Fool Moon
Jim Butcher
Roc, 342 pages
Order this book
Wizard gumshoe Harry Dresden returns in style in this second installment of The Dresden Files.
Things have not been good lately for Chicago's only professional wizard. His previous case, working with the Chicago
PD to solve a series of gruesome murders committed by a mad warlock turned druglord, brought him a lot of publicity,
but not the helpful kind: the press has dubbed him a charlatan, and his contact on the police force, Lieutenant
Karrin Murphy, has come in for some heavy criticism for using public money to hire him. To make matters worse,
he's been linked with Gentleman Johnny Marcone, the city's top crime boss--at whose behest, it's said, he terminated
the warlock-druglord.
When another set of brutal killings comes to light, Karrin is the only one who makes the connection between the
timing of the killings and the full moon. Realizing she has something supernatural on her hands, she turns to Harry,
though she's reluctant to trust him after the near-debacle of their last case.
It turns out that werewolves are alive and well and ripping out people's throats in Chicago. But where did they
come from? Why are there so many of them? And why are their victims connected to Johnny Marcone? The search for
answers pulls Harry and Karrin into a terrifying world of shapeshifters and supernatural curses, and brings them
face-to face with some very ugly human magic--which they won't survive if they can't learn to trust each other
again.
Storm Front was one of the most enjoyable books I read last year, and Fool Moon is even better. Butcher
keeps the thrills coming with plenty of mystery, suspense, and edge-of-your-seat action scenes. The subject matter
is very dark, with a compelling evocation of the dehumanizing influence of shapeshifting magic, and a tragic figure
in the form of the central werewolf, a man laboring under the influence of an ancient curse, whose efforts to contain
his supernatural savagery are foiled by people whose entirely human motives are much uglier than his involuntary
evil. But Harry's wry first-person narrative provides a nicely-judged contrast to these grim events, interjecting
welcome notes of humor throughout.
Harry is developing into a memorable character--honest and honorable enough to be likeable, flawed and unpredictable
enough to be interesting. He's entirely believable both as a man and as a wizard. Butcher's intelligently-crafted
explanations of the whys and hows of Harry's wizardry are one of the best things about this series--an unusually
convincing portrayal of the power of magic, and its limitations.
Fool Moon wraps up its story in a satisfying way, while sowing seeds of mystery for future volumes. Dresden
Files fans can rejoice: in addition to Book Three, Grave Peril, coming in 2001, Butcher has sold two
additional installments in the series. It looks, happily, as if Harry Dresden will be around for some time to come.
Copyright © 2001 Victoria Strauss
Top of Page
|
