Throwback Thursday – Cold Days by Jim Butcher

On January 21, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday3 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 27 November 2012)

Series: Dresden Files – Book 14

Length: 18 hours and 47 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. For this week’s Throwback Thursday, I check out yet another exceptional entry in Jim Butcher’s outstanding Dresden Files urban fantasy series with Cold Days.

Readers of this blog will know that I have been having an incredible time getting through the epic Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. An iconic urban fantasy series, the Dresden Files follows maverick wizard Harry Dresden as he defends the city of Chicago from all manner of supernatural threats. This series is so impressive, and I have been steadily making my way through out it since 2020. My previous burst of reading saw me get through four of these amazing books in a row, including Small Favor, Turn Coat, Changes and Ghost Story, and while that momentarily sated my interest in this series, I am still very keen to continue, and I’m hoping to finish it off this year. I’m already off to a good start as I just knocked off the 14^th book in the series, Cold Days, which proved to be another gripping and clever read.

Despite his best efforts, professional wizard Harry Dresden is once again alive, and his troubles are only just beginning. Forced into a Faustian deal to gain the power he needed to save his daughter, Dresden, now finds himself indebted to Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness and ruler of the Winter Court of the Faerie. While he’d hoped his murder would get him out of this dark responsibility, Mab had other plans and now Dresden finds himself dragged back to life as the Winter Knight, Mab’s personal champion and hitman.

Determined not to fall under the alluring sway of his new position and power, Dresden finds himself once again thrust into the middle of a conflict outside of his abilities when Mab sets him on his first mission, killing her own immortal daughter. Grappling with such an impossible task, Dresden returns to his beloved Chicago, only to find even more trouble awaiting him there. Demonreach, the mystical island in the middle of Lake Michigan that Dresden bound himself to, is under magical siege, and it if falls, billions will die.

With only 24 hours to complete both his allotted assassination and save Demonreach, Dresden soon finds himself under attack from all manner of foes, including manipulative faeries, dangerous beings originating from outside of reality, and former friends with new agendas. To survive, Dresden will need to reconnect with his old allies and work with them to prevent a dark cataclysm. But faced with impossible choices and hidden enemies, Dresden soon finds himself unsure who to trust. Worse, his new powers are working to change him into something primal and dark. Can Harry defeat both his foes and his own inner darkness before it is too late?

I doubt anyone is going to be surprised to find out that I loved Cold Days. Butcher did a wonderful job continuing his exceptional series, especially as he presents the reader with a complex and intriguing new adventure, loaded with mystery, sacrifice and surprises. A gripping read from start to finish, Cold Days gets another easy five-star rating from me, and I had an amazing time getting through it.

At this point in the series, Butcher had been on a real roll, and the last two books, Changes and Ghost Story, had exceptional stories that dramatically shifted the status quo for the protagonist. This trend continued in Cold Days as Butcher simultaneously reintroduced Dresden back to the world after his death, showed his first adventure as the Winter Knight, and provided some massive detail about the major antagonist that his been hinted about since the start of the series. I honestly was hooked on Cold Days the second I started it, especially as it begins with a particularly entertaining training montage, before dumping the protagonist right into the midst of complex Winter Court politics. From there, Dresden is given an impossible task, and his attempts to understand his new mission reveal additional obstacles, including the danger posed by Demonreach. This swiftly morphs into a classic Dresden Files novel, with the protagonist attempting to solve several concurrent mysteries, while entertaining antagonists try to take him off the board. A lot of the story involves the always fascinating and manipulative Faeries, and I liked how well Butcher expanded the lore surrounding them. Naturally, this means that the protagonist must deal with politics, intrigue, and so many betrayals, as he finds himself in the middle of their deadly games.

Once Dresden fully understands the stakes of his new mission, he is forced to make some big decisions, especially as the true antagonists of this book are obscured and hidden. Everything leads up to a massive and extended final confrontation, which was pretty damn awesome to see, especially as Dresden leads some interesting forces to war and finds himself going up against some big players. There are some brilliant and well-setup twists at the end of Cold Days that really highlight just how manipulative a certain character is, as well as how good Butcher is at planning ahead with his writing, and the status-quo of the series changes once again. This entire story was so damn entertaining, clever and moving, and I just flew through it.

As always, I love the excellent first-person style that Butcher utilises to tell his Dresden Files stories, and Cold Days came across in a fun and entertaining way. Told exclusively from the perspective of protagonist Harry Dresden, you are given a front row seat to the chaotic events of the book as they occur, and I always love the fantastic blend of mystery, action, humour and character moments that result from this. Cold Days was a particularly good example of this, and it featured an amazing pace, loaded with major set pieces and powerful interactions between the protagonist and other characters. The action scenes were particularly fun, and I loved how well Butcher was able to enhance the battles with the continuously expanding lore surrounding his excellent series. Everything about this book was a lot of fun, and this ended up being an impressive entry in the wilder Dresden Files series.

One of the things I particularly enjoyed about Cold Days was the intriguing and impressive ways that Butcher provides some massive expansions to his universe. Cold Days features some major revelations which completely shift the entire perspective of the Dresden Files, especially as you get some reveals about who the true antagonists of previous books were. The protagonist’s place in this universe is greatly enhanced, as not only does he get some major power boosts but the true responsibilities of certain posts he took on are revealed. As such, the stakes of Cold Days and the future books in the series are now higher than ever, which I personally enjoyed. These changes were an outstanding natural progression of story elements from the previous 13 novels, and it was great to get some payoffs to some of the clever hints Butcher has been lacing into the series since book one. Because of this, I would strongly recommend that readers go back and read the series from the start rather than beginning with Cold Days, as you will get so much more out of it. At the very least, I think you need to read the previous two novels, Changes and Ghost Story first, as some of the major story elements and character arcs from there are concluded or continued here. However, if you decide to start reading the series here at Cold Days, you should still be able to follow along, especially as Butcher always ensures that key elements and characters are always succinctly and effectively reintroduced.

I must really highlight the excellent character work featured in Cold Days, as Butcher does an outstanding job featuring a huge cast of fascinating figures, each of whom plays an important role in the complex plot. Naturally most of this focus revolves around the point of view protagonist, Harry Dresden, who has been going through a real emotional and personal roller coaster in the last few books. Not only did he recently find out he had a daughter who was hidden from him, but he was forced to accept a deal with Mab to save her, which he then tried to get out of by dying. Fully resurrected by the start of Cold Days, Dresden is forced to deal with the consequences of his choices. It was interesting to see the usually moral and independent Dresden under the control of a historically malevolent figure like Mab, and his attempts to understand her motivations and his place in this new regime are a huge part of the plot. At the same time, his new powers are slowly changing him, and he is constantly forced to fight back against various primal urges. This results in some very interesting personal moments, especially as Dresden is finally properly reunited with his friends and family. I loved how emotional and powerful parts of this book get, especially as Dresden comes to terms with some of the darker moments and thoughts that have plagued him over the last few adventures. As such, this is an important entry in Dresden’s personal story, and I look forward to seeing what other develops occur in the future. Of course, while this book does get emotional and moving at times, Dresden was still mostly the same funny and disrespectful figure he always was, and much of Cold Days’ humour was derived from him making fun of and picking fights with people way outside his weight class. I have so much love for most of Dresden’s character traits, even when being turned slowly evil, and Cold Days is so much more entertaining with him as the narrator.

In addition to Dresden, Cold Days featured a great batch of returning figures, each of whose storylines are also expanded on once Dresden returns. I loved some of the interactions that occurred in Cold Days, especially as we once again got to see the fun sibling relationship Dresden has with his brother, Thomas, and there was finally some movement on the long-simmering romance between Dresden and Karin Murphy. It was great to also see more of recurring characters Butters, Bob the skull and Dresden’s dog, Mouse, who are all quite entertaining in their own way. However, I think the most interesting character development occurred around Dresden’s apprentice, Molly Carpenter. Like Dresden, Molly has gone through a ton of trauma in the last few books, and it was great to see her mostly on her feet in this novel. Of course, as Butcher is a cruel author, we had to know it wouldn’t last, and some very significant changes occur to Molly in the big conclusion. Butcher did a great job setting the scene for these changes, and it will be interesting to see how much her personality changes in the next few books. I still don’t love the constant hints about a potential romance between Dresden and Molly that were featured here; if they ever get together in a future book, it will be gross.

Aside from these familiar figures, Butcher also loads Cold Days up with nearly every Faerie character and figure he had, including several sinister new antagonists. The Dresden Files books featuring the Faerie Courts and characters can often be quite entertaining and I think Butcher did a really good job of showcasing the intricate figures who make up these courts in Cold Days. Mab was a fantastic, dark and sinister figure for much of the book as Dresden’s new master, and I enjoyed how she cast a big shadow over much of the plot. While mostly shown to be villainous, Butcher did attempt to humanise her in places, and it was great to finally get some more depth around her. The rest of Faeries all had their own unique purpose in the story, and you are never quite certain whose side they are on, especially when more revelations come through as part of this book. All the characters in Cold Days were very impressive and well-written, and I really appreciated how their complex character arcs helped to enhance an already powerful story.

As usual, I ended up enjoying Cold Days on audiobook, which is honestly just the best way to enjoy a Dresden Files novel. Coming in with a run time of just under 19 hours, Cold Days was one of the longest Dresden Files audiobooks, but I still managed to power through it in one fantastic week. Butcher’s outstanding storytelling is always deeply enhanced by this format, and you really get the full experience of the action, unique fantasy elements and cool characters through it. Of course, the epic voice work from long-running narrator James Marsters is a huge factor in this. Marsters always moves the story along perfectly, and it is hard not to get caught up in the plot when he dives into the cool features and narrative. I still really love all the unique and enthusiastic voices he brings to the table, and all the characters, be they new or established, came across perfectly here. I always deeply appreciate how well Marsters can dive into protagonist and point of view character Harry Dresden, and his narration once again pulled out all this character’s pain, inner turmoil, and relentless cheek. Marsters also has a lot of fun with the various monsters, faeries and other ethereal figures featured throughout Cold Days, and he always ensures these mysterious creatures come across as something inhuman or terrifying. This great voicework really turns the Cold Days audiobook into something deeply addictive and fun, and I really cannot recommend this format enough.

Look, there was no way I wasn’t going to enjoy Cold Days, as frankly the entirety of the Dresden Files series has been pretty damn impressive. However, I felt that Jim Butcher did a really good job with this 14^th book, as Cold Days features a compelling and emotionally charged narrative that expertly continues some of the most impressive storylines from the last few entries. Loaded with action, compelling lore expansion, and Butcher’s distinctive humour, Cold Days was an exceptional book that I cannot recommend enough. I love this series so much and I cannot wait to finish it off this year.

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Throwback Thursday – Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

On November 2, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday5 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 4 August 2011)

Series: Dresden Files – Book 13

Length: 17 hours and 36 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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So by this point in my explosion of Throwback Thursday articles I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I have been really enjoying the epic Dresden Files series lately. This amazing series has so much going for it, and after listening to and reviewing Small Favour, Turncoat and Changes, I honestly had no choice but to dive into the 13^th entry in the series, Ghost Story, especially as it continued on from a great cliffhanger at the end of Changes, and boy am I glad that I did.

Harry Dresden is dead. Brutally and suddenly gunned down following his victory over the Red Court of vampires and his decision to sell his soul to Queen Mab, Dresden’s life is over, and his body is lost to the murky depths of Lake Michigan. However, nothing is ever simple for Chicago’s only professional wizard and supernatural protector, and even his own death proves to be far too complicated for his own good.

Waking up in spiritual realm between life and death, Dresden is given an option to travel back to Chicago as ghost to clear up his irregular death. If he manages to find out who killed him, he may save the lives of the friends he left behind, but if he fails, he will be wiped from existence completely. Determined to save those he loved, Dresden elects to return home and finds himself back in his city, but in the six months he has been away, everything has changed.

Without his protection, Chicago has become a target of deadly dark powers wishing to capitalise on the destruction of the Red Court. Worse, his allies have each been affected by his death, and their attempts to keep Chicago safe in his absence have led many of them upon a dark path. Determined to save who he can, Dresden calls upon the services of ectomancer Mortimer Lindquist. However, Mortimer is facing his own difficulties as a sinister force seeks to capture him using an army of dark spirits. To help Mortimer and his friends, and to discover who has behind his death, Dresden will need to master his new ghostly abilities and face down some of the deadliest creatures stalking the afterlife of Chicago. But even if he succeeds, is the remnants of Dresden’s soul ready for the dark truths and hidden secrets lurking just around the corner?

Well damn, the further I get in this series the more I appreciate just how good an author Jim Butcher is. Ghost Story is another exceptional and epic Dresden Files book, and it might be one of the very best things he has ever written. A dark and complex character-focused tale that places its protagonist is his most unique situation yet, Ghost Story has so much going for it, and I loved every second I spent reading it.

Ghost Story probably has one of the most unique and memorable narratives in the entire Dresden Files series, primarily because the protagonist and narrator is dead. Cleverly following on from the intense cliffhanger of Changes, in which Dresden gets shot and killed in the final scene of the book, Ghost Story sees Dresden’s shade sent back to Chicago six months later to solve his own murder. The initial scenes of Ghost Story are pretty interesting, and I quite liked how Butcher set up the scenario and reinforced it with the book’s first major action sequence at Mortimer Lindquist’s house, where the protagonist learns some of the rules about being a spirit and has his first encounter with the book’s antagonist. The story really takes off when Dresden meets up with all his old friends and sees how much things have changed since his death. The emotional damage his murder has caused is pretty damn moving, and the unintended consequences of his victory against the Red Court serve as a good set-up for some new long-running storylines.

The narrative from here continues at a brisk pace as Dresden attempts to simultaneously solve his murder, aid his lost apprentice, help a bunch of street kids being controlled by a minor sorcerer, and save Mortimer from a dangerous entity. The last one proves to be the major storyline of the book, especially as it involves an old foe of Dresden’s, and the protagonist is forced to use all his limited ghost powers to save him. This leads to several intense and distinctively dark set pieces, including a memorable storming of the beaches, an invisible ghost duel, and some major sacrifices. The final confrontation of the book is very impressive, especially as it helps to reveal the full truth behind Dresden’s murder. Butcher was really clever in setting this up big reveal, and I thought it was very fitting and complex, especially as it ties nicely to some events in Changes and hints at some great evils yet to come. The scenes that follow are some of the best and most emotionally charged, as many of the characters get closure, and you get to see just how important Dresden is to his friends and family. In some ways I kind of wish that Butcher ended series here, as there was a certain finality to some of the storylines that I really appreciated. However, I’m also not upset that Butcher chose to continue the Dresden Files even further, and the inevitable scene returning Dresden to life was handled extremely well, setting up a whole new course for the protagonist.

I really liked how effectively Butcher wrote Ghost Story so that it had a different feel to most of the other Dresden Files books. Thanks to the protagonist’s ghostly form, there is less traditional action and adventure, although Dresden compensates for this by bringing in a lot more world building and a lot of emotional character moments. Thanks to the situation of the protagonist and the general gloomy atmosphere of the current setting, this is a much more subdued and grimmer Dresden Files novel than you might be used to. Luckily, Butcher does try to break through this darker content with Dresden’s usual humour, which helped to lighten up some of the other characters in the book. The usual investigative elements are still strongly represented here, especially as Dresden has to find his own killer, and I really enjoyed how the protagonist’s new limitations forced him to think about the case in new ways. The main mystery is set up extremely well throughout this book, with clues hidden both in Ghost Story and Changes. I particularly appreciated how the subtle absence or mention of a recurring character ended up being a clue, and it’s a brilliant bit of writing once you understand it. Butcher really got the right blend of story elements here in Ghost Story, and I liked how he made the book a bit darker while still allowing established readers the sense of familiarity to keep them going. These excellent writing decisions really enhanced the overall impact of the book, especially when combined with the exceptional character work and intriguing new fantasy elements.

Ghost Story is honestly one of the most significant entries in the entire Dresden Files series, not only because it resolves the cliffhanger from the previous novel but because it starts to change the status quo of the series’ wider world. A lot of major ongoing storylines start in Ghost Story, and the six-month gap between Changes and Ghost Story also results in some intriguing changes to the main setting and supporting cast. These changes are pretty jarring for established fans but are really clever, and I liked the darker picture of the world they painted. Unlike most of the books in the Dresden Files series, Ghost Story really should not be read as a standalone novel or an entry into the series. While Butcher does do his usual excellent recaps, there are just too many big story elements going on in Ghost Story for it to be an effective launchpad for new readers. The emotional impact of the character interactions will also be reduced for those unfamiliar with the characters, and the big reveal at the end also loses a lot of punch if you haven’t read Changes.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about Ghost Story was the way in which Butcher worked some cool new fantasy elements into the story. The spiritual world and the undead aren’t unfamiliar concepts to the series, especially with previous entries like Grave Peril and Dead Beat, but Ghost Story takes it in a whole new fascinating direction with Dresden’s death and return as a spirt. This transformation forces Dresden to learn about spirits and ghosts extremely quickly, especially when he needs to utilise all his new abilities to save his friends. This proves to be an excellent and complex inclusion, and Butcher does an amazing job of completely changing the abilities of his protagonist for an entire book. The resultant changes and new talents are very cool, and I loved the dive into what ghosts are and how they can affect the world around them. It also allows for some impressive scenes, and it was a lot of fun seeing pitched battles between ghostly magical practitioners while the mortals are completely unaware. Throw in some intriguing new long-term baddies, the Fomor, and some new abilities for established characters, and Ghost Stories proves to be a book where Butcher was at his most inventive.

As with all the Dresden Files novels, one of the key highlights of Ghost Story is the excellent characters and the elaborate personal stories that Butcher weaves around them. The characters arcs in Ghost Story are particularly poignant and moving, even compared to Butcher’s usual high emotional standard, as the lingering impacts of the protagonist’s death drive many of them to do things they would never expect.

Naturally, most of the focus returns to protagonist Harry Dresden, who experiences some major life changes after dying. Despite losing his physical body, Dresden maintains much of his usual drive, humour and general disrespect for all the dangerous and scary creatures out there, and if there were ever a character who would excel as a nosey and noble ghost, it would be Dresden. However, despite his outer façade of good cheer and comedic charm, Dresden is experiencing a great deal of emotional turmoil, because of both the events of the previous books and his regrets of leaving those close to him behind. There are some brilliant examinations of the pure guilt he feels, especially around his destructive choices in Changes and their impact on his friends. Despite all this, Dresden is still his usual bold and determined self, and I had an excellent time watching him come to terms with his spiritual nature and his new abilities. Dresden had to be a lot more passive in this book, which honestly drove him a little crazy at times, and it was an interesting change of pace to see him so helpless. Butcher also used this book to dive back into Dresden’s past, providing us with some intriguing looks at his early adventures, including his first traumatic apprenticeship, which has been mentioned but not fully explored until now. I really enjoyed how Dresden was portrayed in this book, especially as Butcher wrote some particularly emotional and hard-hitting scenes for him, and this was one of his most unique adventures. I look forward to seeing what happens to him next, especially as he comes to terms with certain new facts of his life in the rest of the series.

While Dresden does get a lot of compelling and emotionally rich development in Ghost Story, I really need to highlight how exceptionally well Butcher featured several of his key supporting characters in this novel. Many of the characters the reader has grown to know and love throughout the course of this series really change in Ghost Story, especially as they have all had to spend six months dealing with the death of Dresden and the crazy world that developed in his absence. There is some outstanding and brilliant development here as a result, and I really appreciated how effectively Butcher examined the impacts of grief, anger and guilt.

This excellent development can be particularly seen in the character of Karrin Murphey, who, after losing her position in the police and her potential romantic partner in Dresden, was forced into a dangerous war to keep Chicago safe from supernatural threats. The resulting fights made her a lot more dangerous and unforgiving than we’ve previously seen, especially as she barely manages to keep her grief and anger contained. The always fun Waldo Butters also grows up a lot for Ghost Story, especially now he is the holder of Bob the Skull. Butters honestly becomes a better character with each appearance in the series, and it was great to see him being a more determined and bold figure here to try and live up to Dresden’s example. I also really loved how well Butcher featured the character of Mortimer Lindquist in Ghost Story, as he had a sizeable role here. A somewhat minor figure from several of the previous Dresden Files novels, Mortimer has been slowly growing into a better person with each appearance, something attributed to Dresden’s influence. However, Ghost Story is the book were he finally shines, as you get some real insights into his abilities and heart. While he might not be a traditional heroic figure, he does his best in this book, especially when it comes to helping the lost spirits of Chicago, and I really enjoyed how Butcher featured him, and his ghostly companions, in this novel.

While I loved all the work for the characters above, the most impactful and tragic character development revolves around the fascinating character of Molly Carpenter, Dresden’s wizard apprentice. Molly has always been a potentially dangerous figure due to her talent for mental magic. However, the loss of Dresden drives her off the deep end as her guilt and sorrow turn her into something a lot more dangerous and unhinged. Molly ends up becoming the murderous, magical vigilante, the Rag Lady, to scare sinister creatures away from Chicago, and begins living on the streets, untrusted by her former friends. This is such a powerful and surprising transformation from her previous appearances, although it’s not too surprising considering some of the darker things she’s done in the past. Butcher does an exceptional job of diving into her grief, her growing power, and the reasons behind her actions, and it is very heartbreaking to see Molly go down such a dark path. The full extent of her mental issues is a major part of the book’s plot, and I think that Molly had some of the best development in this whole emotionally charged novel.

As with all the other Dresden Files novels I enjoyed, I made sure to check out Ghost Story on audiobook, which frankly never fails to impress me. Coming in with a runtime of just over 17 and a half hours, Ghost Story is one of the longer Dresden Files audiobooks, but you really don’t mind as Butcher packed so much awesome moments into this complex story. Interestingly enough, Ghost Story is the only Dresden Files audiobook that has two separate versions to it, as actor John Glover provided the narration for the first version before James Marsters narrated a second edition a few years later. While I did love John Glover in Smallville, I decided to listen to the Marsters version, mainly because I have gotten so used to him over the previous 12 Dresden Files audiobooks. Marsters of course was exceptional here, and his particularly emotional and heartfelt performance in Ghost Story really highlights why he is one of my favourite audiobook narrators at the moment. There is honestly no better way to enjoy a Dresden Files novel than by having it read out by James Marsters, and this format comes very highly recommended.

Overall, the fourth and final Dresden Files novel I review here today, Ghost Story, was an impressive and highly captivating read, especially when it comes to powerful characters and intriguing fantasy changes as Jim Butcher really showcased his writing skills here. Exciting, emotionally charged and featuring a very different story than fans are used to, Ghost Story is one of the strongest books Butcher has ever written, and I was hooked the entire way through. I honestly cannot express just how epic and awesome this series is at times, and I look forward to getting through the last few Dresden Files novels in the coming months.

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Throwback Thursday – Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

On May 27, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday13 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 3 May 2005)

Series: Dresden Files – Book Seven

Length: 15 hours and 7 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. For this latest review I dive back into the epic Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher with the seventh entry, Dead Beat.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve had a ton of fun finally getting into the iconic Dresden Files books by legendary author Jim Butcher. Generally considered one of the very best urban fantasy series, the Dresden Files are a deeply captivating series that follows Chicago’s resident wizard, Harry Dresden, as he investigates a series of mystical cases throughout the city, often resulting in epic moments loaded with magic. I started this series with the latest book, Battle Ground (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), and then went back to the start to experience the series from the beginning. So far, I have managed to read Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks and Blood Rites, as well as last year’s novella, The Law. All these books have been extremely good in their own way, and I have loved the elaborate stories each of them contained. As such, when I was in the mood for something I was guaranteed to love this week, listening to the next Dresden Files book on my to-read list was an easy choice for me, with the seventh book, Dead Beat.

Harry Dresden, private wizard detective and magical protector of Chicago is always willing to help a person in need no matter the cost. But even he is unprepared for how far he’ll have to go when an old and merciless enemy imperils one of the people closest to him. The ancient vampire Mavra has evidence that could destroy his best friend, Karrin Murphy, and threatens to unleash it unless Dresden recovers a powerful book of magic written by the legendary, long-dead necromancer Kemmler.

With no choice but to find the book, Dresden begins his search around Chicago, attempting to discover any trace of its location. However, his search soon leads him into conflict with a new dark power arriving in the city. Three of Kemmler’s students have their eyes on the book and the rituals it contains, and they are willing to destroy everyone and anyone to get it, including each other, especially when the prize at stake is godhood.

Caught between the three warring necromancers and their minions, Dresden needs to find the book first to stop their dark ultimate ritual before it can decimate Chicago. However, each of Kemmler’s students far outclasses him in terms of magical ability and ruthlessness, and with only limited allies to call upon, it looks like even Dresden will have trouble saving the day again. To survive, he might have to a make a dark deal with an even more malevolent evil, one that that has the potential to damn him forever.

I don’t know how he does it, but every single one of Jim Butcher’s novels that I read is so damn addictive and epic that I always struggle to put it down. Dead Beat was another outstanding entry in the Dresden Files series, and honestly it might be one of the best I have read so far. I absolutely powered through its clever and elaborate story as I tried to get to the end, and everything about it was highly enjoyable and fun. Dead Beat gets another easy five-star rating and I have so much love for how amazing this seventh entry in the series turned out.

Dead Beat has an amazing story to it that effortlessly drew me in with the cool combination of magic, character moments and investigative angles. Starting off quickly with Dresden drafted into the search for a powerful magic book, the protagonist begins his new investigation, only to discover the dangerous necromancers waiting for them. Dresden soon has deadly encounters with all three necromancers in Chicago searching for the book, as well as their various minions and associates, which results in some brilliant scenes. Dead Beat continues by setting Dresden and his allies on a dark course as they simultaneously attempt to find the book and the full extent of the warring necromancer’s plans, while also fending off their attacks. Dresden keeps getting confronted again and again by his foes, barely escaping each time while also learning more about what is to come. At the same time, he is forced to deal with certain personal issues, including trauma, complicated relationships, and a literal demon in his head, tempting him with power and knowledge. There are some great twists, dark moments and emotionally powerful scenes set up around the middle of the novel, and I loved how well Butcher laid out the storylines and hinted at some big moments to come. Everything leads up to an epic concluding final third of the book as Dresden makes some hard decisions and compromises to save the day. The final confrontation with the bad guys is pretty damn awesome, especially as the protagonist, utilising his usual restraint and good judgment, unleashes a very monstrous response to the antagonist’s minions. This entire narrative was enthralling from start to finish, and I cannot emphasise just how addictive and entertaining the entire story was.

Dead Beat featured Butcher’s usual excellent writing style which once again lent itself extremely well to the elaborate narrative he came up with. The pacing of this book was constantly fast and exciting, which guarantees that the reader is always paying attention, especially as every page has either action, some intriguing bit of lore or history, or some intense and compelling character development. Butcher also ensures that this latest novel has the right blend of great story elements to it, and I deeply enjoyed how the fantasy and mystery elements are well featured as the protagonist is forced to do detective work to get the answers. All this is overlayed by a great smattering of humour, mostly from the funny protagonist, who approaches the dark events and villains with his usual cockiness and disrespect. The use of a first-person perspective from Dresden is also quite effective, and I loved seeing events through his eyes, as it allows readers to fully grasp the mystery, while also showcasing the great character developments. While Dead Beat can be read as a standalone read, especially as Butcher is good at quickly recapping events, at this point in the series readers will benefit from going back and reading the earlier Dresden Files books first. Dead Beat proves to be a key entry in the larger series, with multiple major events occurring here, and there are a ton of references to the preceding books, including the return of several fantastic characters. I really got a lot more out of Dead Beat’s story for having read the previous novels, especially as you get to see how much Dresden has been through in the lead up to this book. Overall, this was a very well-written and impressive novel, and Butcher really ensured that his cool story came through perfectly.

As with the rest of the Dresden Files books, I was really impressed with the blend of fantasy and urban fiction elements in Dead Beat, especially as Butcher has come up with such an elaborate world to set his stories in. The author adds some cool new elements into his complex world throughout Dead Beat, as Dresden is forced to deal with a whole new branch of dark magic, necromancy. Necromancy, or the control over the dead, is always a great villainous power in fantasy fiction, and Butcher makes excellent use of it in this book, with three rival necromancers vying for power. Each uses a different form of necromantic magic in battle, and this results in some outstanding scenes where Dresden is forced to confront them. The resulting magical mayhem is pretty epic, and Butcher’s unique depiction of zombies was both fun and a little scary. This intriguing new form of magic ensured that Dead Beat really stood out, and I appreciated how Butcher turned it on its head towards the end when Dresden gets creative. These excellent portrayals of magic fit within the fantastic setting of modern-day Chicago and it is always fun to see the elaborate balance of magical and mundane features that Butcher has set up within the city. These great fantasy inclusions blend well with the character work and mystery elements of Dead Beat, and I look forward to seeing how Butcher further expands it in future books.

One thing that I felt Butcher did particularly well in Dead Beat was how he portrayed his brilliant cast of characters. The Dresden Files always contain great protagonists and villains, but this novel had some of the best portrayals of them to date. This is especially true for series protagonist and point-of-view character Harry Dresden, who had a great outing here. Dresden has always been a damaged and conflicted figure in the series, but recent traumas are really weighing him down in Dead Beat as he struggles with a terrible hand injury, as well as the malign influence of the fallen angel bound to him, Lasciel. The protagonist spends most of the book trying to deal with the influence of Lasciel who subtly manipulates him in many ways, tempting him with power or a solution to his many problems. Each damaging and desperate encounter that Dresden survives in Dead Beat forces him to reconsider the wisdom of refusing her help, and the subsequent internal battles produce some of the most intense and compelling scenes in the novel. This continued temptation and manipulation alters Dresden’s personality at times, and it was interesting to see how his allies and friends treat him, especially as Dresden begins to understand the different ways that members of the magical community view him. Of course, Dresden hides most of his internal pain with his usual hilarious wit and humour, and his irreverent opinions, funny observations, and sheer ability to annoy anyone he encounters, results in most of the book’s humour and over-the-top moments. Throw in other concerns, including complex relationships, unrequited love, and the character’s desire to prove himself and do the right thing, and this was some of the best character work that Butcher has ever done around his main protagonist.

On top of Dresden, Butcher also features a brilliant cast of support characters and villains that really help to enliven the book. Dead Beat features a mixture of established supporting characters, as well as several great new ones, each of whom get some excellent moments to show off throughout the book. I particularly enjoyed how well Butcher utilised the character of Waldo Butters in Dead Beat. Butters, a kooky and big-hearted mortal medical examiner who had minor roles in a previous novel, is thrust into the limelight during this book, becoming a major ally to Dresden. Butcher weaves some great storylines around him as he simultaneously finds his courage and begins to understand the magical world that keeps trying to kill him. Butters proves to be a great supporting figure to Dresden in this book, and I loved their amusing team-up and developing friendship. There is also a couple of great hints at some of the future storylines involving Butters, and I look forward to seeing more of him.

Aside from Butters, I also enjoyed the appearance of Dresden’s half-brother, the vampire Thomas Raith, who has been crashing at Dresden’s place. Butcher paints a fun brotherly relationship between the two in this novel, which was quite entertaining at times. However, the more humorous elements of their relationship are often overshadowed by the deep pain within Raith as he tries to overcome the emotional damage done to him in the previous novel. I also loved learning more about Dresden’s skull spirit companion, Bob, in Dead Beat, and his dark history proves to be quite fascinating, especially as his former nature contrasts substantially with his usually entertaining persona. The three necromantic villains, Grevane, the Corpsetaker and Cowl, each bring a certain level of sinisterness to the table, and they prove to be exceptional antagonists in their own way. Finally, I must highlight the inclusion of Dresden’s new dog, Mouse, who has an awesome outing in Dead Beat. A young and growing gentle giant, Mouse is a fun animal companion to Dresden and his allies, and I look forward to seeing more of his hijinks in the future. Honestly, the entire cast of Dead Beat was pretty damn exceptional, and their powerful interactions and internal issues, added so much to the impact and power of this awesome novel.

As with all the Dresden Files novels, I chose to listen to Dead Beat on audiobook, which was an exceptional experience as the audio format helps to enhance the great characters and magical action. Coming in at just over 15 hours, this is a substantial audiobook, however, I manage to knock it out in a few days, especially once I got caught up in fantastic story. Naturally, the best thing about the Dead Beat audiobook is the return of actor James Marsters as the narrator. Marsters, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators thanks to his work on this series, did another brilliant job in Dead Beat and I have so much love for his outstanding performance. After lending his voice to all the previous Dresden Files novels, Marsters has all the characters down, and each figure is given a fitting and powerful voice that carries through from book to book. I particularly appreciated his portrayal of main character Harry Dresden, and Marsters perfectly captures the protagonist’s deep emotions and cocky demeaner, ensuring that you are both drawn to his pain and entertained by his antics. In addition to the excellent voices, Marsters also has some noticeable and contagious enthusiasm in his narration, especially when it comes to the magical battles, and you can really feel his passion and excitement in parts of the story, especially when he loudly shouts out Dresden’s magical spells. This narration from Marsters is so damn good, and it ensures that I had an exceptional time with Dead Beat’s audiobook, while is the absolute best way to enjoy a Dresden File novel.

In the seventh entry in his iconic Dresden Files series, Dead Beat, Jim Butcher has produced another exceptional read and one that I cannot recommended enough. Featuring a particularly impressive and captivating narration, cool magical inclusions, and some of the best character work Butcher has ever done, Dead Beat is one the best Dresden Files novels I have read so far, and I loved everything about it. This was such an amazing book, and I am very much intending to read several more entries in this outstanding series later this year.

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The Law by Jim Butcher

On July 24, 2022May 27, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Short Stories9 Comments

Publisher: Podium Audio (Audiobook – 5 July 2022)

Series: The Dresden Files – Book 17.5

Length: 3 hours and 22 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare to dive back into the wild world of Jim Butcher’s iconic Dresden Files series with the latest impressive novella, The Law.

Readers of this blog might have noticed that I usually don’t go out of my way to read too many novellas or short stories and instead usually focus on full-length novels and comics. This isn’t so much a deliberate choice as I just prefer whole books I can really sink my teeth into. However, I had to make an exception for the latest Dresden Files novella that Jim Butcher just dropped, as I have been deeply enjoying this epic series.

The Dresden Files are a long running series of urban fantasy novels that follow protagonist Harry Dresden, a wizard who protects the people of Chicago from the magic beings and creatures they don’t even know exist. People may remember that I first got into the Dresden Files back in 2020 when I checked out the 17^th entry in the series, Battle Ground. While I did enter this series late in the game, I still had an outstanding time with Battle Ground and it ended up being one of my top books and audiobooks of 2020. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I went back and started reading the series from the beginning. So far, I have been able to read the first four Dresden Files novels, Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril and Summer Knight, all of which have been pretty impressive and captivating reads. This dive into the older novels, plus my lingering enjoyment of Battle Ground, ensured that I was ready and eager for any new Dresden Files content that came my way, and Butcher just delivered with his latest novella, The Law.

Set a month after the events of Battle Ground, The Law sees Harry Dresden and the city of Chicago still recovering from the invasion of the Titan Ethniu and her forces, which resulted in significant destruction. However, Dresden is primarily mourning the tragic death of his love, Karrin Murphy, and even his new responsibilities as lord of a castle and protector of Chicago isn’t enough to keep his mind off his loss. Determined to snap Dresden out of his funk, his friends decide to get him back to basics and introduce him to someone in need of a good investigator.

Enter Maya, a former prostitute turned tutor whose grassroots education company helps to supplement the education of Chicago’s working-class children. Working hard, Maya has managed to turn her tutoring business into a viable, if low-profit, franchise that prioritises helping as many children as possible. However, Maya’s past life is about to come back to haunt her in the form of her former pimp, Tripp Gregory, who initiates a bogus lawsuit against Maya’s company for a ridiculous sum. Unable to afford a lawyer and desperate for help, Maya has no choice but to turn to Chicago’s resident miracle worker, Harry Dresden.

Deciding to the take on the case and hoping to quietly warn Tripp away from Maya, Dresden soon discovers that sometimes the most dangerous opponent is a greedy idiot concerned only for themselves. Worse, Tripp and the case have unexpected connections to the magical world, with dangerous players taking an interest in its outcome. Forced to deal with old and new foes of considerable power, Dresden will need all his wit and will if he is to save Maya’s business and ensure that justice is found.

Well, that has gone a long way to convincing me to check out more novellas in the future. The Law was an epic read that took Butcher’s always outstanding Dresden File’s protagonist on a short, but extremely sweet, adventure. Bringing Butcher’s usual flair and style, while also expanding on events from the last book, The Law was a great read that gets a full five-star rating from me.

Butcher pretty much teaches a master class on how to do a short, concise and captivating story here in The Law as, despite its length, this novella had an impressive and fun narrative that I found to be utterly addictive. Not only does it serve as a great follow up to Battle Ground but it showcases some amazing character work while presenting the protagonist with an intriguing new adventure. The story is so much fun, and I loved how it started as seemingly non-magical job and then morphed into something more dangerous and problematic as Dresden finds that it has connections with the magical world that forces him to deal with some of Chicago’s key players, including some old enemies. Bringing a small but enjoyable amount of legal thriller aspect to the series’ usual urban fantasy crime fiction style, The Law goes in some fantastic directions, as Dresden attempts to placate all the players while also serving his client. There is a great bit of action, a ton of humour, some intriguing revelations, and even some pretty dark moments, which combine extremely well to create quite the impressive narrative. I loved how Butcher wrapped the entire novella up, especially with that one conference scene near the end, and the reader comes away very satisfied and entertained with the entire affair. I cannot emphasise how great this story was, and I was so damn enthralled by it that I nearly finished it in an entire sitting.

One of the things that I particularly liked about The Law is the way that it serves as a bridging novella between Battle Ground and any future entries in the series. Butcher spends a lot of time in this story looking at the aftermath of the previous novel, especially as Battle Ground featured that epic battle that saw Chicago nearly levelled. As such, Butcher packs The Law with a ton of callbacks to the events of the last book, and there is a huge focus on how the various characters are dealing with the aftermath, especially Dresden. There is also a very fascinating look at the rebuilding that is occurring during this time, as well as the current state of the citizenry, many of whom are traumatised or damaged because of a battle most of them couldn’t even fully comprehend. I really appreciated seeing the various figures featured in The Law remembering or trying to understand the events of Battle Ground, whether they are a magical person who lost someone, a normal person who went through hell, or even one of Dresden’s Knights of the Bean, who now bear a dark connection with the protagonist. Some of the details that came out as a result are deeply fascinating, and there are even a few hints about where some potential future storylines might go, such as increased Government awareness of magic (you see evidence of them covering up the events of Battle Ground here), or the increased fear that might lead to humans attacking magic kind in the future. All of these are featured heavily in The Law, and I liked how it was well utilised for the current story, while also showing fans of the series how different the landscape of Chicago will be in the future. I would say that this focus on the aftermath of Battle Ground did make The Law a little less accessible to those readers who haven’t read the latest Dresden Files novel, however, I think that if you are interested in reading this, then you should definitely read Battle Ground first.

I also must talk about the great character work featured in The Law. Despite its shorter length, Butcher manages to fit a decent number of characters in The Law, and there are some impressive character arcs and development that occurs as a result. Naturally, most of this is focused on series protagonist and central point-of-view character, Harry Dresden, who puts on his usual brave face for most of this novella, bringing his usual insights and wicked humour to the new case. However, it soon becomes very apparent that Dresden is still heavily traumatised by the events of Battle Ground, where he lost so much because of the war. Despite his best efforts to hide it, Dresden is a wreck for much of the story, and it was quite confronting and moving to see him experience blackouts and emotional strains due to the tragedies he has experienced. I think that Butcher covered his protagonist’s trauma and grief in a pretty realistic way, and I liked how he tried to use an old-fashioned investigatory case as a coping method for Dresden. It was great to see Dresden going back to his roots as a private investigator after the chaotic and world-altering events of the last few books, and it was interesting to see how much the character’s powers, methods, insights and choices have changed as a result of everything he’s seen. The Law ended up being quite an intense and fantastic look in the recovering Dresden and readers will like seeing his emotional damage, his recovery, and even some of his darker moments that are contained within this excellent novella.

Aside from Dresden, The Law features an excellent array of supporting characters, who bring a lot to the narrative. Butcher made sure to include a combination of new faces and existing characters to fill out the cast, and I had a blast with how they were utilised throughout. Several of the funniest and most interesting recurring figures from the series had substantial roles here, including Bob, Gentleman John Marcone, and even Mab, and each of their appearances and interactions with Dresden were entertaining and fitting with their previous appearances. I enjoyed many of the great new characters that Butcher introduced here. Some of them, including a devilish lawyer with a shrouded identity, may come back in the future, and it will be interesting to see how they are utilised. I also enjoyed main antagonist, Tripp Gregory, mainly because he was so different that Dresden’s usual antagonists. Rather than being a magical creature or a major threat, Tripp is a normal and rather idiotic criminal, who has a surprising power: he’s too stupid to believe in magic and too self-centred to avoid all the trouble Dresden is bringing his way. Dresden’s reactions to having to deal with such a selfish and unusual opponent makes Tripp’s inclusion totally worth it, and I had fun seeing his arc unfold. These characters, and more, were awesome inclusions to The Law, and their unique inputs added a lot the quality and entertainment value of the entire novella.

Finally, a quick note on the audiobook format, which was how I enjoyed The Law. The Law audiobook has a very short run time of just over three hours and is a relatively easy audiobook to get through. I always find myself really getting into Butcher’s excellent stories in this audio format, and this continued here with The Law, and it really helped me enjoy all the novella’s fun and entertaining details. Probably the biggest thing about The Law audiobook was the choice of narrator. I was deeply, deeply shocked when I discovered that long-time Dresden Files voice actor, the legendary James Marsters, wasn’t narrating The Law, and instead Butcher himself took over and voiced the entire thing. Surprisingly, this ended up working out rather well and Butcher turned out to be a pretty competent and enjoyable audiobook narrator. Don’t get me wrong, he’s no James Marsters (a point Butcher makes up-front, after promising Marsters would come back for future novels), but he does a really good job considering his lack of experience. All the characters are given good, distinctive voices that fit their personalities and showcase their emotions and reactions perfectly. His voice for Dresden was particularly good, and Butcher captured his creation’s cocky nature and damaged inner self perfectly. While some of the accents he did were a little iffy, this was an overall fantastic performance from Butcher, and it was fun to see him contribute to his work in this way. The Law audiobook ended up being an excellent and impressive way to enjoy this fantastic story, and it is easy the format I would most strongly recommend.

Jim Butcher continues to expand his epic Dresden Files series in some fantastic ways with the new novella, The Law. Containing a compact, but highly impressive story loaded with some of Butcher’s best characters, The Law proved to be extremely entertaining and a lot of fun to get through. Serving as a perfect follow-up to the major events of the last novel, The Law was an excellent and powerful entry in this long-running series that is a must read for all Dresden Files fans.

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Throwback Thursday – Storm Front by Jim Butcher

On March 5, 2021May 27, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Throwback Thursday29 Comments

Publisher: Buzzy Multimedia (Audiobook – 1 April 2000)

Series: Dresden Files – Book One

Length: 8 hours and 2 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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For my latest Throwback Thursday I finally check out the first novel in the epic and highly acclaimed Dresden Files series, Storm Front, by legendary author Jim Butcher, which is an amazing and impressive read.

Jim Butcher is an outstanding author who has been dominating the fantasy market for nearly 20 years. While he has written a couple of series, including his Codex Alera books, and some standalone novels, such as the tie-in novel Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours, Butcher is easily best known for his Dresden Files novels. These books follow the adventures of titular protagonist Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only official wizard, who solves magical crimes and serves as a protector of the innocent against a range of supernatural threats. This series has been running since 2000 and with 17 current entries (the 18^th is on the way) it is generally considered to be the gold-standard of urban fantasy series. While I have always heard amazing things about these books, I arrived a little late to the party, having only read the 17^th book, Battle Ground, last year. Battle Ground was a pretty epic read, containing an off-the-chain fantasy war in the heart of the city, and it ended up being one of my favourite novels (and audiobooks) of 2020. Due to how much I enjoyed this latest book, as well as a general desire to explore the rest of the series, I decided to go back and read the first entry in the series, Butcher’s debut novel, Storm Front.

Harry Dresden is a man who leads an interesting life. As the only openly practicing magic user in Chicago (his name is even in the phonebook under wizard), Harry scrapes a living investigating small and unusual cases, such as finding lost items and performing paranormal investigations while trying to avoid the attentions of the White Council, a governing body of magical practitioners who have placed Harry on a lethal probation. However, his latest cases are about to make his life very complicated in ways he never expected.

Two people have been murdered in a particularly gruesome manner, with their hearts bursting out of their chests during an act of passion. Called in by the Chicago P.D., which has him on retainer as a magical consultant, Harry determines that their deaths were caused by the darkest of spells. Despite being forbidden by the White Council to know anything about the deadly arts, Dresden begins to dive into the case, determined to find out who is responsible and how they did it. At the same time, Monica Sells, a local housewife, has provided Dresden with a great deal of money to find her missing husband, someone who has apparently had his own recent misadventures with magic.

As Harry investigates both the murder and the disappearance, he finds himself under attack from all sides. Not only does the most feared gangster in Chicago want him to drop the case, but the White Council views him as the prime suspect in the deaths due to his deadly past. Worse, a shadowy figure wants him dead and is unleashing dangerous magical creatures upon him. However, you cannot keep a good wizard down, and Harry plans to use every trick at his disposal to stay alive long enough to find the killer, even if it burns every bridge he has.

Well, that was a pretty awesome read, and one that I wish I had checked out a very long time ago. Storm Front is an exciting and clever book that combines a compelling story with some great characters, an interesting urban fantasy setting and a fantastic, humour laden tone, all of which come together into an impressive novel. Storm Front also serves as an excellent first novel in the wider Dresden Files series, and it was extremely interesting to see it after previously reading a more recent entry in the series. I had an amazing time with this novel and, while it is a tad rough in places, especially compared to Butcher’s later work, I must give Storm Front a full five-star rating.

At the centre of Storm Front lies a particularly good fantasy murder mystery narrative that sees the protagonist take on some challenging cases that result in death and destruction raining down on his life. The story starts up quickly with Dresden, whose role as a wizard is more like a supernatural PI, being employed to find a missing husband, while also helping the police solve a twisted magical double murder. This results in a fast-paced narrative that sees Dresden investigate both cases in his own unique way, which results in dangerous complications as people attempt to either discourage him or outright kill him. I loved how the story read a lot like a hardboiled detective fiction novel, albeit with a lot more quips and amusing jokes, and this style of writing worked extremely well with the magical elements featured throughout the book. The narrative gets more complex as the book progresses, with additional side characters, greater lore inclusions and more sophisticated dangers, and I felt that the author was able to work all of this into story extremely well, ensuring that the reader becomes enthralled with the intense magical action, entertaining characters, and outlandish threats. The author also throws in some clever twists, which includes the protagonist becoming the main suspect in the murders, resulting in a lot of tense and dangerous situations as he tries to avoid everyone coming after him. All of this leads up to an epic and fantastically written conclusion which pulls all the threads of the story together and ensures that the reader is left wanting more. If I had to make one criticism about the book, it would be that the identity of the main antagonist/murder is extremely obvious right from the outset, and that ruins a lot of the surprises that the author was clearly hoping for. However, I still really enjoyed Storm Front’s captivating tale, and it is worth hanging around to see the story unfold. Overall, I felt that this was an exceedingly strong story and it honestly does not take long to get hooked on it.

Easily the top highlight of this book is the outstanding protagonist and narrator, Harry Dresden (full name: Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, named after famous stage magicians), the rogue and public wizard. Dresden is an amazing and entertaining protagonist who the reader quickly becomes attached to thanks to his antics, morality, unpredictable nature and skills as magic user. I always enjoy smartass characters, and Dresden is one of the better ones I have read. A lot of the book’s excellent comedic undertones are thanks to Dresden’s dry and timely sense of humour as he provides some excellent quips and commentary, both out loud and in his head. Despite being a mostly funny character, Butcher ensures that his protagonist has a hard and dark edge to him that helps to make him even more compelling and intriguing to follow. Not only does the reader get an in-depth and comprehensive look into his troubled psyche, especially when he is experiencing guilt, trauma or despair, but there are some intriguing hints at his dark past, some of which come into play throughout the book. I also liked how the author set up and explored Dresden’s magical ability, especially as the protagonist is not the most powerful magical user out there, although he makes up for it through trickery, training and intelligence. I particularly liked the way in which he was able to defeat an antagonist with substantially more raw magical power with some simple tricks or the use of some psychology, and the author did a great job highlighting his protagonist’s analytical thinking as one of his key strengths. I also have to say that I really enjoyed the fantastic look that Butcher sets up for his character, with the black duster, the staff and the Blue Beetle car, making him a very distinctive figure. This ended up being an outstanding introduction to the character, and it will be interesting to see how he develops to the powerful badass that later appears in Battle Ground.

In addition to Dresden, the author also features an interesting collection of characters throughout Storm Front who add some additional, exciting layers to the overall story. Each of the supporting characters in this novel is very well-written and layered, featuring some intriguing histories (although they all have secrets that will be revealed later). Many of these characters become major figures in the larger Dresden Files series, and this serves as an excellent introduction to them. Of all the characters a few really stood out to me, including Bob, an air spirit who inhabits a skull in Harry’s lab. Bob is a fun, if unusual, character who has a somewhat perverted/voyeuristic streak that causes Harry all manner of trouble and leads to some very entertaining moments throughout the book. I also quite liked the introduction of Karrin Murphy, the hardnosed Chicago detective who utilises Dresden as her magical consultant. Karrin is a great no-nonsense character who is one of the few people to call Dresden out on his actions and who has a complex relationship with him in this book. I really must highlight the introduction of “Gentleman” John Marcone, Chicago’s premier crime boss who is antagonistic towards Dresden for much of the book. Marcone is portrayed is a stone-cold killer with a hidden past, and there are some great hints at what sort of recurring character he becomes in future entries in this series. I also thought that the overall antagonist of this novel was pretty good and served as a great counterpoint to Dresden throughout the book. Despite the identity of the antagonist being rather obvious for much of the novel, I felt that Butcher provided them some complex motivations for their actions in Storm Front, and it was intriguing to see how they slid down into using dark magic. This antagonist has a couple of fantastic scenes in this novel, and I particularly liked the clever way in which their storyline came to an end. Each of these side characters added so much to the book’s plot, and I had an amazing time getting to know them.

I also really enjoyed the amazing urban fantasy setting that Butcher came up with for Storm Front. This series is set in a world where magic is semi-hidden from mortals, although there is substantial dangerous magical activity occurring in the underbelly of cities like Chicago. The author does a great job of setting up the basics of this fantasy reality throughout the first book, and the reader is given an effective rundown of all the unique features and limitations of magic and magical creatures for these books. Butcher made the smart choice of starting small with this first book, and while there are mentions of the wider magical world, enough to draw the curiosity of the reader, for the most part the magical elements are limited to what is relevant to the story. I liked that the reader was not overwhelmed with lore right off the bat, especially as this allowed them to enjoy the cool story, but it is clear a lot of what was mentioned will be explored in far greater detail in the future. The grimy and dangerous magical cityscape also served as an awesome background to the noir style story contained within Storm Front, and it was great to see the character get involved with both the criminal and magical underbelly of the city. I had a lot of fun with this setting, and I look forward to learning more about the rules and hidden magical lore in the future.

Considering how outstanding my previous experience with a Dresden Files audiobook was, there was no way that I was not going to check out Storm Front’s audiobook format, especially as it was once again narrated by Spike himself, James Marsters (I also loved him in Torchwood and Smallville, but he was at his best in Buffy and Angel). Unsurprisingly I had an incredible time listening to Storm Front’s audiobook and I ended up knocking it out in a couple of days, especially as it has a relatively short runtime of 8 hours. This was an incredible audiobook, not only because the great story translated really well into the format, but also because of Marsters’ fantastic narration. Marsters did an outstanding job narrating this story at a quick pace, drawing listeners into the story while also utilising a voice that perfectly fits Storm Front’s tone. I also really appreciated the way in which Marsters dove into the role of the central protagonist, Harry Dresden, and he really brings this maverick character to life throughout the production, especially when it comes to encapsulating Dresden’s dry wit, strange sense of humour and enthusiasm. Marsters did use similar voices for some of the supporting characters, however listeners are able to easily follow the story without getting confused about who is talking. Overall, this was a pretty good performance from Marsters (this was actually one of the first audiobooks he narrated), and I know that he gets a lot better in later books, with some varied voices and even greater enthusiasm as a narrator. As a result, I fully intend to check out the rest of the Dresden Files novels in their audiobook format and I would strongly recommend that anyone interested in this series do the same.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher is an exceptional and captivating debut novel that more than lives up to all the hype that has been generated about it in the last 20 years. Thanks to the cool story, great characters, and fantastic setting, this was an awesome book to read, and I loved seeing this maverick wizard solving supernatural crimes in Chicago. Storm Front also served as an incredible introduction to the wider Dresden Files novels, and I was glad to see how this entire epic series started. I fully intend to go back and check out this entire series over the next couple of years and I am very excited to see what over intense and entertaining adventures Butcher has come up with in.

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