Michael did get the full power, but if he used it in a way that Uriel was forbidden to, it would cause Uriel to fall, hence the bit about not playing with the levers or buttons.
Yeah that bit I guess I can buy (although it seems like a pretty massive dick move from god - isn't he supposed to be merciful?), but just generally speaking, the whole thing felt like he really had to force things to get Michael back in action temporarily. Which was awesome when it happened.
Does Harry *really* strike you as the kind of guy who orders faerie minions to do shit for him ? ;p
He had no issue with it in Cold Days.
In any case, he was isolated on the island and Mab was deliberately intercepting all his comms.
The messages to Molly were being intercepted, because Mab didn't want her to take care of his head, to push him into a corner. I get that, but I don't see why she'd have an issue with him putting a new lab together to regain his full range of power and utility. To the contrary, it seems that she'd get pissed off at him, in the same way she'd get pissed off at him if he spent that year sitting on the couch eating junk food and got really fat. It just struck me as a pretty weak and obvious plot device to keep Harry weaker than he would otherwise be, one that has no real explanation. He even specifically says somewhere in the book that if he wanted to get laid all he'd have to do is whistle and he'd have a bunch of sexy fairy chicks all over him. He can call up an orgy but not a new lab?
I mean he already under utilizes his tools and potions in an unrealistic manner (remember that belt buckle which saved his ass against the black court vampires in the porn set book*, the one which he never wears again? And potions basically disappeared after book 3, when they gave him a huge advantage earlier in the series at crucial moments - although I guess that could get a pass after Changes, since it was always Bob giving him the recipes). It's sloppy writing, is all I'm saying. Not a huge deal in the scheme of things, but just something that persistently bugs me when I read the books. I understand why Butcher does it, but surely there are better ways to prevent Harry from becoming too OP and removing the tension from fight scenes than having Harry unrealistically under utilize the thing that he constantly stresses as a wizard's primary advantage - preparedness.
The sacrifice of blood had to be willing,Nick's minions didn't like him that much.
Since when? You could argue that their sole purpose in life
isto die for him (at least at that stage, before the final showdown which is implied to have instilled some doubt in them) and they do it all the time, they've always been described as devoted, brainwashed, fanatical by nature. I get that for dramatic reasons, his daughter was a great choice, but I think he could have come up with an airtight reason for it to be her without straining too hard.
Anyway, I'm being picky, I get that, on the whole it was a great book, felt like a return to pre-Ghost Story Dresden craziness, which Cold Days didn't quite manage for me. There seems to be a direct correlation between how much I enjoy a book and how much time I spend picking holes in it. Not sure what that says about me.
