THE DRESDEN FILES

About 8 years ago my friend Jeff recommended that I read the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher, as they were similar to what I was writing at the time.  I never did.

Now, with a new job that allows me to listen to headphones up to 6 hours a day, I have to find new things to listen to.  A few weeks back I decided to give the Dresden Files a shot, and I am so fucking glad I did.  I am now anxiously waiting for the fifth book to be released in audiobook format this week.

Before we get into the review, congrats to Jim Butcher.  The latest entry into this great series has hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list.  Fuckin’ A.

The Dresden Files books are an amalgam of the hard-boiled detective story and speculative fantasy.  Our hero, Harry Dresden is a private investigator, who happens to be Chicago’s only practicing wizard.  He takes on cases that are outside the realm of your typical PI, as well as consulting the Chicago Police Department’s Special Investigations department.  What we end up with are detective stories involving murderous sorcerers, vampires, werewolves, and war-mongering faeries.

As is typical of the Hard-Boiled detective novel, the Dresden Files books are written in the first person, from the perspective of Harry Dresden himself.  Dresden is a bit of a smart-ass, a hopeless chauvinist (he calls it chivalry), and a compulsive do-gooder.  He is surrounded by a supporting cast that includes a team of vigilante lycanthropes, an ass-kicking female police lieutenant, a carpenter who spends his spare time as God’s enforcing knight, and a love interest in a journalist turned vampire killer.

One of my favorite things about the Dresden files is Butcher’s description of the mechanics of Dresden’s magic.  Despite Dresden’s great power, he cannot always just “magic” his way out of dangerous situations, and the limitations are logically defined.  Thus Butcher is able to put his characters in real danger without shattering the suspension of disbelief.

The only flaw in the Dresden Files I’ve found thus far is the flaw inherent in most detective stories I’ve read: the story sometimes requires great leaps of intuition on the part of the detective in order to resolve a case.  But, I guess that’s why they are detectives.

While the stories stand on their own as great fantasy literature, the audiobooks add another asset: James Marsters, aka Spike of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame.  As the official narrator of the Dresden books, his readings go beyond mere recital.  His skill as an actor only adds to the enjoyment of the stories.

With 11 books under his belt and a total of 23 planned, The Dresden Files novels offer plenty of entertainment value, and the promise of more to come.