If Dead Beat dragged The Dresden Files
to a quality series, Proven Guilty is the book which solidifies the series
as doing something excellent. Previous
reviews have highlighted the pulpy urban fantasy nature of the series, which is
still present here, but this is the book where things genuinely get dark and
stay dark. The book opens with the White
Council executing a teenage warlock for breaking one of the Laws of Magic, and
that inciting incident sets the tone for the rest of the book. Obviously with a title like Proven Guilty,
this opening trial sequence becomes paramount for the success of the book, as
well as Harry’s unvoluntary complacency in allowing this death to happen. As a Warder he can only watch as essentially
an outsider as a state sanctioned murder takes place, and that becomes parallel
for the climax of this book. Jim Butcher
makes the decision to make the climax of this book not be around an action
sequence like the previous seven books, but essentially a trial. Sure there is a big action sequence that
comes right before the mystery is revealed as the plot goes right into Faerie and
the Winter Court which makes it an excellent parallel of Summer Knight,
though pulling itself through much better than Summer Knight. The trial itself is essentially the
resolution to several character conflicts which have been simmering from as far
back as Grave Peril, showing really that that was the real point where everything
started for The Dresden Files and the first two books were prologue. Harry’s not necessarily a character always
associated with cleverness, but that’s something he’s always really had and he
knows just how to bring together chess pieces to at least survive the situation
even if it doesn’t end with him getting the best outcome.
Butcher seems to have mastered the character
interactions and makes the important decision to put the war with the Red Court
Vampires into the background actually works.
The war plays a large part in the motivations of the White Council and
the inevitable resolution to the book, adding some nice little endings. Now the climax does bring in a few tropes
which make it fall apart ever so
slightly, but it is an important one for the characters. There is this simmering tension that is
slowly coming to a head as the war, which to this point has been essentially a
non-entity. Entering the Winter Court’s
domain before the climax essentially helps the war effort, however
unintentionally, possibly tipping the scales and forcing Dresden to actually
take part. Proven Guilty really
starts like any other book of The Dresden Files, with an investigation,
this time into murders occurring at a horror film convention. This setting actually is interesting as
Butcher doesn’t ever seem to look down on fans of horror or those that go to
conventions, but clearly admires what they do.
There is this celebration of fan culture here and there is this
brilliant red herring as who is actually behind the murders doesn’t ever actually
get discovered here. There is a White
Court Vampire here, another of the Raith family, who feeds on fear which is of
course excellent for a horror film convention, as even the quick bursts from a
jump scare can provide a morsel of food.
This is also the one where movie monsters come to life, and although none
of them are from actual horror films that a reader would know, Butcher does
play on several tropes and horror figures that are in the public consciousness.
The first half of the book actually does feel very
much like a different book as the main character conflict is between Harry and
Thomas as Thomas finds himself back on his feet and earning money in a way possible
to not be fired. There is still this idea
of brotherly love and Harry actually feels emotional as Thomas says goodbye,
though Butcher makes it clear that this is not going to be an ending for the
character. This is revealed early enough
in the book that Thomas plays an important part through the rest of this book
and is clearly still going to be a major player throughout the rest of the series. He’s also one of those interesting characters
as he is one of Harry’s flirts with the dark: Harry is technically working with
the enemy even if the White and Red Courts are not on good terms. More importantly, this book deals with Molly
Carpenter in a very human storyline, mostly taken away from the magic. Molly has grown into a 17-year-old rebel, running
away from home and making friends with people who makes her good Christian
mother weep and despair. Molly has also
been dabbling in magic and has this weird obsession with Harry, one of which he
resists even if she is insistent in setting up awkward situations. These parts of the book in particular are a
bit odd as Butcher is unsure of what tone to use really because of the genuine
ick that this gives off: Harry is a grown man, and while he isn’t ever tempted
the fact that he isn’t outwardly grossed out it doesn’t always work. The play in the second half when Molly is damseled
and Charity Carpenter, who until this point has essentially despised Harry,
comes to her rescue and those relationships are worked out is a highlight of
the book. The familial theme here is essentially
that children will listen, they may not obey, but they will listen and an
examination of the cyclical personalities from parent to child. Charity secretly practiced magic and dabbled
in the dark just like her daughter.
Charity is also a certifiable badass who fights with a hammer and
honestly that’s just the best note to end on.
Overall, Proven Guilty may not be the perfect
installment of The Dresden Files, but it is one that continues the
quality of Dead Beat in exploring the characters and actually moving the
series forward leaps and bounds. Butcher
continues to provide us with a good time and that is all that readers really
can hope for. 8/10.
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