Dead Beat | [spoiler] Dresden Review 

I replayed it twice the first time you said it trying to understand what you were saying, gave up and continued with the video. Thanks for the clarification😂 Merry Christmas

OOOOH Elaine. I was so confused when you said wife. That at least tracks

Thank you! I was kinda yelling at you while I was watching. Wonderful review. Just read White Night, can’t wait for your review of that one.

Merphy, I loved your analysis of Harry's view of Murphy. You're coming up on a point where you'll need to start reading the short stories, probably after "White Night". The two short story collections are "Side Jobs" and "Brief Cases". Also what did you think about Harry, Lucio, and Corpse Taker?

Yeah Merphy Napier I’m not a big fan of you judging Harry’s own Internal Thoughts and then just letting Karrin’s Conduct in that opening scene go with a simple “well it sounded like he wanted to tell her not to go.” Yeah NO! I am not a Karrin Murphy fan (which I will explain more as you go further into the Series) but Karrin is absolutely and needlessly Cruel here. Giving her all the credit she is due as she isn’t just a really solid Administrator and all around good Cop she is also a Top Shelf Detective. It’s also been a full year since Blood Rites where you admitted (rightly so) that Harry’s feelings have changed when it comes to Karrin. Now there is absolutely no way that Harry “Heart on his Sleeve” Dresden didn’t give away those feelings at some point to her in that year, looking from a Watsonian POV. Now knowing these things we can safely assume Karrin knew of Harry’s feelings towards her and how they have changed. Her going to him right before she goes off on a romantic vacation with another Man (which due to Harry’s Shock at the news can also be inferred that Karrin never told him she was Dating Kincaid which is another Piece of Evidence to her Cruelty here) with the excuse to ask him to “water her plants”?! Are you kidding me? We just met her Family in the last Book! Even if she is still having issues with her Mother and Sister there are her many Murphy Brothers, Cousins, or her Co-Workers at SI she could ask to do something so relatively small. As a Man if a Woman I both Respected and Had Feelings for treated me the way she did by both acknowledging my feelings and rubbing in that she doesn’t share them in the same interaction (and she doesn’t feel the same way about him otherwise she never would have taken up with Kincaid to start with) it would effect me just as much if not more than it effects Harry here. Then he has to spend the entire Book blackmailed into putting everything on the line for the Woman who just did that to him!!! Harry Dresden is a Damn Saint and I will brook no argument in this… Other than my issues with Murphy in general but the Opening Scene in specific there is a reason Dead Beat is my 2nd Favorite Book in this whole Series after Changes. It really is that good. Yeah I never saw the Shiela twist either lol. POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!

*P O L K A* *W I L L* *N E V E R* *D I E*

There's a short story from Murphy's perspective that I love and describes Harry from her perspective.

@@evanflynn4680 Last short from the Side Jobs anthology if I remember correctly. Hopeful Murph picks them up after she finishes the series.

And then the crying starts.

I found the whole concept of needing a drummer to be a cool take on zombies in general.

Now I have a mental image of a Denarian private discord server in my head, and I can't get it out. Thank you.

" the building was on fire and it wasn't my fault" still one of the greatest opening line of a book

Michael is probably my favorite character as well but I don't know that I could pick a solid second place. There's so many great characters in these books that it's hard. Possibly Marcone as my second favorite. Or Bob. Or Butters. Or Molly. Ask me in an hour and I'll probably have different answers.

I know it’s splitting hairs but since Merphy mentioned it too; the denarians are not demons. Fallen angels are a whole magnitude of danger worse.

@@peterepeatepete2845 True

Disagree. I do love Lash, though. 😉

why was I remembering her as his wife?! 😂 idk why I thought they were married

@@merphynapierreviews He purposed to Susan at the end of book 3, and he keeps the ring on his mantle next to picture of her. Elaine notices it in Summer Knight, so maybe that's where you got that impression?

I’m pretty sure you don’t get much more than she was Harry’s first Love, so it wouldn’t be crazy to think they were married.

Lol yeah I was confused, like, did I completely miss the fact that they were married 😅

The audiobooks are so great. The first few are a little rough since Marsters wasn't used to narration but once he finds his stride, oh boy, is he a goddamned fantastic narrator. When I first started listening to the books, I was like "Oh, this is fun, Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer is narrating this!" Now, when I see episodes of Buffy, I think "Hey, that's cool, Harry Dresden is playing Spike!" To me Dresden is Marsters' defining role now.

I think you mean Backup, and it's included in the short story collection Side Jobs. That's probably the first of many short stories that are pretty much required reading to get the whole series.

@@Danne1886 there was a novelette released probably 12-15 years ago. I have the hard bound book, which was probably limited release. You are correct about Backup, I thought I had included the name, but on review of the post I guess I lost it when I was trying to place it in the Dresden Files chronology. Thanks for the catch.

I did the same thing started and finished it all this year, and it instantly became a favorite series and I can't wait for more books

I know. She was so perfect for Dresden. But that was what Lashiel was going for. A women just vulnerable enough for his protective instincts to come to the forefront, but strong enough to be of assistance and for him to admire her strength.

That's exactly what happened to me when I first read the series 😅

Correct! This reason is also why Butters had such a major part in the story, Jim used him as a way to explain aspects of the world to new readers.

Plus, there are amazing artworks of the scene, so you can actually see it, instead of just imagining it.

The last two (Peace Talks and Battle Ground) are really just one long book split in two. Peace Talks is all build up (like you get in the first half of most Dresden books) and Battle Ground is one long balls-to-the-wall crazy ending of a Dresden book. It's actually exhausting.

I love just about every book from Dead Beat onwards. There's things to love in the earlier books, but from here on, JB just keeps hitting things out of the park.

Brief Cases is the other one. I second this recommendation, but you have to do some research to know exactly when to reach each short story because they fall in between certain books.

I suggested she read Side Jobs after Changes. That way she doesn't risk reading stuff that's past the book she's up to.

dont overhype it too much... there are plenty of great books before that... :)

Any predictions or speculations I make in the videos, you can leave me to figure out as the series goes on. When I guess at what's going on, I'm not looking for answers, just giving you the chance to laugh at me as the one who's read more and holds all the answers already :)

I think it’s more the effect is has on Harry with it hanging over his head. He has no idea what that actually means and to someone like him it’s a pretty terrible fate.

@@peterepeatepete2845 I think that's Butcher's rationale for why the curse. But I don't think the dying Cassius had enough background on Harry to have come up with that curse. And if he's of a mind to go that direction, 'be unloved forever' would seem to have more immediate and long-term effects. Of course, who knows what's the limits are on a death curse.

T Rex is from the Cretaceous.

They are the real Jim Butcher self-insert characters