archwaykitten t1_irt8cqw wrote on October 10, 2022 at 9:23 PM

> The problem with this, though, is that he literally just got done saying that his trinkets were worn out or did not have any power in them anymore, so how was he able to use the shield if it wasn’t functional? This one really really bothered me.

I just checked my book, and this is what he actually said: "I didn't have my blasting rod or my staff, the other gizmos I brought with me were drained and useless, and my shield bracelet could only prolong the inevitable." So his shield still had some charge, but blocking 1 or 2 attacks isn't useful if the attacks are going to keep coming.

>In fact, he’s been shown to be able to control the wind just with a simple incantation to create extremely strong gust of wind, so he could’ve very easily just a blown the hair out of the guys hand, so the scene really really confused me.

Dresden has a lot of raw power, but it takes a lot of prep work if he wants to use that power in a controlled manner. He can unleash enough wind to demolish a building, but he has trouble unleashing just enough wind to safely blow out a candle. If he anticipates needing to blow out a candle, he can prepare a "blow out a candle spell" in a few hours, but when he's improvising he needs to use his magic differently. In the scorpion fight he uses the elevator shaft to naturally contain his power and aim it in a useful direction, but that's not something he could have done on his own.

ChipsAhoiMcCoy OP t1_irt8qrr wrote on October 10, 2022 at 9:26 PM

Oh, I see. I need to pay more attention to specifics in that case ha ha. I’ve only been reading for a few months now, so maybe my skill level is just a little bit below this book. That makes a lot of sense, and actually now that you mention it, there have been several times I can recall where he mentions how he could blow up a house, for example Very easily, but I suppose that’s controlling that power that is the challenge.

A_Squid_A_Dog t1_iruo25u wrote on October 11, 2022 at 4:10 AM

Yeah archwaykitten pretty much nailed it. The books are really good, if you liked the first you'll probably like the rest. Dresden does talk quite a bit about how most of his efforts are on controlling magic, not creating it.

ChipsAhoiMcCoy OP t1_iruojj9 wrote on October 11, 2022 at 4:15 AM

My favorite thing was actually his style of writing so I think I like the books quite a lot. I just was a little bothered by some of the inconsistencies in the first book but another user sort of helped me work through those. But no talk, I really really like his writing style actually.

A_Squid_A_Dog t1_iruoo4w wrote on October 11, 2022 at 4:16 AM

Awesome! It's one of my favorite series, and I hope you really enjoy it.