Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)
by Jim Butcher
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.38 You Save: $4.61 (46%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)
Book Review: A solid debut, but with plenty of room for improvement
Summary: 3 Stars
Over the past decade, The Dresden Files has turned into one of the big success stories of the urban fantasy genre. Set in modern-day Chicago, it follows the fortunes of Harry Dresden, a wizard-for-hire who offers his services to those in need (and who preferably can pay him). Mixing up elements of the supernatural with a detective story format, the series has proven successful on both sides of the Atlantic with ten further books in the series published and a short-lived TV adaption proving a cult hit a couple of years back. Storm Front is the first novel in the series.
The perpetually cash-strapped Harry Dresden is given some financial relief when two cases land on his desk at the same time. A woman is searching for her husband, who has gone missing after becoming fascinated by the use of magic. Meanwhile, the police have called on Dresden's aid after two people are found dead in an apartment, their hearts apparently remotely exploded by magical means. It isn't long before Dresden is up to his neck in trouble, as the two cases start overlapping with the interests of the Mafia and Dresden's own unorthodox approach soon lands him in trouble with the guardians of magic, the White Council.
Storm Front is a decent debut novel. The plot clips along at a fair old pace, and as a mystery it's fairly well plotted and laid out. The characters are strong, with Harry making for an engaging protagonist and his circle of friends, allies and enemies all being an interesting bunch. There isn't a lot of 'weight' to the novel, and it feels a bit on the slight side, but there's much fun to be had here.
However, I wasn't too impressed by the Luddite diatribe we get no less than three pages in, in which all of the evils of the world are blamed on technology and progress. Yeah, it makes sense for Dresden to have those views as a wizard who can't use technology (his magical field causes computers and other electrically-powered items to fritz out around him), but it was a bit too preachy too early in the book and left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. Luckily this was forgotten within a few chapters as the story picked up and really got going. There are some other problems, though. The 'mystery' is completely solvable by the reader within the first fifty pages (you may be even be able to work it out from the plot synopsis on the back of the book), so waiting for Harry to catch up to where you are can be a bit mildly frustrating. The book is also inconsistent in its worldbuilding: after spending the first chapter or so telling us that no-one believes in magic and most of Harry's callers are pranksters thinking he's a nutter, we then learn that the police keep him on a retainer to investigate crimes and even average people on the street know not to look a wizard in the eye for too long, which seems self-contradicting. There's also the nagging feeling that you've seen this story before, with a few names and roles swapped around, on Angel. But, despite these problems (all of them hallmarks of a first time writer), the book is still reasonably fun to read. Butcher has an easy, approachable and undemanding prose style and after Dresden spends most of the book being passive and reactive to events, watching him go all Takeshi Kovacs at the end is a treat.
Storm Front (***) is a fun and breezy novel that is more of a light snack than a full meal, but still an enjoyable way of passing the time. I'll be checking out the remaining books in the series in the near future. The book is available from Orbit in the UK and Roc in the USA. A special limited edition from Subterranean Press came out a while ago and you may still be able to track down some copies online.
Book Review: A decent debut, but it gets better the more it continues.
Summary: 3 Stars
[...]
I will openly admit: it was the covers of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files that first got me interested in the novels. They are all extremely similar: A figure with a staff and a wide-brimmed hat, his face cast in shadow, looking over some mysterious thing or another. This is complete with a title that usually is some funny joke on the monsters found within(ex. Fool Moon for werewolves or Grave Danger for ghosts). Despite this, I found it very hard to find which one to start on, because there's twelve books now (which apparently ends the first series), and after a point Butcher stopped putting "Book X of the Dresden Files" on the front, and instead just put "A Novel of the Dresden Files." So, in order to find out which book you wanted, you have to look on the inside page and get the proper order.
But I digress.
The concept behind the Dresden Files is exceptionally clever. I like to think of it as "Harry Potter for adults." Harry Dresden is a wizard-for-hire, a private detective living in the modern city of Chicago. The books cover one case each, but with an underlying plot involving Harry, his exploits, relationships, etc. that apparently all culminates in some huge, amazing ending in the last book, Changes. Or so I think, because I unfortunately haven't been able to find the third book, Grave Danger, at any library, putting a halt to my progress.
But I digress. Again.
Storm Front introduces us to Harry just after a rather gruesome murder has been committed (a word to those interested: these books are very violent and contain profuse amounts of swearing. Just a heads up). Of course, because the murder was done so oddly, the police call Dresden (who has a teetering relationship with police-chief Murphy) to find out what's going on. The story then hits full "hardbroiled cop mystery" novel, with splashes of fantasy for good measure. There's a talking skull, fairies, demons, vampires, and more.
I said previously I really liked the idea behind this book series. It is, therefore, hard for me to say I'm not a huge fan of Storm Front (though the second book, Fool Moon, which I'll review soon is quite good). It was Butcher's debut novel and it shows; the pacing can sometimes be quick, but often I found myself trudging through the novel. Dresden is a witty guy, offering insights in nearly every impossible situation, but a lot of the humor seems forced (again, fixed in the later novels). While Butcher nailed the setting and theme, he fell flat with his prose and pacing. Not only that, but the mystery wasn't even that intriguing to begin with, making the novel all-the-more frustrating.
I've heard the series doesn't really even "start" until the third book, Grave Danger (which I still haven't found a copy of, as mentioned above). Judging by the way Fool Moon ends, I'd have to agree. Butcher was probably testing the waters with this book, which is fine, but it makes it just a step above mediocre. If you want to delve into this series (which I heard only keeps getting better), I'd suggest starting with Fool Moon, or Grave Danger. Fool Moon is a fun, exciting read, and there isn't much learned in the first book that isn't just re-stated in the second, so one should be able to just pick up and go.
Storm Front launched Jim Butcher's blockbuster career, and as a novel that accomplished that, I can give it credit. However, he has become a much better author over the past several years, so I'd take full advantage of that if I were to begin the series today.
Book Review: Storm Front
Summary: 4 Stars
My fiance has been bugging me to read these books for awhile. I'm not sure why I've held off. They're my type of book and seemed like an interesting read, I was just so absorbed in other things that I never thought about it I guess. Well I should have, for the first book, this was quite excellent.
Harry Dresden is doing the best he can in his home in Chicago. He's your average guy, likes to wear sweats, t-shirts, enjoys paperback books, and casting magic. That's right, magic. Harry really isn't such an ordinary guy in actuality. He's a wizard, and a pretty good one at that. Good enough that he even has a spot in the yellow pages, but no parties please. Down on his luck he is overjoyed when two cases come to him at once. The first one seems pretty straight forward, its a missing person's case but the woman is very nervous and flighty and makes Harry a bit suspicious on what's really going on with her husband. The other case is from the police and is a double homicide in which hearts were ripped out of the victim's chests while they were doing the dirty. After seeing this, Harry would much rather work the missing person case but knows that he has to take the case; it was done by magic.
People aren't going to make these tasks easy for Harry though. The mob is in on it, and they have worries with a shipment of "Third Eye" (a drug that gives you the power to see beyond) competing with their regular non-magical drugs. They don't really want Harry getting into anything. Someone else is after him too, and his witnesses. His thoughts are that it's the unknown wizard who caused the murders, but he isn't sure who would have that much power. With the help of his friend Bob a talking skull and under the watchful eye of Morgan his "parole" officer (long story, read the book) he has to try to stop this man before he kills again.
Harry is an awesome character. Butcher did a great job when creating him and makes him very life like. He has faults, not a lot of luck with technology and the ladies, and this all makes him very real instead of the super-wizard good guy he could be portrayed as. A lot of the other characters were very creative as well although since I had seen the TV series first it was very disconcerting that they changed a lot of the descriptions of them (i.e. Lt. Murphy being blond instead of the brunette in the show) and other differences. Once I got past that though I was able to enjoy the other characters more. I would have liked to see more of Bob the skull but considering he isn't very mobile I guess it's not surprising he didn't appear more.
Butcher is very, very descriptive with his writing and this for the most part is a good thing. There are a couple times when he was describing magic and the way it works that I became confused however. It got kind of complicated. This book probably wouldn't be very good for younger readers or those who don't like gruesome descriptions. As said before people get their hearts ripped out, and there is a lot of detail on how that looks. There are some other vulgar things but none that come near the aforementioned scenes.
This was definitely a nice start to the series. I'm definitely hooked and want to see what happens next. My hope is, that like most authors, the book gets even better with time and experience. Happily since I have all the other ones at home, I can start on the next book right away.
Storm Front
Copyright 2000
322 pages
Book Review: Sam Spade meets Gandalf, not quit, but a nice mixture of the two
Summary: 4 Stars
I got attracted to Mr. Butcher's Dresden series after watching The Dresden Files. Since the series has been cancelled I decided to start reading the novels that drove the series. This said, I'll open by saying that the books are not the series, there are differences between the two and while highly similar, I'm viewing them as two separate items (as much as possible).
Mr. Butcher opens by giving us a basic description of Harry Dresden, the only practicing magician advertizing in the Yellow Pages. He makes his living working for people who'll pay his fee and for the Chicago police. This said, Harry is being watched by the White Council to see if he's practicing Black magic (if so, he's to be terminated). While waiting for some work (he's a little on the poor side), three different groups come seeking his employment, one looking for a missing husband, the Chicago police are looking for a murder, and a crime lord looking for Harry to just take a paid vacation.
My Likes
Harry Dresden's character is nicely developed. I love how Mr. Butcher expands Harry Dresden from someone we don't know feeling like he's with us telling us his story. This is shown nicely with the interactions between Harry and the other characters and as we hear what Harry thinks about things. I have to believe that part of the reason for this is that Mr. Butcher made Harry Dresden from himself.
I also love the way Mr. Butcher employs magic. Rather than being strong or all empowering, Mr. Butcher weaves it in with a look and feel that maybe it could work and be a part of our world. I admit that I was a little surprised at how strong Black magic could be, but Mr. Butcher provides an interesting delineation between White and Black magic.
I really enjoyed the merger between magic and a detective story. While Harry Dresden isn't a Sam Spade, Mr. Butcher does a great job delivering a mixture between the two. I was always looking forward to the next event.
My Dislikes
While I loved the way Mr. Butcher evolves Harry's character I felt that Murphy's character should have been better developed. This shows when Mr. Butcher talks about Murphy's Aikido trophies. As a practitioner of Aikido I know that we don't have trophies. The only schools that have competitions of any type (where a trophy might be awarded) is Tomiki. Aikidoka would have letters from the seminars they'd attended or from the kyu tests.
I also didn't like the way Bob was described. I admit that I was prejudiced by the TV show (I really liked the way he was played/presented) and after seeing Bob on TV I felt that he was under sold by Mr. Butcher, treated more as a friendly reference manual or computer.
The Rating
A solid 4 star book. The story shows that it's an early work of Mr. Butcher's; nice development but a little immature in spots. Mr. Butcher does a good job bringing his storyline out, showing us White magic, Black magic, and implying that there's more out there (we're introduced to the Fey and the vampires; I tend to believe that the Fey will become important in a future novel). Because of how nicely the book is put together (and the fact that it's not real complex) it's a quick read and I look forward to reading more of Mr. Butchers Dresden Files.
Book Review: Harry Dresden!
Summary: 3 Stars
At first I wasn't sure how I felt about this one. I had read the prequel and enjoyed that. I just didn't really know what to expect with the full length novel. In the beginning it was interesting, but I wasn't sure if it was enough to make me want to continue reading. However, if I'm going to reach anywhere near my goal of books read this year, I couldn't just give up on a book that I'd made 1/4 of the way through. Plus, it was short and most people seemed to like it so I kept reading. I am glad I did. It actually did get better and much more interesting.
You know, it kind of reminded me of a Sci-fi Stephanie Plum. They are both light hearted books with just enough adult to make them adult. Steph has prostitutes and Harry has prostitiutes AND a spirit thingy that lives in a skull. While Steph is a newbie at what she did, Dresden is not. The similarities come in because it seemed like they both could just not catch a break. I felt so bad for Harry. Poor guy just wanted an honest job then he goes and gets mixed up with some serious crazy.
I like Harry as a main character. He's kind of funny and not that brave. I thought it was hilarious when people were scared of him and he was putting on this tough guy act while he was afraid himself. I thought it was extremely funny when he went to club. Note to self: don't make Harry mad. On a more serious note, I hope Harry gets better at what he does. I felt like most of his wins so far were handed to him by default. And some of the coinkydinks reminded me of a bad episode of CSI: Miami. I think that's the one which has that screech in the beginning.
I liked how the story progressed and we got to see him work through his problems. I don't know about you, but this was not one of those stories where I could have figured it out on my own. In my defense, I never do.
Personally, I don't think a certain character should have gotten away with the role that said character had in this whole mess. I would have charged said person with aiding and abetting. After all, that person knew what was going on and didn't say anything... even after people died. I wouldn't have excused it. Especially after said persons immediate reaction after being confronted.
Murphy annoyed me, she was too much of a hothead. I did laugh at what she did with the flowers. She was a stereotype, a girly woman cop trying to make it in a cop-mans world. Maybe she is the only female to ever be a cop in that town?? I wanted to tell her to calm down. That's probably why no one takes you seriously, you're trying way too hard.
Now that I think about it, a lot of the characters were stereotypes. But that's OK, it didn't bother me. I didn't go into the book with high expectations in the first place. The only thing I didn't get was one of the henchmen being so unhenchman like... especially for someone as tough as his boss. You'll see what I'm talking about once you've read it yourself. My mental picture of him is of an elderly man.
Ok, this might be childish but my favorite line was
And maybe dragons would fly out of my but. I had to try.
I did like the line I think I'd prefer Stephanie over Harry, but I'm thinking I still might read the next book. Maybe.