Captain Specificity

This books starts about a month after the Battle of Chicago, and Harry isn't doing very well, mentally or physically. Old friends and acquaintances are met once again through the story, helping Harry, and being helped by Harry.

Old enemies and new also visit, sometimes blurring the lines between ally and enemy, moving in ways that Harry doesn't understand. One major visitor is Lara Raith, at the request of Winter, they interact regularly, and familiarly.

Without including any spoilers, or major spoilers at least, Butcher does a masterful job of squaring up some loose ends, and introducing new variables to the epic shitshow that is Harry Dresden's life. The last few chapters are an explosive example of the potential true power of Harry Dresden and Winter itself.

This book melds a fascinating set of circumstances in a science fiction story that has emotion, action, and drama aplenty. The flawed main protagonist shows growth, deterioration, and more growth in a different direction for his character.

Space battles, losses, gains, and adventure, this is a worthy beginning to a series that, if it maintains quality, will prove a fine read.

I have read all the Lucas, Letty, Virgil, and Kidd books by Sandford, and have enjoyed them all, including this one. However, it really feels like this book missed the mark for the normal suspense, excitement, and interesting characters. In my opinion even Lucas and Virgil were uninterested in the case, for the most part. Probably the least of the Prey Novels to date.

The author of this enjoyable book has crafted an excellent mix of realistic capability tied with extraordinary choices and assistance from an unexpected source. The characters are well written, and feel quite like well thought individuals, which is a nice bonus. With triumph, loss, and fear for the future, the cast of characters pursue a worthy goal to defeat a difficult enemy. I look forward to reading the next two books.

To call this a collection of short stories would be a grave disservice to short stories. In my mind these are a collection of story ideas which have not been fleshed out with any character, flow, or meaning. While this collection might have a story in it which could be fleshed out into something worth reading, nothing actually on the page is.