Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) by Jim Butcher Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)
Book Review: Refreshing Twist!
Summary: 5 Stars
A wizard, working in Chicago as a PI. Quite a unique idea and one that works very well. Harry, our wizard, isn't always such a nice man, but that does make him interesting. The magic used in the plot is nicely encorporated, making it belieavable. Not over detailed and I liked the dry humour that runs through the story. A thoroughly enjoyable read, and a story that capture my attention.Book Review: Hard-Boiled Wizardry!
Summary: 4 Stars
Author Jim Butcher introduces his now famous wizard, Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, in "Storm Front." Harry lives in a universe where magic and science coexist - it's our universe also - Chicago, USA, to be exact. The sign on his door, which advertises his consulting business reads: "Harry Dresden - Wizard: Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment." Dresden is also listed in the yellow pages - under wizards, of course. Vampires, demons, faerie's, werewolves, knights (the kind in shining armor with magical swords), and other preternatural critters exist in Harry's, and our world - even outside of Chicago. The Nevernever is a spirit realm which these beings call home, but they can and do hang-out in the human world. Lieutenant Karrin Murphy is the Director of Special Investigations at the Chicago Police Department. The unit exists precisely because the supernatural folks listed above exist - and many of them commit crimes against humanity. Dresden is a paid consultant to this unit. In the novel's first pages Murphy informs Harry that a pair of corpses have been discovered in a hotel suite at the Madison, in a most compromising position. The crime scene is unusually gruesome. It appears that an extremely powerful supernatural force has been used to kill the couple. He is told to get to the scene ASAP! Just before Lt. Murphy's call, a distraught wife phoned. Her husband has gone missing under mysterious circumstances and Harry makes an appointment with her at her insistence. He usually searches for lost articles - not husbands.
More murders are committed - same MO. Harry becomes a suspect. To make matters worse, the White Council, a governing group of Wizards which monitors to prevent the use of dark magic, is on Harry's back. He has been placed under the "Doom of Damocles," a sort of wizard probation which could turn into a lethal sentence. Then murderous mobsters, magic most dark and heinous demons join in to make life deadlier.
"Storm Front" is a fine beginning to a series which has become a mainstay for fantasy/sci-fi fans. This is an action packed mystery, filled with a range of funny and scary characters: Mister (Harry's huge gray cat); Toot, a ditzy faery with faulty memory; Bob, an air spirit living in a skull in Harry's basement, who acts as Dresden's encyclopedia of magic lore, (the wizard cannot use the Internet as anything electrical malfunctions when he is close by); Susan Rodriguez, a very sexy reporter for the Chicago Arcane, who has the hots for Harry; the evil omnipresent Shadowman; and Lt. Murphy (Harry's Chicago PD friend and boss). Harry is an unusual character. He has a slapstick sense of humor that leads one to think he is less powerful than he actually is - and less serious. He is honest, has a deep-rooted code of honor, and a dark side also. The explanations behind his spells are fascinating, and go into more detail than most books in this genre. I found this a major plus.
I am a huge fan of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, (Laurell Hamilton is the author). Anita's job is a little like Harry's. She does work for a consulting firm, and is also on a special supernatural investigation team, with the local police, which hunts down other-worldly predators. While I really enjoyed "Storm Front," I prefer the Blake novels and Anita's character. She is much edgier and her storylines take a darker approach than the Dresden/Jim Butcher novels.' Although the Dresden Files deal with super evil beings, Harry lightens things up a bit. I think it important to note my preference, as it will give the potential reader an idea of where I am coming from with my review and rating. For those who prefer the lighter side of the preternatural, and more humor with your monsters, Harry Dresden is for you! Recommended!
JANA
Book Review: Storm Front - Dresden Files 1
Summary: 5 Stars
Introducing Harry Dresden, the only practising wizard listed in the Chicago Yellow Pages. Short of cash and behind on his rent in the best noir tradition: in modern-day Chicago, very few people take magic seriously. So Harry moonlights as a consultant for the local police. When something that goes bump in the night leaves blood on the asphalt there's a detective (handgun, aikido blackbelt and hard bitten attitude) knocking on Harry's door.Here, Harry gets sidetracked from a missing persons case to a double murder: an associate of a local crimelord and his favourite call girl are found with their hearts blown out - from the inside - and Harry has to establish the how and the who. Of course, life's never straightforward and the unravelling of this mystery sees Harry going head to head with, among others, a vampire bordello owner whilst dodging the police and an enforcer for the White Council intent on revoking Harry's breathing privileges.
Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden is a lineal descendant of Hammett's Continental Op and Chandler's Philip Marlowe: a stubborn SOB whose rough, wise-cracking exterior conceals the heart of a knight errant: notwithstanding his all too human failings he will not turn his back on a damsel in distress. Butcher peoples his account of Harry's investigation with well-written characters who are interesting, even where not sympathetic, and he does so whilst maintaining a well-paced, tautly plotted narrative which builds to a blistering finale. For the fan of detective fiction there is a ruthless crime boss, various femmes fatales and a thug with a baseball bat, a gun, and a pair of scissors. For the fan of fantasy there is a well set out system of magic, a familiar spirit, a demon and a black mage. The whole is a neatly, packaged fusion of the two genres, crafted well enough to satisfy all but the most exacting a fan of either.
Book Review: Something new
Summary: 1 Stars
At least that's what I thought when I bought this book, however I found it leaden, once the angle of Harry Dresden being a Wizard was explained, the rest was a re-hash of detective novels everywhere. The glimpses of past trauma and hidden secrets, the pathetic social life, the poverty and poor decision making skills that Harry exhibit all part of a very familiar formula.Book Review: Fun - good fun!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not Shakespeare, nor is it Tolstoy! This a genre book about ghosts and vampires, demons and werewolves, wizards and magic - and what fun it is!! The first three books I read are simple raw entertainment - great for a commuter reader! If you are a serious-serious pretentious fantasy or horror fan then stay away, but if you like to sometimes just read something that doesn't take itself too seriously, this is the series to go for! Good fun and a great escape! Here's to the next three!