on the Dresden Files

[xparrot]

sholio recently talked about Dresden Files: War Cry, an original comic story (by Jim Butcher, so part of canon), and as she mentioned it features Harry & Thomas snarking at one another (it's set a bit after Dead Beat), I had to get it.

I've been reading the Dresden Files since about book 7 or 8, and while there's a lot of the series I enjoy, Harry & Thomas is - not necessary my favorite thing about it, but it's the part that gets my fangirl heart pumping. The only parts of the series I've reread more than once are with them. Of course I love most fictional siblings, but Harry and Thomas are probably my favorite adult generally-functional brothers. Their relationship has its ups and downs, but it's solid, and neither of them doubt their love for one another, or are that shy about expressing it. For all their superficial differences, in most of the important things they're very alike, especially when it comes to how they value family.

And given that that's apparently an inherited trait, the scene in future books that I'm probably most looking forward to is when Ebenezar finds out that Thomas is also his grandson. That's gonna to be...interesting, for sure!

War Cry (hee, I just realized it keeps with the series naming scheme of two words of the same length) has some fun Harry & Thomas stuff (as Sholio mentions, Butcher pretty clearly enjoys writing them) - including a two-page spread of flashbacks to key moments in their backstory, because, uh, the artist wanted to draw it? While I don't agree with all his interpretations - the art's not bad at all, but rendering the Thomas in my head is pretty much impossible anyway - having just reread some of those scenes myself, I have to admire his attention to detail.

And Thomas talking about Harry being his younger brother, "so I have to protect him from himself sometimes" - so much aww! The older-younger aspect doesn't come up that much - which makes sense, for brothers who only got to know each other as adults - but it gets me every time. And then, Thomas refusing to raise a hand against a hallucinating Harry, awww. "look of unshakeable trust" indeed.


Also, "Release the kraken!" - of course Harry would say that. And of course that's his solution - or, "solution" - to the problem. Oh, Harry...

Comments

[sholio]

generally-functional brothers

*gigglefit* This is a good way of describing them. XD

.... but yeah, I think I had forgotten, to some extent, how much I adore them, due to the two of them being semi-estranged or at least separated for so long in the books (though that mostly seems to be over now, thank goodness). They are absolutely the heart of my fannish adoration for the show.

And Thomas's protectiveness of Harry will never, ever get old. I notice that this book fits into the general theme of "Thomas follows Harry around on the off chance he needs protecting", which he seems to do CONSTANTLY during -- well, okay, I started to type "during the years immediately following the reveal on their relationship", but he was actually doing it before then, come to think of it ... just from a distance and in a more subtle way. It's such a consistent feature of their relationship that now I have to wonder if he was STILL DOING IT even post-Turn Coat, except with a lot more subtlety and, perhaps, a little self-delusion thrown in about his own motives ...

Which makes his crushing depression after Harry's "death" EVEN WORSE in retrospect, because for a really long time he's defined himself at least in part as the guy who protects his baby brother. It's what he does. And then he failed, and Harry DIED. Oh, Thomas, baby. ;___;

(I am also dyyyyying for the moment when Ebenezar finds out about Thomas. We've been twisting in the wind on that particular reveal for, what, five books now? I truly can't wait ...)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I'm rereading Blood Rites now, am rather back in love with them! Awwww, Thomas being protective of Harry before he ever told him they were brothers has always been adorable to me, but putting that together with Harry's death...oh, Thomas. I did love that he had some of the hardest of anyone, getting over it...I was sorry he wasn't really in Ghost Story, but his one scene was great, and Cold Days more than made up for it, so!

Am really hoping the Ebenezar reveal/confrontation/??? is in Peace Talks!

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

Totally and completely off topic, but I just wanted to mention I was thinking of you recently. I watched the first couple episodes of The Librarians, and the plot was so similar to Warehouse 13 that it reminded me of you.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Heee, Gnine was just watching that with my cousin, and said the same thing (she was watching the movies first, said they were W13 meets Indiana Jones?) If it's half as cute I'll have to check it out...