The Dresden Files

Jim Butcher, "Summer Knight"

2013-07-14 · in Books, The Dresden Files · 68 words

Complete failure to take itself seriously. Works very well. The kinetic-energy-charged magic ring is a great touch, and I grinned at Elidee the pixie's name...

But "429B Baker Street"? That would be in the middle of the boating lake in Regent's Park. Numbers as high as that are unusual in British addresses, and Baker Street's numbers didn't go up to 221 when Conan Doyle was writing.

ISBN 9781841494012.

Jim Butcher, "Grave Peril"

2013-07-09 · in Books, The Dresden Files · 29 words

Odd structure -- because the mystery depends on events that happened before the start of the book. I don't think it's entirely a fair mystery in that sense.

ISBN 1841494003.

Jim Butcher, "Fool Moon"

2013-06-17 · in Books, The Dresden Files · 13 words

A bit silly. I like the mechanistic approach to magic, though.

ISBN 1841493996.

Jim Butcher, "Storm Front"

2006-11-19 · in Books, The Dresden Files · 116 words

Harry Dresden is the only professional wizard in the Chicago area yellow pages -- and winds up working as an extraordinary private investigator most of the time. This therefore falls squarely into the modern-noir genre, and indeed feels rather like the Owl books.

Butcher isn't a professional author, and the writing style is therefore a bit spotty in places -- the opening paragraph has a distinct Bulwer-Lytton ring to it -- but it's really not that bad, and it fades into the background after the first few pages. The plot and general storytelling more than make up for it; this is compelling, well-thought-out stuff. Recommended, and I'll keep an eye out for the rest of the series.

ISBN 1841493988.