By: Corey Lack
Dead Beat is the seventh addition to the Dresden Files series and features something that I was rather interested in seeing right from the start: necromancy. Now, for those not familiar in fantasy-nerd-speak, necromancy is magic focused around the dead, specifically reanimating ghosts, zombies, and the like before bending them to the will of the necromancer. This story focuses on Harry being blackmailed into finding an ancient book of necromancy by the leader of the Black Court vampires, while a number of necromancers seek to find the book themselves, being willing to kill anyone that might be in the way.
The enemy necromancers, who are all about as cute and cuddly as you might think they are, aren’t the only things that Harry has to worry about in the story as he has to worry about his allies in the White Council thinking he’s delving into necromancy, a forbidden type of magic that is punishable by death.
I really like this book as it has a lot of similarities to the first book which has a special place in my heart for drawing me into the series to begin with. Harry’s back to having to rely only on himself for the most part, though he still asks for some back-up near the end which shows that how Harry has changed since the start of the series where he would insist on doing everything by himself no matter how outmatched he is. Also, it’s impossible to dislike the climatic fight when Harry, using a loophole in the rule against necromancy, arrives on the back of a zombie tyrannosaurus rex that he summoned. Another part of the book that is a great addition is the introduction of yet another frenemy in the form of Erlking and the wild hunt. Harry, of course, finds himself in their crosshairs by trying to do the right thing. It also introduces a potential ally/burden that is added to Harry’s long list of problems. Finally, Bob the Talking Skull gets a lot more background in this story, showing part of where he was before he was with Harry.
Dead Beat is a more return to form than a new story as it has a lot of similarities with the first book, including Harry having to work against the White Council and hunting dangerous sorcerors that want to kill him. That said, it still manages to stand on its own as a new story with great character development.
