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The Dresden Files: Skin Game by Jim Butcher

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Skin Game by Jim Butcher is the fifteenth novel in The Dresden Files series—do not fret if you have never read this epic urban contemporary fantasy saga before because each book is written in a way that is very accessible for newcomers. Long term fans will agree that certain recurring location descriptions (McAnally’s Pub) can get a bit tiring.

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Meet Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Among other spoiler-ish things, Harry is a private investigator and talented wizard from Chicago. His earlier adventures involved chasing werewolves, fighting vampires and scorching nasty spell slingers.

In due course Harry is caught up in treacherous dealings with the Winter and Summer courts of Faerie—magical beings often referred to as Sidhe—and survives a dangerous entanglement with the Order of the Blackened Denarius—fallen angels that manipulate their human hosts. It is said that the coins the Denarians possess are the ancient currency Judas was awarded when he betrayed Jesus.

Harry is not the man he used to be (or is he?). The narrative is intimate first-person and really accentuates his hardened experience, his gradual and self-imposed distance from close friends and the inevitable changes that come when one is touched by crude, magnificent power.

The Denarians are not a new adversary in The Dresden Files but they are arguably the most intriguing. Whenever these villains reveal themselves you can be sure that their mysterious and cunning leader Nicodemus Archleone will make an appearance. A host to Anduriel, Nicodemus wears a noose around his neck that seems to prolong his unnatural life for he could be older than a millennium.

Whenever these nasty fallen angels stir trouble rest assured that The Knights of the Cross will be there to balance the scales. Entrusted with holy swords purportedly forged from the nails used in the Crucifixion of Christ a Knight of the Cross upholds a sacred mandate: recover the Denarian coins and attempt to save the life of the human host by challenging them to change their ways.

To say any more about the quirky cast of characters would spoil the surprises and the fun contained in Jim Butcher’s texts so go to your local book store and buy this one already.

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Posted by on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014. Filed under Books, Headline. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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