If this is true then this is going to be good, I always love seeing what Dresden is really capable of when he finally says fuck it. If he calls in everything and stops caring about the rules he can lay one hell of a nightmarish smackdown on the Reds.

 

I wonder what the effect of having a half-Red mother will be on Maggie... Will she also be on the verge of becoming a Red? Normal? Somewhere in between? Maybe need to choose, like Lily and freinds?

And yes, this could turn very ugly for the Reds. Once they loose the advantage of a hostage...

 

Am i the only one who doesn't like the name Maggie that much? I just can't help but think at the Simpsons :/

But yeah, I am really looking forward to this book.

 

I think it's old news for them. They already know how highly he values the White Council as an organisation...

Why do I have this feeling that we'll see more Kincaid aided destruction??

On the side note, I wonder if Harry Listens-to Wind's apprentice. He really could use some healing potions/spells/techniques.

 

Sounds like it could happen, he's going to need some serious firepower if he's going to attack the heart of Red Court territory and not come out with a slight thirst for blood afterwards.

I doubt it, they use two completely different sets of skills to fight, and Harry's never been an efficient caster of magic, which I expect is what healing/transfiguration needs more than brute power. Remember also that Ebenezar and the Merlin are remarked to have been 'brute force' wizards in their earlier days,and Injun Joe is not mentioned there, despite being a long time friend of Eb.

 

Hmm... spoilers are looking interesting, but what I'm wondering about is what sort of 'darkness' Harry's going to take on, because there's two sides of this issue.

a.) He starts breaking the Laws of Magic in order to fuck the vampires over. Somehow, I don't think he'll do this - given his absolute repulsion for following in Ebenezer's footsteps, he'd never go against the White Council like this. Even if his 'daughter' is on the line (I'm still predicting a red herring here), and even if he still has feelings for Susan, I've got to think, coming out of Small Favour, that he cares more for Michael than to put Molly in danger by breaking the Laws.

b.)This is a little less likely, but Butcher has always predicted that Lasciel will come back into the story (hell, Nicodemus offered to get the coin back for him in Small Favour, if I recall correctly) - and if Harry's going to South America (a hotbed of Red Court vampires), he'll need all the power he could get. I could see him trying to find a way to get the coin back (or even just touching it, restoring Lash in some form to his head). Could explain why his hand is healed in the cover art as well. And if anything, it would be an 'easier' darkness for Harry to embrace, rather than breaking the Laws. Of course, in his case, the key thing would be keeping Sanya and Michael out of the loop, along with the White Council, but from what I've seen of Harry, it seems to be a much easier solution than breaking a code he's spent his whole life following. Plus, can you count how many people he would alienate or turn against him if he breaks the Laws? Besides the White Council, we've got Murphy, a shitload of Fae, all the Wardens he's trusted, and Molly. I mean, not even Harry's that crazy. No, retrieving the coin seems a hell of a lot more likely for me.

Either way, I foresee a trip to South America, the war reigniting all over again (thanks a fucking lot, Susan), and Harry bringing along Molly, Kincaid, and Thomas into the hellhole. And if Nicodemus does not get involved... well, I'll be surprised if he doesn't interfere in this, catch Harry at his weakest: when he's not thinking, and blinded by rage.

Either way, I'm REALLY looking forward to this.

 

If you go with the argument that Harry couldnt break the laws because of how he feels about them, then you pretty much have to use that argument as for why he wouldnt take up the coin. Harry hates Nic, and pretty much everything he stands for.

I could see Harry breaking the laws. He threatened Mavra with everything when she threatened Murphy. And as far as he knows this is his flesh and blood, this his child with Susan. The Fae couldnt care less if he goes Dark or not; it would probably make it easier for Mab to recruit him. Aside from Ramierz and Luccio, he doesnt really have many friends in the Wardens. He couldnt care less about the Council.

Molly is really the only reason he wouldnt really consider it.

 

And Molly is more than enough reason for him to never go dark. He'd gladly give his life to save any of his friends, and he knows that if he goes dark, Molly's head is first on the chopping block.

That said, I don't see him going dark or taking up the coin at all. Both options go against everything he is, like it or not. And Dresden has shown time and again that he will not compromise his values, for anything.


Honestly, I'm pretty sure the basic plot will go like this:
1) Harry receives call from Susan about the kid
2) He panics and starts plans to get to South America
3) Murphy invites herself along and Harry forces Molly to stay behind (Kincaid may or may not become involved at this point).
4) Dresden and co. find out the situation between the quasi-vampires and real vampires has escalated in recent times
5) Everyone + Susan fight their way into Super Secret Headquarters #27 and rescue Harry's kid
6) They all run away and the kid ends up living with Harry, most likely because Susan is losing control of her bloodthirst.

 

Cynical... yet you may be on to something.

Either way, I'm sure it'll be entertaining.

 

I think "go dark side" likely refers to Harry's temperament and the ruthlessness of his methods, not the loaded term from the Dresdenverse (breaking the laws of magic, tapping the coin, etc)--the "torture a Red Court vampire to get information," Jack Bauer kind of thing.

The big question is always who the double-cross is going to be, since it's something of a staple. Not having kept up with the spoilers, I'm guessing in the dark, but my money would on Susan, voluntarily or not (e.g., exchanging him for her kid).

 

Ok, more Changes spoilers, in the form of another review:

You can find the whole related post and following discussion on Jim's DF Forums, here:
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,15828.0.html


Also of note, the Murphy POV novella, Aftermath, (to be featured in the Side Jobs short story collection) will pick up 45 minutes after the end of Changes--for better or for worse.

 

I presume she is named after Dresden's mother, Margaret.

As for the spoilers, holy shit I am looking forward to the next book.

I refuse to speculate on the story, as what eventually comes out will be likely far different to what we expect.

However, I would like to reiterate my previous predictions in that this will be a markedly different story to the rest.

Title: Changes. 1 Word. All the previous stories have been titled two words, same letters in each word. The titled 'Changes' means more than just something in the book. Ie, he leaves Chicago for one. From the last spoiler, it'll be darker, most likely.

Second, this is the middle of the series, I expect that we are going to experience some 'changes' from here on.

Either way, I look forward to what comes.

 

The two points that jumped out at me from that were: Sanya being involved, and a black magic rite. To me that suggests Outsiders, possibly He Who Walks Behind. Adding on to that the fact that there is a Murphy-centric novella set immediately afterwards... I'm going to speculate that Sanya will be taken out during a fight with an Outsider and Murphy will take up one of the Swords in order to combat it. The novella, I'm going to bet, will be about Murphy being forced into being a Knight full time after losing her job.

I'm probably wrong about the last bit, but the presence of Sanya and human sacrifice as a plot point really does suggest Outsiders to me.

 

I'm not really sure how you reached the conclusion that black magic = Outsiders. As far as I know, the Knights have nothing to do with Outsiders. I do believe that Murphy will end up with a sword this book (probably the katana since that's what she seems to have training with). I also think she will have to lose her job for this to happen.

The Denarians seem to have some capability to mark someone for death, and the Knights have the ability to sacrifice themselves for it, but that doesn't mean that all sacrificial rituals apply to this.

 

If it does involve He Who Walks Behind. He may be for a bit of a surprise at how much Dresden has changed since they last met

 

About Sanya...let me think about what has happened to Knights of the Cross who helped Harry a tiny bit too enthusiastic...nothing good?

Maybe Thomas will play doubleagent, like he will help Harry rescue his daugther only to try to kidnap her for his own big sis`?

Mab still has one favour to burn and Lash could make a reappearance in the last second to stop Harry in one of his classic self-sacrificing 'I will save them all'-stunt?

Maybe there are more places like our favourite little demonic island and they are connected somehow?

Or Butcher has watched '2012' one too many times and plays towards some kind of apocalyptic crazy Nevernever portal...

The possibilities...what do you guy think?

 

I forget where but he has actually stated that the last few books of the series will be post apocalyptic so anything is possible.

 

Lara prides herself on being very intelligent and usually smarter than her enemies. To provoke Dresden like that would go against everything Lara is about. Lara knows that in a knock down drag out fight, its a toss up at best. Those odds are not good. Lara got her ass handed to her by the skinwalker, Dresden almost beat it when he was nearly running on empty. Imagine what a pissed off Dresden could do to Lara.

 

Having Thomas betray Harry when Harry is trying to save his daughter would be pretty unforgivable. I think that Thomas won't do this, not unless Butcher really intends to push Thomas past the Moral Event Horizon into pure evil.

I would think it more likely that Thomas really does help Harry, but in doing so he also accomplishes some other unrelated goal. For example, by helping Harry take out a major Red Court player, it might mean that he/Lara will then be in position to step in and grab hold of the power/territory that has become vacant.

That way, Thomas not just saves his niece, but also increases the power of the White court in the world, something Harry might not be all that happy about, but which is not so bad that it would make Thomas truly irredeemable.


As for Sanya and Murphy. I see two possibilities. Sanya may die here, and give his sword to Harry which will end up with Harry in possession of all three swords for some reason. Maybe Harry will then use the power of the swords+soulfire in some big magic rite in the future or something.

The other possibility is that Murphy will lose her job for leaving Chigaco and she will take up a sword and become a Knight of the Cross. It has also been suggested that Thomas might take a sword too, but I personally doubt that possibility.