Book Review: Death Masks by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #5)

The Dresden Files novels have a solid fan base. These novels attract readers of fantasy fictions with a unique flavor, a flavor created by blending together urban fantasy, mystery, detective fictions and horror. The world of The Dresden Files is a fascinating place inhabited by interesting characters.

However, in my opinion, these books are not without flaws. During the last Christmas break, I read the first four novels in the series. These books were fun, but I found them repetitive. This is why, I decided to take a break from this series.

After a 3 months break, I returned to the world of The Dresden Files. So I picked up Death Masks from my bookshelf and began to read it. Death Masks is the fifth installment in this series. This book counts to 400 pages, and I enjoyed this book immensely. In my opinion, Death Masks is a better book than its predecessors. Today, I would like to review this book.

Synopsis:

Get ready to meet Harry Dresden, the world's first and the only professional wizard! Mr. Dresden offers a variety of services; from finding lost items, supernatural consultations, and paranormal investigations. Harry provides these services at reasonable rates. Harry's number is in the phone book, he is but a call away. So next time, when something goes bump in the dark of a night, you know who to call.

The problem is, Harry's business hasn't been good. In fact, recently Harry's business is as lively as a dead horse. But even a wizard needs to pay the bills. This is why, when Father Vincent contracted Harry to work on a case, Harry immediately sprung to action at the metallic smell of cold, hard cash.

What's the contract? The church recently lose an artifact. The lost artifact is none other than the famous shroud of Turin. To complete the contract, Harry must recover the shroud.

Sounds like a simple assignment, right? Unfortunately, with Harry's luck, nothing is ever simple....

My thoughts about this book:

My major criticism for the first 4 The Dresden Files novels, is the repetitiveness of those books. The previous installments felt very repetitive, because a story element kept recurring where Harry got beaten in fights, only to find some inner power at the last minute to win the day. The author repeated this trope at least 2 or 3 times in very book. This was why after reading 4 books, I took a break from this series.

I am happy to report Death Masks does not have this problem of repetitiveness. The author made some welcoming changes to the storytelling in this book. This time around, when Harry is beaten in a fight, he either stays down or his friends come to rescue him. The removal of the “finding inner power” trope does wonders for this book. In this book, readers finally feel a real sense of danger for Harry as he waged battles against the demonic horde from the underworld. Furthermore, because Harry can be beaten in fights, so the story is unpredictable, leaving rooms for surprises and twists.

The author Jim Butcher always pack a lot actions into The Dresden Files novels. More so in Death Masks. In appeared to me Death Masks has a heavier focus on actions, and this is a double edged sword. I mean, more actions do quicken the pace of the book. However, a part of the appeal for The Dresden Files series, is its flavor of mystery/detective fictions. When I read this book, I felt Death Masks traded in the series' vibe of detective fictions in exchange for more actions. The result is while Death Masks is a faster-paced book, but the story is not cloaked in mystery and suspense as in the previous books.

I like the characters in Death Masks. Harry remains a likable protagonist who possesses a good sense of humor. The supporting characters are memorable and likable too. The author did an excellent job at portraying his characters. When I was reading this book, I could easily visualize every character's appearance and personality in my mind. It was as if I was seeing them in front of my eyes. Furthermore, I found the antagonist in this book to be the most intimidating, and the scariest villain in this series yet.

Death Masks re-kindled my interest in The Dresden Files series. In my opinion, while this book is not flawless, but it is a better book than the previous installments. I most welcome the removal of the “finding inner power” trope. For me, the removal of this trope eliminated the sense of repetitiveness in the story, which was my biggest qualm with the first 4 books in the series. When I closed Death Masks, I didn't feel like taking a break from the series (like 3 months ago). Instead, I was eager to start reading the sequel. It is titled “Blood Rites”. In fact, I am already half way into the sequel as I wrote this review. So far, I am enjoying the sequel a lot and I will be reviewing Blood Rites when I finish it. So until the next time, happy reading!