The Dresden Files - Review

Wizards. Warlocks. Cops. Gangsters. Werewolves. Sex Vampires. All of these are found within Jim Butcher’s fantastic series, The Dresden Files, and if that doesn’t inspire you to check it out then I’m not entirely sure what will.

I’m sure that some readers will immediately hear alarm bells that sound like Twilight! Twilight! going off after reading those last two terms, but never fear. Butcher’s vampires and werwolves have as little to do with those sparkling little creations of Stephanie Myers as possible. And he also has plenty of the traditional blood-guzzling types right alongside the sexy ones.

The series is narrated by Harry Dresden, a Wizard, practicing his trade in modern day Chicago. He offers his service as a Private Investigator and Magic Practitioner to both the common citizens of Chicago as well as the CPD, who call him whenever something inexplicable happens in the Windy City. His main contact is Karin Murphy, a grizzled CPD detective who’s more willing than her bosses to believe in the Supernatural.

But Harry carries a heavy weight with him - he has broken the first law of magic. He has used his powers to kill another human being, a nearly unforgivable sin, and it haunts him, both literally and figuratively, throughout the series.

The formula for the series is somewhat standard for mystery novels - each novel deals with a particular villain, and a particular mystery, while meanwhile, another, far larger, mystery looms in the background. I won’t say what exactly that mystery is, for two reasons. First of all, I’d have to give away some pretty big plot points. Secondly, I haven’t finished the series myself. I’m only halfway through at the moment, but suffice it to say that what I’ve read so far has me intrigued.

Butcher’s characters, for the most part, seem to leap of the page. The plot lines are gritty and dark — this isn’t one of those series where everyone comes out okay. Bad things happen to good people, and good things occasionally happen to bad ones. That said, that realism is tempered by a healthy dose of comic relief — in addition to being a roguish anti-hero, Dresden is also something of a wiseass. It’s that trademark humor that really made me fall in love with these novels. Wether he’s cooking up spells with a talking skull or interrogating vicious gangsters, Dresden always finds time for a snide remark or three.

Butcher has also put his own unique spin on the supernatural beings that populate the series. While they certainly take inspiration from other sources, from ancient mythology to popular fiction, they aren’t simply carbon copies either. Butcher has gone to of his way to craft a series of unique and interesting monsters. His vampires, for example, range from the more traditional Bram-Stoker type to half-bat, half-human beings to the aforementioned sex vampires. And again, I assure you that they have nothing in common with their counterparts in Twilight. Butcher has also crafted rules that govern the use of magic. Harry Dresden can’t simply turn invisible with a wave of his wand — mostly because he has a staff instead.

The largest problem I had with these novels is that they often begin in medias res. Despite the fact that there’s a linear plot connecting the books, Butcher will sometimes have events happen in between the novels that are simply summarized by Harry in the form of some terse exposition. New characters will pop up out of nowhere, and old ones will simply disappear. While it’s not really a dealbreaker, it can make the series somewhat frustrating to read.

Another thing; I can guess that some readers will find the series “problematic” First of all, some of the women in the stories seem abnormally interested in sleeping with Dresden. That’s not to say that they’re simply “sex objects” or what have you, but that’s certainly a viewpoint that some readers are going take. It doesn’t help that some of Butcher’s sex scenes are a little over the top. Now, I have no problem reading a sex scene in a novel, but Butcher simply feels like he’s being a little bit gratuitous. Seriously, I sometimes feel like I’m reading porn (as a side note, one of the books does take place inside of a porn studio, which is either a reason to read it or a reason not to, depending on your point of view). Secondly, Dresden views women as something to be protected, whether they’re journalist ex-girlfriends or grizzled homicide detectives. This is more of a character flaw than anything else, and it’s one that our magical narrator frequently admits to. Now, I don't think the books are sexist. None of the female characters are quaking damsels in distress whose sole purpose is to have sex with the hero of the story, but are fully fleshed out characters who kick some major supernatural ass. However, it's still a problem, and for some people, it may indeed be a dealbreaker.

All in all, I highly recommend The Dresden Files to anyone who’s looking for a good Fantasy read. If you don’t mind a little blood and guts and maybe some other bodily fluids from time to time, then go ahead and give them a try! There’s a full fifteen novels in the series with even more on the way, so they’re likely to keep you occupied for a good long time. And at ten bucks a pop, they won’t be quite that hard on your wallet either.

4/5 stars.

Follow me on twitter here!