Turn Coat (Mini-Review)

Turn Coat is the eleventh book in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. In this book Harry Dresden is shocked when a dying Warden Donald Morgan comes to him for help. As the mystery deepens, Harry gets a much more personal reason to help clear Morgan's name: if Morgan's name isn't cleared then both Harry and Molly Carpenter's lives are at stake.

This book has the saddest ending in the series so far. Characters find themselves having to learn to deal with various revelations. Such as throughout the series Thomas Raith has had to deal with his painful reality of being a White Court Vampire while also wanting to be a good person. What happens to him in this book tears his entire reality apart making him have to reevaluate who he is. There's also the fact that Harry has trouble carrying on after certain characters have died but somehow compels himself to. A scene near the end of the book I nearly ran from because it was so painful for me. But, even hinting at it would mean major spoilers for the book.

Warden Donald Morgan has always been a complicated character. On one hand he is willing to risk life and limb to do the right thing. In one of the previous books, Harry was willing to let Morgan kill him just so humanity would have a better chance. But, on the other hand, Morgan is extremely judgemental and eternally suspicious of those who have done wrong. I find myself rooting for him more often than not. This was the first book of The Dresden Files I ever read and it biased me in favor of Morgan, in all honesty. If you don't like Morgan by the end of this book, nothing will ever change your mind.

This book delves a little into why the White Council does what it does. It tries to paint the wizard government as flawed but the best system of government for the magical community to follow. At one point the argument for the White Council is that the United States of America would never exist if it functioned differently. This point is extremely flawed once you consider the genocide against the Native American Tribes as well as their accomplishments being downplayed by the US. What makes this point even more flawed is the fact that Listens-to-Wind is part of the senior council meaning he is somehow okay with helping the people that let his fellow Native Americans be slaughtered.

The battle on Demonreach is just epic. At one point two characters fight each other by shapeshifting quickly. I am a huge Animorphs fan so seeing a fight where two combatants must shapeshift is amazing. One of the characters is a Skinwalker which makes the battle even more tense. This due to the fact that throughout the book readers have no idea how a fight against one of the monstrous creatures could ever be winnable.

I would recommend Turn Coat to fans of The Dresden Files. I would also recommend Turn Coat to those that like their fantasy with a lot of mystery.