Book: The Dresden Files

[Munsu]

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/1221/dfgnq.jpg

I just read the first 3 books of this series (Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril) over the weekend, and I thought they were really good... written by Jim Butcher. I know at least one person here reads this series, so who else reads them?

I really like Harry as a narrator, particularly because he's quite funny and you know that by the end of the book, you'll start wondering how the heck the guy isn't crippled already. He always ends up completely beat up and messed up.

I saw the tv series a couple of years ago, but I think the novel is much better. I saw that some of the characters where changed quite a bit.

If anyone is interested, http://www.bookdepository.com/ has the books at a pretty good price, most of them 50% off if you don't have access to them through your local library or to some used books.

Anyways, cool story so far. Fast pace, a quick read, funny, and can get violent. Some good characters a dialogue too. Urban fantasy.

My favorite part so far is when Harry goes to Bianca's party in a vampire costume... I really laughed my ass off in that part.

So who else reads it? And if you do, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from spoiling until I've caught up. I hope to catch up within a month or two.

Elven books are out at the moment, with the twelth one coming out next year. I hear the series gets better by the book.

From Storm Front, the first novel:


Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is actually full of strange and magical things -- and most of them don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a -- well, whatever.

There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get... interesting.

Magic. It can get a guy killed.
http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/

[Sapphire]

I think Yuki likes this series, I haven't gotten around to it yet

[Munsu]

I think Yuki likes this series, I haven't gotten around to it yet
Yep, he's the one that recommended it. Go read it, seems like something you might enjoy.

[Sapphire]

I actually read the first few pages, but I didn't get into it. I'll try again!

[Yukimura]

You have to read more than the first few pages Sapphi :( Harry is awesome, he gets his ass kicked and runs out of juice pretty much every single book and has to earn his victories through grit and wits instead of just getting power up handouts like certain other characters.

[Sapphire]

Oh reaaaaaaalllyy. Tell me more..

[Belial]

Best set of books i have read in my life, can't wait for the 12th

if you like the writhing style you should also read Codex Alera from Jim Buther pretty good book 5/6 of them are out

[Munsu]

Well, just finished all the books that are out, and I have to say that I really have been enjoying this series... I might dare to say that is the series I've found most enjoyable from what I've read... although it hasn't been much (probably followed by Shadows of the Apt).

If you like this series, I'm going to recommend Child of Fire, which I also just finished reading, by a new author called Harry Connolly... it's the first of a series called Twenty Palaces:
http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9780345508898/Child-of-Fire

Anyways, the next book for Dresden is called Changes and it should come out next April. Can't wait.

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/9610/jimbutcherchanges.jpg

[Munsu]

Well, I just put Changes on pre-order.

One interesting thing I failed to notice was how each book title in this series is composed of two words of the same number of letters. This new book is promising to be a game changer in the series, and by the same token has deviated from the established book title patter by only having a single word... and it's called "Changes" to boot. So really looking forward to what Butcher does here.

Also worth noting that Jim Butcher recently released the final book of his other series Codex Alera. Interested in what he'll be doing next... more focus on Dresden? Start a new series? What he has done for the last 6 years or so has been quite impressive with the output of novels, and each novel of both series has improved from the previous one, so he hasn't missed a step.

[Belial]

Never noticed the 2 words same number of letters, but it can't be a coincidence 11 times in a row ^^

Don't know if you read the first the first sentence of Changes he has on his website, but yeah it sound like something bad and personal is going to happen

Doubt he will change the pace of Dresden series, and afaik there will be at least 20 books, so yeah another series is not out of the question but probably not in 2010

And yeah he works like crazy, in addition to the books there are 9 short stories and 1 novelette in the Dresden universe with 3 more short stories unreleased

Just 2 more months, can't wait

[Munsu]

Supposedly he'll be releasing an anthology with all his Dresden short-stories collected later on this year or something. Will be a good chance to check those out since I haven't:
http://jim-butcher.com/dresden/short/

And no, I haven't seen the first line of Changes. Can you link me to it?

Edit: Never mind, I found it and had seen it already.

By the way, go try the Vlad Taltos series from Brust... it might be something you enjoy.

[Munsu]

Just a reminder, Changes is coming out in a couple of weeks. For those that are interested on a sneak-peek, the first 3 chapters have been posted here:
http://jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/12/fullpreview.php

The 4th should be posted next Tuesday if not mistaken.

I'm reading them tonight, but please if anyone reads them don't put any spoilers here until the book is out, etc.

[Sapphire]

Munsu, give me incentive to pick up this series...

[Munsu]

Munsu, give me incentive to pick up this series...
Don't know what to say... easy quick reads, funny, plenty of action, and it gets better by the book (which is a rarirty). And Harry kicks ass.

[Yukimura]

I'm halfway through my reread of White Night in my effort to reread the entire series before Changes comes out. Such good times. Curse you for posting links to the first chapters Bud now i'm extremely tempted to read them early!!!!

[Munsu]

Well, I was tempted and completely sinned. Since the book is coming out soon it shouldn't really matter one way or the other, but after being without Dresden for a bit now I needed to say "Hi".

[xtallography]

I'm in the middle of the last book in Butcher's other series the Codex Alera and it is equally good. I like the excellent dialog between Dresden and the side characters like Marconi and fortunately that same style permeates the Alera series as well.

If you like Dresden then I'd recommend that too.

[Munsu]

I wouldn't go as far as say "equally good", and certainly I wouldn't recommend it for Dresden fans since they're quite different, but if you like Butcher it's certainly worth the look. The first book is weak though, but as with Dresden the series gets better by the book.

I'm still waiting for the last book to arrive, which should be on May.

For those that like Dresden, I think you might enjoy the Steven Brust series, Vlad Taltos... it has the same type of fun Dresden has. Though I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread.

Sorry for the double post, but chapter 4 is now up. Read it, and it was pretty awesome. Can't wait for Changes to come.

[Munsu]

Just got notified that my book is being shipped, from Amazon. By the way, the price seems to have dropped there to $9.99 plus shipping.

[Belial]

just finished "reading" Changes.. don't want to post any spoilers yet but boy did the title do the book justice :)

and don't if its because i have hyped the book the book in my mind before reading it so much or because i have read some good books in between, but it seemed over the top and not as good as the previous books for me

and the ending... oh the ending... don't think there has ever been such a cliffhanger ending... now another year of waiting :(

and btw. the closes book / series i came across that has a Dresden like vibe (the main char is a female Dresden if you ask me) is the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews... and a shame i can't find Vlad Taltos on audiobook form :(

[Munsu]

I'm reading Changes at the moment, halfway through and I'm loving it so far. Weird that you think it's not as good as the previous books, since most reactions I've seen around say this is probably the best in the series if not one of the best.

[Yukimura]

Just finished Changes, I'm probably hopped on excitement but I thought it was one of if not the best in the series for what I like about the series. The ending was among the theories I had for how things would turn out but it wasn't my front runner. Things most certainly can't go back to the way they were though and I can't wait to see what is in store for the Dresdenverse next.

According to someone on Amazon there is a short story that should be out sometime this winter set very soon after the end of Changes so the wait won't be a full year to find out more about what the next step is.

[Munsu]

Just finished Changes, I'm probably hopped on excitement but I thought it was one of if not the best in the series for what I like about the series. The ending was among the theories I had for how things would turn out but it wasn't my front runner. Things most certainly can't go back to the way they were though and I can't wait to see what is in store for the Dresdenverse next.

According to someone on Amazon there is a short story that should be out sometime this winter set very soon after the end of Changes so the wait won't be a full year to find out more about what the next step is.

Pretty much my opinion on it. What you're looking for is Side Jobs which will be released this October. It will include most of the short stories, novellas, novelletes that have already been released from the Dresden world and some that will be new.

The most important part is that it will include a short story from Murphy's POV, which will take place 45 minutes after the end of Changes. That story is called Aftermath I think. That alone makes this a must buy to me.

But man, I really loved Changes and to me was the best in the series. It's like everything that had been hinted about the Dresden character culminated here. And in no book has his character been more in the grey area, at times even on "The Dark Side", even if well intentioned at times.

A really good book, and looking forward to Side Jobs, and the next novel which by the looks of it will be released at the same time next year.

I'm also looking for what he will write next now that Codex Alera is done. I've heard about him toying with the idea of Space Cowboys or maybe something a bit scifi-ish, but we'll see.

[Yukimura]

I noticed a lot of anger going on in the Amazon forums about how the Susan situation played out and what it might/should mean about Harry. Do you think he should be thrust into a lake of fire for all eternity for what he did in those last seconds of the final battle or what? Will you lose respect for the character if he's ever even remotely happy again after doing what he's done?

[Munsu]

I noticed a lot of anger going on in the Amazon forums about how the Susan situation played out and what it might/should mean about Harry. Do you think he should be thrust into a lake of fire for all eternity for what he did in those last seconds of the final battle or what? Will you lose respect for the character if he's ever even remotely happy again after doing what he's done?
I'm spoiling here, you guy's have been warned:




No. First, even though he manipulated the situation, it was still Susan's choice to do so. It was also her choice to sacrifice herself. And ultimately it was all so they could save their child, so even though Harry screwed her over, he really did the right thing when all was said and done.

[Yukimura]

That's pretty much the same way I feel. I think Harry made a tough call but in the end I think it was either that or die along with Susan, the girl, and maybe even all of his pals. If anyone would sacrifice herself for the sake of her daughters survival I think it would be Susan.

[Munsu]

Spoilers again...



Who do you think shot Dresden? Do you think Kinkaid might have done it? Marcone? I think those two are the two most likely suspects, though I don't know how Ivy would feel about the possibility of Kinkaid shooting him. Do you think he actually dies just to get resurrected as the Winter Knight? Or do you think Mab simply takes him and heals him... not actually dying...?

[Belial]

spoilers....




99.9% sure Dresden is not dead since there will be 24 books, and at least 50% of why everybody reads Dresden reads if because of him... as for who shot him i honestly have no working theory, he has so many enemies that it could be any one of them or just some random hired thug finally got to him

as to what i didn't like about the book ... the battle with the red's ... i mean there were thousands of them there, not to mention the king and his 13, and they were at their seat of power, and MURPHY went through them like they were ants (sure she had a holy sword and all, but still) and no one got hurt but Moly and that was from a freaking gun shot wound.. makes me wonder what's next... sure there have been some impossible battles before against some powerful people but never on a scale with this low odds, i mean reds where pretty hyped, whey have been at war with the whole of the white council and even grapes of wizards vs reds and the wizards suffers heavy loses, here they seamsd less then cannon fodder

i know these were some o the main characters, but if he didn't what them to die, he should have had the white council step in (the Merlin did say he wanted to strike at them and this was the perfect chance), the battle would have been way more epic and "realistic" then

[Munsu]

spoilers....




99.9% sure Dresden is not dead since there will be 24 books, and at least 50% of why everybody reads Dresden reads if because of him... as for who shot him i honestly have no working theory, he has so many enemies that it could be any one of them or just some random hired thug finally got to him

as to what i didn't like about the book ... the battle with the red's ... i mean there were thousands of them there, not to mention the king and his 13, and they were at their seat of power, and MURPHY went through them like they were ants (sure she had a holy sword and all, but still) and no one got hurt but Moly and that was from a freaking gun shot wound.. makes me wonder what's next... sure there have been some impossible battles before against some powerful people but never on a scale with this low odds, i mean reds where pretty hyped, whey have been at war with the whole of the white council and even grapes of wizards vs reds and the wizards suffers heavy loses, here they seamsd less then cannon fodder

i know these were some o the main characters, but if he didn't what them to die, he should have had the white council step in (the Merlin did say he wanted to strike at them and this was the perfect chance), the battle would have been way more epic and "realistic" then

Well of course he isn't dead dead, but that doesn't mean that he can't die and somehow get resurrected because of Mab or some crap.

Secondly, you're underestimating the holy swords and more importantly under estimating the Godmother. If it weren't for her, they would've lost. In fact, Dresden himself had seen the futility during the fight and pretty much gave up at one point, only the Godmother got involved and disrupted the nasty spell that the Red King was going to throw at them.

Also, you're forgetting that the way the Red's have been killing Wizards is through ambushes, rarely if ever have they come on top in a straight fight. Dresden has been saying it through the whole series, give a wizard time to breathe and prepare for what it's to come, and you'll be sorry.

And you're forgetting that the Grey Council, or at least a portion of it came... forgot the details and can't corraborate, but at the very least the Black Staff was there, who is probably the most powerful offensive practitioner of the White Council... and as alluded, he has clearly done some sort of bargain that makes him kill with a lot of ease.

And last but not least, it's Dresden himself armed with Soulfire, an armor provided by the Godmother (again you're underestimating that), and whatever powers he was given during the fight for being the Winter Knight.

So in all, as much as the odds were stacked against them, this small group was a complete powerhouse that shouldn't be underestimated. And don't forget Mouse.

[Yukimura]

Muse alone is pretty epic, I'm hoping Butcher will build more on the revelations about Mouse's nature and true abilities in the next book or two. It was awesome hearing him talking trash to Lea like a stone cold badass after all the times he's been portrayed as a lovable dog that just happened to be death on wheels to any bad guys.

I could buy the Knight and pseudo-Knight holding their own though, Michael killed a freaking Dragon by himself and in my mind one on one Dragons should be at the top of pretty much any supernatural food chain. The explanation that the Grey Council was drawing the bulk of the vampires attention seemed a bit of a stretch but it seemed sane enough that I could buy it especially given that I didn't think that much time passed between the end of the duel and the climax of the battle.

Anyway as for who shot Dresden my first thought was also Kincaid possibly on Ivy's orders but I felt like he would have hit him in the head not the heart. My money would probably be on some agent of Summer trying to make a play on him before he could really settle in to his role as Winter Knight. Titania is probably still sore about what he did to Aurora plus how he got away from her hit squad and did what Mab wanted done in Small Favor. I don't recall us finding out why Summer wanted to interfere with the retrieval of the Archive so badly beyond that Mab wanted it done. Also there hasn't been a Winter Knight for at least 8 years or so and maybe Summer has grown comfortable with that arrangement and isn't too keen on the status quo changing up.

[Munsu]

Cover and title for the next Dresden:

Ghost Story

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/2001/gscoverlg.jpg


Side Jobs will be released in October 26 and it'll contain:


"Restoration of Faith"
"Vignette"
"Something Borrowed" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
"It's My Birthday Too" -- from Many Bloody Returns
"Heorot" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon
"Day Off" -- from Blood Lite
Backup -- novelette from Thomas' POV, originally published by Subterranean Press
The Warrior -- novelette from Mean Streets
"Last Call" -- from Strange Brew
"Love Hurts" -- from Songs of Love and Death
Aftermath -- post-Changes novelette from Murphy's POV, EXCLUSIVE to this anthology!
http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000376.php

There's also Dark and Stormy Knights which will be released this month and it'll contain a short story called "Even Hand" which will be a John Marcone POV.

[Munsu]

Any of you guys planning on getting Side Jobs?

It's supposed to come out in the 26th, but it seems to be already shipping. My book is on its way.

[xtallography]

I was planning on grabbing a copy just for "Aftermath". Looks like I can't download it for the Kindle until the 26th.

[Prof. Chaos]

Damn, I just started reading them a few weeks ago. I've already blown through the first 5 around 3 weeks and already 3/4 though the 6th book. Stupid library is slowing me down with all the reserves placed on them.

[Belial]

Just finished reading aftermath, it's the only one i haven't read before, and i must say i like it very much although not what i expected


spoilers down don't read if you haven't read aftermath:


























Loved Murphy's POV and seeing how she sees Dresden and "martian grunting", looks like the Felorians are going to become a major player in future books... this description of the shot makes me lean toward Kinkaid as the killer, tho i have no idea why

[Munsu]

Forgot to mention that I read Side Jobs a while back and although I enjoyed it, I'm not really a short story kind of guy. As for Aftermath it was fun, certainly not what I was expecting from it, more of an adventure type. I found Murphy's reaction a bit odd, but I'll leave it at that.

Anyways, Ghost Story is about a month away, and here are 3 sample chapters for those interested:

http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/ghost-story/ghost-story-chapter-1
http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/ghost-story/ghost-story-chapter-2
http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/ghost-story/ghost-story-chapter-3

They plan on posting 2 more chapters before the book comes out.

[Belial]

Just finished reading Ghost Story and it was a great book, i couldn't stop reading... especially at the end of the chapter, it's the worst place to stop... almost always ends with a cliffhanger

Won't comment about details because this forum has no spoiler button, but there is only 1 thing i didn't like in the book witch speaks for itself :)

Welcome back good old Dresden, wiser then before and i hope it only gets better and better

and yeah it sux big time that James Masters couldn't read the audiobook :(

[Yukimura]

I just finished as well. I liked it, while though I did feel it was a lot of 'recap' and soul examination with the actual conflict sort of tacked on. But I am still firmly supportive of Butcher and am willing to write this off as a sort of interlude chapter after the clusterfuck of activity that occured in Changes. It felt like he was having Harry level up his Wisdom modifier so that he could better handle whatever he plans to throw at him in the second half of the series. I look anxiously forward to the next book as it only took me about 4 days to burn through this one :(.

[Munsu]

Ah, you jackasses beat me to it. I'm about 100 pages from finishing it. Will read your posts after I'm done.

[xtallography]

Had to finish up Martin's Dance with Dragons first before tackling this guy. The book was... okay. I guess up until now every new book has had Harry gaining power and blowing crap up. Instead of adding a little bit of wisdom at a time Butcher decides to focus almost solely on that for an entire book. Classic descriptive Butcher for the beach storming but all in all kinda sleepy otherwise. I guess when you are used to him blowing things to hell and back you kinda look forward to it and when it doesn't happen it's a bit of a let down.

Speculative question with a spoiler:

It will be interesting to see how long Butcher has Harry away from Chicago and his friends still thinking that he's dead in the next book.

[Abdula]

Just got Cold Days. About to begin one of life's ultimate pleasures.

[Munsu]

Just got Cold Days. About to begin one of life's ultimate pleasures.

Mine shipped 2 days ago, hope it arrives soon. I hope it's better than Ghost Story, which was a disappointment I thought.

[Abdula]

Ghost Story wasn't so much a disappointment to me since I didn't have such high expectations in the first place. The book was kinda dull though and just not on the scale we had gotten used to in the last few books. I was recently rereading the previous books, I usually do so right before another one comes out, and Ghost Story feels like Storm Front. The pace was kinda slow, there wasn't that much going on and there wasn't any overarching scenarios going on in the background like the war. Only about 150 pages into Cold Days so far and Dresden is definitely Dresden again. I'm not going to give anything away but so far the book reminds me of Summer Knight, the reason should be obvious, and Dresden is back to being a pawn again.

[Munsu]

Ghost Story wasn't so much a disappointment to me since I didn't have such high expectations in the first place. The book was kinda dull though and just not on the scale we had gotten used to in the last few books. I was recently rereading the previous books, I usually do so right before another one comes out, and Ghost Story feels like Storm Front. The pace was kinda slow, there wasn't that much going on and there wasn't any overarching scenarios going on in the background like the war. Only about 150 pages into Cold Days so far and Dresden is definitely Dresden again. I'm not going to give anything away but so far the book reminds me of Summer Knight, the reason should be obvious, and Dresden is back to being a pawn again.


From what I've seen around, Cold Days looks like it'll be a good one, plenty seem to been loving it. My copy arrives next week.

[xtallography]

Already downloaded and reading... so far it is interesting

[Abdula]

Finished it yesterday, damn those books are way too short, I was reading very slowly too. I compared it to Summer Knight and after finishing it I think the comparison was right on. Great way to follow up Changes too with even more changes. Freaking great book, I had only two issues with it and neither of them are a big deal. Really looking forward to the next on.

[Belial]

Finished today, now for a year long wait :(

it was a good book, but yeah it had some things i did not in the least, hope to see some characters we did not see in this one in the next