Summer Knight: The Dresden Files, Book 4

Sneaky Burrito

favorite so far

"I read the first four of the Dresden Files books right in a row and made myself promise to catch up on book reviewing before continuing the series (I took advantage of a Kindle daily deal to get the first 7 books but will be buying the rest at regular price...)! As has been a theme in previous books (with vampires and werewolves), we get more information on a paranormal "species" in this volume -- the Summer and Winter Courts of the faeries, including their members and powers, their seasonal conflicts, their governance, the existence of changelings (half-fae/half-human kids), and so forth. I'm glad Butcher pulled back in this volume to focus pretty much only on the faeries because book 3 got a little complicated with fae, ghosts, faith-based power, and vampire politics. I feel like I have a better grasp of what was going on, supernaturally, with this book. One of my favorite scenes so far also occurred in this book (it was the one at the Wal-Mart; I won't say anything else because I don't want to spoil anything). I thought the action was described, the danger was real, and I liked that Dresden had to work with Murphy and didn't solve everything himself with fire (for once). In general, he is forced to accept help here -- both from people he has reason to trust and from those whose motives he questions. I preferred this over the hero complex of book 2 and the rather spectacular magical ending of book 3. I also thought characterization continued to improve in this book. Dresden has really let himself go at the beginning, and we hear a little bit of Murphy's background as well. Dresden has to confront his past in this volume, and he finally opens up about some of what happened to him as a teenager. This turn is taking the series a little bit away from the hardboiled detective style of story that we saw before (especially in books 1 and 2), but I like where it's going. Despite the turn away from the hardboiled style, there's still a mystery in this book -- someone has killed the Summer Knight -- a mortal individual who was affiliated with the Fae Summer Court -- and Dresden gets roped into looking for the killer. I feel like the writing style has improved, as well. It's still first-person POV, but there's more humor in this volume than in past books (book 3 had a fair amount, as well), and it works very well with the character and story. Once again, this book is easy (and quick) to read. There are a few 4-letter words but they don't break immersion; they feel totally plausible coming from someone like Dresden who lives in the modern era (even though I would assume he doesn't have a lot of access to media, what with his very presence causing electronics to malfunction). I can't help but draw a comparison to Harry Potter #5, since this book opens with a wizard (named Harry, who has a last name that is a famous type of pottery) being called before other wizards to defend himself and his actions (complete with Latin words and robes...). I'm sure this is deliberate since the Harry Potter book was released about 6 years before this one. Personally, I find it humorous (your mileage may vary). We learn more about the Wizards' White Council in this book, although those scenes are short and mostly kept to the beginning of the book. The setting is the same as always (i.e., Chicago and environs) and works as well this time as it has in the other books. Some characters from previous books appear here (Karrin Murphy, Morgan, Billy and his werewolf friends, etc.) so it is definitely beneficial to go back and read volumes 1, 2, and 3 before picking up this one. Another great thing about this series is that individual volumes are self-contained in terms of an overall plot, but that each contributes something to worldbuilding and to the overall story arc of the series. The backdrop of this book is the war between wizards and vampires that is brewing following the conclusion of book 3; the wizards need to be able to travel through Fae lands and must do a favor for the Faeries in return. That's where Harry and his quest to figure out who murdered the Summer Knight come in (if he solves the case, the wizards get their access). I think Jim Butcher has done a great job of bringing all the elements together -- a mystery, furthering the series' story arc, adding humor, character development, and worldbuilding. This is definitely my favorite Dresden novel yet. Even if you're not enthralled by the first two books (I thought they were good, but not as good as this one), stick around for The Summer Knight. I definitely felt it was worth my while. ["

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July 2, 2014 Verified Purchase

Jenny

Urban fantasy with magic and fairies

"I really enjoy the Dresden files series. And Harry is such a goofy and interesting character. It is so much fun to get to follow him through all the books, and really see him evolve and grow as both a character and a powerful wizard. There is a clear main story running through all the books, while each book has its own separate adventure and mystery as well. I really like the balance between Harry's personal growth and the solving of the magical crimes in the books, and there is also a little romance from time to time. ["

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December 7, 2025 Verified Purchase

MereChristian

Hands-Down the Best of the Books So Far in the Series

"Author Jim Butcher delivers another incredible tale with Summer Knight, Book Four of The Dresden Files. As the story begins, Harry is still reeling from the events of the previous book, wherein he was used by the vampires of the Red Court to initiate a war with the White Council of Wizards. It has been about eight months since then, and to say that Harry is in bad shape emotionally would be an understatement. He has been holed up as a hermit in his apartment, working desperately to cure his girlfriend (ex-girlfriend actually, as she broke it off and left town for his safety) Susan of her partial vampirism, so she can have a normal life and they can be together. The war isn't going as well for the wizards as they may have hoped, though they do have the advantage. Of course, many of his fellow wizards blame Harry for saving Susan at the cost of the conflict. To be fair, they do have a point. Many people are dying due to Harry saving Susan, and in raw terms that means a greater loss of life. Nevertheless, I must say that they are rather more amoral and cold-hearted than I would be. I learned in the Army the lesson that you "never leave behind a fallen comrade", so I'm more on Harry's side, to say the least. Without giving too much away, Harry quickly finds himself in a real bind, as he is forced to accept a case offered him by Mab, Queen of the Winter Fae (winter fairies). In the Dresden Files universe, the fairies vary between the Tinkerbellish ones for the minor fairies, to the major fairies being extremely powerful entities who learn more towards the "fair folk" of older stories. You know, the kind you called "fair folk" for terror of offending so they wouldn't hurt you. Granted, it is more complicated than that, and there are some truly good fairies with morality and views more in line with ours, but overall, Harry has good reason for not wanting to take the case. He is forced to do so, however, to gain the aid of the Winter Court of the fae against the Red Court vampires. If he refuses or fails in Mab's task, he will be turned over to the vamps as a peace offering to end the war. Harry is tasked with finding out who murdered the Summer Knight, and where the mantle of power from said Knight went. The Summer and Winter Knights are the mortal champions of the respective fairy courts. With the death of the Summer Knight and loss of his power, the Summer Court is severely weakened. Fearing total decimation during winter's ascent after Midsummer, the Summer Court will go to go to war with the Winter Court before the end of Midsummer. Of course, winter will have no choice but to fight back. Wars have happened before, of course, but this time it is more serious than previous wars. This time, one court or the other might win, and if that happens, the mortal world will be devastated and millions could die. Someone is driving the courts towards this conflict, and Harry must stop them before it is too late. This book is one moment of awesome after another. It just doesn't stop. From Harry and his mentor, Ebenezar McCoy, telling off the head of the Wizards, to Harry and his friends the Alphas (the group of werewolves Harry met in Fool Moon) fighting against impossible odds for victory, to the heroic sacrifice of another character, everything was just a thrill ride. Yet it wasn't all just "knock-'em, sock-'em" action either. There was character interaction, character development and a great deal of humor (as is typical for a Dresden Files book. This really was my favorite of the series so far, and with good reason. I have to say that I really like the trend started in the third book, and continued into this one so far. That being Harry having friends along for his adventures. Harry is no longer the loner who has no one to care about. Now he has friends, a surrogate family, and loved ones. This adds a layer of emotional depth to Harry that makes these otherwise dark, more noirish stories more bearable. In this case, we had a "team-up" between Harry and the Alphas, lead by Billy. The interplay between them all and Harry was sweet, and it was great to see Harry get sentimental with them and his other friends. At one point, he actually got choked up by the kindness of others. I can't say too much more without giving everything away. I'll just say that this book was terrific, and well-worth a read. Pure awesomeness. ["

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February 14, 2013 Verified Purchase

Rocky Sunico

One of the high points in the Dresden Files

"Summer Knight is the fourth book in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series of novels. It was originally published in 2002. Things haven't been going well for Harry Dresden, Chicago's resident wizard. Ever since the events of Grave Peril, the Red Court of vampires has been pretty much out to get him and he's been juggling trying to find a way to save his sometime girlfriend from fully turning into a vampire and staying alive despite the Red Court's assassins. To make matters worse, he is visited by a client who later turns out to be Queen Mab of the Winter Court herself. She has purchased Harry's debt from his godmother and is prepared to grant him his freedom for as long as he fulfills three favors, the first of which is to investigate the murder of on Ronald Reuel, who turns out to be the Knight of the Summer Court. He's initially reluctant to make any sort of a deal with the Sidhe, but then the White Council of wizards obligates him to assist the Winter Court or he'll be stripped of his title as a wizard. This book truly has it all. We have the intricacies of the Faerie realms in the Nevernever and the politics of the Summer and Winter Courts. We have a murder mystery that only magic can get to the bottom of. We have intrigues and complicated plots both in the White Council and the Faerie Courts. And we have a good mess of werewolves, vampire agents and other magical creatures out to make Harry's life a living hell. Now I was beginning to get a little worried that the books were starting to follow a sort of formula with Harry always being brought to a point of physical exhaustion that later affects his ability to use magic while fighting the bid bad guy. And while Harry had a lot to deal with in this book, the situation didn't quite follow that exact same path of plot development. And things certainly got pretty hairy at the end. The book had a lot of characters to juggle, especially with some folks from Harry's past coming into the mix. But I never felt overwhelmed with all the names and such since Butcher has a way of breaking down scenes so you only have maybe 3-4 talking heads at most. Bigger sequences like fights and moments of action tend to not have much dialog and focus more on Harry's thinking when he deals with challenges in his way. I envy the seeming ease of his writing. We're reading about Harry dealing with some pretty fantastical stuff and it yet it feels like it's just another afternoon in the city. I really enjoyed this book. You get a sense that the Dresden universe and the characters in it are really maturing and by this time Butcher has a good idea of what he wants to accomplish and he knows what each of the characters would do given this or that situation. And the fact that the characters are so well-developed and fleshed out is really where the strength of his writing lies. Summer Knight is a great book that further explores the role of Faerie in this world and also reveals more about Harry's past. The action is great and the the detective piece was very well done and the ending will just blow you away. ["

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September 4, 2016 Verified Purchase