keeps getting better and better - Rated 
It is rare that by book 8 in a series it keeps its momentum and freshness but these just get better and better and this one is my favourite. He becomes a little darker and mean in this book, but his humour improves too.
Butcher Continued Success hacks up others - Rated
Dresden rides again (or I should perhaps say, he poots again in the mighty Blue Beetle), as this latest instalment of the Dresden files hits the UK. As usual Butcher brings the humour, the crime noir and above all the means to keep you gripped to the last page. Whilst muddling though as he doesn't appear to have a clue as to whats happening within his own life, Harry's life drama's and family crisis are just so entertaining that you just cant help but keep going with the wizard up to and including the huge sacrifice that's made within the tale. Each character continues to grow within their personal space and perhaps the most amusing point is Harry coming out of the closet and how he's going to live it down when the CPD get wind.
Jim Butcher is the best - Rated
I like contempary Fantasy and I can honestly say the King is currently Jim Butcher. Ignore the Anita Blake series, the inital books were fantastic, but the latter ones are soft porn, here is the true King.
I now have every one of his books, and can say that each one of them is a quality read.
I would sugest you ignore the TV Series which is rubbish, but get the books.
As for this one I will not go into detail, but its off good quality.
My only minor quibble is he is starting to put minor ploy hints in for future books which I find slightly annoying.
If you have followed the saga of Harry Dresden - Rated
then you will find this an excellent addition to the series. This book is very important to the background myth-arc, with real development among the characters and a clever resolution to a one or two plotlines. (IMHO such resolution is a very good thing.) The writing still snaps, and there are one or two set scenes that come off very well. Harry continues to grow, and is dealing with the conflict between his anti-authority nature and his inevitable development into an authority figure himself.
If you are new to the series, then this is *not* the place to start. Butcher's work is superior to a lot of that in the field in that his character actually goes through changes and learns things. He's a supernatural private detective that actually tries to think once in a while. Things start dark and get darker in the first few novels, and now the protagonist is growing and learning. The series has excellent supporting characters and tries to deal with the moral choices the hero is forced to make, and their consequences. Do yourself a favor and start at the beginning ("Storm Front") and follow the saga!!! I'd recommend The Fates by Tino Georgiou to those who might have missed this bestseller.
Another Satisfying Adventure - Rated
While Night is yet another great volume of the on-going Dresden Files. As always however, I'll start with an advisory for those who haven't read any other books in the series or have only watched the (substandard) TV adaptation; don't start here. Go a start at the beginning with Storm Front. This is not a series you just dip into and enjoy.
For those who are up to date however, I can highly recommend this latest book. Its not quite up to the very high standard of my favourite Dresden adventures such as Summer Knight, Dead Beat and Proven Guilty, but its extremely good none-the-less.
I will not risk spoiling things by going into too much detail regarding the plot, except to say that it revolves around the ongoing war between the White Council of Wizards and the Red Court of the Vampires and sucks (if you'll pardon the pun) in the Vampires of the White Court. Beyond that its the usual mix of neo-noir detective story and gory supernatural violence. Putting in an appearance are many familiar characters, including Harry's half-brother Thomas, Chicago PD Detective Karrin Murphy and Mouse, the giant Temple Dog, along with some less familar ones such as gangster Johnnie Marcone, warden Ramirez and Lara, Thomas' sister and head of the White Court.
It all makes for a further satisfying adventure for Harry. If I have any criticisms of the book its the fact that, having set up a host of new plot strands in his previous book, Proven Guilty, Jim Butcher doesn't really progress the overarching story a great deal. Yes, some bad guys from the past reappear and in one excellent flashback we get to witness firsthand the sharp end of the Vampire/Wizard war, but for all the action involved, by the end wider events haven't progressed greeatly. Whilst its a pleasure to have an ongoing backstory developing behind more immediate events in each book, the speed at which it is doing so is becoming a tad frustrating. Sooner or later Butcher will have to deliver the goods and give loyal readers resolutions to at least some of the plots he has set up.
Apart from that White Night maintains Jim Butcher's batting average and fans will not be disappointed. Now if only they could make the TV show just as good....
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