Not Harry Potter...
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Recommended by a friend this was good fun. Harry Dresden is a Private Detective in modern Chicago. As typical of this literary breed he can barely make the rent and has the authorities and crime lords breathing down his neck.
What sets this aside is that Harry Dresden is a Wizard. The Authorities looming over him are not just the Chicago PD for whom he consults regularly but the White Council of the Wizarding world, out to keep tabs on him. The book rocks along quickly, mixing film noir with a harsh, dangerous magical world that we pick up as we go along.
A book about a magician aimed at an adults not children, and great fun too
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Noir - with sensible magic
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I adore the noir films and books and I like a book with magic so this seemed made to fit. Imagine how surprised I was to absolutely LOVE them. I was hooked from this book on - Harry with his wry wisecracking self-deprecating attitude, and his chivalry which hobbles him at every turn.
This was a great start to a wonderful series. Read them in turn or you won't enjoy them as much.
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Hard-boiled Wizardry
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I like Jim Butcher's writing and I allowed my imagination to connect names with faces from the TV series (because, by and large, I liked the show). The premise and events were familiar - as this was the pilot show, though TV execs saw fit to schedule it in as the third episode instead. The book allows for a little more hard-boiled detective narrative and supernatural encounters... I can't recall whether the toad-faced demon or the fairy appeared on TV.
Harry Dresden, consultant on matters magical for the Chicago police department, has to solve a grisly murder commited with black magic. Alas, suspicion falls on Harry as his powers could easily stretch to the act and no other suspects are obvious. Morgan, an enforcer for the White Council of wizards, has Harry's head in his sights for the crime - and the only out is to discover who really did it.
Recommended for those who tire of the ordinary murder mystery/detective series. A light, enjoyable read that kept me turning the pages - with just the right chapter length for my tired eyes just before bedtime. Nothing worse than a book with extremely long chapters or no segmentation at all... I like a natural break in my reading sessions.
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A fan of the TV series finds the novels
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As someone who developed a crush on the TV character Harry Dresden (I know, I should get out more), I wanted to lap up all I could on The Dresden Files. I LOVED the DVD and was gutted when I found out they weren't planning a 2nd series. The novels, though, are even better! The TV series is rather sanitised, but the novels are graphic, exciting page turners. Storm Front is an excellent introduction into the world of Harry Dresden and I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a bit of a supernatural twist to their reading. Keep them coming Mr Butcher!
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Good, dark, hard-boiled supernatural fiction
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Jim Butcher writes uncomplicated, fast-paced, easy to read, hard-boiled supernatural fiction. In effect, if you like the prospect of Harlan Coben/Robert Crais mixed with Supernatural (the TV Show), then you'll love this. The writing is clean, slick and canny. The main character, the narrator Harry Dresden is off-hand funny - a powerful yet flawed, self-deprecating hero. He is honourable, charming, chivalrous, witty and intuitive. One-liners are his stock in trade. So far, nothing so very new. Yet, for once, there is some actual depth to the main character so often lacking in this genre of Sci-Fi fiction. There is more to Dresden that at first seems obvious and Butcher's easy-flowing writing style draws the reader into wanting to learn more. It is the sort of book that is devoured in one sitting or that passes a dull tube journey with ease. The secondary characters, all of them with something of a past to discover and with interesting interaction with Dresden, have depth as well. They are not simply plot-fillers but plots in themselves. They add to the meat of the books rather than simply flavouring them. Having bought Storm Front as a speculative purchase, I ordered Fool Moon and Grave Peril within days. They are engaging time-passers. They will not win literary awards but if you like good crime fiction with a dash of something of the occult, then you will absolutely love these books.
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