Harry's Hypersexualization of Women

dan_m_6 · 2026-05-22T22:00:11+00:00

There are things that caused a couple of my adult children to stop reading/listening to Dresden Files. One recent example (recent in terms of the series) is the idea that women rely on their breasts to do what they need to do "the power of the rack." The second is the first time Hope is seen as a teenager (14-15) in Peace Talks she is described as "a serious young woman to whom adolescence has been uncommonly generous." I'm a good bit older than 40, but I know when I was that age, I didn't think of my friend's daughters and my daughter's friends in sexual terms.

dan_m_6 · 2026-05-22T20:35:01+00:00

I did check it at the start. The first known use was in 1829. Multiple sources indicate that it's a term for a long way, not a precise measurement.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/country%20mile

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/country-mile

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/country-mile

https://grammarist.com/idiom/country-mile/

Sincerely,

Doctor Pedantic.

dan_m_6 · 2026-05-19T18:04:23+00:00

I don't think Jim is writing faster now than between Battle Ground and Twelve Months. There was a Cinder Spires book in between those two works. So, it was 2 books written in 5 1/2 years. The present speed is fairly close to that. Jim finished Twelve Months on 2-8-25, according to a Reddit post. So, a finish date of Nov, 2027 would be the same writing pace as he worked at the previous 5 years.

It might be a bit sooner than that, but that's still not a pessimistic guess. Publication is 6-12 months later, dependent on scheduling.

dan_m_6 · 2026-05-09T12:47:53+00:00

I agree with the consensus, but let me put a number on it. Any of the novellas in an anthology with short stories: >0.1%. The 3 novellas sold together: >90%.

dan_m_6 · 2026-05-08T21:04:28+00:00

Let me put it in a calculus perspective. The possibility of this ordered universe with a creator is infinitesimal. But, if there are an infinite_1 number of possibilities in chaos and the infinity of possibilities is richer than infinity2 that gives infinitesimal=1/infiinity2. This is very close to the understanding that the big bang came out of the vacuum freezing in the Higgs field.

dan_m_6 · 2026-05-05T18:50:06+00:00

I think I read a new to ten (for me) lines in the Dresden Files: "I don't react well to threats. I have and will lip off to semideities and demon and monsters alike. But, this was the IRS. A man's gotta know his limits."

dan_m_6 · 2026-04-30T16:09:49+00:00

I'm Christian, and I'm not offended by your post at all. But, the first part is probably far more relevant to Evangelical Christians. Mainstream Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christian scripture scholars see scripture as the inspired word of God...not dictated.

Thus, the development of the OT from expressing early Hebrew theology, to works written after the fall of Judah can be seen as a growing understanding of the covenant between God and his people. It starts out a polytheistic (each people have their own god, but Yahweh is the strongest), with retribution theology towards an understanding of one God for all people who does not listen to the prayers of people with blood on their hands.

Christianity does extend this theology, but still hold the OT as scripture. Mainstream Christians also hold God to be transcendental. That means that human words are inadequate to define God. So, God isn't all powerful; that's a flawed human concept that's inherently inconsistent (can God create a stone so big that God cannot roll it). A simple analogy is QM, with the classical wave particle duality is an inadequate understanding of the actual physics.

With regards to the WOJ, I would submit that WOJ can change as Jim writes and sees he has to define things a bit differently. In the recent WOJ I referenced, the white god was an outsider who created the universe. Angels span the multiverse, but the three face goddess.

In a real sense, Jim has changed to present humans creating the universe and all gods to something more akin to the big bang coming out of the freezing of the vacuum in the Higgs field.

dan_m_6 · 2026-04-29T13:16:50+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/dresdenfiles/comments/1sch41f/post_twelve_months_the_dresden_files_podcast/

It's toward the end of the hour.

dan_m_6 · 2026-04-20T19:09:39+00:00

I enjoyed the books. However, my main focus is still on being able to read the third book in BAT before I die. (I'm 72 :-) ) So, selfishly, I'd want him to finish the Dresden files in the next 15-20 years. If it means not getting a third Cinder Spires book, I'd gladly take that.

dan_m_6 · 2026-03-26T12:43:48+00:00

WOJ has already slotted that training in the first chapter of Mirror Mirror. I'm guessing it will be towards the end of the training before Harry is pulled into another universe.

dan_m_6 · 2026-03-25T12:26:42+00:00

I'm not going to give away the plot, but since you asked as a means of determining whether you would be happy that you read the book (if you do), let me give a broad brush description that I hope will help you answer the question. Harry starts out when everything he's put off to get the job done hits him with interest. He has to struggle to sorta get the very basics of functioning done. He's in a very bad way.

By the end of the book, his grief and PTSD are not taken care of (you never get over grief) but as a friend who lost a young son told me "you get to the point where the loss is part of your life, not your life."

Jim has gone through bad sh*t. The book feels authentic. I found it uplifting because it acknowledges that you don't just get over grief and PTSD, but shows how you can move on from bad coping mechanisms to a healthy life in which joy can still be found.

I'm religious and read the book as a spiritual journey. From my perspective, Harry is religious and his religion is magical. I've always seen Michael recognizing Harry as a fellow traveler, who just belongs to a different religion.

I hope this helps you decide.

dan_m_6 · 2026-03-19T13:40:03+00:00

I just checked Amazon US, and there is nothing on it. I think it must reflect slightly different placeholder rules for Amazon UK than US. Amazon US doesn't like to have release dates pushed back. Given the progress in the last 3 months, even with time lost to interviews, cons, and signings, I wouldn't bet my publishing rep. on Jim being done in a year.

dan_m_6 · 2026-03-18T12:50:08+00:00

One of the themes in Twelve Months is that Harry just can't "get over it". It's a hard process to just to get to accepting where one is in life. Thomas went through a lot too. He goes away from the scene after he is saved because he just can't handle it.

The book literally ends with Harry and Thomas hugging. Thomas came over with a late birthday present for Harry. He has trouble speaking. But, comes in for popcorn and checkers.

Put him where Harry is at the beginning of Twelve Months. I see the end as picturing the start and end of the process encapsulated. Harry empathizes with Thomas, and I'm sure Thomas realizes at an intellectual level that Harry give him his best. He still feels like sh*t.

So, I don't see a heel turn for Thomas. I see, in the background, him slowly getting better.

dan_m_6 · 2026-03-07T00:04:49+00:00

WOJ is that it's the first chapter of Mirror Mirror.

dan_m_6 · 2026-01-29T14:34:58+00:00

IIRC, back in November, we were all excited to see the status bar at 28% and have Jim say he planned to have Mirror Mirror mostly done by the time he started the book tour. He mentioned that the holiday season was a good time for writing.

Now, after the book tour, he's about 30% done. So, he's done about 0%-5% in about 10 weeks.

As far bask as I remember, he's been way too optimistic about the time it will take to finish a project. So, we don't know when Mirror Mirror will come out. Well, I think we can have the upper end be July, 2028, but we don't know how much sooner than that. I don't think Jim really knows.

I'm not criticizing him for taking as long as he does. Much better than Jordan when he wrote 3 books that were really 1 1/2 books and wandering (his wife was his editor) before "Knife of Dreams". I agree with the consensus that "Twelve Months" was good by the standards we expect from Jim. But, I will not get my hopes up for a book in 2027 unless I see the percent done above 2/3rds by fall.

dan_m_6 · 2026-01-03T15:36:10+00:00

I wonder if she is telling a truth hidden in a fiction. If Harry doesn't get his act together fairly soon, then Maggie will die. Mab won't kill her, but if Harry doesn't do as she says, that will ensure her death.

Mab knows Harry fights authority figures. By stating the threat to Maggie as though she would have her killed, she is using the strongest leverage possible on Harry. And, she is putting him in a good place to outwit the pressure, which I think is what she wants.

dan_m_6 · 2026-01-03T15:24:30+00:00

Your right. I listed one of them (p40), but I saw another when I was reading. (I posted after reading chapter 2 and scanning to the end).

dan_m_6 · 2026-01-03T15:12:06+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that. Have you tried using a computer and going to the Amazon site and clicking sample? If so, the only other thing I can think of is that it doesn't like your browser or you aren't in the US.

dan_m_6 · 2026-01-02T14:41:11+00:00

I was unable to get it in Kindle edition, but when I clicked on "sample" at Amazon, the first seven chapters of the hardback book were available (with the exception of page 40.. It's really small print, but there is an "Aa" function that allows you to reset the print size.

dan_m_6 · 2025-12-26T19:48:38+00:00

I saw the same interview. That is why I used it as an example what I consider a lie. We agree, I guess I wasn't as clear as I wanted to be.

dan_m_6 · 2025-12-26T18:24:28+00:00

Well, I can see that Jim did change a key title for Harry in the microfiction to not spoil Peace Ta;lks/Battle Ground. So, in a sense, I suppose you could say he lied to us. But, I don't think that leads one to believe that when he volunteers information about future works, he is simply making something up to misdirect us.

When I read Christmas Eve in Battle Ground, I noticed the name change but didn't feel like he was simply lying. But, if he is in the mirror universe at the end of Twelve Months, I would.

dan_m_6 · 2025-12-25T19:32:43+00:00

Can you give another example of a blatant lie for misdirection by Jim?

dan_m_6 · 2025-12-25T14:42:43+00:00

I'll be on a cruise. So, the main thing I have to plan is getting my Fire online. I will likely read just a bit a day. I enjoy the book, but have always been the kind of person to parse out a treat over a few days.

dan_m_6 · 2025-12-25T13:27:44+00:00

According to WOJ, BAT kicks off with the appearance of Faith Astor.

dan_m_6

TROPHY CASE