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jedibuttercupSo, I bought Ghost Story at lunch on Tuesday and had a reading party with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maevebran....
I'm not going to go into any great detail, but...
If Changes was about, well, changes? This one was about closure. It was very well done, and less difficult to process than its predecessor, however... I still felt kind of grief-stricken when I finished.
Harry just said goodbye to Chicago. For now, at least. And Chicago, more or less, said goodbye to him. So many threads and characters, even some only mentioned before in short stories, were drawn together in this one. We all knew he would establish a residence outside the city eventually after his Sight started coming in during Small Favor, but still... this was very much a "passing the torch before moving to a larger stage", and it stung. *bites lip*
It's not even hard to understand why Mab let Uriel liberate him as a "ghost" for awhile: until Harry had a chance to see for himself that the Justice League was maintaining things without him, he'd never be happy leaving his stomping grounds behind. And until his nearest and dearest had a chance to really register that he was gone and not coming back, they would be hampered in that defense, and no one wanted to let Chicago devolve entirely into chaos.
I'm really not happy with the Answer to the Question, but it does make in-universe sense, and underscores a couple of things: Harry can't get rid of his new title; he now knows he can hold it without dooming himself to a "southbound train" in the end (per Uriel); and even the enemy thinks this will make him more dangerous rather than easier to turn -- attempting to make him despair is their only angle. I foresee fireworks on a much larger scale in books to come.
Still. It feels like... we just left the human-scale world behind. I hope we do continue to get glimpses back at the Justice League, but given that they all now think he's D-E-D dead, and we only get things from Harry's POV, I find that unlikely. He'll probably let things sit that way awhile to "protect" them, like he always does.
I liked where we saw some of them: Butters, Bob, Maggie, Mouse, Mister, Daniel, Father Forthill, Mort, the Leanansidhe. I was kind of frustrated with some of the others, three especially: Murphy (though I get why), Molly (I get why, but where the hell is Ebenezar, why didn't he do something for her?), and Thomas (ugh, seriously?). Though I smirked about the absence of Marcone: yeah, no chance he'll be needing closure with that guy just yet.
Hopefully the change in venues will mean more curtains being pulled back instead of more avenues closed off. But I'm not holding my breath.
Anyway. I'll probably reread it and dissect in more detail later just what I did and didn't like, and did or didn't see coming, and where I see it going, et cetera... but I want to post before LJ crashes again, so. What did you think?
maevebran....I'm not going to go into any great detail, but...
If Changes was about, well, changes? This one was about closure. It was very well done, and less difficult to process than its predecessor, however... I still felt kind of grief-stricken when I finished.
Harry just said goodbye to Chicago. For now, at least. And Chicago, more or less, said goodbye to him. So many threads and characters, even some only mentioned before in short stories, were drawn together in this one. We all knew he would establish a residence outside the city eventually after his Sight started coming in during Small Favor, but still... this was very much a "passing the torch before moving to a larger stage", and it stung. *bites lip*
It's not even hard to understand why Mab let Uriel liberate him as a "ghost" for awhile: until Harry had a chance to see for himself that the Justice League was maintaining things without him, he'd never be happy leaving his stomping grounds behind. And until his nearest and dearest had a chance to really register that he was gone and not coming back, they would be hampered in that defense, and no one wanted to let Chicago devolve entirely into chaos.
I'm really not happy with the Answer to the Question, but it does make in-universe sense, and underscores a couple of things: Harry can't get rid of his new title; he now knows he can hold it without dooming himself to a "southbound train" in the end (per Uriel); and even the enemy thinks this will make him more dangerous rather than easier to turn -- attempting to make him despair is their only angle. I foresee fireworks on a much larger scale in books to come.
Still. It feels like... we just left the human-scale world behind. I hope we do continue to get glimpses back at the Justice League, but given that they all now think he's D-E-D dead, and we only get things from Harry's POV, I find that unlikely. He'll probably let things sit that way awhile to "protect" them, like he always does.
I liked where we saw some of them: Butters, Bob, Maggie, Mouse, Mister, Daniel, Father Forthill, Mort, the Leanansidhe. I was kind of frustrated with some of the others, three especially: Murphy (though I get why), Molly (I get why, but where the hell is Ebenezar, why didn't he do something for her?), and Thomas (ugh, seriously?). Though I smirked about the absence of Marcone: yeah, no chance he'll be needing closure with that guy just yet.
Hopefully the change in venues will mean more curtains being pulled back instead of more avenues closed off. But I'm not holding my breath.
Anyway. I'll probably reread it and dissect in more detail later just what I did and didn't like, and did or didn't see coming, and where I see it going, et cetera... but I want to post before LJ crashes again, so. What did you think?
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Date: 2011-07-29 11:38 am (UTC)I have to admit, I didn't really feel the closure bit until the very end. There are some great monologues where Harry falls back in love with His City. I think you're right in that he's moving on to a bigger stage (which is funny when you mention Marcone, because HE'S also in Italy or somewhere when all this happens, so on a bigger stages as well. I do have to wonder when they'll meet again) and needs to leave Chicago alone for a bit.
But I do think he'll be back, and within two to three books. The Big Finale will probably be about the world, but I'm guessing Chicago will be at the heart of it. By leaving these characters get a bit of time to learn and grow without Harry there, and it'll be interesting to see where they go.
I have no idea what Murphy's doing for money, or how long the Justice League (lol, great title. Also because we're re-watching the entire series here at home. I wonder who gets to be Hawk Girl?) will stick together. Murphy might calm down a bit now, and work more with Molly, and it'd be great to see Thomas come back onto the scene, but we'll have to see. The patchwork quilt of protection spells over Murphy's house feels very much like the League just now - not really complete, easy to take down if you know where to hit.
I have to agree with you about Eb though - where the hell was he? Why couldn't be help Molly? I admit, he IS kind of a bastard, and probably only helped Harry because he's family, but Harry loved this kid and he should too. What else is going on that kept him away? And Lucio, for that matter. Are things just that far gone or are they burying their heads in the sand again?
I'm super glad Maggie is staying with the Carpenters - I was really afraid we'd lose her to the system and not get her back until she was 15 and doing the tough-girl routine like Molly. The Carpenter's will care for her and watch for any talents (interesting the Uriel doesn't seem to know if she'll manifest or not) and Mouse will guard her back. If Harry's gone for even a couple of years that will give her time to grow from a child into a real character. That'll be fun to see.
We've definitely said goodbye to the Chicago we've known and loved for the past ten years in this series - Murphy isn't getting any younger, Michael is off the stage, Daniel is part of the group and Billy is growing up and taking more of a front action role (I super missed seeing the little pup and I have to wonder the medical aspects of care for Georgia when pregnant). It'll be interesting to see what the dynamic is like when Harry see's them again.
It was also neat seeing Molly grow so much in power, to the point where's she's almost at the White Council level. Hopefully Harry's presence helped heal some of the cracks inside her, and she'll either be accepted back into the Council or able to hold her own against them before he comes back. It'd also be great if Elaine came back into the mix and helped out.
Okay, enough rambling - need to get ready for work. But I'm curious to see where this goes next. Because I think you're right in that we're moving on here, and will probably get a host of new characters (and maybe a few old - Toottoot! It'd be awesome to see you again) but I think we'll be back to the group. It'll just be different again when we do.
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Date: 2011-07-31 05:21 pm (UTC)I'm sure Toot Toot will back in the next, since we had that little bit in Changes about he and the Za Lord's Guard declaring themselves to Winter for him. And probably Marcone-- he is the Baron, after all, a power the Knight will have to deal with on Mab's behalf. =)
I wanted to cheer over Maggie, too: no putting her on a bus after all! That had worried me, a lot. There'll probably only be a handful of years before she manifests her own magic, if she has it. It's not like they'll let Harry be her master, not now, even if they just think she's the Carpenter's foster child.
Can't wait for Cold Days to come out!