be said.