The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
"Job placement" microfiction
g33k:
--- Quote from: Bad Alias on May 08, 2020, 06:09:39 PM --- @Avernite: Well we do have to consider that Harry was repeatedly impressed with both River Shoulders' and Irwin's intelligence. It's implied that the Forest People have superhuman intelligence...
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The Forest people also have magic on a scale and scope that baffles Harry, who's quite a powerful (human) wizard himself. If they wanted to penetrate the secrets of the White Court, I've no doubt that they could!
And... it's just possible that the Connie/Irwin thing makes Strength of a River in his Shoulders want to find out all he can about the White Court...
Last but not least... Connie could have known, and let the detail slip out. I get the feeling she's VERY unhappy with the limitations the Whamps try to put on their young, and may have spilled that secret intentionally.
Bad Alias:
It's also implied heavily that Marcone figured it out, so it wouldn't be surprising if River Shoulders and/or Irwin figured it out for themselves when others hadn't.
It also wouldn't surprise me if it was a widely suspected if not known secret.
Yuillegan:
--- Quote from: Mira on May 06, 2020, 03:00:16 PM ---Yeah, it was that off beat PI/Wizard story line that attracted me to Dresden in the first place. I too lament that the direction it is headed seems to be the more standard fantasy route..
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--- Quote from: Con on May 06, 2020, 03:56:33 PM ---I'm actually enjoying the more fantastical elements, supernatural nations and power becoming greater.
As for academic supernatural intellectualss I always thought that'd be the Alpha's role.
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I don't necessarily lament the direction the series is taking. It had to go this way for the books to grow. If the series became merely episodic i.e. each story was self-contained and didn't move the plot forward I suspect it wouldn't have been successful. I was sucked in by the initial premise, and I loved those original stories. But I am relishing the dial being turned up for the current part of the series. I must admit though, Skin Game and Ghost Story were unfortunately not very strong novels as compared to much of the series and I am excited about Peace Talks and Battle Grounds getting Harry back in the world. And it seems like Harry will be doing a mix of his old and new roles: PI, Warden and Knight. So I am quite hopeful the next two books will manage to balance things. But I have missed Harry's interactions with the supporting cast - so it will be good to see that come back too (even if people are killed off).
--- Quote from: AClone on May 07, 2020, 08:33:40 PM ---I’m not sure that you see characters the same way as Jim does. As far as long time characters being effectively disposable and readily replaced by newcomers, remember what Jim has repeatedly said about being “too lazy” to write up new characters. At this stage of the series, there isn’t really time to fully develop new characters.
Yes, in the Christmas Story short, Harry was clearly feeling the guilt of people he knew being dead. Just remember, he felt the same way when Kirby died—whom we had barely seen on page. That death toll could include people as peripheral as Rawlins—or Mrs. Spunkelcrief. Shoot, he’d probably feel guilty if people like Hendricks or even Rudolph died—because he knew them as real people.
And it would hardly be unlike Jim to include a redemptive arc for even someone like Rudolph in the middle of what Battle Ground appears to be. Making even a worm a sympathetic character.
As far as anyone being “safe” I’m not sure there is such a thing. It wouldn’t surprise me to find that Jim diced out the fates of all of the tertiary characters for a book like BG. I can just see him: “Crap, Andi! Why’d you have to go and roll an eighteen here! That’s a critical failure!”
Or a three, of course. Whatever scale he’s using.
I will say that there is one absence from the Christmas Story scene that seems ominous to me. And no, not just because the older Carpenter kids didn’t make it back from college or on leave for Christmas. But that’s for that thread, so I’ll leave that alone.
Oh, if you’re worried about the Wizard/gumshoe thing, Harry still has a few books left to get back to that gig. It’ll just be on a bigger scale. And part of me is wondering if Murphy will get her PI license. Guess we’ll see.
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Indeed I don't see the characters the way Jim does, no one does. Because none of us are Jim (I think...I wouldn't put it past him to have a secret account - I see you Butcher!) So of course I might make wrong guesses about his choices. But I think my guesses are pretty good based off what I know and what I observe. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
The thing is though, he isn't necessarily developing new characters. He is developing established minor characters from short-stories (at least in my example using the Job Placement short story characters). So it isn't really a stretch. And you might even say there is a set-up; we have seen the incredible physical and magical power of the Bigfoot types more recently (and Jim has said he is a Big fan of them, especially in recent interviews). So perhaps he is trying to give Harry a big "tank" type ally. Which doesn't necessarily mean he will kill off Will and Georgia. But he WILL be killing off characters. That's for sure.
I wouldn't worry about the Carpenters. They would have been FAR more morose had one of them been dead.
As above, not so worried about the Wizard gumshoe thing. I am not sure it would be appropriate for Harry to return to his old gig. But in going forward, something of his old life might be gained. He will always be a detective in his personality, and he will always be trying to solve the mystery to stop the "bad guys".
Bad Alias:
--- Quote from: Yuillegan on May 09, 2020, 12:46:25 AM ---I am not sure it would be appropriate for Harry to return to his old gig.
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I don't know. I think it's a great way for a warden to operate. I'm not sure if there's a better way, given the universe as established, for a warden to find out what's going on. Harry's been wardening for about 15 years because he set himself up as a wizard p.i. He should also let S.I know he doesn't need any money if they come up against something they can't handle themselves.
Yuillegan:
--- Quote from: Bad Alias on May 09, 2020, 01:50:22 AM ---I don't know. I think it's a great way for a warden to operate. I'm not sure if there's a better way, given the universe as established, for a warden to find out what's going on. Harry's been wardening for about 15 years because he set himself up as a wizard p.i. He should also let S.I know he doesn't need any money if they come up against something they can't handle themselves.
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I disagree. He isn't the Warden of Chicago, he was (before his death) the regional commander of the North American Wardens. He IS the Warden of Demonreach, and he IS the Winter Knight. Assuming he has been reinstalled in his position (although the first chapter in Peace Talks suggests Ramirez took that post) he still would have responsibilities beyond Chicago. Being a PI now would be a poor use of his time and a waste of his energies. He has bigger problems than missing wedding rings and mysterious customers. I also suspect that he will have more responsibilities to Demonreach as time goes on, namely continuing the work that Merlin Emrys started but potentially jailbreaks and the like. Not to mention his continued and likely expanding responsibilities to the Winter Fae (remember he has specific duties to each Queen not just Mab). Once he is reintegrated fully into the White Council (and you can count on it not being like it was for him - he will be a full on political actor), he will have further duties as a Warden (assuming the Council doesn't crumble). I mean, the blurb of Battle Grounds implies that the masquerade is about to fall and I imagine the White Council will with it.
S.I. aside from being so small scale as not to matter in the scheme of his problems, is also well beyond their ability to understand. Not to mention parts of his job would likely ask him to break the law. S.I. is essentially irrelevant to the current books. They may have some future role in fighting the supernatural when the masquerade drops, but apart from that I think they are mostly just more bodies for the count.
From a literary point-of-view, S.I. have served their purpose. Harry's new allies are much more suited to his current level of problems. Same with the P.I. job. But the character trait/ability (i.e. his detective mentality and skills) is still highly relevant and useful and gets used every book to some extent.
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