23 November 2025
Dead Beat
The Dresden Files #7
Fantasy, Mystery - 2005
Character
Harry Dresden, Chicago's only wizard who is listed in the phone book, is only kept from being completely broke due to his job as a consultant with the police department. One of his enemies bought him a grave, and the stone says, "He died doing the right thing". It is true, even if he isn't dead yet.
Setting
It is mainly set in the Chicago area.
Plot
Harry is blackmailed into acquiring a book for one of the more evil vampires that he's run into, and his search for it gets him involved in the conflict between a group of evil necromancers over which of them gets to become a god. Can Harry stop them, deal with his own personal problems, and keep the people he cares about safe?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dead Beat is book seven of The Dresden Files, and it is definitely worth reading the previous six to get to this one.
At one point, I mistakenly thought that The Dresden Files was in the Young Adult genre. The books aren't. They are dark. Very dark. So, I was quite surprised by how much more happiness there is in Dead Beat by the end than in some of the previous books. Things are starting to look up (although, of course, Harry Dresden will probably be beaten up and one step away from the end of the world in the next book too).
The Dresden Files characters are always fantastic, and this book is no exception. The moment when Thomas explains to Harry the difference, as a vampire, between feeding to stay alive and feeding deeply was so intense, not because of the actions but because of the empathy. I still have really strong feelings of sympathy for Thomas's former lover and her situation, and we haven't seen her in a while. There were five or six characters (maybe more) from this book, who I am dying to know more about. Happily, at least some of them are likely to show up again. That is some great characterization.
The Dresden Files world building is insane. The reason I know that those characters are likely to show up again is that all these little details from previous books come back, building this huge structure of lore and characters, history and emotional interactions, threats and promises. There might be a couple of beings in the series who don't have strong feelings about Harry one way or another, but only a couple. And as a reader, you know exactly how everyone feels. While I'm no expert, I think Butcher pairs contrasting characters together, so that you have the guy from the "wizard police" who hates Harry and the cocksure young wizard who works with that guy who thinks Harry is great. While we didn't see him in this book, there is Harry's close friend Michael, whose wife hates Harry. Or what about the necromancer who is fine with killing Harry, whose partner seems to be a fairly decent person, who tries to just warn him off? It is such a rich setting and so immersive.
The plot in this book is pretty standard for The Dresden Files. All kinds of crazy stuff is going on, Harry has no idea what to do next, he muddles through. Yep, all that, some of which (like the undead T-Rex) is just fantastic. On top of that, we are also starting to see some weaving in of other subplots that have been hanging around for a while. Two characters who were hanging around in previous books but not more than sources of information actually got into the action, as well. I really enjoyed all of this. It is so exciting to see the relationships in the series change. Harry could have been on the outs with the wizards' council forever, and it would have been fine. However, the way the relationship changes in this book (and again, there was some empathy shown in one of these relationships that wasn't there before) really made the book for me.
I will absolutely read the next book in the series. Absolutely.
Should you? If you are starting out, there are some moments where the series might not be super thrilling or it might just be really dark. I can't remember if I ever was tempted to give it up, but I have certainly not been in love with it at moments. However, this book really said to me that the series, and the books before this one, are worth reading. You can't (I think) get the full power of this book without knowing what has happened, but when you do, I think you'll be glad you spent the time.
At one point, I mistakenly thought that The Dresden Files was in the Young Adult genre. The books aren't. They are dark. Very dark. So, I was quite surprised by how much more happiness there is in Dead Beat by the end than in some of the previous books. Things are starting to look up (although, of course, Harry Dresden will probably be beaten up and one step away from the end of the world in the next book too).
The Dresden Files characters are always fantastic, and this book is no exception. The moment when Thomas explains to Harry the difference, as a vampire, between feeding to stay alive and feeding deeply was so intense, not because of the actions but because of the empathy. I still have really strong feelings of sympathy for Thomas's former lover and her situation, and we haven't seen her in a while. There were five or six characters (maybe more) from this book, who I am dying to know more about. Happily, at least some of them are likely to show up again. That is some great characterization.
The Dresden Files world building is insane. The reason I know that those characters are likely to show up again is that all these little details from previous books come back, building this huge structure of lore and characters, history and emotional interactions, threats and promises. There might be a couple of beings in the series who don't have strong feelings about Harry one way or another, but only a couple. And as a reader, you know exactly how everyone feels. While I'm no expert, I think Butcher pairs contrasting characters together, so that you have the guy from the "wizard police" who hates Harry and the cocksure young wizard who works with that guy who thinks Harry is great. While we didn't see him in this book, there is Harry's close friend Michael, whose wife hates Harry. Or what about the necromancer who is fine with killing Harry, whose partner seems to be a fairly decent person, who tries to just warn him off? It is such a rich setting and so immersive.
The plot in this book is pretty standard for The Dresden Files. All kinds of crazy stuff is going on, Harry has no idea what to do next, he muddles through. Yep, all that, some of which (like the undead T-Rex) is just fantastic. On top of that, we are also starting to see some weaving in of other subplots that have been hanging around for a while. Two characters who were hanging around in previous books but not more than sources of information actually got into the action, as well. I really enjoyed all of this. It is so exciting to see the relationships in the series change. Harry could have been on the outs with the wizards' council forever, and it would have been fine. However, the way the relationship changes in this book (and again, there was some empathy shown in one of these relationships that wasn't there before) really made the book for me.
I will absolutely read the next book in the series. Absolutely.
Should you? If you are starting out, there are some moments where the series might not be super thrilling or it might just be really dark. I can't remember if I ever was tempted to give it up, but I have certainly not been in love with it at moments. However, this book really said to me that the series, and the books before this one, are worth reading. You can't (I think) get the full power of this book without knowing what has happened, but when you do, I think you'll be glad you spent the time.
Fiction: Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
The Dresden Files #7
Ace, 2005-05-03
0-451-46027-8
396 pages
The Dresden Files #7
Ace, 2005-05-03
0-451-46027-8
396 pages