Changes

I do not give out many 5-star ratings, but for this book I couldn't do anything else. That is despite the fact that [a:Jim Butcher 10746 Jim Butcher https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1400640324p2/10746.jpg] did something I honestly didn't think he would do to his legions of loyal readers, something that I absolutely detest. Something that I will not tell you about, because I loathe spoilers. If you know anything about me, though, it means a great deal to say that even though I would drop most authors who use that particular technique like not just hot, but rotten hot potatoes, I cannot even consider not getting the next Dresden Files book and devouring it the very first millisecond I am able to do so.My family can attest to the fact that I didn't just laugh out loud while reading Changes. (Anybody who doesn't laugh out loud at least once while reading the Dresden Files should be checked for rigor mortis.) This time I laughed so loud and so long at one point that Sam got up and came into the room where I was to make sure that I was okay and getting enough air. There was absolutely no way for me to explain what was so funny, of course, without spoilers.While there is a great deal of humor, there is also darkness. A lot of darkness. The blurb for the book makes that clear. Susan, the love of Harry's life, kidnapped years ago by a Red Court vampire and half-turned in a plot to get at Dresden, is back with big, bad news: she had a daughter by him, and the child has been kidnapped by someone. As usual, things go downhill from there.Many series start out with a bang, have maybe two or three strong volumes, then devolve into more and more and more contract fulfillment books that I occasionally think might be written by clever shell scripts. The Dresden Files is one of the few, beautiful exceptions, as volume twelve proves. I honestly thought that Butcher was winding things up to move on to other projects, due to some of the events in the book, but I will say that he surprised the bejesus out of me. This is definitely not a series-ending book! I anxiously await number thirteen. I might even do something I've never done before, and pre-order it. Yes, Jim, you've got me hooked, and how.

???Wow, Harry??? This changes everything.??? As the title suggests, Harry goes through some life-changing events in this book, starting with the first sentence and ending with the last. He???s got some really hard, almost impossible really, choices to make and he is not the same person at the end. Changes ends with the most awful cliffhanger, so make sure you have the next book, Ghost Story, ready to go.

Yep, I enjoy reading, and now mostly listening, to the Dresden files. James Marsters (Spike!) is the perfect narrator for these. I just can't believe I've made it through 12 of them. Four stars for being good at what they are.