Death Masks by Jim Butcher: Book Review

My Review

My Rating: 5/5

Spoiler Free Death Masks Book Review

I am so glad that this series continues to be brilliant! Summer Knight shocked me with how good it was, but Death Masks shocked me by being both brilliant and different to the other entries in Jim Butcher‘s fantasy series.

Harry Dresden has been growing slowly over the past couple of books

I won’t get into specifics because of spoilers, but I will say that Jim Butcher’s character work in this entry to The Dresden Files is beautiful!

In Death Masks I am now beginning to see Harry Dresden become more nuanced than ever. He loves deeply, isn’t having as many sexist thoughts, and continues to put his life on the line for what he believes is right – no matter the cost to himself.

He’s a fantastic character and I’m looking forward to watching him continue to grow in the next few books.

As with the other Dresden books, there are several plot elements that all link together quite well

In this book, however, there is one plotline that sticks to itself for the most part and the end is quite unsatisfactory.

I can see how this book is possibly bridging several books together, however that made the plots of this book just feel like introductions to something more. I say “just”, but they were still fast-paced, exciting, and fun to follow!

We are getting so many hints to the future books…

…which is something Jim Butcher has not done much of in the previous books like Fool Moon or Grave Peril. I am guessing that Death Masks and the next one, Blood Rites, or two will be similar in that kind of style before all these threads come nicely together and explode in Harry Dresden’s life!

If that’s true, I’m all in, because there is nothing better than a series becoming that epic.

I am so glad that this book was more of an introduction to a bigger plot

We got to see so much more of the characters interacting. Harry, Murphy, Michael, Susan, and even Marcone(and Molly who it seems Jim Butcher wanted us to notice? Possible future main character? I hope that theory is right because she’s funny!) have their time in the spotlight and we get to see them for who they really are.

I love these characters and I’m glad I got to spend more time with them just being themselves, rather than constantly fighting off werewolves and the like!