YMMV / Changes

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is the Red king genuinely losing himself to his bloodlust and hence his at times erratic behavior? Or is he just masterfully faking it to make his court think that he is losing it in order to manipulate them into not viewing him as a threat? The ending seems to give credence to both interpretations.
  • Ebenezar McCoy initially advises Harry to abandon Maggie to her fate rather than walk into an impossible situation trying to rescue her, but changes his tune once he learns that Maggie is Harry's daughter. This could be a fairly understandable case of him valuing the life of his student's daughter more than he would some random girl, or at least knowing Harry will never back down when his family is on the line. However, at the end of the book it's revealed that Ebenezar is Harry's grandfather, and the main target of the bloodline curse Arianna intended to use Maggie for, raising the possibility that his change of heart was due to his own life being in danger. It could ALSO be in part due to his own issues—as later books show, he's never gotten over failing to save Maggie Sr, so he'll be damned if he lets Maggie Jr get hurt. Of course, given how many issues Eb has accumulated, the answer is probably some combination of "all of the above."
  • Martin tells the Red King that he's betrayed the Fellowship of St. Giles to him, and that soon there "won't be an operative left alive south of the US," making it sound like almost the entire thing will be destroyed. This immediately leads Susan to become so furious that she sates her bloodlust and fully turns to a vampire, allowing Harry to sacrifice her. Martin may very well have had this plan in mind the whole time. However, in Skin Game Ascher blames Harry for the destruction of the Fellowship, meaning that at least some of her fellow operatives were killed by the bloodline curse and not the Red Court. So did Martin only betray some of the Fellowship while pretending to betray them all, but left enough alive as a backup option? Or did he look at how the battle was going and intend to rejoin the Red Court once and for all, not expecting that Susan and Harry would be able to pull off a win?
• Broken Base: Depending on who you ask, this book is either:
  • When the series that had grown the beard long ago grew it even more and advanced the Myth Arc in the most significant way, successfully wrapping up all of the loose ends from the first eleven books and setting the stage for the rest of the series and its growing story arc.
  • A nice story, albeit with somewhat of a clunky execution and causing the series to develop a severe case of Cerebus Syndrome and Continuity Lockout. Some feel that Maggie was not foreshadowed and seemed to come out of nowhere, or that the Red Court didn't feel quite as epic due to the fact they were Out of Focus for so long and the Denarians overshadowed them.
• Complete Monster: Kukulcan, aka the Red King, is the founder of the Red Court vampires, and the creator of a system of slavery and oppression that spans thousands of years. The Red King presides over a court that enslaves mortals as Cannon Fodder, slaves and food, with a special emphasis placed on feeding upon children, as well as Human Sacrifice to his own glory. When war begins between the wizard White Council and the Red Court, the Red King shows that he had already been prepared for a protracted and brutal war by launching violent attacks, including nerve gas, with civilians being collateral damage at best, and food for his soldiers at worst. Playing the part of a blood-addicted junkie, the Red King manipulates his courtiers, pitting them against his enemies and one another, and shows no compunction in sending his own daughter to her death when she opposes him. The misery of the Red King's actions makes South America into a living hell for civilians and those who dare to oppose the vampires, and is so horrible a formerly loyal servant is driven to Knight Templar levels to destroy the Red Court at any cost. One of the most ancient, powerful and evil vampires in existence, the Red King is finally brought down by a sacrificial spell he intended for Harry Dresden's entire family line—one he was going to initiate by sacrificing Harry's 8-year-old daughter personally on the altar.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Lloyd Slate losing his mind after years of torture? Horrifying. Toot talking about it in the most flippant manner possible? Hilarious.
• Genius Bonus:
  • The words Harry uses to cast illusions of his companions are Latin for "Lights, Camera, Action!"
  • The two secretaries at MonOc Securities are mentioned to be twins, with raven-dark hair and intelligent eyes, and Gard mentions that they never miss anything and they never forget. Considering who MonOc Securities' CEO is, they have to be Huginn and Muninn, "thought" and "memory", Odin's ravens. Hinted further when Odin says to one "Thank you, M." and later on confirmed in Cold Days when Harry asks about them by name.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Harry promises he'll always Show Up if Molly needs a rescuer. Given everything that happens to her following Harry's death and what we later learn about it, it looks like he fell down on that promise. Not that it was his fault, but still.
• One-Scene Wonder: There is Donnar Vadderung, otherwise known as Odin. He gets a single chapter with dialogue and briefly appears at the end but he effectively comes off as a divine David Xanatos. Which is actually pretty true to the myths, mind you.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Upon hearing that the Council's been put on its back by a plague spread by Arianna, Harry's immediate response is to act as if they're willingly choosing not to help him (despite having been told by Langtry himself that the Council were planning to launch an offensive against the Reds). It makes Harry look like an incredibly self-centered jerk.