Dead Man's Hand by James J. ButcherMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
I hate to come almost to the end of the year with a terrible review, but I feel like I have no choice with this one. The first in a new urban fantasy series from the son of one of the genre’s most successful authors, this book makes it clear that sadly, James J. Butcher doesn’t come close to shining beyond his father’s shadow. There’s a glimmer of Jim Butcher-style humor and worldbuilding in this book, to ge fair, but the stakes feel lower than the earth’s core compared to the Doom of Damocles and the increasing shenanigans Jim Butcher would always put forth in each book, ever more courts of vampires and fae to go around. I do empathize with James Butcher’s protagonist Grimsby and the abominable job with which he’s saddled, but Grimsby is no Harry Dresden - he lacks charisma and agency, and frankly feels quite pathetic as a protagonist. Couple that with a dull, muddled mystery of a plot, and this book is a disaster all but guaranteeing I won’t be reading much more from Butcher the Younger anytime soon.
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