Turn Coat

[Seldon2639]

I don't know if anyone else here reads the Dresden Files series of books (if you don't, you should). I just finished the latest book, Turn Coat, and I'm now really depressed. Good god, nothing can stay happy for Dresden for more than the interim between books. He ends Small Favors in a fairly happy relationship, and having succeeded in stopping a plot to bring about the apocalypse. True, his good friend had been hurt in the line of duty, but his friend wouldn't have regretted it at all. And he was visited by an archangel (which is just cool).

By the beginning of the next book:

Spoiler

His girlfriend and he are on the outs, one of the most powerful wardens has been accused of murder, and shit's going down. By the end of the book, it turns out that his girlfriend had been mind-controlled into being with him, and they're broken up, his brother has embraced his inner darkness, and basically everything's gone back to hell

Butcher (the author) seems to be shooting for a darker tone recently, but good god. Harry loses one girlfriend to him having killed their foster-father (seemingly in cold blood), loses another one to partial vampirization, and has now lost a third to the events of this book? This is stuff that would make the cast of "Up With People" sit down and cry.

 

[Seldon2639]

That's the reason I keep reading it.
I mean Thomas reverting back to a killer is awesome, Molly turning into real warlock, Lash returning (that is what is causing his headaches), Kirby getting offed, Morgan sacrificing himself for the good of the Council. That's why I love A Song of Ice and Fire.
Having everyone happy and safe is boring. Being unpredictable is fun. Although I swear man, at the going rate Harry is going to be nothing but a mess of scars and shredded flesh by the end of the season.
Butcher said he was planning a total of 20 books. Imagine how much worse its going to get. But as long as they keep James Marsters for the audio book I will be happy. Kind of sucks he's taking time off doing this for that steaming pile of crap Dragonball.

You and I have different definitions of "awesome". In every previous book, Dresden ended up with a bittersweet ending at worst. This time, it was a straight up kicked-in-the-balls downer ending. What bugs me is that there was no upside at the end, just a piling on of horribleness. I don't mind people being unhappy, or earning their happy ending, but for it to just be a nonstop series of "oh, that sucked, so here's another thing that's worse.

Spoiler

The White Council loses one of their most powerful wardens, opening them to future attack, and basically everything in Harry's life collapses around him. I was good with the ending to even Small Favors (with Michael being hurt), or White Night (with Lash being killed), but both of those came in the context of broader good events. I can't imagine how Butcher's going to keep this up for nine more books. If Luccio had come back to Harry to try to work it out, that would have been at least a shining glimmer of hope. Instead it's just a crapsack world.