Sfdebris.net

Since we had one on the old forums, as I recall, which has yet to be recreated.

For those who don't know, The Dresden Files is an urban fantasy/mystery series, set primarily in modern-day Chicago, which currently spans 15 novels plus various shorts and comics, and counting. It also has a tabletop RPG game, and a one-season television adaptation of decidedly mixed repute (somewhat unfairly, in my view).

Its main protagonist (the novels and short stories are all written in first person) is Harry Dresden, a wise-ass anti-hero wizard and private investigator. To get a sense of his personality... well, Chuck's protagonist in the Dragon Age reviews actually reminded me quite a lot of Harry Dresden, I remember. Though maybe that's just me.

The series has famously been described as "Dirty Harry Potter".

I have mixed feelings about it as a work of literature, but I find it a very interesting series to discuss and dissect at times. And I very much admire the audiobooks, read by James Marsters of Buffy fame, which are a highly impressive piece of voice acting all in all.

It is also the inspiration for some really good MLP crossover fanfics...

I love Jim Butcher & the Dresden Files; I think the first couple books were a little rough (unsurprising for a twenty-something writer's first books), but had a major jump in quality in book 3 (Grave Peril) and especially book 4 (Summer Knight). I typically recommend new readers start with GP because of its plot significance, but SK is really where he hit his groove.

Also aspiring writers can learn a LOT from the myriad of Butcher Q&A's on YouTube.

Independent George wrote:It is also the inspiration for some really good MLP crossover fanfics...

As I've said before, you can get a lot of milage out of the contrast between a light, fluffy setting, and a somewhat darker one, as long as you don't let one approach dominate the other too much.

I love Jim Butcher & the Dresden Files; I think the first couple books were a little rough (unsurprising for a twenty-something writer's first books), but had a major jump in quality in book 3 (Grave Peril) and especially book 4 (Summer Knight). I typically recommend new readers start with GP because of its plot significance, but SK is really where he hit his groove.

Also aspiring writers can learn a LOT from the myriad of Butcher Q&A's on YouTube.

There is quite a bit of important material in the first two books, actually, though also some stuff that seems out of step with the later books (for example, the depiction of Soul Gazes seems a bit different, and more vague, in the first book, as I recall).

Though I tend to cringe when I think of the first book's title, because Storm Front always makes me think of the notorious white nationalist website. Though the title obviously has a very different meaning in the book.

Also the first books seem to have a continuity error in regards to vampires down the line but after 12 something books its hard to keep track of everything

ORCACommander wrote:Also the first books seem to have a continuity error in regards to vampires down the line but after 12 something books its hard to keep track of everything

What continuity error is that?

It's not a continuity error, but I always thought it was strange that the Red Court would control prostitution instead of the White Court; I always just assumed that splitting the vampires into three courts came to him after Storm Front had already been published. I don't think anyone's ever asked about that in his Q&As.

The two errors I picked up were (1) Michael stating early on that Charity was the one with medical training, and then in Skin Game saying that he was a medical corpsman in the Navy, and (2) Murphy losing her P90 in Lake Michigan, only to get it back (the same one, with Kinkaid's engraving on it) in the next book.

dresden remarked something about vampires having a hard time keeping themselves together outside of the never never

Dresden is in a weird position for me, in that I'll read the books, but personally hate the main character. Not sure why, his brand of humour and morality doesn't click with me. I find Morgan and Marcone far, far more interesting.
I'd recommend, if you've not read them, the Felix Castor series by Mike Carey (he wrote Hellblazer for a while, and the original run of Lucifer (which is very,very different from the show), and the Matthew Swift books by Kate Griffin.

I love the Dresden Files. It's light, popcorn reading that never fails to entertain and gives some nice emotional punches along the way. And I have to say....Butcher has done a fantastic job of stretching things out without stagnating. Not too many authors can pull off 15 books about the same guy without it turning into a hot mess.

That said...I think even Butcher is starting to run up against his limits. I know he's shooting for 20, but that seems ambitious. Still...here's to hoping. I've had a great time with Harry Dresden.

(on a slightly related note, I also enjoyed the heck out of his Codex Alera series, and I have high hopes for his new Steampunk one, although the first book, while fine, didn't hit any particular high notes for me)

The Romulan Republic wrote:As I've said before, you can get a lot of milage out of the contrast between a light, fluffy setting, and a somewhat darker one, as long as you don't let one approach dominate the other too much.

Agreed. And as stated in the other thread, the really impressive thing about the fic I'm referencing is how balanced it is while staying true to both sets of canon.

Of course, this is from the person trying to come up with a Black Company/MLP crossover...

ya butcher is kinda stretching thin with dredsen. apart from a few things the newer books since ghost story feel like treading water but how do you follow up chitchen itza?