The Dresden Files

For my first post I’d like to pay homage to one of the best contemporary fantasy novelists. Jim Butcher. If I had to pick a favorite fantasy novelist, which I would rather you not force me into that situation, it would be Jim Butcher. Well, let me just say that maybe it would be Jim Butcher. I’m qualifying it with a maybe because until someone actually forces me, I’m not going to commit. BUT, if at some point between this posting and your reading thereof, I have, indeed, been forced, then Butcher is the answer.

The Dresden Files is the BEST fantasy series still being written today. Absolutely my favorite series, my 17 year old son's too.

Butcher has raised the standard for fantasy writers. In Dresden, Butcher writes complex characters. They are never static and never dull. They continue to develop, as real people in real life do, from book to book. He does not use the same characters in every book. Some will come and go in various books, in non-chronological order. Some you will grow to love, some you will grow to hate more than you did before, and some will die when you least expect it. The characters have their own interwoven pasts with one another that complicate the emotions and the plots of the books.

The humor is impeccably appropriate. This is not a humor series for humor’s sake, but Butcher does an excellent job of lightening a tense seen with a clever quip or unexpected bit of irony. The main character, Harry Dresden, is quite sharp tongued and quick witted. Of course, this gets him in trouble sometimes. I’m sure there are times that Harry would have wished he kept his mouth closed.

Not only is he a wizard of great skill, he is a private detective and often contracts with the local Chicago Police Department for the more "unusual" cases. Sometimes it is hard to be the only person in the room who understands everything that is going on -- both natural and supernatural. Harry is not a perfect person, and he struggles with his imperfections, and evolves throughout the series.

Harry’s wit is not the only source of humor. There are quirky characters, ironic situations, and plenty of humorous plays off the contrasts between the fantasy world of magic and the real world we live in.
As far as plot? Well let me just say, Butcher’s books are hard to put down. And while you see some things coming, you don’t see everything coming.

Each book is stand-alone, and you do not have to read them in order, BUT ----- I highly advise that you do, because you will understand the characters and situations with much greater depth if you do. Which book is my favorite? Whichever one he wrote last because each one just gets better than the last.

If you like fantasy, scifi, wizards, magic, action, adventure or humor in your fiction, then you are missing out on one of the best on the market today by not reading the Dresden series.

This series is one of my absolute favorite out of dozens of series. 100 points for me

If you like humor, suspense, mystery, wizards and magic, deep characters that are dynamic, surprises and unpredictability and a world of its own (like Harry Potter) set in a real world (Chicago), then you HAVE TO read Dresden. In fact, if you try the first three books and really do not like it, I will personally guarantee your purchase. Send me your receipt and your books, and tell me why you did not like each book, with convincing specifics (because I am not likely to believe you), and I will send you a check for the price of the books. Offer good for the rest of 2009 and 2010.