I am slowly making my way through my reread of the Dresden Files and have made it to book four, Summer Knight by Jim Butcher. This is going to be a short review because it is a re-read of a book over twenty years old in a well-established series. By book 4, I think you should have a pretty good feel if you want to keep going with the series or not.
The first time I read this was back in 2012 and I originally gave it three stars. Twelve years later, I re-read this via audiobook and it has moved down to two stars. Now, James Marsters continues doing a lovely job narrating. I cannot fault him at all for the dip in rating. If anything, Marsters is what kept me invested and continuing. So, what happened for it to lose a star? Well, perspective and society for one thing. The way Dresden talks about women feels icky. I don’t know if it just aged badly, or if I’ve changed as a person, but I hate these, “I’m a gentleman so I treat women like women” attitude, and describing their body despite there being no reason for it other than he finds them hot. The other thing that bored me was the winter and summer fae courts. One is evil one isn’t and boyo which is which hmmmm???
I think if you are starting to pick this series up in 2024 and have been on the fence, Summer Knight by Jim Butcher will likely put you off. If you’re willing to keep trudging through, I think it will pay off. Summer Knight definitely sets the stage for later books, so if you want to see this through to the end, you’ll definitely need to pick this one up.
