A fun trio of urban fantasy, which isn't my favorite genre. I picked these books up on sale from the Science Fiction Book Club around the time the TV series came out, but after reading the first story, never came back. Now, in an effort to clean out my unread pile, I've found these books again.

Storm Front is a fairly basic story, with an interesting cast of characters in a very linear plot. It's a good setup for the many sequels.

Fool Moon felt a little formulaic, but that might have been from reading so many in sequence. (It must be a challenge to use the same group of characters now just fighting a different bad guy while still trying to move the overall story along.)

Grave Peril really seemed like author Jim Butcher was hitting his stride. There was still a bit of "tell" instead of "show" (we hear how main character Harry is terrified so many times, but since we don't have our own experiences of being face-to-face with a coven of vampires, perhaps in this case it's necessary). A much more complex plot, with Harry seemingly ending every chapter in mortal peril.

If there's one negative, it's that the books are a bit exhausting when read back-to-back. The author clearly believes in throwing everything possible at his characters, and just when you think things can't get worse, somehow they do.

Even so, I'm fascinated by the characters, so I'll be plugging along to read the next few in the series.

---------------
LT Haiku:

Chicago wizard
works dangerous cases with
some sarcastic wit.

He fights vampires
and trolls but it often seems
he's fighting himself. ( )

We've got all the DRESDEN FILES novels reviewed at FanLit:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/fantasy-author/butcherjim ( )

I greatly enjoyed this introduction to the "Dresden Files" series. Harry's sarcasm and slightly grumpy attitude is endearing and entertaining. I greatly enjoyed having the first three books in one place so that I was able to plow right through them.

Storm Front was a great introduction to the world Harry lives in. It was engaging, edgy and a great introductory story. It seemed to be just the right balance between Mystery and Sci-Fi.

Fools Moon was well written and enjoyable, clearly showing that Jim Butcher puts his time into researching his topics, but still manages to keep a familiar topic fresh and suspenseful.

Grave Peril was probably my favorite in this group, not because of the story line (which in my feeling fell secondary in this book) but for the characters that were introduced and utilized. I loved Michael Carpenter and how his role as the "Fist of God", and his religious beliefs fit themselves into Harry's world and his belief in magic. Out of the three books, this was one of the most memorable for me due to the cast of characters. My only complaint is that I seemed to loose steam in the middle of it simply because the "mystery"/plot aspect of this book seemed a bit tangled for me. In the end I understood how it all came together, but I didn't feel it was the strongest plot out of the three. However, if you are looking for a book with great character interaction I highly recommend Grave Peril. ( )

Storm Front

Meet Harry Dresden, Wizard. Not what you’d expect to see on an office door, but then nothing about Harry Dresden is ordinary. A lone wizard in Chicago, with a past hat is slowly being revealed, Harry comes to the aid of Chicago PD’s Special Investigations team to help solve a grisly murder that could have only been done with magic. Through magic, wits, and sometimes pure luck, Harry manages to help hunt down the rogue wizard, while managing to avoid crime bosses, and the regular police. Certainly fast paced, with plenty of action, mystery and magic, to keep the reader wanting more.



Foul Moon

In the second installment of the Harry Dresden series, we get more insight into Harry’s past, and some of it is semi-shady in some views, but given the underlying reasons behind some of his decisions, one can see he made his life what it was for good and noble causes. In Foul Moon, Harry comes up against several variations of what we call werewolves, some natural, some artificial, some from curses. Each one with their own deadly issues that Harry has to deal with to get to the bottom of a string of murders, and to have to face some of his own demons as well.



Grave Peril.

Faery Godmothers aren’t all they seem to be. Take Harry Dresden’s Godmother for example. A sidhe, she wants Harry, and his magic in the Nevernever with her for eternity. Sadly for her, Harry feels he has more important things to do. Like stopping a rampaging ghost/spirit killer from ripping thru a lot of Harry’s friends in Chicago. Book 3 has Harry paired with Michael, a Knight of God, and possessor of one of the legendary swords of God, able to destroy evil with mere scratches of its holy blade. The pair set out to figure out what is torturing the dead and living in Chicago, while trying to avoid being dinner for Chicago’s elite vampires. ( )

http://yoyogodreviews.blogspot.com/2006/10/were-off-to-see-wizard.html ( )