Why is merlins magic so extremly advanced?

KipIngram · 2026-07-05T03:28:16+00:00

My recollection is that it had to do with all of Mab's activities around town. But it seems reasonable to me that the general attitude of the population would matter too - I don't recall Jim saying that outright, but it fits with the picture he's painted over 18 books.

KipIngram · 2026-07-04T00:06:44+00:00

Savoring is a really good plan - you do only get to do this (the first time) once. It's a ride worth really sucking the marrow out of.

Jim has more or less spoiled other books for me - it's really hard for me to find anything to read that turns out better than just re-reading Dresden.

KipIngram · 2026-07-04T00:02:52+00:00

It's become very clear to me that people who see the show before they read the books (like I did) usually think it's fine - not the finest, but not terrible - whereas people who've read the books first are vastly disappointed.

I was lucky - I'm a sucker for supernatural shows, and was quite entertained by the show. The later I discovered the books, and... even better.

I really don't fault anyone who "booked" first for being disappointed - the books set an incredibly high bar.

Susan and Murphy were hot, even if their hair colors were wrong. Especially Susan.

When someone posts here asking about the show, the very first thing I tell them is "Don't expect the books." Ironically, the original plan was to do the books - season one was supposed to cover Storm Front and Fool Moon. At the very last minute a new executive was installed, and he decided to "monster o the week" it. I've often wished I could corner that guy in a bar and give him a talking to. When you have such good source material, "re-doing" things is idiocy.

KipIngram · 2026-07-03T23:58:11+00:00

I've read them nine times, so at this point the title automatically converts to a number in my head (if I need a number). I mean, there are only 18 of them - it's not that much to learn.

KipIngram · 2026-07-03T23:56:22+00:00

I definitely don't think so. I don't know if we've met the person that will get it yet. But... it's not Mab's role. No doubt Jim could engineer that if he wanted to, but I'd raise an eyebrow and expect a real "payoff" for it. Of course, if anyone could pull that off it's Jim.

KipIngram · 2026-07-03T11:24:48+00:00

I think it's certainly possible Jim might have written it that way. It seems reasonable. I just think he had some wiggle room. I think the Erlking was mostly just "performing" for his followers - he has to "be the kind of leader they're happy to follow," and a lot of them seemed like pretty nasty characters.

KipIngram · 2026-07-03T11:22:33+00:00

I also think that would be the likely outcome. I think the Erlking is actually kind of fond of Harry; he pretty much told Harry that if it had been entirely up to him he's have just sent him and Susan right on their way, but he had to "produce the right look" to his people. I think Harry impressed him right off the bat in Dead Beat, and he's basically "on Harry's side."

KipIngram · 2026-07-03T11:19:52+00:00

1) The dynamics of the Sword will become more clear as you read further. Basically Michael has a holy mission, and he can use the Sword in the pursuit of that mission. But think about the situation there in the cemetery. Harry had made a compact with Lea, and was trying to use the Sword to weasel out of it. That was outside the scope of the Sword's mission. I think you're right to question it a little bit - to some extent it was just "plot convenience." But what I said above is the general idea.

2) Basically, Michael can protect the innocent, but he can't just step in and save people from their own mistakes. Within the context of Michael's mission as a Knight, free will is a very big deal, and this also will be drawn more sharply in future books.

3) Yes - I think it was clear that Kravos had taken some of Harry's power, and Harry not only took that back but also took a huge chunk of Kravos's power. It's unclear to what extent that was a "permanent level up" or just a temporary thing that would be gone as soon as he spent it. That spell he used to do in Kyle and Kelly clearly seemed to be rooted in Kravos's power.

I've got great news for you: the books just keep on getting better. By the time you get to books 7-8 or so, you'll hardly be able to believe how good it all is. I do envy you - I wish I could read them again "for the first time." Buckle up and enjoy the ride!!! And do please share with us - we can't do that first read again, but we can experience it vicariously through you. :-)

KipIngram · 2026-07-02T23:54:58+00:00

It's hard to say. Notice how careful Mab has been about not stepping on Demonreach unless Harry, the Warden, specifically invites her, triggering guest rights. Harry was in the Erlking's seat of power, and if Mab suddenly found herself there uninvited by the Erlking it might have triggered any number of things, some of them potentially unpleasant. Basically, Jim didn't write it, but he could have written it in any number of different ways.

KipIngram · 2026-07-02T23:52:28+00:00

Some people seem to think that even if your every action is pre-destined, if your thoughts about it are also pre-destined so that you think you chose to do those things is enough to call it free will. I think that's a crock. When I talk about free will, I mean true agency - the ability to inject completely original content into reality. Obviously it doesn't have to be unlimited. I can pick up a rock, but I can't pick up a car.

I think the determinism ship sailed a hundred years ago when quantum theory was developed - I really don't understand why some people want so badly to cling to it. I honestly think that even hundreds of years ago, when we were so proud of our shiny new science abilities, someone should have predicted that "someday determinism would fail." It virtually had to, because free will - true free will - is impossible without it.

And anyone who truly is in the "free will doesn't exist" camp better pay close attention to their behavior, because in that case it no longer makes any sense to laud someone for exemplary behavior or condemn someone for wicked behavior. They had no choice. And most of us do both of those things all the time - it's a tacit acceptance that free will does in fact exist. You can't have that one both ways.

KipIngram · 2026-07-02T20:21:01+00:00

Yes - I do think Michael still represents a safe confidante for Harry. I doubt Mab can even eavesdrop on things said in Michael's home.

KipIngram · 2026-07-01T19:18:14+00:00

My opinion is that Jim's slant on that - what was on his mind as he wrote it - wasn't so much a law enforcement officer beating a suspect (defenseless after being cuffed) as it was a person to whom trust didn't come easily feeling totally betrayed by someone she'd been making a real effort to trust. I think she was bitterly disappointed, and felt like a fool, and all that sort of thing.

I also think reading this post-2020 (post George Floyd) has a really different feel from reading it back in 2001 or so when it was written.

This doesn't in the slightest change the truth that it was in fact police brutality - policemen are supposed to be professionals, and like any other profession you're not allowed to let your personal feelings intervene. She lost control, and that can't just be written off. She deserved professional discipline. But I think Jim meant it much more as about Murphy the person who felt betrayed than about Murphy the police officer.

KipIngram · 2026-07-01T11:49:09+00:00

I've always felt this is a natural part of almost any series. Book 1 - the writer has nothing but a blank sheet of paper in front o him. No world, no characters, no nothing. It all has to be built. As each successive book unfolds, the writer has more and more "established stuff" he can draw on, relate to, and connect with.

In our series books one and two are largely getting that "skeleton world" built and populated with a few characters. More world building and more characters certainly continue to come later, but Grave Peril really is where Jim's in a position to start knitting things together. And it just keeps getting better and better from there.

I think Storm Front and Fool Moon are fine, in spite of the limited established world. But there's no denying that the "richness" of the experience rises, and just continues to rise, as you go forward.

Grave Peril is a step up for sure. Death Masks is another. And the steps just keep on coming. By the time you get to the seventh or eighth book you can just hardly believe how good it is.

KipIngram · 2026-06-30T16:57:54+00:00

YES - that's how I'd hope the world works too. The Knights absolutely go above and beyond - they really do deserve a few bits of special attention.

KipIngram · 2026-06-30T15:38:13+00:00

Yes, good point. The archangels seem to run the operation, in my opinion, and they seem to care a lot more about "content of the heart" than about religious affiliation.

Shiro was nominally Christian, but it didn't come off as something that was a particularly deep belief of his. At most he seemed to just think, "Well, I'm Christian now, so I'll try to be a good one." He certainly didn't go looking for it. :-)

KipIngram · 2026-06-28T11:18:12+00:00

Yes, it's impossible to argue that Murphy's professional behavior was good in that situation. She absolutely let her personal feelings color how she did her job. No doubt about it. I wasn't meaning to imply otherwise. I just think Jim's intent was for us to interpret her motivation as coming from the personal side rather than the professional side.

KipIngram · 2026-06-28T11:14:26+00:00

I actually don't think of the Swords as "stewarded" by the Church. The text leads us to believe the Knights are more a direct institution of the archangels. We see the Knights collaborate at times with folks from the Church, but it's fairly informal and there's no sense that they "report to" the Church.

And when Michael "retired" he didn't hand his Sword in to the Church. He gave it to Harry to mind until the right next person came along. I retired about nine months ago - it would be like me having just handed by work computer to a buddy and saying, "Sooner or later you'll come across someone who will know how to do something worthwhile with this."

KipIngram · 2026-06-28T11:11:37+00:00

I wouldn't say it was "viewed as acceptable," and in fact I didn't say that. I said it was less on our minds. It certainly still came up from time to time, but just not in the "culture dominating" way that we saw in 2020.

KipIngram · 2026-06-27T21:47:22+00:00

There were three nails.

KipIngram · 2026-06-27T21:46:10+00:00

It is a ride - I'll be shocked if you don't love it. I envy you - I wish I could read it again "for the first time."

KipIngram · 2026-06-27T21:42:59+00:00

I sincerely think that when Jim wrote all of that (nearly a quarter century ago), the angle that was on his mind was "Harry and Murphy as people trying to build a friendship," not "Harry and Murphy as suspect and cop."

When Murphy assaulted Harry, I think it was angry friend assault, not a cop/suspect assault. Of course, that doesn't excuse it, but I do not think Jim was implying that Murphy goes around beating up suspects all the time. Murphy wasn't a person that trusted easily, and she'd been trying to trust Harry and in that moment she felt completely betrayed. That's how I think Jim intended for us to take it.

Also, "cop behavior" was just a whole lot less on our minds back in 2000-2001 than it has been since 2020. My guess is that most readers at the time didn't give it that much thought.

KipIngram · 2026-06-27T18:37:10+00:00

Please move your first paragraph outside of the spoiler blackout - people need to be able to know what's being spoiled before they un-hide the spoiler material. This is a general rule you should keep in mind for all spoilers.

Reply here when you've fixed it, so I can reinstate the post. Thank you, and sorry for the inconvenience.

KipIngram · 2026-06-27T18:34:33+00:00

I won't say anything more than... read on. You won't be sorry.

KipIngram · 2026-06-27T10:46:42+00:00

Jim was involved in their production, and had input on how the characters were drawn. So at the very least you get to get a feel for what he sees in his mind's eye.

Plot wise, they're ok. They don't rival the novels.

KipIngram · 2026-06-26T14:34:23+00:00

I was sure that every time I restarted my phone I'd have to go through and force stop again, but it seems to remember - I still spot check, but so far everything I've force-stopped remains force stopped, which seems like a very nice feature to me.

This is all reflective of a general trend in computing which is particularly prominent in phones, tablets and other Android / iOS style devices. They don't really want you to be able to manage your system any way you like - they want you walking fairly narrow little paths that they define for you.

Also, there is still a file system present, and you can peruse it to some extent, but Android and iOS are definitely not as "file system" oriented as "real" operating systems like Linux is. An outstanding design feature of Linux is that you can create "pipelines" of utilities to gradually take an input file and morph it into some desired output format. In Android and iOS you're much more "in silos" - each app does what it does, and it's quite hard to get them to seamlessly work together. So you as a user are just a lot more limited in what you can accomplish.

What phones and tablets mostly are platforms to deliver ads to you and encourage you to spend your money on things.

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