The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

[BG spoilers] A defense and requiem for my favorite character . . .

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kat7:
Please pardon my rather disconnected thoughts--I figured this is the best place to let them out, even though I'll surely be repeating others . . .

AUUUUUUUGH!
So, yeah. I may be an outlier, but Karrin Murphy is actually the character I pretend to *be* when I read the books. So this one hurt!! And I've been mulling pretty strongly as follows . . .

A DEFENSE
Murphy definitely belonged in the fight. This was an all-hands-on-deck situation. Murphy sheltering at Mac's while civilian conscripts learned to shoot on the job was never going to happen. And--stating the obvious--she saved Harry twice, so by extension she saved (what remains of) Chicago. Murphy has a LONG TRACK RECORD of saving Harry, and by extension Chicago. You do not bench that person in an apocalypse! C'mon Harry.

SOME IRONY
Harry worried that Murphy would be a liability, why? Bad leg, bad shoulder. But all she ultimately needed in the way of help was something Harry can usually do in his sleep--a shield. And why couldn't he cast a shield? Bad shoulder! So who's the liability . . . ?

ON TROPES
Sure, the love interest always dies--but I was disappointed to see it play out so quickly, here. I thought their unfolding dynamic was SUPER interesting. On the other hand, I always suspected that losing Murphy would be the thing that flips Harry "dark"--and yes, he freaked out, but no, (with an assist) he didn't flip. That was a refreshing anti-trope. Of course Rudolph's still out there . . .

A MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE?
On my first read, Murphy's death and Harry's response, as well as the memorial service, felt REALLY . . . rushed? Unexplored? I understand Harry couldn't stop to process, but we can hear his whole internal monologue, and thoughts of Murphy seemed to fade away almost insultingly soon after she herself did. Especially when Harry said, "it would hurt, but I would heal"--I get the stoicism, but that just felt SO abrupt and rather out of character? I'm quite worried about the "chilling effect" of Winter on Harry . . .

THAT SAID, rereading key scenes, I caught a couple lines like "and then I went blind for about a minute." Harry also zones out while talking to Molly, and reports that the memorial is a blur in his memory. He may actually be blacking out--PTSD or similar. It's a taut way to write about grief. Still, I wouldn't have minded more spilled ink. We've met Murphy's family . . . know her backstory . . . been to her house . . . read a short story from her POV! I need to mourn!!

SOME FUZZY FEMINISM
So . . . Lara and Molly. Now, Harry in a forced-marriage predicament is a surprising and weirdly interesting choice. Usually that's more the realm of damsels than tough-guy heavy-hitters. But, after teasing Harry and Murphy for 15 books--and then finally delivering a relationship between those two--who respect, understand, exasperate, challenge, and improve each other--the quick pivot to the marriage plotline stung a LOT.

Because: Lara (the gorgeous sexpot vampire) and Molly (the kink-positive well-endowed recent teenager) both chasing/drooling over Harry is such . . . a teen boy's wet dream. And to pivot from a really well-developed relationship with regular-woman Murphy to Lara-versus-Molly . . . with some early indication it will be played FOR LAUGHS . . . just felt like salt in a stab wound in the back. (And I actually like Lara, overall! Just--timing, augh!)

ALL THAT TO SAY
I had a lot of complicated feelings about this one--and that's probably exactly what Jim was going for. :) Plus I hope (I'm sure?) we'll get more of Karrin in future books, even if flashbacks only. (Strangely, I'm not rooting for any of the "easy" fixes--but I'd love a well-laid twist and I know an author who excels at those . . .)

Also, I don't mean to sound complain-y . . . a quibble with my favorite books is like an argument with my best friend. That I care this much--says something! :)

Bad Alias:

--- Quote from: kat7 on October 29, 2020, 05:02:03 AM ---A MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE?
On my first read, Murphy's death and Harry's response, as well as the memorial service, felt REALLY . . . rushed? Unexplored? I understand Harry couldn't stop to process, but we can hear his whole internal monologue, and thoughts of Murphy seemed to fade away almost insultingly soon after she herself did. Especially when Harry said, "it would hurt, but I would heal"--I get the stoicism, but that just felt SO abrupt and rather out of character? I'm quite worried about the "chilling effect" of Winter on Harry . . .

... We've met Murphy's family!

--- End quote ---
Have you heard that Jim's now planning for the next book Twelve Months to be about Harry dealing with his trauma?

I'm reading BR right now. Murphy's family dynamic is a little melancholy knowing what happens in BG.

I don't think the arranged marriage think will be played for laughs anymore than anything else is. While Lara and Molly fighting over Harry might be a teenager's fantasy, it's a nightmare for Harry. That's because teenagers are both ignorant and stupid. A continued physical relationship with either, at the moment, will lead to death.

Conspiracy Theorist:
Winter is dealing with physical pain, Harry is spending Twelve Months unpacking emotional pain, the loss of his father and being shunted into the system, Justin and Elaine, Susan, Lash, Murphy, his warden friends, what is happening to, Molly, Thomas and Eb

Christmas Eve was the first positive step, his earliest trauma and the loss of positive memories of his father and something tangible to connect them to them, well done Kringle.

I hope Twelve Months allows Harry to investigate his father’s death and his adoption by Justin, it would allow him to deal better with more recent trauma like the loss of Murphy, and the Wardens, and the folk in his banner. To properly assess his future, Harry needs to know his past.

Bad Alias:
Yeah. I didn't mean physical trauma. Harry didn't really have much/any from BG to deal with, at least compared to his typical outing.

As I wrote my previous comment, I wondered how literal of a title Twelve Months is going to be. Is it going to take place over 12 months, or is it just a reference to the morning period that Mab gave him, and what comes at the end of it?

I really hope it's the former. Jim can write a book that takes place over the course of something more than a few days. None of his other books take place in the crunch of time that we usually see in the DF. Even Cold Days took course over months. Sure, most of that was basically a montage of Harry recovering, but the point stands that Jim is capable of writing a book that takes place over time.

Snark Knight:

--- Quote from: Bad Alias on October 29, 2020, 04:45:53 PM ---I really hope it's the former. Jim can write a book that takes place over the course of something more than a few days. None of his other books take place in the crunch of time that we usually see in the DF.

--- End quote ---

I don't think tracking down Justine can be done justice with a time jump to "we got her, now it's exorcism time".

Rebuilding the castle and organizing the paranet would be better handled with a long narrative than a time jump too.

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