Storm Front: The Dresden Files, Book 1

I've previously read and enjoyed Jim Butcher's "Codex Alera" series, and the Dresden Files came highly recommended from some online acquaintances (whose opinions I trust in such matters), so when I saw the Kindle deal for the first seven Dresden books, I took the bait. I'm glad I did.I've read a number of hardboiled detective novels (from back in the day) and I could see some of that influence here. Actually, that influence was stronger in "Storm Front" than it was in some of the later Dresden books (I'm up through #4 right now). I think Butcher was still trying to find his voice in this book. He's decent at the detective novel thing (clues planted in appropriate places, red herrings, etc.), but I found later books -- where there's more of a character focus, as well as more supernatural elements -- more fun to read.One detail I like is Dresden's interference with electronic devices. The hardboiled detective style doesn't work as well, I think, with modern conveniences like the internet, cell phones, etc. But Dresden exists in the modern world and so the existence of technology has to be addressed. And I appreciate the choice that was made. Plus, it makes things more difficult for Dresden (unreliable car, making bargains with Bob the skull to get information, etc.). He's got wizardly powers but he's still sometimes at a disadvantage.The first-person narrative works, in my opinion. I already knew that Dresden was going to make it out of the whole thing alive, because there are more than a dozen additional books in the series (a lot of times, first-person narration suffers from lack of tension because authors don't kill off the POV characters). But even if Dresden isn't going to die, there could still be consequences. In this first book, we know Dresden is already under a cloud of suspicion/distrust from his fellow wizards, plus he has mundane allies who could suffer. So there's still tension, despite the first-person POV.There are a lot of what you might call tropes of the hardboiled detective genre in this book (house by the lake, mysterious woman coming to Dresden's office to offer him a job -- that he needs to take due to monetary reasons, mobsters, pesky reporters, etc.). I can't decide if Butcher is paying homage to the genre or just recycling ideas (or maybe a little of both), but he manages to keep the plot moving so you don't have a lot of time to focus on such details. Honestly, the same can be said for the supernatural side of things -- a wizard with a staff, potions, fairies, vampires, etc. In this case, I think the mash-up generally works.One thing I will definitely say for Butcher's books (both "Codex Alera" and the four Dresden books I've read so far) is that they're very easy to read -- they're over before you know it! (I mean that in a good way. Also, the books are not terribly long.) Early on, I noticed a tendency for Butcher to use too many "-ly" adverbs, but these either became less noticeable or were dropped. The first murder scene is described in such a way that makes it anatomically impossible, but I'm willing to let that slide.I'm not so sure how I feel about Dresden's attitude towards women -- these stories definitely have their sexist moments. Nary a female character is introduced that we don't hear about her build, her clothes, etc. Dresden also has something of a protective hero complex. On the one hand, sexism is a longstanding feature of the hardboiled detective story. On the other hand, I wonder if it's a little bit of the author's personality coming through. There's something of a fixation on cheerleaders (and one reference to a football team), suggesting certain difficulties during the teenage years for one or both of them (i.e., Dresden and Butcher).One thing I wished for was more focus on the characters in this book. (That does come in later volumes and I'm glad for it.) It is clearly established that Harry Dresden is carrying around a lot of baggage from a not-too-pleasant past, but he doesn't want to talk about it. In this volume, we *are* introduced to the supernatural world, including fairies, vampires, various magical tools, and more. It is possible that this introduction took the place of some of the characterization that would normally be involved in a series like this. And we did need an introduction to those elements because they come back again and again in later volumes.The book is set in Chicago, a place I've never been. I'm not all that sure it matters that I haven't visited there; Butcher keeps it pretty generic other than some broad references to neighborhoods, the Great Lakes, etc. It probably would have been just as easy to set these books somewhere else. On the other hand, there's nothing that leads me (admittedly, with my lack of knowledge of the area) to believe this *couldn't* have taken place in Chicago (geographically-speaking, anyway). At any rate, the setting is believable enough for my purposes.I've been told by a couple of online acquaintances that you can skip the first two Dresden books and start right in with the third. However, I think to do that, you'd be missing out on some key early worldbuilding. I feel like this book contributes less to the ongoing storyline about Dresden's past than books 2-4, but I also think that Butcher was setting things up for later. Also, of course, he had to provide something that was basically self-contained because he wouldn't have been able to predict the reaction/popularity of the series.All-in-all, I'm glad I took the plunge to get into this series. I expect I'll finish the books I got on promo in a week or two and have to pay full price for the rest of them. I'd say this was a decent effort but also that later books show definite improvement. 3.5 stars.

I recently finished reading this book, and I must say it was a captivating journey from start to finish. The author's storytelling skills are impeccable, and they have a unique way of drawing you into the narrative.

Fun, entertaining read. The imagery was at times difficult to see in my mind eye but still took me away from reality.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and look forward to enjoying the rest of the series. Very rarely do I find a book I like as much as I did this one.

If you like your protagonists in the vein of Sam Spade, Nick Charles, and such, this is a great book. It's not my usual genre, being more magic and adventure than mystery, but it races along quickly. I like the fact the protagonist's magic makes using modern tech a challenge since this makes it feel more timeless, like a Dashiell Hammett story. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is the author concludes the story pretty abruptly, tying up all the loose ends almost like an afterthought. Still, I'm ready for the next in the series.

The story is told from the perspective of Harry Dresden, an actual Wizard living in Chicago. He's so official, he's actually listed in the yellow pages as a wizard for hire. His work is similar in nature to a private detective, but of course his cases involve more than just cheating spouses. Case in point, the book begins with a woman asking for help in finding her missing husband. It appears that he has recently become rather interested (or even obsessed) with things of an occult nature and she is worried for him.In the same day, Lieutenant Murphy of the Chicago Police Department reaches out to Dresden to help with an unusual investigation. The case involves the unusual death of a man and a woman in mid-coitus - but somehow their hearts have been exploded from within their bodies. The potential magic that could do something like this worries Dresden given he knows how dangerous it is. And if he is to figure out what had been used, he'll most likely have to gather the same ingredients and components to cast the spell. And merely being in possession of such items could risk his tenuous status with the White Council that oversees all use of magic.As a first person perspective book, it's rather important that the central character is one that the reader can appreciate or even like. And Harry Dresden is probably not the poster boy for this given his dry humor and sardonic wit. But he's actually rather endearing in a scruffy kind of way since he's really just a guy doing his best given some pretty unusual circumstances. It takes a certain kind of nerve to publicly advertise that one is a wizard. You can imagine all the less than series job offers that he gets as part of all this. And yet he perseveres on.Beyond that, another great part of the book is the rather well thought-out magic system. A lot of books like to gloss over this side of things and just have the characters wave their arms or say a single magic word in order to perform miraculous feats. Given this story is told directly from Harry's perspective, we also follow along the complex thought processes of a wizard and his little explanations of how magic works in this reality. Thus we have all these different cases like tapping raw forces for spells versus careful preparation of power for future use. We have potion that can do any number of things and we have artifacts of varying potency. And because everything makes sense given the clearly defined internal logic, the end result is pretty impressive.The book combines all the challenges of a humorous but not asinine protagonist, a magic-fueled fantasy novel, and a good old fashioned detective mystery in one witty package. And just getting any one of those elements to work well is difficult. To get all of them to work together and execute a story that isn't just coherent but actually pretty compelling, well I'm all the more impressed. I've been known to dabble in writing and I can't imagine how Jim Butcher manages to get all this done.And not only does this book establish this little world of that Dresden lives in, but it also provides a number of potential story elements that we all want to look into further. The fact that Harry Dresden is under some sort of probation with the White Council or how Chicago has a rather prominent vampire running a sort of harem are all interesting stories on their own. And you know that time and time again we're going to want to explore these side stories and thus further expand Harry's world.Beyond a good story though, the book is really defined by the strength of its characters. And our main players like Harry and Lt. Murphy and all the others are pretty interesting in their own right. And this is just the first book - I know that there's a heck of a lot more to learn about all of them and future adventures are going to expand on these different back stories.A whole new world has opened up for me now that I've finally gotten started on The Dreden Files with Storm Front and I'm pretty excited to read about more of Harry's misadventures. I'll still have to juggle different books that I've committed to read but it's fair to say that the priority rating of this series has bumped up several notches.

My dad loves this series so I thought I’d give it a try! It was good, and now he has a physical copy of the book!

This was just an amazing and pleasant surprise. Not really the book I would have chosen, hadn't it been from a fantasy booktuber whom I admire so much. All this coming from me, so much into cozy mysteries and classics... This is a detective-wizard in Chicago, year 2000, advertised on the yellow pages, a true gentleman, witty, resourceful and getting himself into so much trouble. This is action-packed, humour-packed, so much fun !

The only bad thing about giving this book a 5-star rating is that it'll be impossible to give the next ones more.This book is a 5, and the series just gets better after! Rereading them before the new one comes out.

es el primer libro que leo en kindle la aplicación es muy practica y el libro (en ingles) me gusto me han recomendado mucho la serie y aunque el primer libro es un poco lento tiene muy buena trama

Es una excelente historia del género “magia urbana”, es el cual los magos tienen que hacer cosas como las que hacemos todos para vivir, sujetos a las aventuras de ser magos.

It you are a fan of Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series or of Dean Koontz Odd Thomas Series you should probably give this book a shot!I thoroughly enjoyed reading the shitshow that is Harry Dresdens life!Some things I worked out straight away, like that the two cases were connected and who the evil doer was, but the author did a really good job of tying up loose ends and used the story to flesh out more of the side characters. Some stories can concentrate so much on the plot that it can leave characters, other than the lead, feeling very hollow. This book ticked all the boxes for me and I look forward to making my way through the rest of the series. From what I can tell there are 17 books to the series, so I will be pacing myself not to binge and then run the risk of not finishing the whole lot, so fair warning to anyone else wanting to start these books, there will be a lot of material to read!