"Job placement" microfiction

[Snark Knight]

That St. Mark's is applying for Accorded Neutral Ground status was also interesting. Why wouldn't they already have it--unless Jim is "up to something"?

Well, the whole supernatural ecosystem seems to be heating up. In more normal times, "don't shit where your offspring may have to eat one day" was probably protection enough. But when it's five minutes to midnight as far as the immortals are concerned ...

[morriswalters]

I think I found this to be the most interesting tidbit. We don't really know much about the structure of the White Court, but now we know that House Raith at least has territories. It may be that individuals in the Court have territories and it isn't limited to one house. I think that's likely, but we don't know that.

Apex predators. Territorial and possessive.

[g33k]

Is she G33k, where did it say that?

g33k, what?

I think you're misreading that line.  She is referring to being in Lara's territory, not her Father's.  She isn't going to refer to her Father as "Count Barrrowill" or whatever.

Yeah... Sorry all.

Total brainfart on my part.

What I conflated was being close to WHOSE mother (Irwin's mother, who is a mortal), with being close to the White Queen...

 
 

[Avernite]

It's also kind of in-the-face about how obvious Lara's takeover is by now, if even a non-vampire who wasn't involved in events knows it. Makes the Whites seem kind of wacky, that they don't just end the charade.

But well, that's apparently how they operate.

[Bad Alias]

@Morris: Yeah, it totally makes sense with what we know of the White Court. The White Monarch is more of a feudal king than an absolute monarch. It stands to reason, but we didn't know that power was that distributed in the houses of the White Court. It leads me to believe that the White Court is much larger than the novels have so far made them out to be.

@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. Before someone dismisses the Forest People's intelligence because of the Genoskwa, I would note that the Genoskwa objects strongly to being considered one of the Forest People and behaves very differently. He may be a subspecies or just a mentally retarded by comparison member of the species.

[g33k]

@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...

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]

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.. 

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.

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).

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.

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]

I am not sure it would be appropriate for Harry to return to his old gig.

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]

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.

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.

[Bad Alias]

Everything we've seen so far indicates that Harry's going to be reinstated as the regional commander located in Chicago. Also, it's stated in the text that no one was willing to step into that position. I think it was in Cold Case (just before Ramirez tells Molly he specifically rejected the job). Ramirez hasn't taken over Harry's job. He has been given the specific task of security for the White Council during the summit.

When Harry was regional commander, he mostly stayed in Chicago (basically acting as the warden of Chicago) and checked in on the wardens under him to see if they needed help. He occasionally went on missions. Kamp Kaboom and some stuff mentioned in the comic books were explicit. Other missions are implied. Harry only signed on with the condition he wouldn't abandon Chicago. Harry's going to stay centered in Chicago if for no other reason than to give Maggie stability. The Carpenters and her school are in Chicago. (I too would prefer if the story opened up to a broader scale, even if it's just so that his mom's gift isn't just shelved).

Ronald Ruel had enough time to be a noted artist. I know a lot of painters, sculptors, and such. That stuff takes up a lot of time even if you're just doing it semi-pro. I imagine Harry is going to have enough time on his hands that he is going to need to be doing some Chicago wardening. Having an ad in the yellow pages is a good way to do that. Murphy's also going to need something to do (if she doesn't die). She'd be able to handle a lot of the workload of routine detectiving. Harry finding lost wedding rings and such would be a good way to maintain an "officer friendly" reputation since the image we get of wardens, not to mention Winter Knight, is scary and unapproachable. And finally, Jim strongly implied that Faith Astor would be his client who kicks of the BAT. https://www.reddit.com/r/dresdenfiles/comments/gbht7a/do_you_think_we_will_see_faith_astor_again_in_the/fp6ydqh/?context=8&depth=9. I mean, I assume he's a p.i. if he has an office.

S.I. may or may not be relevant for the rest of the series, but if you were the warden of/in a major metropolitan area, and you were on speaking terms with a division of the police force that was assigned all the weird stuff, why wouldn't you talk to them about keeping you in the loop? I doubt S.I. is too worried about the legalities of killing, how did Butters put it, "humanoid but definitely not human" problems. Most cops who know about the supernatural would probably be happy to let Harry deal with any warlocks too. You remember what old Jack Burton says, "cops got better things to do than get killed."

Sure, Harry is probably going to be kept busier by the BSF and the Paranet than by being a p.i. or something from S.I., but that doesn't mean he should ignore all other avenues of finding problems. Up to this point, somewhere around 15 of his adventures wouldn't have happened if he wasn't a wizard investigator for hire. I'm counting short stories. If we're talking just case files, it's 4-6.

[magnuskn]

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.

That's interesting. I also thought Ghost Story was a let-down in many aspects, however Skin Game was, IMHO, fantastic in about everything it did. Fascinating how people view such things so completely differently.

[Yuillegan]

But why would Harry's junior be managing security AND giving him orders? It may have been the case that he initially didn't take the job, but Harry hasn't been active in the White Council for years. And things have been happening with increasing frequency and intensity. There are stronger and more experienced Wardens than Ramirez. The only reason to make Carlos the head of security would be if they wanted the security to be weaker and/or wanted a patsy. Which may well be the case of course.

That was how Harry operated, and he operated poorly. He might have thought he was doing them a favor but unfortunately that isn't the real world. If you just let the kids run themselves you're not actually leading, you're shirking responsibility. The fact that Harry went and helped them occasionally doesn't save him from that. He may have believed he was doing the right thing but he was actually doing both them and the mortals a disservice. But I am aware that Jim won't move Harry from Chicago unless he really has to. So I expect the reduction in his Warden of the White Council duties (and his title as regional commander) will play a hand in that.

Being a part-time artist and Summer Knight is a long way from Harry. Harry Dresden, who actively gets involved in every struggle him can stumble into. Who starts and ends wars, who fights duels, who storms the enemy strongholds and assassinates key people and otherwise causes chaos and destruction (in the name of saving the world from worse). I can't remember the last time Harry has had any free time (except for a bite at BK or IHOP). That quote is an old WOJ, and he has deviated from such in the past. Whilst Faith quite likely will kick off the BAT, don't be surprised if it isn't quite the same as before.

S.I. is both small and chronically, critically underfunded. Without Murphy to advocate for it and protect it I am sure it's more of a political exile than ever. Even before Murphy left they were being clamped down on and gutted. She's been gone a few years now and I doubt it does very much at all.

What's the BSF? Did you Brighter Future Society? I am sure he might have some alliance with BFS but if Marcone and Harry go head to head in the next two books I expect either the BFS will end up being Marcone's supernatural hitters (if Marcone gets stronger) or will disolve.

Maybe so, but the last few books had nothing to do with him being a professional PI and more to do with his natural tendencies towards investigating mysteries and fighting for justice. He hasn't had an office since Changes, and didn't have any client but Susan at that point (which barely counts). Changes existed to break up the paradigm and expect another one coming - as if you recall Jim announced that GS, CD and SG are all part of a mini-trilogy within the series and the next two books (particularly BG) are meant to be the start of a new phase and radically change things up again.

Magnuskn - Honestly it wasn't a bad book in and of itself. I just expected more and wanted to see Harry get back into the world sooner (essentially I wanted to read Peace Talks) and so my expectations were not met and I was a bit disappointed. But I really only have myself to blame. Jim wrote a good book but I just wanted more. Can't please everyone of course.

[Mira]

But why would Harry's junior be managing security AND giving him orders? It may have been the case that he initially didn't take the job, but Harry hasn't been active in the White Council for years. And things have been happening with increasing frequency and intensity. There are stronger and more experienced Wardens than Ramirez. The only reason to make Carlos the head of security would be if they wanted the security to be weaker and/or wanted a patsy. Which may well be the case of course.

Actually I believe Carlos was originally given a higher rank than Harry, would have to go back and check it, but I think that was made clear not long after we meet Carlos and he and Harry were given ranks.   If I remember correctly Harry was given the command of the mid-west and the eastern part of the U.S. where as Carlos was in total command of North America.  Also since Harry was considered dead for the better part of a year, that would cause a command shake up.

[Dina]

That's interesting. I also thought Ghost Story was a let-down in many aspects, however Skin Game was, IMHO, fantastic in about everything it did. Fascinating how people view such things so completely differently.

I agree with you, Magnuskn. I loved SG. Instead, I am not such a fan of GS and CD.