"Skin Game" Discussion (Dresden Files novel - Spoilers!)

[Terralthra]

Also, Mab owed him the favor. Harry, he could get for "free."

The crown of thorns, obvious. The cup, obvious. The cloth, obvious. The knife could be the spear of the lance of longinus, but that seems like a bit of a stretch. A spear point doesn't look like a knife at all, and it's rather consistently called a knife, not a spear-tip. What's the wooden placard?

[dragon]

Harry shouted reaction to the Dream of him and murphy was pretty funny. Granted at first i thought finally then thought something is going to interrupt.

[Steve]

Another thought. Isn't it fitting that at the end, when we see Maggie and the younger Carpenters playing, she's the "Dinosaur Cowgirl" with Harry Carpenter clearly pretending to be a T-Rex?

It does run in the family.

[Ralin]

Going through the audiobook and Nicodemus outright says he doesn't know exactly how the gates work and that they'll have to wing that part and defer to Hannah and Harry. Could have been lying, but I guess it's the only explanation that makes sense.

What's the wooden placard?

Betcha the lettering used to say "INRI."

Say, don't summonings usually require five items? And what happens at the end of the apocalypse?

[Gaidin]

All things being equal, as awesome as Butters was, my favorite character(s) was the tag team by Michael and Uriel.

[CaptainChewbacca]

The placard is probably the sign they put on the cross saying 'King of the Jews'.

[Gaidin]

Betcha the lettering used to say "INRI."

Say, don't summonings usually require five items? And what happens at the end of the apocalypse?

Ten, when you're using them, but that's getting technical. Five items directly symbolic of certain aspects of the one being summoned, and five items linking them to the same aspect of the summoner. For reference see when Harry summoned the Erlking in in Dead Beat. Hell, it can be argued that what you make the summoning circle out of might be relevant at some point given he didn't just draw a circle on the ground there. I don't have the book at hand so someone else is going to have to list them for you.

[Gaidin]

12-hour Ghetto Edit:

Anybody like the series progression with Harry and Nicodemus?

Death Masks: Harry gets his ass kicked, gets the shroud back, considers it a moral victory.
Small Favor: Harry fights the fallen to a standstill and nearly kills Nicodemus.
Skin Game: Harry's finally got the allies and the resources to allow him to stack the deck without Nicodemus knowing and lays him out.

I wonder if the progression will be bothered with in Book 20.

[Broomstick]

What a ride!

One of the better pregnant man bits I've seen in fiction, although I'm really wondering 1) what Harry is going to name his new daughter, 2) how the little spirit will fit in with the rest of the story, and 3) how he's going explain the new half-sister to Maggie.

Oh, and Lightsaber of the Cross is just... so Butters.

[NeoGoomba]

Oh, and Lightsaber of the Cross is just... so Butters.

I liked how his only hangup was the whole "A Jewish Knight of the Cross?" bit. Very Mel Brooks-esque.

[Broomstick]

Well... guy on the cross was Jewish... and the Dresden 'verse already has an atheist Knight of the Cross, so why not a Jewish one?

[NeoGoomba]

I know. My point was that it was a funny scene reminicent of a Mel Brooks set-up joke. All it was missing was Harry saying something like "And why not? It worked in Blazing Saddles?"

[Ralin]

What a ride!

One of the better pregnant man bits I've seen in fiction, although I'm really wondering 1) what Harry is going to name his new daughter, 2) how the little spirit will fit in with the rest of the story, and 3) how he's going explain the new half-sister to Maggie.

Oh, and Lightsaber of the Cross is just... so Butters.

My bets are Susan or Shiela.

[Gaidin]

My bets are Susan or Shiela.

Look where it came from and the product of it. I'm going with him sticking with Lash just because of it all but being a result of corrupting the shade of a Fallen Angel.

[PKRudeBoy]

What a ride!

One of the better pregnant man bits I've seen in fiction, although I'm really wondering 1) what Harry is going to name his new daughter, 2) how the little spirit will fit in with the rest of the story, and 3) how he's going explain the new half-sister to Maggie.

Oh, and Lightsaber of the Cross is just... so Butters.

And of course the book that introduces the Dodekatheon has Harry's daughter bursting from his head. He should have asked Hades how his brother dealt with it.

[Broomstick]

And because Second Daughter burst forth from Harry's head I'm voting for "Athena" as a name.

[Gaidin]

And because Second Daughter burst forth from Harry's head I'm voting for "Athena" as a name.

Too blatant. So not Harry's style. He names a dog mouse while it's a puppy and doesn't realize it's going to be part mammoth. I'm just saying.

[Broomstick]

>sigh<

The downside of so rapidly ingesting the entire novel (I think it was less than 30 hours from purchase to finish despite needing to do a lot of stuff besides just read that day) is that I now have to wait a year or two for the next one.

[CaptainChewbacca]

And because Second Daughter burst forth from Harry's head I'm voting for "Athena" as a name.

Given his penchant for 'M' names, I'm gonna go with 'Minerva' or 'Minnie'.

[Steve]

>sigh<

The downside of so rapidly ingesting the entire novel (I think it was less than 30 hours from purchase to finish despite needing to do a lot of stuff besides just read that day) is that I now have to wait a year or two for the next one.

I read it in 5 hours.

[Gaidin]

Given his penchant for 'M' names, I'm gonna go with 'Minerva' or 'Minnie'.

Are you saying he's going to name something he might regard as a child as if it's a pet?

[LadyTevar]

My bets are Susan or Shiela.

Look where it came from and the product of it. I'm going with him sticking with Lash just because of it all but being a result of corrupting the shade of a Fallen Angel.

It needs to be Minerva or Athena. I prefer Minerva since he's got Maggie. M&M

[LadyTevar]

>sigh<

The downside of so rapidly ingesting the entire novel (I think it was less than 30 hours from purchase to finish despite needing to do a lot of stuff besides just read that day) is that I now have to wait a year or two for the next one.

Well, we could go back and reread all the sections where Grey and Dresden are talking, so we get the subtext. AFter all, everytime Grey says "Wizard" it's starting a private conversation.

I have to give Harry credit there, he was actually THINKING AHEAD for once. It was damn near brilliant how he pulled that one over on the Denarians. No wonder he was saying he had to play things close, he already knew there would be hidden Coin-holders to further the screwing. He didn't expect Lasciel, but she was supposed to be locked up by the Church.

BTW: I was totally enjoying the sex scene. Butcher has a gift for Romance Novel Sex. The ending, well, yeah, I was also with Dresden in shouting "Dammit!!!"

[Gaidin]

It needs to be Minerva or Athena. I prefer Minerva since he's got Maggie. M&M

I'm totally against just ripping off some god's name here though. And so would that old greek goddess be I bet. Give it a legit name. Not some pet's name. He named his other spirit Bob. Run with it. There is no established pattern except that they're human names. I just like Lash because it's the result of downright corrupting the shade of a fallen angel and he knows it and might stick with it. Could it piss off the actual Lasciel? Probably? But hell, that one's probably stuck in a vault somewhere in the Underworld.

[LadyTevar]

Hades is a collector. A couple Silver Denari would be a nice addition, since the holders of both are not going to need them anymore.

BTW: Anyone else think Genoskwa was kicked out of the Forest People? I guess they have criminals just like all other species. He truly did have a beef with River Shoulders, so that might be who banished him.