Review: Fool Moon, by Jim Butcher. 2nd Book in the Harry Dresden files

Harry Dresden is back investigating a series of brutal and vicious murders, people torn apart by what looks like wild animals – wolves in fact. There being a somewhat lack of wolves in Chicago, this points us in one direction. Actually it points us in several directions as it turns out there are several variations on the theme of werewolf – and several denizens of the city who may count.

Harry has to sort through the threads, work with the local police hindered by their distrust and the looming presence of both the FBI and an Internal Affairs inquiry and try to avoid working for a notorious mob boss with whom he has been closely linked because of his past activities. Worse for him, his investigations have aroused the anger of those he has investigated – both guilty and innocent – and he faces several more attempts on his life to dance around while still trying to find the truth.

Like Storm Front, I think this book struck a great balance. It has several possible suspects, several different supernatural creatures, any of which could have been the murderers creates a genuine mystery - without being convoluted or confusing. In even a conventional murder mystery that's a difficult balance to strike

I also liked the world building – the bringing together of a variety of werewolf myths from around the world as varying and difficult antagonists and possible suspects in the book - each of which could be the murderer and many of them actively hunting or needing Harry for various reasons. We also see Harry's power continue to be develop and displayed for us – an excellent bit of world building that requires gentle showing rather than bludgeoning telling. And we're reminded that, yes, harry is a severely powerful and extremely dangerous being – while at the same time being very flawed and very human.

In many ways I'm in 2 minds about this review. Not because I didn't like the book – but because I feel I have so little to say that contrasts with what I said about Storm Front. It's another nuanced and well balanced mystery. It has a strong and informed world. The characterisation of Harry seems very real, while at the same time the books are so centred on him that the side-characters feel rather under-done. This is particularly problematic when we consider that these characters are women.

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Random techy things

Cleared out a few more things form my space. Communities and spaces that are long since inactive, some which should have gone with the whole “clear out the crap” fest, some places I hung around assuming they would interest me but I found myself constantly skipping past and removing from any spaces which may bring me tangentially into contact with slash or m/m spaces and threw out a few more that I realise I found not particularly helpful, fun, useful or educational in any way.

I also seem to following several spaces multiple times. Yes I am good at spamming myself.

My twitter is still being a nuisance, occasionally so is Youtube but that seems to have fixed itself (magic!) and flash seems to be giving me the run around as well. My primary concern is twitter. I'm sorry if you've tweeted me or responded to one of the few tweets I've managed to throw off (for some reason 3rd party linkage tweets have a higher success rate – but even then I generally have to try and tweet 4 or 5 times) and I haven't answered – technology is laughing at me


Still, it feels fresh to have things cleaned out and now I have the space and time to examine places that I may find more useful, fun and productive :) *rubs hands* newww toys.

Twitter being down is still annoying though

The Equality and Human Rights Commission fights against equality

So the overwhelmingly straight, cis dominated Equality and Human Rights Commission has decided that, following such cases of Christian government employees refusing to provide government services to GBLT people, we need to strike a “balance” between the rights of GBLT people and the rights of Christians.

Particularly, this so-called Equalities Commission thinks that Christians are being badly done to by not being allowed to be gatekeepers of government services and being denied the right to subject GBLT people to homophobic prejudice.

In particular, they are eager to intervene in the case of Lillian Ladele, a Christian registrar who decides that her religion should dictate which state marriages are formalised or not. They want to intervene in favour of more homophobia.

They also wish to intervene in the case of Gary MacFarlane, a “therapist” who is so homophobic he cannot work with GBLT people. On his behalf – of course. They want to encourage the continued prejudice that has caused so many of us to be so wary of the mental health profession


And I side-eye, I do. Because the very nature of the “rights” being fought for here are so different:

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