bookslikegranola's review

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2.5

A lot of promise in the world, but a patina of sexism makes it fairly unpalatable. 

I've heard the later Dresden books are quite good and worth pushing through the first few rough books. The graphic novel was nice way to quickly consume to story to move onto better stories. Still unsure if I'll continue with either the comics or books.

wouter_pieterse's review

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2.0

Harry Dresden is a wizard. The only wizard in the yellow pages, as is repeated like it is a gimmicky remark of his. A present day wizard acting like a kind of Private Investigator.

And for anyone remembering the tv-series Magnum P.I. I think that is quite a good association to have. It is a combination of fast paced action and humor, but to me it was a bit outdated and mouldy.

The villainous characters are hardly developed, they are just evil, female characters are introduced scrutinized by a male gaze, and the lonely hero overcomes absurd odds by willpower, strength and cunningness.

It was a quick read, but I’m not gonna binge the series.

joabroda's review

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adventurous funny medium-paced

3.0

Meet Harry Dresden-Wizard extraordinaire, Paranormal PI and all around nice guy. I liked Harry, but I did not fall in love with him. *Sigh* I wanted to.

This is a first book in a series, taking place in Chicago. Harry works as a "For Hire Gumshoe" and a consultant for the Chicago PD. In this first case of the series, there is Black Magic stewing in the city and Harry means to find the source and stop it.

Urban Fantasy is not my favorite genre, but this one called to me. It was fun, but in places Butcher got way too wordy for me. When that happens The stars I give start getting knocked down. I plan to continue the series, I just won't be jumping on it right away. It was good for me Harry, just not great.

christine_s's review

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4.0

Love the story, but not a huge fan of the art. They are staying uber true to the novel, which I appricate.

literaturenut's review

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3.0

I liked this book, but I wasn't as impressed as I expected to be. I certainly am not hooked. And what's more, I thought it was a little on the predictable side. But I enjoyed it enough that I will pick up the next one.

jameseckman's review

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3.0

Decent urban fantasy. I will read more.

britt82's review

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5.0

I couldn't put this one down- I finished it in less than a day! If you're looking for a book with literary value, this is not the one for you. But if you're looking for a fast-paced fantasy detective/mystery novel, give this one a try. Well-written with interesting characters and a great story. I'll definitely be reading more by Mr. Butcher.

brownbetty's review

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3.0

Okay, so, this book's big problem for me was that I didn't like Harry Dresdon. Seeing as how he's not only the protagonist, but the book's narrator, this pretty much destroyed any chance of me liking the book. His style of explaining all his decisions rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps worst, though, Harry is the kind of man who will say things like "The thing about women, is--" at which point it hardly matters how he finishes the statement, I'm going to be annoyed.

So, I can't recommend it, but the reasons it didn't work for me were mostly personal. I would have given it two stars to reflect my enjoyment of it, but bumped it up another star, in an attempt to be fair.
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