New York Comic Con video

[RobReece]

There's a recently released video from the NYCC on YouTube.   I haven't seen anything here reference it, so I wanted to let you know.   Not much new that hasn't already been said. 

The possibility of doing an anime version of the Dresden Files using Crowd Funding,  with nerds who have a passion for the material.

He "hopes" to have Twelve Months done by years end... maybe

Each novel going forward should be preceeded by a novella.

He's engaged again.

If any of this is repeated,  my apologies.

robreece

[The_Sibelis]

I don't think it has been, I saw that video but haven't seen it mentioned here yet.

[LaraBeck]

No, it hasn't been posted here yet.

There's a lot of stuff that he's mentioned before, but basically, what we get from this Q&A:

• Hannah Asher is still around, probably.
• There might be another short story from Mouse's POV.
• Confirmation that we will see Karrin again.
  When asked about Karrin showing up in an alternate universe, he said, quote: "you know that's gonna happen when he (Harry) goes to the alternate universe because she has to be Karrin with an eyepatch. I mean, come on, I don't make the rules here people! But yeah. We may well see her there."
  And he continued with, quote: "And her story is not yet finished. So, well, that's enough, I won't say anymore. But I think you'll appreciate where she goes"
• Confirmation that is 25 books total.
• Confirmation that Mirror Mirror will be after Twelve Months. That MM will be about one choice that Harry made differently and it had big consequences.
• Confirmation that yes, the next book is called Twelve Months. And it will cover a whole year of Harry's life (it's not a compilation of short stories, like some fans keep speculating).
• Confirmation that the Starborn thing is important and it is part of the main arc.

He's engaged with Jennifer Blackstream, an author too. He talks about her series a bit in the video.

He also mentions that Nemesis is a shapeshifter? which I found confusing, personally. I though it possessed people, not that it shifted into people.

There might be more, but these are the things that stood out to me, personally.

[The_Sibelis]

Heh, the eye patch thing redoubles an old idea for me that karrin is in fact one of the main archetypical characters(starborn?), the eye patch, of course she'd lose an eye on the path to wisdom!

Missed the bit about Nemesis being a shape shifter tho? Where'd that come up?

[Mira]

Heh, the eye patch thing redoubles an old idea for me that karrin is in fact one of the main archetypical characters(starborn?), the eye patch, of course she'd lose an eye on the path to wisdom!

Missed the bit about Nemesis being a shape shifter tho? Where'd that come up?

Actually it makes a lot of sense that Nemesis would be a shape shifter.. Makes for easier story telling as well.

[The_Sibelis]

Actually it makes a lot of sense that Nemesis would be a shape shifter.. Makes for easier story telling as well.

care to ahh, explain anything about this particular statement? This is one of those comments that's perfectly valid on its own. When it's a response I just get lost in the reasoning behind WHY?

[g33k]

Thanks for the precis!
VERY much appreciated.  I ... kinda hate getting info from videos; reading it is very, very superior (for me, I know others feel differently).

• Hannah Asher is still around, probably.
• There might be another short story from Mouse's POV.
• Confirmation that we will see Karrin again.
  When asked about Karrin showing up in an alternate universe, he said, quote: "you know that's gonna happen when he (Harry) goes to the alternate universe because she has to be Karrin with an eyepatch. I mean, come on, I don't make the rules here people! But yeah. We may well see her there."
  And he continued with, quote: "And her story is not yet finished. So, well, that's enough, I won't say anymore. But I think you'll appreciate where she goes"
• Confirmation that is 25 books total.
• Confirmation that Mirror Mirror will be after Twelve Months. That MM will be about one choice that Harry made differently and it had big consequences.
• Confirmation that yes, the next book is called Twelve Months. And it will cover a whole year of Harry's life (it's not a compilation of short stories, like some fans keep speculating).
• Confirmation that the Starborn thing is important and it is part of the main arc.

He's engaged with Jennifer Blackstream, an author too. He talks about her series a bit in the video.
He also mentions that Nemesis is a shapeshifter? which I found confusing, personally. I though it possessed people, not that it shifted into people.

Most of these items aren't really new, per se... We've heard this about Karrin (tho her eyepatch is new (if that's real)); that TM is next, MM will come after: 25 (total) books now planned; importance of Starborn.

Hannah Ascher:  I kinda hope not, actually.  Lasciel is the real opponent, here.  And it's obvious that the Denarian "meant to be in circulation" schtick trumps Hades' Vault (as TWG trumps Hades).

Harry has already beaten Hannah once.  We've already seen that he can't talk her down, talk her out of the coin:  Lasciel is too ready to mess with Hannah's senses; from "cutting out his audio" to warping Harry's words into something triggering... the ultimate deepfake, inside her own skull.  I don't want a long slow slog of Harry convincing Hannah, chipping away the edges of Lasciel's illusions.  But anything less than that would cheapen the threat and the risk that the Web-weaver poses.

OTOH, in many ways it makes good logistical sense.  There's some very nifty parallel's to Harry's own story:  he got buried in boulders in the Erlking's hall, so a (Lasciel-boosted) Hannah can probably manage something similar; he used "fuego"-generated cold, spreading ice under the Scarecrow & freezing an escape-path across the harbor -- Hannah's got better fire than Harry has, so she's probably got better control over the cold generated by her fire... she could have made herself a nice little chilled-lava igloo to wait out the rockfall in Hades' armory/treasury, and then departed moments behind Harry &co.

Engaged:  My first reaction was good for him; but upon reflection I worry...  Statistically, 2/3 of 2nd marriages end in divorce, and 3/4(!) of 3rd marriages do.  Jim's relationship-history doesn't fill me with confidence, here; would another failed marriage yield another multi-year writers' block?  I don't want to pre-judge the relationship, and honestly wish Jim all the best, and great success with this relationship.  But -- equally honestly -- I am not optimistic.

Shapeshifting Nemesis:  I suspect Jim misspoke or someone misunderstood.  Nemesis as an "infection" or "possession" is pretty universally understood within the fandom.  Plus, we have the case of Lea:  Nemfected, then cured/exorcised.

That said, Jim could have been intentionally misleading people.  Maybe we have a Nempelganger-Lea running around, who avoids talking about Nemesis because it's pretending to be that's what a "cured Leanansidhe" would do.

But if so, I wouldn't have expected him to do his Big Reveal at a 'Con event -- he'd want it on-screen, up near the climax of one of his books (as in the end of Changes, where Gen!Ursiel & Hannah!Lasciel & Rent-Earning!Grey came out of hiding).

[The_Sibelis]

🤔 thinking about it, I think the key to saying Nemesis is a shape shifter might be the end result of shapeshifters mentioned in passing with Grey's woj and remembering shapeshifting isn't always done for the physicality of it(Sturgian sisterhood, with the mental demon slices wasn't it?)Nemesis seeks to entirely supplant a being by becoming it entirely with the Nfected/consciousness belonging to her.
Also, considering how I think Nemesis vectors, through mirroring, being able to become more similar to a being your trying to make a connection to would indeed be useful.
🤔 takes me full circle to Nemesis holding the role of the Adversary( Lilith after Lucifers fall to Satan), as described by the order of seraphim. Classically everyone has their own personal mirror of the devil that is considered part and parcel both YOU and the Prime Evil.(silent hill does a good contemporary example of this kind of mythology

(click to show/hide)

Alyssa is both the little girl who was punished for others sins, AND the devil come to collect his dues drom the sinners..

)
Anyone got a time stamp for when he mentioned Nemesis and shapeshifting?🤔

[LaraBeck]

Thanks for the precis!
VERY much appreciated.  I ... kinda hate getting info from videos; reading it is very, very superior (for me, I know others feel differently).
Most of these items aren't really new, per se... We've heard this about Karrin (tho her eyepatch is new (if that's real)); that TM is next, MM will come after: 25 (total) books now planned; importance of Starborn.

Yeah, we've heard most of this stuff in other Q&As before, but I still see some fans questioning these things sometimes, so that's why I chose to put "confirmation" in the list XD. Plus, the Karrin stuff is relatively new, that especially has been questioned a few times, so I thought it'd be interesting to have the exact quote.

Shapeshifting Nemesis:  I suspect Jim misspoke or someone misunderstood.  Nemesis as an "infection" or "possession" is pretty universally understood within the fandom.  Plus, we have the case of Lea:  Nemfected, then cured/exorcised.

That said, Jim could have been intentionally misleading people

Yeah, that's what I thought too and why I thought his answer was confusing. But since I don't like the video format either, I usually just listen once and take notes as I go. So, for the sake of clarity now, I just went back and re-listened to that part. And here's what I got:

The person says something about Codex Allera, there's applause, Jim says "thank you". Then the person asks "Which character would you personally would be most terrified running to in the street?"

Jim's answer: He says a name that I don't recognize.

But then his son, James (who's in the panel moderating?), asks "Which human?"

Jim's answer: "I'm gonna go with Nemesis, because Nemesis has that whole shapeshifting thing going on, so he can be anybody. Uh, let's see, Marcone would actually, he could get along with Marcone, he could be very reasonable that way. Um, I tell you what, Hannah Asher isn't a very happy camper right now. 'Cause she died, she being a pyromancer and getting hit with fire... You didn't think she was gonna be dead, did you. But yeah, she's definitely not very happy with Dresden at this point. But you know, I have a weird set of values and things to be nervous about."

Reading that again, seems like he mispoke?

Heh, I didn't remember that it was in that moment that he talked about Hannah, or Marcone, btw.

Missed the bit about Nemesis being a shape shifter tho? Where'd that come up?

Anyone got a time stamp for when he mentioned Nemesis and shapeshifting?🤔

Sure, the question where he talks about Nemesis is around min 22:40

And if anyone's curious, the question about Murphy are around min 44:20, and 45:20

Jim repeats the question to the audience, because nobody could hear it. "She was concerned why I did that to Murphy, not just what happened to Murphy but how it happened, where she didn't actually go down in a blaze of glory but it was just like the worst character to have that done to her."

And then he answers: "Yeah, that was sadistic and I would apologize to you but you all paid money for the book. So, I'm not sure I can actually do that and feel sincere about it. But yeah, the whole point was that, you know, sometimes it's not fair. And unfortunately I know friends who lost folks during the pandemic and sometimes it's just it isn't fair."

Which sort of makes it sound like her death was somewhat a product of the context of that time? Which couldn't be, since he planned it 10 years ago and wrote the book before the pandemic, obviously. But I guess he just means that in a sense that maybe her death felt especially unfair in the context of what was happening in 2020.

The follow up question is: "We were wondering if you would bring her back, like if you do alternative universe and she didn't die..."

Jim's answer: "Oh, oh! If I did an alternative universe where she didn't die? You know that if– you know that when– you know that's gonna happen when he (Harry) goes to the alternate universe because she has to be Karrin with an eyepatch. I mean, come on, I don't make the rules here people! (He talked about the Mirror Mirror storyline about min 14:30) But yeah. We may well see her there. And her story is not yet finished. So, well, that's enough, I won't say anymore. But I think you'll appreciate where she goes."

[The_Sibelis]

Jim's answer: "I'm gonna go with Nemesis, because Nemesis has that whole shapeshifting thing going on, so he can be anybody.

ah see, yea. I wouldn't have really considered it to be shapeshifting, but coming from the author.. Jim tends to say things that we don't actually have the full context to but can be very good for guesswork and theorizing at what the context we're missing is. He's gotten better at it over the years actually. Last couple years of his he's been dropping subtle but very telling lines in his replies.

[LaraBeck]

ah see, yea. I wouldn't have really considered it to be shapeshifting, but coming from the author.. Jim tends to say things that we don't actually have the full context to but can be very good for guesswork and theorizing at what the context we're missing is. He's gotten better at it over the years actually. Last couple years of his he's been dropping subtle but very telling lines in his replies.

What I didn't remember but found interesting now that I've listened to the answer again, is that he also mentions Marcone in this, and how they could work together. Like you say, food for theories...

[The_Sibelis]

What I didn't remember but found interesting now that I've listened to the answer again, is that he also mentions Marcone in this, and how they could work together. Like you say, food for theories...

yea nothing good will come from that one lol. My first thought is of the overarching order of Dresden changing... Wouldn't Marcone make an excellent Adversary?
Off topic slightly, but where was Murphy actually shot?🤔 I forget wound placement..

[LaraBeck]

yea nothing good will come from that one lol. My first thought is of the overarching order of Dresden changing... Wouldn't Marcone make an excellent Adversary?
Off topic slightly, but where was Murphy actually shot?🤔 I forget wound placement..

He would, he definitely would. And Dresden already has a lot of problems with Marcone. What he saw in the soulgaze, really disturbed Harry in some really primal level, I think. He's visceral about his hate for Marcone.

Murphy was shot in the neck. Which is, I dunno if on purpose, or Jim being Jim, or what, but, personally, I can't not think about the fact that Susan basically dies the same way, wound to the neck, bleeding to death, in front of Harry.

Heh, the eye patch thing redoubles an old idea for me that karrin is in fact one of the main archetypical characters(starborn?), the eye patch, of course she'd lose an eye on the path to wisdom!

I meant to ask you about this before, but then I forgot as I was doing the transcript. I was just hoping you would elaborate on this? What's your idea here? I'm interesting to hear about that.

I always view Battle Ground as being her Changes, you know, the pivotal moment for her transformation, the same Changes was for Harry. Because I think, in some respects, they follow similar paths.

[The_Sibelis]

He would, he definitely would. And Dresden already has a lot of problems with Marcone. What he saw in the soulgaze, really disturbed Harry in some really primal level, I think. He's visceral about his hate for Marcone.

Marcone is really interesting in his dark mirage of Dresden. Because it's not even about choice but circumstance. Harry's defining moment in his youth was taking out someone trying to kill him.. Marcone's is someone else basically dying because someone wanted to kill him. Harry hates him because if he'd been delt that hand he'd have played it the same way and he knows it.

Murphy was shot in the neck. Which is, I dunno if on purpose, or Jim being Jim, or what, but, personally, I can't not think about the fact that Susan basically dies the same way, wound to the neck, bleeding to death, in front of Harry.

ouch, yea the parallel would seem right for how Susan died. I was wondering specifically because of Arthurian stuff. Some of the precise details being split between beings

I meant to ask you about this before, but then I forgot as I was doing the transcript. I was just hoping you would elaborate on this? What's your idea here? I'm interesting to hear about that.

I always view Battle Ground as being her Changes, you know, the pivotal moment for her transformation, the same Changes was for Harry. Because I think, in some respects, they follow similar paths.

.
As far as Murphy being a SomeOne important? Probably started in the way back machine when Raidem posted his Murphy is mab theory. I didn't agree, having seen more for Molly fitting the bill already with Maeve changing to match Molly's appearance. But I had to look closer at it of course, it bleeds into various other strands of theory but more or less. Murphy is Nemesis(or perhaps her most recent full incarnation as it were)as much as Harry is Merlin(she's also Guinevere/Arthurian in makeup but that's off topic). Nemesis the Greek Goddess/Nortia the Etruscan version, lachesis the middle fate, ECT.(we can add dozens of others maybe, not the least of which is Gard herself who plays Guinevere's part in Marcones kingdom proper)
And uh okay so I just brain farted something good and forgot what my old string was leading to but anyway lol... Time is described as a river(matches michio kakku physics btw) and certain things or events keep repeating themselves in its flow. I've previously described this as the bedrock of space/time. Bigger more momentous people and events with conservation of History. It's why GK was last "cycles" Dresden. Murphy fits the archetype of these repeating characters. I think her name is even a direct joke on this and Murphy's law and some of the bigger world building blocks. Mainly mortal magic=the spirit of the power of active fate~ side effects manifestations of "luck" inhibited by source, SPIRIT of fate..
The brain fart was, stars and stones, the starborn can gouge out new paths in space/time.

[Mira]

  Jim is very careful in how he answers, a lot of it is what he thinks fans wants to hear.  On Murphy, he says "may" a lot.. Which gives him a lot of wiggle room.

Murphy was shot in the neck. Which is, I dunno if on purpose, or Jim being Jim, or what, but, personally, I can't not think about the fact that Susan basically dies the same way, wound to the neck, bleeding to death, in front of Harry.

Well, not really the same, technically Susan "died" the moment she turned into a full Red Court Vampire, that's when Harry cut her throat with a knife.  In that moment she was no longer Susan, but the youngest Red Court Vamp, thus enabling Harry to reverse the generational curse that the Red King had put on Eb, and why the Red King wanted to sacrifice little Maggie, her being youngest in Eb's line. 

Murphy died basically being Murphy, her actions just before she was murdered were heroic.  However she had made enemies on the police force before she left and her killer was law enforcement, reckless, and paranoid all at the same time.. Hard to say if her death was deliberate or accident, depends on how you look at it I suppose.. However except for the part of the anatomy affected the two deaths were nothing alike.

Jim's answer: "Oh, oh! If I did an alternative universe where she didn't die? You know that if– you know that when– you know that's gonna happen when he (Harry) goes to the alternate universe because she has to be Karrin with an eyepatch. I mean, come on, I don't make the rules here people! (He talked about the Mirror Mirror storyline about min 14:30) But yeah. We may well see her there. And her story is not yet finished. So, well, that's enough, I won't say anymore. But I think you'll appreciate where she goes."

Why do I get the feeling that Murphy isn't going to be the Murphy that her fans love in Mirror Mirror?  Remember in the original Trek episode that Jim is sort of modeling this after, alternate Kirk was a no good villain in the alternate universe, in fact Kirk tells the alternate universe Spock to kill him and become captain.. Now Murphy could be basically the same in both worlds as Spock was, but that seems too easy.. Either way it is going to mean for pain for Harry.. Murphy evil and Harry maybe even having to kill her himself.. Pain.. Her being the same Murphy in both worlds and Harry having to leave her behind... More pain.