Fool Moon (Dresden Files Book 2)

Harry Dresden – Wizard.

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Harry Dresden rides again!

After “Storm Front,” next up is “Fool Moon”!

Sometimes I think Harry Dresden is, in fact, Harry Potter in some parallel universe (or as they’d say in Marvel, multiverse): in this universe, Harry Potter enrolled in state wizard college, but learned that he-who-must-not-be-named Voldemort wants to kill him. However, due to all that pressure, Harry Potter has a nervous breakdown before the end of first semester which makes him “snap.” In a moment of wild rage and mania, he finds Voldemort and shoves the (magic) wand down his throat and hysterically screams Avada Kedavra, then has wild sex with Hermione in the college bathroom, slaps Ron, shows the middle finger to Dumbledore and Snape, demands the magical universities and councils leave him alone, changes his surname to Dresden (to sound mysterious) and comes to America (Chicago) to be the new Constantine… and then six months later realizes he’s three months late with office rent, lives in some basement and the last magical job he had was exorcising the late husband’s soul of an adulterer from some crazy lady’s cat… which turned out the cat wasn’t possessed, but the lady forgot to clean the Turkish coffee grounds, and the cat helped itself nicely and turned into Sabka from TikTok…

And so now Harry Pot… I mean Dresden, lives from case to case…

Compared to the first book (when occult magic got its fingers into the case of a missing husband and strange drug that appeared on the streets), the situation for Dresden is, well, still thin, “same target same distance.” Thin wallet, thin work, thin diet, thin love life… and then a strange murder appears requiring Harry’s expertise.

But compared to the previous case (from “Storm Front”), the situation now gets complicated every moment (aka with every page turned).

First, those responsible for this murder (and the following ones) are… werewolves (but not exactly in that TV version we know)? And not only that, now FBI agents with very, well, debatable behavior and methods suddenly get involved in the case. And Karen Murphy, lieutenant who always suspected Harry obviously wields something supernatural (although she couldn’t figure out how), over time becomes more and more distrustful of him, to the point there are indications Harry could be arrested and sent to the can for a long period because of the previous case. If you remember, in “Storm Front” Harry had unpleasant encounters with notorious criminal Johnny “Gentleman” Marcone and Internal Affairs got the strange impression that Murphy and Dresden are maybe buddies with Marcone and helped him eliminate competition in his, um, entrepreneurial ventures. And now some werewolves who appear (and when needed also howl) on full Moon are thrown into the mix.

And whether Harry Dresden can figure out who’s really responsible for these murders and whether it really has to do with werewolves, as well as whether he’ll manage to avoid prison (and keep his head, because he’ll be in really serious sh… I mean, situations), you’ll find out in the second book of the “Dresden Files” series – “Fool Moon”.

Why does such a book read equally fast as the previous book (if not faster)?

By creating the character of Harry Dresden, writer Jim Butcher managed to do something readers hadn’t encountered much in literature – adventures of an adult detective (meaning, not elementary schooler, not high schooler, not student, but a real adult person) in the real world where magic and magical beings exist in parallel which only individuals (i.e., wizards) are aware of. Realistically, you have a detective noir world with action elements where magic is still involved (and it’s not Harry Potter)… what more could you want to refresh your reading imagination?

Our Harry Dresden is still the same – cynical, self-ironic, occasionally witty (more sarcastic)… only now we discover he’s an even more complex personality than seemed at first glance, because we occasionally get information in spoonfuls concerning the death of his parents, and that apparently it wasn’t exactly an ordinary accident. All in all, this awakens interest for the next books because we, when you think about it a bit, don’t really know much about Harry’s past and why he’s the way he is and why he has such an unusual relationship with magic (and the magical Council that tolerates him, but seems like it wouldn’t be hard for them to eliminate him). We’ll also see how he experiences his relationship with Lieutenant Murphy, as well as sexy Carmen Rodriguez who writes for the occult magazine “Arcane” (something like “Third Eye” with elements of “Kurir”). And we’ll also see situations where Harry tries (literally) to keep his sanity.

There’s also a new magical element, i.e., beings – werewolves! And what’s a refreshing element, is in the Dresdenverse (ok, this term doesn’t exist, I just wanted it to sound like I invented a cool term) there are several categories of werewolves, each with its own origin and specific characteristics and mythological background.

Also, unlike Storm Front, in “Fool Moon” everything is darker, crueler, bloodier, more tense, and at moments more erotic, which definitely moves the series toward the mature element… which is a great refreshment for this specific genre.

And on top of that, in addition, there’s a subtle connection with the previous book through the character of criminal Marcone, who obviously hasn’t finished with Harry Dresden.

All in all, “Fool Moon” is a direct hit and nicely paves the way for the next books about Harry Dresden’s adventures, so I can hardly wait for a chance to read the third book too. If you’re a lover of detective novels, subtle magical elements, sarcastic dialogues, the complex inner world of the main character (told in first person), but again that doesn’t require excessive effort and delving, this book (as well as the previous one) is definitely for you.

Dear reader, did you even read the first book in the series? 😀

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