Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.
Harry Dresden, wizard, consults for the Chicago P.D. and when a double homicide with clear signs of a supernatural cause is brought to him, he thinks he's finally found a way out of his financial slump. However, it proves even more dangerous than he could have imagined. It's black magic, cast by a wizard of tremendous power and all the while, he has the Doom of Damocles hanging over his head. One wrong move and Harry is dead.
This was one of the many hundreds of books that has been on my list for a long time. In 2007, The Dresden Files aired on Sky One. I fell in love with it so inevitably, it was cancelled after the first series. I have that effect on things.
So when I discovered that it was based on a series of books, I was delighted.
This first book is a brilliant introduction to the series. It crafts the characters well and eases you into this world of magic. I'm a huge fan of the wise-ass, dry-quipping detective and Harry ticks almost all the boxes, leading to more than a few laugh out loud moments.
Smiling always seems to annoy people more than actually insulting them. Or maybe I just have an annoying smile.
In comparison to the television series, I am loving Harry Dresden as much as I did onscreen. Murphy, however, I'm not settled on so much in the books. She seems almost needlessly aggressive for the sake of being a 'strong' character. However, I'm not writing her off just yet. It was a good introduction and I'm keen to see where Jim Butcher will take her.
Jim Butcher's magic system rehashes the classic ideas of Latin spell casting and potion making but done in an appealing way. And with a bit of bureaucracy thrown in with the White Council.
Minor Criticism
Though while this is a great first book, the plot itself wasn't anything new or riveting. But it was a nice, easy read and kept me hooked to the end. It's an easy book to dash off in a day.
So while I wasn't blown away, I'm still looking forward to the rest of the series as I liked the style and I can see great scope for this to become a really gritty, urban fantasy series. Which obviously it has done!
Conclusion
My rating on this is a solid Four Stars. Recommended to anyone looking for a new urban fantasy series with a guaranteed number of books ahead if you enjoy the first!
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