White Night

The Dresden Files, Book 9

By: Jim Butcher

Narrated by: James Marsters

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

In Chicago, someone has been killing practitioners of magic, those incapable of becoming full-fledged wizards. Shockingly, all the evidence points to Harry Dresden's half brother, Thomas, as the murderer. Determined to clear his sibling's name, Harry uncovers a conspiracy within the White Council of Wizards that threatens not only him, but his nearest and dearest, too.

©2008 Roc (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

“What’s not to like about this series?...It takes the best elements of urban fantasy, mixes it with some good old-fashioned noir mystery, tosses in a dash of romance and a lot of high-octane action, shakes, stirs, and serves.” (SF Site)

“A tricky plot complete with against-the-clock pacing, firefights, explosions, and plenty of magic. Longtime series fans as well as newcomers drawn by the SciFi Channel’s TV series based on the novels should find this supernatural mystery a real winner.” (Library Journal)

“What would you get if you crossed Spenser with Merlin? Probably you would come up with someone very like Harry Dresden, wizard, tough guy and star of [the Dresden Files].” (The Washington Times)

Intrigue in The White Court

First, an update, since no one who left a review complaining of it has done so: The audio file is intact, not corrupt and contains the full contents of the book. I will assume either there was a download problem, or an issue with the hosted file that has since been corrected.

James Marsters has quickly become my favorite Audible narrator. He nimbly performs a wide cast of characters with many distinct voices, many of which are magical, evil or demons - I wonder how many throat lozenges he goes through a book. This is no dry reading, but a one-man show - mostly spent as Harry Dresden the droll, wise-cracking and sympathetic hero.

The pop culture references sometimes get laid on a little thickly, but they serve to ground Harry in the world as we know it, while he moves equally easily through the fantasy around him.

He is a magical Everyman in a world of intrigue among the heavy hitters of the supernatural world. He is increasingly distrustful of his fellow Wizards, targeted by ticked off vampires, training his new apprentice, worried about his brother the White Court vampire's secretive behavior, while he tries to track down the murderer staging the suicides of local women.

Did I mention the fallen angel in his head trying to corrupt him?

I love these books - There is both lighthearted humor, and darker drama - the characters are never just 'one thing' they all develop into multifaceted personalities and their relationships with Harry keep every book interesting.

With every book Harry seems to pick up a new friend to add to the close knit crew who follow from book to book and add to the depth of the underlying story in the series.

Good form

Not as good as the first books, but sees to a nontrivial development of dresden.

FIXED!

Only book in the series I never read all the way through on paper. Can't wait to finish the Audiobook!

The White Night, A Wizard and His Exploits.

Where does White Night rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's missing some thing, but it adds to the overall story of the series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Harry, because the series is from his perspective.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene at the end where he finds out what his brother has been doing. Or when the go blasting out of the tunnel like a cannonball.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Hero, teacher, lover, fighter.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book, listened to it over a period of about a month or so. Easy to follow, and enjoyable.

Great story

This many books into a series that's years old, and I find myself surprised at how different and new the story can be. Excellent all around

Things coming back into focus

Great character development!! Nothing left to wonder or speculation that you 'need' to understand the motives of each member in Dresden's universe. And, yet, you are left to wonder how Harry will deal with what comes next:; and, that is always extraordinary.

Another great Dresden Files novel

Love the story, and especially the narrator. Put together, it is absolutely perfect. Supernatural and fantasy artfully mixed with the 'real world'

best of the series so far

I feel like this series is really getting going, can't wait for the next one!!

Another winner!

This starts off a little slow but pays off in the end! Wow what a climax!

Dresden fanboy

I have read the books twice and I've now listen to the audio by James Marsters twice. I am yes a Dresden fanboy. I've never been to a convention but yes I would line up in a second to get Jim Butcher's autograph.