Changes really made me reevaluate the Dresden series and whether I wanted to keep reading it, partially because I have no idea where he's going from here (and no idea what the point of the ending was). But the books had already dropped from "this is neat and fun" to "this is fun" for me somewhere around the seventh book, which I think is where the weight of the backstory and the attempts at srs bzness started overpowering the zippy plots. And the possible burgeoning romance of Harry and someone who is, I think, young enough to be his daughter squicks me something awful. For now, I think I'm done.

The first October Daye book wasn't that impressive, but a pleasant enough way to pass an afternoon. But the second book, A Local Habitation, is seriously stupid. I would not recommend readin git.

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partially because I have no idea where he's going from here (and no idea what the point of the ending was)

I read on TVTropes that Butcher planned for the DF series to be at least 20 books, ending with an apocalyptic trilogy (unclear on whether the 20 books includes the trilogy or if the trilogy is separate). WTF?!

But the books had already dropped from "this is neat and fun" to "this is fun" for me somewhere around the seventh book, which I think is where the weight of the backstory and the attempts at srs bzness started overpowering the zippy plots.

Books 7-10 would probably have to be my personal favorites of the series, although that's going off memories of my reading. (Well, I re-read 7 lately, and it was still as fun as I remembered it being.)

And the possible burgeoning romance of Harry and someone who is, I think, young enough to be his daughter squicks me something awful.

Are we talking about Molly? Because I haaaate what Butcher is doing with that. I thought it was mostly resolved in like book 8 or 9 or something, but then in 12 he has one of the characters doing "um, dude, Molly's still in love with you", at which point I facepalmed repeatedly. I have a thing for both May-December romances and teacher-student relationships (...sometimes), but in DF it just squicks me, probably because of the way Butcher tends to handle his other female characters.

The first October Daye book wasn't that impressive, but a pleasant enough way to pass an afternoon. But the second book, A Local Habitation, is seriously stupid. I would not recommend readin git.

Thanks for the non-rec. Now I can spend that time reading other books. :D

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I'd heard about the series being that long, but that makes what he did with Changes even weirder. Uh, dude, no one really believes that you've put your main protagonist in any danger of being killed off permanently.

I personally mark Book 7, or maybe 6, as the point where Butcher, or at least my perception of Butcher, started taking things too seriously. I like the plot of book 7, but not the brooding that occurred in that book or the books that followed, especially his apparently permanent non-starter romantic relationship with Murphy that needs to be explained again and again and again.

Yeah, I think Butcher is heading for a romance between Harry and Molly, and once again, I see no point to it. As you say, the plotline was apparently resolved; Harry seems to have the exact same type of sexual attraction to her that he does to just about every other woman he meets, nothing deeper; and there's been nothing in the plots to make me think that a romance between them is necessary, inevitable, or foreshadowed.

A Local Habitation is the book I was talking about in point 1. Srsly, avoid it.

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