emm_starr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
reeniecrystal's review against another edition
4.0
(Minor spoilers)
"The Dresden Files" was a book series I stumbled across while doing my usual hobby-researching of mythology. I'm not a big fan of detective novels — they tend to feel samey to me, and a lot don't even try to be a mystery — but the worldbuilding and characters I read on the Wikipedia pages sounded really interesting, so eventually I decided to give it a try. While I usually try to avoid other people's reviews before picking up a book beyond getting a general sense of whether or not it's unreadable, I did stumble on some of the reviews and complaints here, and will address my own reactions to them amongst other things here.
Praise:
- Harry was a pleasant surprise for me. I expected him to be another "hard-boiled, jaded PI" monologuing to himself in the alley shadows with a gravelly voice about how none of his cases are worth his time and yet he still does them anyway for some reason, a cliche in detective fiction I find insufferable (it's one of those character types that can only really be done well once, and every time afterwards is beating a dead horse.) Instead, I found Harry to be not only likable, but pretty relateable despite the two of us being very different people on the surface. He has a very casual and yet engaging voice (the novels are from his first person perspective) and behavior that reminds me a lot of my own inner thought voice; simple, but not simplistic. Lofty when it needs to be, but never pretentious. Sometimes hyperactive, sometimes self-deprecating, sometimes tongue-in-cheek. I can see this being a turn-off for more ambitious readers, but it makes for a good fun romp sort of read that you can still get invested in. Harry's less the dark figure you wonder about and more your silly friend or acquaintance (though he does have his dark moments, as all good characters do), which is certainly not a bad thing. You can see yourself in him, and you want to see him succeed.
- The worldbuilding is turning out pretty good so far like I'd hoped, though it obviously hasn't gotten too big yet due to being the first book. I like how Jim Butcher went for pretty easily understood and believable rules for magic in addition to drawing upon well-known mythological rules, as I feel that a lot of fantasy tends to get carried away with trying to make their magical systems seem unique (I'm guilty of this myself.) That isn't to say that there are no unique ideas here, just that they're not ideas you need to buy an entire "The World of..." supplemental guidebook to wrap your head around or remember.
I like that this is one of those books that just assumes the reader already knows a basic amount about the mythology being presented here — because let's face it, if you're reading this book, there's a 99% chance you do — and thus doesn't waste your time giving Encyclopedia Britannica-esque explanations for what you're seeing. You know what a wizard is, you know what a vampire is, you know what the fae are, let's move on. The only exception is when a unique addition to the mythology is being added, i.e. when it's actually needed, and these are always welcome. A good example of all I've said is the bit about vampires being repelled by any symbol that the bearer puts personal faith in, not just crosses in particular — a fairly unique spin on things, but one that's not too complicated or "out there."
- Story was pretty solid as a standalone while still leaving a lot of open ends for the future books. This book really does function as a sort of "pilot episode," more of an experiment for the author and a small sample taste of what's to come. Nothing grandiose yet, the book doesn't expect you to make large commitments just yet, but it promises you that it will be trying big things if you give it a chance.
Critique:
- This could just be my notoriously low libido talking, but the book tries a little too hard to push the "sexy" angle. This is actually one way that Harry's aforementioned casual and simple tone works against things, as the language here doesn't really have the kind of poetic subtlety needed to make something seem actually erotic, you're just sort of bluntly told that this person or that thing is very, very sexy and you should definitely be aroused right now. It's definitely not anywhere near as bad as other media can get (looking at you, anime) but it is a noticeable flaw that can take you out of things.
- The treatment of women in this book has been a note of controversy here and in other places, so it's inevitable that it came up here. In a nutshell, while I can definitely see the problems that people are talking about, I don't think it's irredeemable. The book is guilty of focusing on the female characters' physical attractiveness to a disproportionate degree, they're a bit too emotional at times, and so far none of them seem to have particularly complex personalities (but then again, virtually no characters but Harry do this early on, female or otherwise.) The aforementioned attempted sexiness plays a lot into this too, as you can count the number of women who aren't sexualized in some way or another on one finger. Harry mentions several times that he is "old fashioned" and sometimes says or does blatantly sexist things, though other characters do call him out on this and it wasn't ever done in a way that struck me as overtly misogynistic, mostly benevolent sexism kind of stuff. The worst it really gets is when Harry suspects that the killer is a woman because "women are better at hating," though once again he is called out on this, and he actually turns out to be wrong.
All that said, I feel like there's enough good stuff here that this aspect could very easily be improved in subsequent books. The humanity of the female characters isn't neglected (the scene where Harry sadly relates to Linda's loneliness through the multiple pizza boxes in her garbage was pretty empathetic and touching) and they do have personality ticks and shticks that can be built on. I'd have to see how future books evolve and treat the women to make a more firm conclusion. Jim Butcher strikes me not as someone who has any disrespect or hatred towards women, not any more so than the average person, just someone who wasn't thinking particularly hard about his writing (which he admitted to in an interview) and maybe just swung a little too hard on the sex appeal. There's room for improvement, but it can improve, and that's the important part.
"When I finally got tired of arguing with her and decided to write a novel as if I [were] some kind of formulaic, genre-writing drone, just to prove to her how awful it would be, I wrote the first book of the Dresden Files." — Jim Butcher in "A Conversation with Jim Butcher", 2004
All in all, "Storm Front" is a pretty solid stab for what was a relatively new author at the time. All the problems and potential problems I saw were fairly common for newer writers, and can be easily corrected with a little more practice and greater investment. It's not much to get too excited or obsessed about so far, but I'd definitely recommend it and I'll be giving the other books a chance. It really could go either way at this point, but I'm mostly leaning toward positive.
Four out of five stars: Not amazing, but it's not trying to be. Fun in its own right. Has a lot of potential to be something big.
"The Dresden Files" was a book series I stumbled across while doing my usual hobby-researching of mythology. I'm not a big fan of detective novels — they tend to feel samey to me, and a lot don't even try to be a mystery — but the worldbuilding and characters I read on the Wikipedia pages sounded really interesting, so eventually I decided to give it a try. While I usually try to avoid other people's reviews before picking up a book beyond getting a general sense of whether or not it's unreadable, I did stumble on some of the reviews and complaints here, and will address my own reactions to them amongst other things here.
Praise:
- Harry was a pleasant surprise for me. I expected him to be another "hard-boiled, jaded PI" monologuing to himself in the alley shadows with a gravelly voice about how none of his cases are worth his time and yet he still does them anyway for some reason, a cliche in detective fiction I find insufferable (it's one of those character types that can only really be done well once, and every time afterwards is beating a dead horse.) Instead, I found Harry to be not only likable, but pretty relateable despite the two of us being very different people on the surface. He has a very casual and yet engaging voice (the novels are from his first person perspective) and behavior that reminds me a lot of my own inner thought voice; simple, but not simplistic. Lofty when it needs to be, but never pretentious. Sometimes hyperactive, sometimes self-deprecating, sometimes tongue-in-cheek. I can see this being a turn-off for more ambitious readers, but it makes for a good fun romp sort of read that you can still get invested in. Harry's less the dark figure you wonder about and more your silly friend or acquaintance (though he does have his dark moments, as all good characters do), which is certainly not a bad thing. You can see yourself in him, and you want to see him succeed.
- The worldbuilding is turning out pretty good so far like I'd hoped, though it obviously hasn't gotten too big yet due to being the first book. I like how Jim Butcher went for pretty easily understood and believable rules for magic in addition to drawing upon well-known mythological rules, as I feel that a lot of fantasy tends to get carried away with trying to make their magical systems seem unique (I'm guilty of this myself.) That isn't to say that there are no unique ideas here, just that they're not ideas you need to buy an entire "The World of..." supplemental guidebook to wrap your head around or remember.
I like that this is one of those books that just assumes the reader already knows a basic amount about the mythology being presented here — because let's face it, if you're reading this book, there's a 99% chance you do — and thus doesn't waste your time giving Encyclopedia Britannica-esque explanations for what you're seeing. You know what a wizard is, you know what a vampire is, you know what the fae are, let's move on. The only exception is when a unique addition to the mythology is being added, i.e. when it's actually needed, and these are always welcome. A good example of all I've said is the bit about vampires being repelled by any symbol that the bearer puts personal faith in, not just crosses in particular — a fairly unique spin on things, but one that's not too complicated or "out there."
- Story was pretty solid as a standalone while still leaving a lot of open ends for the future books. This book really does function as a sort of "pilot episode," more of an experiment for the author and a small sample taste of what's to come. Nothing grandiose yet, the book doesn't expect you to make large commitments just yet, but it promises you that it will be trying big things if you give it a chance.
Critique:
- This could just be my notoriously low libido talking, but the book tries a little too hard to push the "sexy" angle. This is actually one way that Harry's aforementioned casual and simple tone works against things, as the language here doesn't really have the kind of poetic subtlety needed to make something seem actually erotic, you're just sort of bluntly told that this person or that thing is very, very sexy and you should definitely be aroused right now. It's definitely not anywhere near as bad as other media can get (looking at you, anime) but it is a noticeable flaw that can take you out of things.
- The treatment of women in this book has been a note of controversy here and in other places, so it's inevitable that it came up here. In a nutshell, while I can definitely see the problems that people are talking about, I don't think it's irredeemable. The book is guilty of focusing on the female characters' physical attractiveness to a disproportionate degree, they're a bit too emotional at times, and so far none of them seem to have particularly complex personalities (but then again, virtually no characters but Harry do this early on, female or otherwise.) The aforementioned attempted sexiness plays a lot into this too, as you can count the number of women who aren't sexualized in some way or another on one finger. Harry mentions several times that he is "old fashioned" and sometimes says or does blatantly sexist things, though other characters do call him out on this and it wasn't ever done in a way that struck me as overtly misogynistic, mostly benevolent sexism kind of stuff. The worst it really gets is when Harry suspects that the killer is a woman because "women are better at hating," though once again he is called out on this, and he actually turns out to be wrong.
All that said, I feel like there's enough good stuff here that this aspect could very easily be improved in subsequent books. The humanity of the female characters isn't neglected (the scene where Harry sadly relates to Linda's loneliness through the multiple pizza boxes in her garbage was pretty empathetic and touching) and they do have personality ticks and shticks that can be built on. I'd have to see how future books evolve and treat the women to make a more firm conclusion. Jim Butcher strikes me not as someone who has any disrespect or hatred towards women, not any more so than the average person, just someone who wasn't thinking particularly hard about his writing (which he admitted to in an interview) and maybe just swung a little too hard on the sex appeal. There's room for improvement, but it can improve, and that's the important part.
"When I finally got tired of arguing with her and decided to write a novel as if I [were] some kind of formulaic, genre-writing drone, just to prove to her how awful it would be, I wrote the first book of the Dresden Files." — Jim Butcher in "A Conversation with Jim Butcher", 2004
All in all, "Storm Front" is a pretty solid stab for what was a relatively new author at the time. All the problems and potential problems I saw were fairly common for newer writers, and can be easily corrected with a little more practice and greater investment. It's not much to get too excited or obsessed about so far, but I'd definitely recommend it and I'll be giving the other books a chance. It really could go either way at this point, but I'm mostly leaning toward positive.
Four out of five stars: Not amazing, but it's not trying to be. Fun in its own right. Has a lot of potential to be something big.
travis434's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sofiadarcie's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
appleloaf_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mcc's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
OK I picked up this book solely on the fact that James Marsters narrated. Imagine my surprise when I started listening and it was some American guy and not the beloved voice of Spike from Buffy. Well of course James Marsters is an American actor, but would teenage me know that? No. Anyway, it took a bit to get over the shock, but then his voice was sooooo delightful. I loved how it wasn't overly edited and you could hear him breath and swallow - that sounds really weird, but it was very much like listening to someone read you a bedtime story.
The story itself is ok. I like the premise a lot - detective noir mixed with magic. But maybe the author takes the detective noir thing a bit too far because the protagonist is a real misogynistic asshole so it was pretty cringey left and right. Or maybe that's just why I tend to stay away from a lot of old detective stuff, I just don't have the stomach for it.
So 5* for James Marsters narration, 4* for the concept, probably 2* for the story/execution.
The story itself is ok. I like the premise a lot - detective noir mixed with magic. But maybe the author takes the detective noir thing a bit too far because the protagonist is a real misogynistic asshole so it was pretty cringey left and right. Or maybe that's just why I tend to stay away from a lot of old detective stuff, I just don't have the stomach for it.
So 5* for James Marsters narration, 4* for the concept, probably 2* for the story/execution.
etceteras's review against another edition
3.0
This was fun. Not amazing, but a fast, fun read if you’re into urban fantasy. I’ll probably continue with the series because I’ve heard it gets better and I’m curious. A lot of urban fantasy I’ve read has started out pretty good, but gotten progressively worse. This one is supposed to start kind of weak but get better over time, so I want to see if that holds true for me.
lakecake's review against another edition
3.0
Good first book in a series--I'll read some more! Reminds me of the Anita Blake series.
bluumage's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great book. Great world building, mystery and magic.
hquin's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5*
it lacked in some parts, but it was a really good start to a series!
it lacked in some parts, but it was a really good start to a series!