Guess it is a good thing I lent my copy of Ghost Story out and never got it back again, though it'll look odd to not have the hardcover one.

 

Confusing statement aside, does this mean we will have Cold Days chapter 1 to read soon?

If so, I am incredibly happy.

 

On the forums they said they would love a halloween release, but that would be pushing it. So look for it any time between halloween and christmas- it also depends on what else the publisher is putting out. They want to space out the time between big releases.

 

Dresden has a twitter feed??

Must find....

 

If Jim's publisher is savvy at all about the series and what time to release it, they'll probably shoot for when the snow falls, since it is Cold Days. Plus they could try and get some of the money off the college students who are on break and looking for something to read as well.

 

@harriedwizard

 

Thanks Jim... though you could've just dropped all this third-person nonsense.

Glad to see I didn't waste time with it and others are excited about it as I am.

As far as Ghost Story's pop-culture references it was definitely Dresden on red alert concerning geekdom (aha!). It seems to always increase exponentially with the level of danger and stress though. So I considered it pretty normal to see things ramp up, even if not all of the geeky moments involved Dresden himself. So I never minded it. I didn't love it. But I've maybe loved everything about a book two or three times ever. So that's kind of to be expected. If everyone were happy with everything in a book the author would find himself quickly out of a job with the next book when it inevitably disappointed.

 

I didn't mind the PCR at all, except that last part when they fight inside Molly's mind. The whole Star Trek business and even the concept of a landscape of the mind just sat wrong with me. Could be all the ridiculous fics I've read.

 

This, more because its weird for Molly to be obsessed with old star trek though.

Also the "Which character from Lord of the Rings are you?" discussion from Changes. Not because I thought it was weird from Dresden, but because it seemed OC for all the other characters.

I think this was mentioned in the Ghost Story reaction thread (not by me), but the problem for me with the PCRs is the weird thing it does to Dresden's character. When in his life is he supposed to have developed encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture, especially of electronic media which his magic likes to kill?. When he was traveling with his Dad? In the Orphanage? With Justin? With McCoy? Working as a PI/Wizard as an adult? Supposedly his main fascination is with magic (as a self described magic geek) who likes to dump his time and money, when he has it, to experimenting with magic. That's not exactly compatible with run of the mill obsessive geekdom.

Its also strange because its hard to see what would be compelling to Dresden about fiction. Its not as though he is likely to feel powerless, or that his own life is uninteresting or insignificant, or that he would find the action and drama of fictional settings titillating by contrast to his own life. He's a freaking Wizard who deals with real demons and Fairy Godmothers. That's not to say it would be impossible for him to like fiction, but that his interaction with it probably shouldn't be that of conventional geeks.

I find it worrying about the future of the series (like a 2 on a scale of 10), as it makes me worry that Jim's preferences are polluting his characters and that his editors are letting it happen. Since basically the same thing is ruining David Weber's Honor Harrington books, it bothers me when it shows up.

 

You're equating Dresden magic with Harry Potter magic, in that there is instant gratification. Sure, Bob can help Harry make something, but he still has to let it sit. Also, what is Harry going to do when he's not doing PI work or saving the world? Be a geek. Read books, watch movies.

I specifically remember a throwaway line where he mentions something about a local drive-in theater being one of his favorite places to go because there's almost no chance if him fucking it up with his mere presence. Also, Harry's geekdom extends to literature and 70's and 80's pop-culture. You know, when he was growing up. Anything beyond that is stuff that he's picked up over the years.

And, hell, we here at DLP are perfectly accepting of a Harry Dresden who watches My Little Pony.

To address another comment raised by several of you; Molly's mindscape. This isn't new. Mindscapes, that is. It being the control room from Star Trek is probably Harry's influence shining through, or perhaps Molly is a Trekky. We don't know, and until we do, it could just be that she structured her mind that way as a dig at Harry being a Star Wars fan, in the eventuality that he gets in her head.

 

It's not like his interest in fiction is anything new. It's mentioned that he reads a lot of books in the very first chapter of the very first book. And I can't remember exactly when, but it's pretty early on, that he talks about how he likes to go to the drive through and watch movies, where he's too far away from anything for his magic to fuck it up.

 

This. Dresden CAN'T work with electronics, so has to do things to fill his time, rather than dick around on 4chan.

Also, in his emergency backpack, from when he goes on the run with Morgan, doesn't he have a few paperbacks in it? I don't have the ebooks, or the real ones with me, so could someone check?

 

Yeah... and you should also remember that the books do not represent his normal life. As a PI he should have a lot of free time and he is not exactly rich either so paperbacks are probably the easiest way to fill his time.

And I always thought he knew about Star Wars because he often helped small time practitioners or had to explain his magics to his employers and used those films as a reference point.

 

You. You can fuck right the fuck off.

Ah. Upon further reflection, this last part is something I can actually accept. I still won't like it, but I'll admit it's plausible.

 

My point isn't really that Dresden shouldn't be aware of pop culture, but that he really shouldn't be a geek. In other words, I don't find it weird for him to have favorite paperbacks, I would find it weird for him to be hanging out at book signings, debating those books with other characters, or going to comic-con.

I mean there is a qualitative difference in how people generally interact with their entertainment and how geeks do. And it is implausible to me that Dresden (who doesn't even swear like normal people) is a member of geek culture in the way that Jim Butcher, or I, am. Because, as I said above, I think it is implausible that Dresden would interact with popular culture in a generally obsessive way.

 

Not doing geeky things?

Well, maybe true, but... Consider who he hangs out with. And how geeky those people are.

The Alphas are pretty geeky, I mean.

 

This. He's been hanging out with the Alphas playing tabletops for what? 8 years or so?

 

I think they do Pen and Papers not Tabletop, but yeah.

 

I honestly did not know that there was a difference.

 

Tabletop RPG, dude. That's what Pen & Paper is.