Review of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files

One of the things that I still do on a regular basis is read fiction. I love to read. I have loved to read since I could read. So many of my peers and colleagues have admitted to me that while they may code, or play video games, or work on their networks, almost none of them read.

Literacy, or as I like to say, “the art of reading”, is one of the best measures of both a person’s intelligence and wisdom. I know it carries a stigma of being geeky or nerdy or something that shut-ins do to pass time. But some of the best stories are still written in books. Some of the books have been mad into excellent movies, such as The Lord of the Rings. Some of them have been made into very bad films. But the romance of the printed word still retains a large majority of a tale’s impact, and in most cases popular media has ineptly failed to adapt said tale to modern media.

A few months ago, looking for something to read in the darker parts of literature, I stumbled upon a set of books by an author named Jim Butcher. I had never heard of him before, but the blurb on the back of some of his books, as well as the cover art, piqued my interest. So I picked up a copy of Storm Front, the first book in Jim Butcher’s Dresden files. I had some reservations. Modern horror novels all seem to look like they are about tragically-hip wanna-be vampire punks who are hopelessly tormented and crying and blah blah blah. Either they were copies of Anne Rice’s vampires or straight out of the World of Darkness. I was getting very sick of those horror novels.

Jim Butcher has totally breathed new life into the horror/occult literature arena with The Dresden Files. Needless to say, my expectations were totally wrong. While vampires ARE a part of the Dresden Files, Butcher’s take on them is very different. There are elements of the previous vampire ideas there, but Butcher manages to give them a different identity, making them his own unique creations. And they are not the only focus of his novels. Not by a long shot. The magic and wizardry of the novels combined with the brooding “White Council”, the demons, faeries, werewolves AND vampires create absolute page turning details in the whole of The Dresden Files.

There are, so far, 10 different Dresden Files works. I am going to try to write a review of the series and perhaps one or two lines about each book. I am going to try my damnedest not to give away any spoilers. But if I have convinced you already, hit up one of the links below and order yourself some of them. Those of you who need more convincing please, read on.

Harry Dresden is Chicago’s only professional “Wizard for Hire”. I sort of got the impression “what if Harry Potter grew up to become Sam Spade?” Your take may be different, but he is by far one of the most complex literary characters that I have read in the last five years and he is hard to place an exact analogue. He has an office, a dingy apartment and a car that barely runs. He wears a black leather duster, something I myself wear when weather permits (Though I have been wearing mine since the mid 1990’s). His clients are often boring, looking for lost items and the like, but the novels document some of Dresden’s more strange and dangerous clients. The stories are rife with magic, conjurings, thaumaturgy, and the supernatural. My skin crawled more than a few times.

Butcher seems to have either written these books with a male audience in mind, or at least an open-minded female audience. This is fantasy, bear that in mind. Every woman has huge boobs and most of the female characters seem to border on nymphomaniacs. But instead of feeling “cheap” or “sleazy”, the adult themes of these novels end up being very sexual, and very arousing. Sure it’s not reality, but this novel is “fiction”. And I’ll tell you, I loved every last minute of it. I WANT to read books where girls are literally tearing their clothes off all the time. Some scenes are the most erotic things that I have read in quite a few years. Make no mistake – these are not books for the majority of the Harry Potter crowd.

These novels are not just fear and sex either. The magical system that Jim Butcher has created for the Dresden Files is intricate and interesting. It combines many ideas of traditional magic, some fantasy elements and just a subtle hint of Hollywood flair. Harry Dresden has an array of spells and magical artifacts, including several spiritual items. This approach to magic is has the effect of feeling realistic, or at least as realistic as magic can be. There is a bit of religion in the novels as well, and Butcher handles this perfectly. He isn’t preachy, he doesn’t offend, and some of the most thought-provoking aspects of these novels pertains to Dresden’s view of the almighty and how it relates to others around him. The magic is also not overused. Dresden is not just some spell-slinging whitebeard that is powerless without his books. Far from that; Dresden has little hesitation to pull out his revolver when the need arises.

Butcher is also careful to include lots of humor as well. Downright funny events happen and there are small nuances that get the reader smiling every time, such as an army of unseen Faerie cleaning servants called brownies that Dresden cannot talk about or they will stop cleaning his apartment. There are also plenty of pop culture references, especially if you were a child of the 80’s as Dresden, Butcher and myself likely all are. (Though how Dresden was able to watch Star Trek TNG without a television is a mystery to me)

Harry Dresden is a fantastic character. Often broke, cursed by bad luck and bad women, he is easy to empathize with. He is a character that you want to root for. The other characters in the book are quite unique as well. Every person detailed in the books is interesting. Every enemy, every ally, and many of the creatures are all finely detailed. I’ve stated that the setting is Chicago, but that isn’t really true. With the Spirit world of the Nevernever, the jaunts to various night haunts and forgotten places, Butcher’s attention to detail doesn’t just create a story – he created a world. Some characters have hidden and mysterious lineages, others have ongoing personal challenges, yet others are members of secret societies like the Order of the Blackened Denarius. The story is rich indeed.

I am also amazed at Butcher’s talent for writing epic scenes and encounters. The climax of almost every book is a page-turner. Without giving too much away, one ending involves two magic users fighting in a house that becomes a giant, blazing, inferno, while trying to avoid being killed by summoned scorpions. The end of my favorite of the series, Death Masks, leads Dresden and company on a chase after a demon that spans the entire length of a moving train. Adrenaline filled, I read those pages at a blinding pace in an effort to reach the ending. Butcher also is unpredictable. Several times I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen, and of course, I was wrong. The writing is filled with creativity and style. If you have any imagination at all, you will love these books.

Now here is a list of the novels including a small mini review

Storm Front

This is the book that got me interested in the series. If you aren’t prepared, (I wasn’t) the beginning has lots of information, and the story heavily builds in the beginning of this one. You get introduced to things like the White Council and the Wardens, plus there is a lot of information about officer Murphy, Dresden’s sometime employer, sometime partner.

Fool Moon

Werewolves, werewolves everywhere. Great climax, begins building an interesting relationship with resident mobster Marcone.

Grave Peril

Introduces Michael Carpenter, God’s own Knight of the Cross. Without a doubt my favorite character aside from Dresden. Genuinely creepy starting with an exorcism in Chicago’s Cook County hospital’s Nursery ward.

Summer Night

My least favorite of the series. That doesn’t mean it isn’t good! Lots and lots of Faerie intrigue, culminating in a battle that shakes the heavens themselves.

Death Masks

Easily my favorite of the series. Michael Carpenter takes more of an active partnership with Dresden and brings in the other Knights of the cross. Introduces the Order of the Blackened Denarius. Best ending of the series.

Blood Rites

I’m afraid I can’t say anything about this one without spoiling the plot and the Thomas character. I enjoyed it immensely, however.

Dead Beat

A real mystery. Dresden tracks down a necromantic artifact in an attempt to stop an evil wizard from destroying the city. Only two words can sum up the awesome ending to this one: Zombie T-rex.

Proven Guilty

Molly Carpenter, daughter of Michel and Charity carpenter, becomes a mail character in this book. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but man, the whole Goth thing that Molly has going on. Dude. Hot. REAL HOT.

White Knight

This one starts with a mystery and ends with a bang. The mystery part was the best aspect of this novel. It really seemed to take Dresden back to his roots, so to speak.

Small Favor

In the first few pages of the book, Dresden gets into a fight with several large Goat creatures. And it just gets weirder from there. I loved the ending. Lots of guns, night raid, magical island. Almost felt like a James Bond ending.

Read these books. They are superb. I can’t wait for Turn Coat.