Book Review: White Night by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #9)

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White Night is the ninth book in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. This installment follows Harry as he investigates the killings of different Chicago magical practitioners. Something is killing those who can do magic but aren’t full wizards. Though some are just disappearances and others look like suicides’ at one scene a message is left for Harry which points to a serial killer and Thomas might be involved.

As the story progresses we find out that the killer is dressing like a warden of the White Council to instill fear as the war between the Red Court Vampires and the White Council continues and the plan to use Harry to tip the balance of the war. Thomas it turns out is protecting and hiding those who are being attacked and Marcone ends up helping out to protect the citizen of Chicago.

Like many other urban fantasy series the Dresden Files has a formula at this point but I find that is what makes urban fantasy enjoyable and allows for changes to be that much more powerful. At this point the Dresden Files has found its footing and just keeps getting better.

Video Game Review: Kingdom Hearts 3 and Remind

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Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Remind DLC are the last games in the Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. This game follows from the previous games where Sora and everyone are training to stop Xehanort from foraging the x-blade and destroying the world to create a new one. Before getting into it, this game is for fans and expects you to both know and understand all that has come before. The game does try to inform new players but your really not going to completely understand things if you haven’t play all the pervious games. Especially the emotional moments and how certain stories are brought together and concluded are best experienced with this prior knowledge.

The story starts off with Yen Sid prepping the seven keyblade wielders as the guardians of light and Sora going off to regain the power of waking. As they travel the Organization XII members that have returned are targeting the new princess of heart to make sure everything goes to plan. Finally, Riku and Mickey are in the realm of darkness trying to find Aqua while Kairi and Lea train as keyblade wielders.

In terms of gameplay I love it. The basic magic and keyblade attacks are still there but we are given situation commands, different keyblade forms, and attraction flow which summons park attractions to hit enemies with. I can see that not everyone will like all the different combat forms so I would try all of them and then just use the ones you like the most. Overall, Kingdom Hearts 3 is not my favorite game in the series its a fun ride and a good entry that answers many questions and ends this saga of the story while also leaving enough mystery for future games. My only criticism is the fact that Kairi still doesn’t have much agency in the story and is more of a plot device than an actual character. I would have also liked to have seen some Final Fantasy characters at least show up as cameos.

Now to talk about the Remind DLC I will have to spoil the ending of Kingdom Hearts 3 so now is the time to leave if you haven’t finished it.

So near the end of Kingdom Hearts 3, Xehanort provokes Sora into attacking him by destroying Kairi’s body this forges the x-blade and unlocks Kingdom Hears. Sora, Donald, and Goofy do defeat him and Xehanort gives the x-blade to Sora to seal Kingdom Hearts. However, Sora decides to use the power of waking to save Kairi though it will have grave consequences. In the scene on Destiny Islands everyone is there including Kairi and Sora but Sora disappears and it is clear that finding Sora is where the story will go next.

The Remind DLC better explains the ending as Sora is using the power of waking to save Kairi. The power of waking allows Sora to essentially travel back in time during the final battles with the Organization member by entering the hearts of his friends and allies. In terms of gameplay this allows the player to control and fight as other characters. While the concept of Sora travel in time is a little confusing I do love the extra scenes and character moments that we didn’t see before. This also better explains that Sora is breaking the laws of the universe to save his friend and love the fact that we finally get to play as Kairi. The DLC also gives us more of a glimpse of where the series is headed in the next games.

Movie Review: Jurassic World Dominion

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Jurassic World Dominion is the last movie in the Jurassic World trilogy and it feels like the last movie that is going to be made for the Jurassic Park franchise. This was the first movie I’ve seen in theaters since February of 2020 so I had a great time going back to a movie theater.

The movie is set four years after Fallen Kingdom and the dinosaurs being released onto the main land. I initially thought that this movie would be more about the world learning to cope with dinosaurs being in the modern world. The company Biosyn now has a nature preserve for the dinosaurs and might be genetically engineering crops and locusts to control the food supply. At the same time Maisie Lockwood is being hunted because she is a clone and Blue, the raptor, has a baby without a male raptor. When Maisie and Blue’s baby are kidnapped Claire and Owen plan to rescue them. While that part of the plot is happening Malcolm has been working at Biosyn and contacts Dr. Sattler who also brings Dr. Grant to help expose what Biosyn is doing.

This is one of those movies that if you focus too much on the plot or the “science” your not going to like it but if you treat it like a fun action/popcorn movie I think you will enjoy it. The only things that I didn’t like is how they portrayed Biosyn’s CEO as an evil tech guy as it felt a little on the nose, and how Dr. Wu some form of redemption when he was very much portrayed as a villain in the pervious two movie and there is no explanation for the change of heart. However, I did love all the call backs to the original Jurassic Park movies and it feels like a good send off for the series. I liked the movie overall and I loved seeing some of the original actor come back.

Book Review: Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #8)

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Proven Guilty is the eighth book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. This one follows Harry, who is now a warden of the White Council and has been tasked with looking into rumors of black magic being practiced in Chicago. When Molly, the daughter of Michael Charpenter, gets involved it seems like entities taking on the appearance of horror monsters are attacking people she knows and it turns out that she has been dabbling in magic.

Harry is trying to do the right thing in this one by wanting to protect Molly but also needing uphold the laws of magic. This story shows us that Harry has friends and not just colleagues and I definitely understand the animosity to the White Council based on how they are willing to kill those who don’t understand that there are laws of magic that can be broken. I love that Molly ends up becoming Harry’s apprentice but I’m glad that Butch didn’t write it as a romantic or sexual relationship as that would have caused me to stop reading the series.

At this point I’ve both physically read books in this series and some as audio books. I feel like the audio books are the way to go as James Marsters is an amazing narrator.

July 2022 Illumicrate

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Illumicrate is a UK based fantasy and science fiction book box that has monthly boxes or just a monthly book only subscription. Each box also includes a selection of bookish goodies some more practical, others more decorative set around a monthly theme. July’s theme is In Too Deep.

The items included in this box are a Folk of the Air inspired towel, a travel toothbrush holder, a glass water bottle, and a set of metal straws.

Illumicrate, like other book boxes, include a new hard cover each month and most months a letter from the author. This months book is The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones. The story follows Mer who is the last living water diviner who has spent years running from the prince who used her powers to kill his enemies. However, her old handler now has a proposition for her to use her powers to bring down the prince. This edition also has stenciled edges, art on the revers of the dust jacket, an exclusive cover and foiling on the hardback.

August’s theme is Knowledge is Power.

Book Review: Dead Beat by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #7)

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Dead Beat is the seventh book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. This one follows Harry as he must find the word of Kemmler to give to the vampire Mavra to keep Murphy safe. However, multiple people want the Word as it would grant the user power.

I find this book harder to summarize then other books in the series because the plot requires you to know events that have happened in the other books. That being said I do think that this is really where the series has comes into its own and is not bog down as some of the earlier books were. I would say that this is one of the funniest books in the series with Butter having a larger role.

This story brings in elements that were introduced in pervious book and its starting to become clear that there is something bigger going on in this world and Harry is currently on the outskirts of it. I loved the ending and I can’t help but think that Harry threating Mavra that he will use everything at his disposal if she threatens those he cares about again is going to come up in the future.

June 2022 Monthly Wrap Up

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As I mentioned in May’s wrap up post I’ve been very busy the last several months and have gotten behind on posting so the next couple of months I will be catching up. In June I was able to finish three books, watch a movie, and finish playing Kingdom Hearts 3. Everything in this wrap up will also have full review posts up at some point.

Books:

For books I was only getting through audio books at this time and in June that was the next three books that I needed to read in the Dresden Files: Blood Rites, Dead Bead, and Proven Guilty.

Blood Rites is the sixth book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Out of all the Dresden books I’ve read I disliked the set up of this one the most. Harry is contracted to protect the producer and cast of an adult film as a favor to Thomas, who is a White Court vampire. However, as the story goes on we find out things that both change Harry’s life and the path of the series.

Dead Beat is the seventh book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. This one follows Harry as he must find the word of Kemmler to give to the vampire Mavra to keep Murphy safe. I would say that this is one of the funniest books in the series with Butters having a larger role in this story. The story brings in elements that were introduced in other books and its starting to become clear that there is something bigger going on the Harry only currently on the outskirts of.

Proven Guilty is the eight book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. This one follows Harry, who is now a warden of the White Council and is being tasked to look into rumors that black magic is being practiced in Chicago. When Molly, the daughter of Michael Charpenter, gets involved it seems like entities taking of the look of horror monsters are attacking people she knows and it turns out she has been dabbling in magic. I love the fact that Molly becomes Harry’s apprentice but I’m very glad that Butcher didn’t write it as a romantic or sexual relationship as that would have caused me to stop reading the series.

Movies:

The only movie that I watched this month was Jurassic World Dominion and was the first movie I’ve seen in theaters since February of 2020. This is the last movie in the Jurassic World series and with how it has so many call backs to the earlier movies it works as a send off to the Jurassic Park series as a whole. This is one of those movies that if you think about the plot or the “science” involved its not a great movie but its a good action popcorn movie. I liked the movie overall and I loved seeing some of the originally actors come back.

Video Games:

This month I finally finished Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Remind DLC. The reason it took me so long to get to Kingdom Hearts 3 was that I wanted to play all the games in order and experience the series to the best of my ability. Kingdom Hearts 3 is a game for fans. You can play it without having played the others but you’re not going to understand all of the plot and the emotional moments are best if you have played the other games. I loved the game play and most of the plot but I’m not a huge fan of the ending. Overall, Kingdom Hearts 3 felt very melancholy to me. The Remind DCL is mostly there to better explain the ending and give some idea of where the series is planning to go next.

July 2022 Fairyloot

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Fairyloot is a Young Adult book subscription box focusing on fantasy based out of the UK. Each month you receive a new Young Adult hardback book and four to five bookish goodies. Like most book boxes the hardback are special editions and the items are a combination of both practical things and more decorative items. July’s theme is Trials & Retribution.

The bookish items included this month are a set of metal straws, a letter open inspired by Lila from A Darker Shade of Magic, an album for art prints, a pin banner, and a pair of socks inspired by Gideon the Ninth. The monthly tarot cards features character art from Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye.

All Fairyloot books come with exclusive covers, generally signed by the author and include a letter from the author. This month the book is The Darking by Sunya Mara which follows the daughter of a revolutionary and a desperate prince who are trapped in a city at the eye of a magical storm. This edition also has stenciled sprayed edges, foiling on the hardcover, and art work on the endpapers.

August’s theme is Tell Me Lies.

Book Review: Babel by R. F. Kuang

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Babel by R.F. Kuang is an adult historical fantasy where Robin Swift, an orphan from Canton, is brought to London by Professor Lovell to train to go to Oxford’s Royal Institute of Translation better known as Babel. Babel is the center of translation and sliver working where both the original and translated words are carved on silver which embeds the sliver with a magical effect related to the word that enhances many things. Robin’s cohort at Babel includes Ramy, who is Indian, Victoire, a black woman of Haitian decent, and Letty, a white woman. As the story progress Robin learns about the Hermes Society who are a group working to sabotage the sliver working to slow England’s Imperial Expansion. When Britain is going to go to war with China Robin must seal with what is he willing to do or sacrifice to stop Babel.

This is a stand alone dark academia fantasy that grapples with different aspects of imperialism, colonialism, and racism that is embedded in the world and is still apart of academia today. This a an amazingly well researched book that at times can be heavy handed with the themes, it also fits with how the world works for these characters. As Robin gets used to the world of Babel as a reader you get comfortable with how this world work. However, when they go to China everything changes.

At a certain point you know things are not going to end well for these characters and the ending hurts but at the same time I’m not surprised with how it ended. For me it took quite a while to finish Babel but that is on me not the quality of the story or writing. I was already in a little bit of a slump when I started Babel and then I had a several month stint working at a museum with heavy material related to World War II. Personally after doing the work that I was doing I had trouble reading a book that deals with such heavy topics at the same time so I ended up putting Babel on hold. With that in mind I would recommend that if you plan to read Babel that you are in the right head space for the themes Babel deals with but overall I loved this book.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.

June 2022 Fairyloot

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Fairyloot is a Young Adult book subscription box focusing on fantasy based out of the UK. Each month you receive a new Young Adult hardback book and 5-6 bookish goodies. Like most book boxes the hardback are special editions and the items are a combination of both practical things and more decorative items. June’s theme is Chosen Ones.

The bookish items included this month are a Poppy War inspired trinket dish, The Atlas Six book sleeve, a Young Elites art pint, paper tags inspired by Sting from Lord of the Rings, and the monthly tarot cards inspired by From Blood and Ash.

This month also included an extra paperback book, Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber which follows two princes one trained to fear the witches that killed her parents and the other stolen away who plans to protect the witches who raised her. This edition as a redesigned cover, digitally sprayed edges, and a digital signature.

All Fairyloot books come with exclusive covers, generally signed by the author and include a letter from the author. This month the book is This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede which follows Alessa who’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic but when a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing her is their only hope against the demons Alessa must team up with Dante to try to master her gift and save her people. This edition also has stenciled sprayed edges, foil on the hardcover, and artwork on the endpapers.

July’s theme is Trials and Retribution.