Just got my copy. 
Been looking forward to this one for quite awhile. So who do you guys think shot Harry? My money is on Marcone.
You can read the first four chapters online on Butcher’s website.
Chapter 1: Ghost Story chapter 1 | Jim Butcher
I haven’t got my copy yet, but my thought is that it was Kincaid, and here’s why:
I think Kincaid shot Harry (possibly at Ivy’s direction) in order for him to be able to get out of his deal with Mab to be the Winter Knight.
Well…
Harry did say that after he has taken down the Red Court he’s coming after Marcone. Marcone dismissed this by stating Harry won’t survive the war with the vampires. But now that Harry destroyed the entire Red Court, Marcone must have been feeling the pressure.
I just checked yesterday and Amazon still has the release date as 7/26. How did you get your copy already?
My money is on Kincaid as the shooter but I think Marcone will take the blame until Harry comes back.
I don’t know. I ordered the book months ago from a local bookshop (I live in Finland) and got a message today that my order had arrived, so I went and picked it up.
Already?!? My Amazon order isn’t coming until the end of July!
checks date
Ten days from now, in fact.
I’ve got mine on order from Amazon and I’m already not looking forward to the year+ wait for the next one.
Haven’t really thought much about who shot Harry – he’s got enough enemies that I’m a bit surprised there was just a lone gunman. I suspect it’s not Marcone as he seems to have developed non-violent means of co-existing with Harry. Could have been Kincaid, but only under contract to some other group, e.g. Summer, the Black Council, any of the remaining colors of Vampires, any of the Denarius guys, etc…
Guess I’ll find out in a week or so.
Dangit! Was hoping maybe it shipped early everywhere, but I’ve gotta wait a week, too. >.<
Weirdly enough, I haven’t really wondered who shot Harry. Now I’m wondering. 
Arrrgh…I’m only up to Turn Coat!
-Joe
I think it was the Summer Knight.
I’ve listened to them all, but I guess I’ll be reading this one with my own eyes. James Marsters is not narrating.
Doubt it. Harry specifically said that once he gets to all the other bad guys on his list, then finally Marcone won’t be the least evil bad guy any more. Marcone figured Dresden would die well before that happened. There wasn’t anything specifically about the Red Court in that exchange, except that Dresden wanted Marcone to help take out the Red Court since the Reds were moving in on Marcone’s territory.For me, the question so much isn’t who pulled the trigger, but who ordered the hit and why. My current theory is unfinished, but what I have I think is fairly solid:[spoiler]Mab has had her hooks in Dresden since book 4. By having a claim on him, she has power over him and can influence his actions, grossly or subtly. She wouldn’t need to relinquish control over him until he either performed her three tasks or took up the mantle of Winter Knight and then died, since death is the only way to get out of that particular service without Mab’s blessing.
Thus, the motivation behind the shooting was to break Mab’s hold on Dresden, not necessarily to take him out of the game entirely. The PTB behind the shooting has planned for Dresden’s death already.
The question that remains is: which side is Mab on, and which side is the PTB that ordered the hit on? I can make a WAG for both Mab being the force behind the Black Council and for her being the only Power that knows the extent of the Black Council’s plan and is working against them. I guarantee you, one way or the other the Unseelie Accords were written specifically to further her machinations either for or against the Black Council.[/spoiler]
I was going to start a thread Monday, because it is due out next Tuesday. I am looking forward to it.
Refresh my memory: what is the PTB? I know I know it, but have not likely seen it abbreviated, and it’s driving me nuts to not be able to figure it out. Guess I get to add ‘forgetfulness’ to the list of early-onset infirmaries that included, last weekend alone, being prescribed tri-focals and throwing my back out while standing in line. :dubious:
Sorry, just a generic term for Powers That Be. Though since I’m only referring to one power (probably), it should probably be PTI, for Power That Is. 
Dude, that’s junkie talk! 
#38 on the interlibrary lending list. It could be a while…
So I finished the book today. I liked it. I felt the frequency of geek- and pop culture references in this one was a lot higher than in previous novels. I guess Butcher is thinking that if you’ve followed the series this far, you’re fan of that. Still, felt a bit forced at points. The heart and soul of the books, the characters, were well handled as always . Some characters were allowed to grow in ways that makes it interesting to see what will happen to them next.
Warning! Big spoilers.
Loved the fact that, in the end, Harry wasn’t the one saving the day.
Not going to comment on the story any more than to say that it felt more as a setup for future novels. Lots of stuff introduced that had little bearing on the problem at hand.
For those in the Uk, you can buy physical copies at Waterstones. Don’t know if they’ve broken the street date or Amazon (which is still saying the 28th) is delayed for some reason, but i just bought it this morning.
Big, end-of-book spoilers to follow. You don’t want to click on this if you haven’t finished the story.
[SPOILER]ARGH!!! All that, and he’s STILL the Winter Knight? I didn’t especially enjoy powerless N00B Harry. I rather like clever powerful Harry running around Chicago and the Never-Never, butting into other people’s affairs, making enemies, etc. It was an OK story, and I realize he was supposed to grow and learn here, but two books in a row of Harry not being Harry is a bit much. Now he’ll be on Mab’s strings throughout the next one, spend the whole book trying to do her work while not killing everyone in his way, while also trying to get out of his Knight job. At least he’ll be clever powerful Harry again, even if he’ll be under Mab’s thumb - and he can freakin’ TALK to people again!
Also, Corpsetaker AGAIN?
Ah well, the biggest constant in the Dresdan books is change. His old life has burned down, and he’s spent a whole book dead (or dead-ish), so out of the ashes will rise the new Harry. It’s seemed pretty obvious for a long time that the series is steering him towards a seat on the White Council, and he’s got a lot to go through to get there. I wonder if he’ll end up as the Merlin. Probably not anytime soon, since just about everyone else on the council has much more skill, knowledge, and experience, even if Harry has a lot of power. I think just about the entire council would have to die for him to become the Merlin within, say, Murphy’s lifetime.
Will Harry get Bob back from Butters? Will he be reunited with Mister and Mouse and Maggie? Will Murphy keep the swords, and/or eventually wield one as a Knight of the Cross? Will Thomas ever get to be a real boy?
[/SPOILER]