Fool Moon: The Dresden Files, Book 2

I'm one of the people who bought the first seven of these when they were on Kindle special. I've read the first four of them so far. I'm definitely glad I made the purchase, but for whatever reason, this one stands out less than some of the others. It's definitely important to the series, overall, because some characters are introduced here who pop up in later volumes.I think the sexism is toned down from the previous volume -- a little, at least. There wasn't such a fixation on cheerleaders this time around, for one thing, as there was in "Storm Front."What I think is best about this book is the gradual expansion of the Dresden universe. We met a vampire in the last book, now we're meeting some werewolves. I like that one element is added at a time -- we get to know a "species" or type of paranormal entity, including a few people who are members of that "species," if you will, and some of the details of behavior and characteristics associated with the group. Vampires and werewolves and fairies and others are not all thrown at us at once. That being said, there is definitely some infodumping here, particularly when it comes to Dresden first getting information on werewolves. Ah, well, at least all of the information that is dumped is important to the story later on (can't say that for every instance of infodumping I've read in fantasy novels).Once again, the book has a great pace and the climax of the action is carried out quite well. Dresden again has a bit of a hero complex (and does at least one thing that could prove dangerous to his mental well-being in order to help his comrades), but at least he's willing to accept help from non-wizards when he needs it. Once again he's not all-powerful, and sometimes he makes decisions that don't always end up having the consequences he expected them to have. Sometimes, he thinks he's protecting people by withholding information, and that turns out not to be the case. He then has to deal with the guilt that stems from his decisions. I don't quite feel like we're truly in his head, yet, because he's still tight-lipped about his past. But we're getting there.I didn't feel there was as much of a mystery to this volume as to the previous one, perhaps because several different events got intertwined and it was difficult for me to sort out all the clues (this is purely my failing and not the author's; you could say he keeps you guessing, keeps you wanting to read further to find out more). Everything did come together in the end -- in a good way. One thing I will say about Butcher's writing is that it is easy -- and quick -- to read. It's not overly flowery or dramatic but it gets the job done. It's written in a contemporary tone that fits well with the setting (modern-day Chicago).I'm starting to see a trend of Dresden getting close to people -- or gaining their sympathy -- and mucking it up. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out in future books. It sort of goes a long way towards explaining why he lives alone in a dark and forbidding sort of apartment, why I picture his office building as nearly deserted (though, by description in the novels, it doesn't necessarily sound that way), and so forth. However, he isn't really all that socially awkward in later volumes. I wouldn't say there's a ton of character development going on here, but have patience, because that really picks up in books 3 and 4 (and not just for Harry, but also for some of his associates).The blood and gore is really turned up in this book, so watch out for that. It's appropriate for the subject matter, all things considered. And a particular scene I'm thinking of (don't want to spoil anything) needed to be shocking -- to dial up the intensity, the sense of urgency.Like "Storm Front," "Fool Moon" is told from a first-person point of view (Harry's), which I think is appropriate for the genre. We, as readers, need to have the same information Harry has. It wouldn't be half as interesting or fun to know what other characters were thinking (granted, Dresden figures stuff out before I do and I have to read his explanation along with everyone else -- but it's never implausible, the clues were always there). I don't have much to add about the setting that I haven't said in the previous book; this one is also set in Chicago but is fairly light on actual geographical details. For me, anyway, it works.Wish the character of Kim Delaney hadn't just been dropped on us at the beginning of this book. I like how what happened in her scene had later implications (in more ways than one), but I wish there'd been a proper introduction because I felt a little bit like I had missed a chapter somewhere else. Oh the other hand, I can see the utility of only talking about her here. Harry's close-mouthed about his personal life outside the events that are currently occurring, and we don't need his whole life story right now. So decisions have to be made about what to include and when, and I can at least see the reasoning behind Butcher's choice to bring Kim up here, in the way he did. I feel like some thought went into it, at least.There are some loose ends here that I hope Butcher will come back to in a future novel. The main plot line is resolved, but we are left with a few questions. For that reason alone, I'd definitely recommend not skipping this book if you intend to read the rest of the series (some of my online acquaintances recommended starting with book 3, but I think this volume does contain some important details). It gives me hope that the main events from the first book will also tie into a grander narrative. I like the idea of an overall story arc with individual volumes that are basically self-contained stories, and that is where it looks like we are headed with this series.Overall, I'd put this about on par with "Storm Front." I like where I think Butcher will be going with this series, but there's room for improvement (which I'm already beginning to see in books 3 and 4). 3.5 stars.

Since first seeing the reruns of The Dresden Files on TV, I have been a fan of Harry, Murphy, and Bob, as well as the rest of the characters in Chicago's magic circle. As a former Nathan and private investigator, I understand Harry and how be works.The books themselves are well written and well edited. The characters are realistic. If you just believe a little that there is a chance that magic exists, it is very easy to suspend disbelief while reading these stories. The dialog is realistic and the characters are believable. The stories are action packed and they keep the reader involved.I can't wait go read the next one.

It was so good and well written. He is great at explaining his characters so you feel like you know them. Every book I've read so far has been crazy good enjoyable

… to the first one. I thought it was better than the first. Maybe because I got used with the characters and the pace. But one thing is for sure: it was fun to read it.

If you love fantasy or horror, you would love this. If you're a fan of werewolves, this book is for you. It has every flavor of werewolves.This is one of my favorite books from the series.

First thing to note: I'm writing this basic review for the entire series on the 2nd book. The 1st book is Storm Front, but Butcher only has ugly copies of that one, which I didn't buy, so I can't post this review on the first book's page. I had to buy Storm Front with its original cover art to match the rest of my collection from a different seller.Jim Butcher is a special type of author. Most authors are hit and miss, or just have a consistent quality to their books. George R.R. Martin is an example of the former. Game of Thrones is an okay book. Clash of Kings is very good. Storm of Swords is fantastic. Feast for Crows is okay but slow. All the good characters were taken out of this one!. And Dance with Dragons is simply outstanding. JK Rowling is an example of the latter. Harry Potter is a consistent series, with no one book being weak or particularly outstanding when compared to the rest.But Butcher is different. Storm Front is an intense book, with evenly paced action throughout the book and excellent exposition, with rich characters (all with unique personalities. You get to the point where you can almost predict what they'll say) that were clearly very well thought out and developed before he even started writing. Storm Front is great. And it's arguably the worst book of the Dresden Files. Why?Not because it's bad.Because every book just gets better, and better, and BETTER. Every book in this entire series, EVERY single one, is better than the previous. That's the kind of author Jim Butcher is. He displays this EXACT habit in the Codex Alera, and it's very prevalent in the Dresden Files.Fool Moon is a fantastic book. So is Grave Peril, and Summer Knight, and Death Masks, and Blood Rites, and Dead Beat (this is where the series REALLY starts to get super intense, and just mind-numbingly good), and ALL of them, most recently Ghost Story and Cold Days (just finished that one today! SO GOOD.). They are all so insufferably good. I simply adore them. I just absolutely adore them.But I haven't explained why they're so good. Actually, I kind of have, but lemme get it all together in just a paragraph or two here. Every character is unique in their own ways. I'm not an actual reviewer who can actually review characters and be entirely accurate because my own personal opinion will colorize my summary too much, and plus some characters are very dynamic, plus there are points where your entire opinion on one character will be flipped upside down because of who that character might be or who they might work with. So I won't bother trying to describe them to you, because they all change in so many ways, be it a huge revelation, simply changing as they mature and have new experiences, gain new titles, or make INSANELY unexpected decisions. It's impossible to easily define one character in just a few sentences. Can't be done.The books start out being entirely about supernatural mysteries, but the series very quickly grows intimate with the reader, and it's about more than just solving the mystery. You care about Harry's love life and want him to be so happy that you're jealous of him, because you just start loving him. You want Murphy to get the respect she deserves because, darn it, she's such a hard-working woman who has seen some serious things in her life. Probably more than any other "normal" cop in the world. You want Morgan to get socked in the face, because he's a flipping jerk. I want to talk about so many other characters, but I just can't without spoiling big parts of the series. There are aspects of the characters I just mentioned that I want to talk about, but I can't. With these books, you get so much more than you see when you scratch and sniff the surface.I love everything about these books and I can hardly describe any of it without acknowledging huge spoilers. This isn't even a review. I'm just gushing like any other hopeless fan.If you're even REMOTELY interested in the supernatural, enjoy fantasy, or like detective stories, you will LOVE this series. I freaking hate the mystery genre, normally (Sherlock is literally the lamest pop culture icon in existence), but these books are so good about it that I don't even notice or care. They're too good for me to be concerned.

Wizards, werewolves, and mobsters oh my. This is another wonderful read. Second in the series so the fun doesn't end after just one book.

The books is full of twists and turn, it introduces a known creature in a new and interesting way, and has a great ending

Another amazing detective tale from Jim Butcher, although the sexualizing every female character makes me a bit unconfortable, Dresdej's worldbuilding is amazing along with its characters

So it's my 3rd reading of this book and alas my opinion for this book is still the same . Its frankly the worst book in the whole series . There are some good moments , especially in terms of the introduction of alphas , the concept of types of werewolves and the Susan-Harry relationship .But alas for a book that sets out to be an entertainer , it's not and the handling of Murphy-Harry relationship is the most annoying thing that's happened in the seriesThe writing also isn't very slick and the book still has a lot of troubling moments especially misogynyThat said, believe it from a man who has read this whole series twice so far , things get better so better that you would keep asking for more dresden , you just have to wade through the first 3 books and this one in particular

4 out of 5 because Jim B. under-used one of my favorite character in this second volume of the amazingly written novels based on the busy wizard life of Harry Dresden.I would quite happily go visit all the places mentionned in the book, as far as I'm concerned.Reading this fantazy novel practically made me wonder why I didn't hear of these werewolves on the news yet.Brilliant reading.

Un libro tutta azione, con un buon ritmo e che tiene sempre viva l'attenzione.Farcito con licantropi di tutti i tipi: maledetti, magici, artificiali, misteriosi. Licantropi che sono come devono essere: feroci, istintivi, violenti, spaventosi.E ad affrontarli abbiamo un Dresden a pezzi dopo il primo libro, ai ferri corti con la polizia (che era la sua fonte di sostentamento primaria) e con Murphy, incapace di decidere qualsiasi cosa riguardo a Susan o anche solo di fare i conti col proprio passato.Dovrà indagare su degli omicidi efferati e bestiali, senza risultare ufficialmente, per salvare il posto di Murphy ed evitare la prigione, destreggiandosi tra boss e bande criminali, polizia ed fbi, e più licantropi di quanti ne possano stare a Chicago.Niente di epocale, ma un buonissimo secondo libro per questa serie, che scorre via agilmente senza mai annoiare.