It seems like Butcher is getting a bit better at pacing, though not nailing it. The slower start is a lot better at cultivating meaningful stakes and showing side characters as people you can care about. The plot involves a lot more people, flows better, culminates into the first convincing action sequence (though the way it happens felt a little wild, even within the context of the universe). It was as competent as the last but the plot was much more memorable, so it’s certainly improving.

Still the same romance, still nearly the same hyper sexualization of every woman, but it’s less trashy. There’s some weird orentialism that is popping up now too, more pronounced on audio with Marsters doing truly cringe worthy performances for those characters, and the references to “oriental” are just really, really dated. I’m guessing they were at the time of publication, but perhaps not. Hopefully this is another bud that gets clipped along the way.

One last improvement is the internal consistency of magic. Harry’s abilities feel a lot more codified and not just a resolution mechanic, and new things are introduced, so it’s not just the same three spells he always does: the wind thing and fire ball or whatever, make it seem like he’s a one trick pony. There’s more going on, in general, this time around, and the effort makes for a more solid entry. 3 stars instead of 2.5 for the last one, I think.