For fans of the Dresden Files...help?

[neotoma]

I've been reading CHANGES to get myself up to canon before tackling a cross-over big bang idea that's been rattling around in my head lately, but I got to Ch. 37 and hit a bit of a wall...

Vamps and Icks are fast, but I'd dueled their like before. Like the apocryphal Loki, my previous opponents had learned that no matter how quick you are on your feet, you aren't faster than thought.

Am I to believe that Loki doesn't exist in the Dresden'verse? Even though Harry crosses paths with a Valkyrie every other book and met Odin in this one? What? Loki's only the most mentioned character in the Eddas -- it's not like he's not integral to rather large parts of the mythology.

Or am I to think that Harry doesn't believe Loki is real... even though Harry has just had a conference with Odin -- who is stocking up weaponry and soldiers for something... like, I don't know, Ragnarok, maybe? And how does Harry know the story of Thor and Loki's journey to Utgard well enough to reference it, but poorly enough that he mixed up who did what challenge (Thjali, Thor's manservant, lost a race against a thought from their host's mind. Loki lost an eating contest against a disguised wildfire)?

Or is Jim Butcher just messing with his readers?

So, I noticed that Harry recognized some of the einherjar as men of Marcone's who were killed taking on the White Court, when Gard took Harry to Oslo. Am I the only one who thinks Gard assignment to work for Marcone's organization is in order to ensure that a certain percentage of his men die in battle (and thus are eligible to go to Valhalla and be soldiers for Odin at Ragnarok)?

I'm pretty sure that Harry hasn't realized it, and would be appalled if that's the case. Marcone probably has, and decided having Ms. Gard's services was worth the likely cost to him in men.

Comments

[gehayi]

Also, Harry has already mentioned in canon that multiple gods exist. The problem is that, being Harry, he's gotten part of it wrong:

"...there are beings who aren't the Almighty who have power way beyond anything running around on the planet...Old Greek and Roman and Norse deities. Lots and lots of Amerind divinities, and African tribal beings. A few Australian aboriginal gods; others in Polynesia, Southeast Asia. About a zillion Hindu gods. But they've all been dormant for centuries."

The problem with this is that gods and godlike powers, in canon, are NOT dormant. The Norse pantheon has formed a security corporation based on magic. Harry has called on various loa and demons in the series. Sanya--who has to be the most devoted atheist on the planet--got his sword from an archangel. Other archangels provide guardianship for the Knights and their families. Michael gets messages directly from, as Harry puts it, "the Head Office." Harry also states canonically that faerie queens, minor gods, demon lords, archangels and mortal necromancers are roughly equal in power.

(Yes. Mortal necromancers are THE EQUIVALENT OF MINOR GODS. That one gives you some idea of why the Council was terrified of Kemmler and his disciples in the books--and why the Council had damned good reason to be scared of Hrothbert of Bainbridge-Bob in the TV series. And, as you'll see in Ghost Story, the ghosts of necromancers are even MORE powerful than living ones. It's mind-boggling.)

So gods and beings with godlike power are not apocryphal in Harry's world; they're demonstrably real. And they sure aren't dormant. It's more like in Neil Gaiman's American Gods--old gods do new jobs.

I have no idea why Harry doesn't think about what he's saying for two seconds.

I really, really do think that he's one of Loki's favorites, though. Loki would love a trouble magnet like Harry.

[neotoma]

Sanya apparently gets his orders from Gabriel -- in a way that sounds like they meet at a cafe and go over his schedule for the week...

Hmmm... archangels are the equivalent of mortal necromancers? That's... worrying. I need to get a copy of GHOST STORY, but it's a long trek to get to a bookstore now that Borders is closed down.

I have no idea why Harry doesn't think about what he's saying for two seconds.

Frankly, I think Harry is more of a feeler than a thinker -- he can think things through, but he's more comfortable reacting on his emotions.

Loki would find Harry hilarious.

[gehayi]

And archangels are insanely powerful in canon. Which goes to show that Butcher didn't downgrade them in the least. It's just that the necromancers took something like a hundred levels in badass, to quote TV tropes.

I need to get a copy of GHOST STORY, but it's a long trek to get to a bookstore now that Borders is closed down.

Maybe you could order it from B & N or Powell Books?

Loki would find Harry hilarious.

He WOULD. He so would.

[neotoma]

I could just wait until Wednesday and see if I could get it from the local library... or borrow it from greenygal next time I see her... this weekend has just kind of thrown everything upside down for me.

Otoh, being the must-see-tv for a chaos god is not something Harry needs on top of all his other troubles...

[gehayi]

You know what would really be hilarious, in view of that "apocryphal Loki" line?

If Malcolm Dresden had been an avatar or manifestation of Loki--making Harry Loki's son. That would explain Loki's attention...and the chaos that Harry seems to generate as easily as he breathes.

[neotoma]

Is there any evidence that Malcolm Dresden was non-normal? I mean, beside Kincaid's rather ambiguous statement? I got the impression that Malcolm was completely mundane, and the most odd he got was his profession and a taste for bad puns...

[gehayi]

Not much, aside from his appearing to Harry a couple of times and specifically telling his son that "No, this isn't a dream and no, I'm not a ghost." He also managed to pass on some advice and information, both of which proved to be good and which contradicted what Harry himself believed at the time.

Other than that, though, no. I don't know if that's because the man was utterly mundane, because there's been so much more emphasis on Harry's mother and her history, because Malcolm died before Harry was old enough to remember much, or because Harry isn't paying attention. You just never know with this series.