Series: Book 3 in the The Dresden Files series
Rating: Not rated
Tags: Fiction, General, Fantasy, Mystery fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Wizards, Dresden; Harry (Fictitious character), Contemporary, Chicago (Ill.), Wizards - Illinois - Chicago, Ghost stories, Dresden; Harry (Fictitious characters), Lang:en
Summary
HARRY DRESDEN -- WIZARDLost items
found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice.
Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other
EntertainmentHarry Dresden's faced some pretty terrifying
foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires.
Psychotic werewolves. It comes with the territory when you're
the only professional wizard in the Chicago area phone
book.But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's
never faced anything like this: the spirit world's gone
postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble -- and
not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These
ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone -- or
something -- is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly
havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties
to Harry? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind
up a ghost himself.... Wizard Harry Dresden stars in the third installment of the
Dresden Files (following Fool Moon), a haunting, fantastical
novel that begins almost as innocently as those of another
famous literary wizard named Harry. In the opening scene,
Dresden and his knight friend, Michael, battle the ghost of a
woman who is terrorizing a local hospital's maternity ward.
From there, the novel quickly evolves into an unorthodox tale
spiced with sexual innuendo and subtle humor (Dresden carries
his ghost-hunting gear in an old Scooby-Doo lunch box). Due
to the weakened barrier between the spirit world which
Butcher refers to as "the nevernever" and the actual world,
obsessive and violent ghosts are on the loose in modern-day
Chicago, and they seem to be targeting Dresden and Michael.
Horny vampires and possessive demons join the mix as Dresden
journeys into the spirit world to hunt down the villains who
are terrorizing him and his friends. Butcher narrates
Dresden's story in the first person, which limits the amount
of detail he can inject into the lives of his secondary
characters. Despite this narrow point of view, Butcher
successfully lends human dimensions to vampires and spirits
through his vivid descriptions and colloquial dialogue.
(Sept.)Forecast: A vivid cover showing glowing barbed wire
wrapped around a pair of cemetery gates is misleading as is a
cover quote appealing to fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and
Tanya Huff but it will catch the browser's eye. This
over-the-top tale is more likely to entertain young adult
readers than fans of the aforementioned authors. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Called to Cook County hospital to deal with an enraged
ghost, Harry Dresden, Chicago's resident wizard, is puzzled
and disturbed not by the ghost's wrath but by the fact that
someone had cast a torture spell on it, goading it into
action. Harry's disturbance increases when he discovers that
the same spell has been cast on one of his friends. Harry
begins to realize that he and his friends may be targets of a
vengeful spirit, and as he desperately tries to discover
which of his many enemies has it in for him, his friends are
attacked one by one. The spirit, whom Harry refers to as the
Nightmare, continues to torment Harry's friends until he
manages to cast a spell preventing it from harming anyone
else until it kills him, which leads to a showdown that Harry
might not survive. Harry is a likable protagonist with more
than his share of troubles, and
Grave Peril will keep readers turning the pages to
find out how he overcomes them.
Kristine Huntley
From Publishers Weekly
From
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