Rating: 
Summary: a mixed bag for me!
Review: I really like the idea for this series. A wizard PI (Private Investigator) is a great premise and mostly I found the book enjoyable and real page-turner. However some things irritated me, like a couple other reviewers have mentioned (I'm obviously part of the the minority here due to the wave of glowing reviews here). Namely some plot holes, lack of realistic motivation for some of the character actions. Also Harry Dresden, the first person narrator, seemed a bit too smug in his world-view. After a particularly rough day on the job, Harry ends a chapter with "Do I have a great job or what?" Instead of coming across as a comedic or ironic counter-point to the obvious depression and despair Harry is feeling at the time, it comes across as a bit whiny, cliched and too cute. Sometimes I cringe at the lines Harry utters. Maybe I just read to many PI novels so Harry Dresden seems like a bad cross between the wise-cracking Elvis Cole from Robert Crais books, and the hard-hitting Heronymous Bosch from Michael Connelly series, except without as much humor and toughness from either character (both great series btw). Having read the gritty but fabulous sci-fi noir book, Altered Carbon, featuring Takeshi Kovacs, probably didn't help me endear myself to Harry Dresden either.The other point I want to make is the lack of intelligence I sometimes feel from Harry Dresden. Often a good PI character is more insightful or more crafty and generally more "with-it" than the reader but a couple times in this book I went "huh, why didn't you do this instead." Case in point, Harry comes across a certain piece of evidence, two duplicate tiny containers if you will.(I don't want to write any spoilers so I'm deliberately vague here). One container holding something important, the other one empty. At one point in the story he reluctantly has to trade the full container to person in exchange for information. During the converstation, Harry, as a form of payback, uses his magic to destroy the container with fire thus foiling the informant's hopes to use it for personal wealth. I'm thinking if Harry is such a high powered wizard, why didn't he trick the person and give the empty container to the person and keep the full one for himself, especially since Harry ends up destroying the traded item anyway before the informant can open and check the container. What Harry destroys would be vital I would think, to his case and to Murphy, his cop friend. Anyway, despite this I'm curious enough that I'll pick up the next book. The action in the book was nicely depicted and got me turning the pages in the latter half of the book. I hope Harry Dresden's character gets "smarter" and more insightful in the next novels. Sometimes its painful to read the events through Harry Dresden's eyes, especially after reading some books from masters of PI/Noir type novels. Check out a Raymond Chandler, James Ellroy, or Andrew Vachss book for some tough PI characters. Or for some truly funny PI's, check out the Elvis Cole series from Robert Crais, or the PI novels from Kinky Friedman. If those are too traditional and you want a mix of fantasy, horror or sci-fi. Read Joe R. Lansdale's Hap Collins-Leonard Pine series for tex-horror, or Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs sci-fi novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Sam Spade, Plus Sorcery
Review: Harry Dresden figures he's "the only openly practicing professional wizard" in the USA. Home is present-day Chicago, where he lives in a basement apartment with an enormous cat named Mister and an air spirit named Bob. The latter spends most of its time bound into an otherwise untenanted human skull in Harry's lab, serving as sidekick and wizardly alternative to a computer, what with magic and electronics being pretty much mutually exclusive concepts. His caseload isn't exactly overwhelming, but Harry ekes out a living in paranormal investigations, finding lost things, and occasional police consulting jobs. As Storm Front opens, he actually gets two cases at once: tracing a misplaced husband, and checking out a pair of grisly homicides. As the plot unfolds to a fiery climax, it encompasses a third murder, a new designer drug, a vampire madam, a mob boss and henchmen, a toad-demon, several golem scorpions, and a renegade wizard. Not necessarily in that order. Then there's the whole business about the White Council-sort of a wizardly regulatory board-coming after Harry for violating his probation from a prior offense. And this is only the first book of a proposed series. Harry has been compared to Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake. Both operate in a contemporary Midwestern setting that would be completely unremarkable except for magic and paranormal beings coexisting with the rest of society. Both use magic professionally. Both are police consultants. In Harry's universe, though, the paranormal stuff is much more closeted; few folks are even aware of wizards and such. Fewer still are willing to openly acknowledge their legitimacy, which puts quite a crimp in Harry's career ambitions. Butcher's writing is also less dark and gruesome than Hamilton's, and-so far at least-Harry has managed to avoid any sexual entanglement with dead things or animals. Harry could equally well be compared with Glen Cook's Garrett or Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos, though both operate in a decidedly non-earth universe, and Garrett's no wizard while Vlad's no detective. All live as much by their wits as their training. All exhibit a world-weary, wise-cracking style. All are singularly unimpressed by bullies and other abusers of power, on either side of the law. And all have sidekicks who sometimes seem like more trouble than they're worth. Butcher's prose is clean and direct, his plotting tight, his characters believable, and his magic well-thought-out. Storm Front is equal parts gumshoe and fantasy: Sam Spade, plus sorcery. On occasion, the situations are just a bit too pat, too contrived to sustain the willing suspension of disbelief, but those are easily forgiven as events move along. Some readers may be put off by a sense that, with all his purported wizardly power and skill, Harry really ought to be in better control of his day-to-day life. Still, Butcher gives plenty of hints that there's more to discover about Harry and his universe, and the quality of storytelling in this debut novel should leave most readers looking forward to the next installment.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: I'd never read this auther before,but i'm very glad I did. I have a new favorite auther.
I would recommend this to anyone who like's this styl of book. A modern day wizard who's "in the book"-a new twist on an old theam.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful! A Magical Mystery!
Review: "Storm Front" by Jim Butcher is the first book in a promising new series that already has me hooked. Butcher has come up with a fun and entertaining idea, and has crafted likable characters that readers can root for. Harry Dresden is a wonderful creation and I look forward to many more adventures with him. "Storm Front" introduces Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, who is currently having trouble making ends meet. You'd think that being the only "out" wizard in the country would mean Harry was in demand, but unfortunately, people in the 21st century would rather pretend those unsettling things that science can't explain aren't really there. Then Harry gets what he believes to be a stroke of luck - a woman whose husband has disappeared wants to hire Harry to find him AND his friend Lieutenant Karrin Murphy with Special Investigations in the Chicago PD calls Harry in to consult on a murder case. Two paying jobs in one day has Harry thinking that things are looking up, but in truth, Harry's trouble is only just beginning. The murder scene Murphy shows to Harry has him feeling distinctly nervous. Someone very powerful has used Black Magic to murder two people in a violent and horrifying way, and the only way Harry can help Murphy is to figure out the spell the killer used. Not a good idea when Harry is already under the Doom of Damocles, a kind of magic probation, from the all-powerful White Council, whose job it is to ensure that those who abuse magic are dealt with swiftly and permanently. Morgan, the White Council representative monitoring Harry, would just love to nail him for messing with Black Magic. And Morgan and the White Council aren't Harry's only problem. Gentleman Johnny Marcone, Chicago's top mob boss, warns Harry to keep his nose out of this case, which of course Harry can't do. Especially when he somehow becomes the top suspect in these Black Magic murders. Now Harry has to get to work fast and find the real wizard who is committing these atrocities, otherwise, Harry's not going to live to see another week! Butcher crafts an original and compelling mystery, and readers will become utterly wrapped up in Harry's dilemma. In the course of his investigation, Harry runs into all kinds of supernatural beasties, including faeries, demons, vampires, and giant scorpions! Add in Harry's hilarious assistant, Bob, an air spirit with an overactive libido who lives in a human skull and just a dash of romance and you have the recipe for a wonderful and exciting read. "Storm Front" is an amazingly good book considering that it is Jim Butcher's first. I became an instant fan of Butcher while reading this book, and intend to read the rest of the series very soon. "Storm Front" contains a suspenseful and well-written mystery, but at the same time, Harry Dresden has a wonderful self-depreciating sense of humour that got quite a few chuckles out of me. If you enjoy mysteries or fantasy writing of any kind, give "Storm Front" a try, you'll like it a lot!
Rating:
Summary: When's the next one due!
Review: Finally, I've found myself another series to covet that contains some of my favorite things: magic, fairies, vampires, a likeable hero and just the right mix of humor, action and gore! Harry Dresden's like a lot of us. He struggles to pay his rent, his love life bites, he lives with a cat and his wisecracking attitude often lands him trouble. Oh, and he just happens to be a wizard and shares his basement with a talking and meddlesome skull named Bob. Harry makes his living doing things like helping the general public find their keys and/or lost spouses and also works with the local police department on their "weird" cases. Just when things are looking really bleak money-wise Harry's business starts to pick up in a big way. He's asked to investigate a gruesome double homicide on the same day that he receives a call from a woman willing to him pay big bucks to locate her husband. During Harry's investigation he calls in help from a cool little fairy named Toot-toot and draws the attention of the White Council - a group who exist to ensure that magic is not misused. Years earlier Harry disobeyed one of their laws and had the "Doom of Damocles" placed upon him and if he is caught using black magic again, no matter how dire the situation, he will be put to death. And, as if all that weren't nerve-wracking enough, Harry has also ticked off a mob boss and a vampiress! This is a fast-paced, action packed read that I didn't just couldn't put down because Harry is such a likable guy. He's a true good guy who you really want to see win. His terrific sense of humor remains intact whether he's facing down a bloodsucking demon or going through one of life's most humiliating (and extremely humorous) dates. Harry's next adventure can't come too soon for me!
Rating:
Summary: While not for everyone, those it is for will love it
Review: First and foremost, I must say this book is not for everyone. But then, what book really is? Just a warning, the book takes place from Harry's point of view, which results in constant thought and perspective on the current situations from him. And as my friend put it shortly after finishing this very novel, which I got him addicted to... "Harry is sort of an arse"
(yes, yes, I censored it a wee bit) Which is true, but a lovable one. But everything in the book is filtered through harry's eyes, which I know could be a turn-off for some people. But I encourage you to pick this book up to see if the style is something you like, there are many worse ways to spend 6 dollars I can think of, and who knows, you just may like it. I love the books because of Harry, he treats the magic with enough sarcasm and respect to make it truly believable, something beyond the usual all powerful stuff that people can just whip out of the air at will that tends to permeate other fantasy. It has logical and interesting rules and barriers that keeps it constrained and confined into as realistic as a device as you could expect magic to be. It makes for a very refreshing change of pace. Plus, Harry is just such an interesting character. He isn't the strongest or the fastest, he is just a good guy doing what he can to survive the day. Man, going to sound like a broken record at this rate, I will cut it off. Harry good, magic good, book great, buying book the best. I hope many of you will thank me for it, heh. I got a bunch of people hooked on the books within hours of finishing this one, many of which cursed my very name for causing them to spend money on the rest of the novels instead of food and whatnot. But it was worth it in the end, I am quite sure.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: I'd never read this auther before,but i'm very glad I did. I have a new favorite auther.
I would recommend this to anyone who like's this styl of book. A modern day wizard who's "in the book"-a new twist on an old theam.
Rating:
Summary: Wizard in our World
Review: I'm a pretty big fan of the concept of 'other powers' and people that can use them walking about in our world. I like the Anita Blake novels, and the Kurtz Adept books. This book (and, I imagine, the series) aren't really like those books I just mentioned, except in the sense that people and things of the realm of magic are operating in our modern world. But that's good enough for me. At least, combined with a rollicking good story, told well, with interesting characters (although I find the police woman a bit annoying), and a fairly well thought out magic system, it is. I can't wait to get the other books in the series! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Phillip Marlowe meets Harry Potter (with a dash of Buffy)
Review: I've been a fan of the fantasy genre for as long as I've been able to read (we won't get into just how long that is, thank you very much, just suffice it to say that it's been quite some time). I particularly love good modern/urban fantasy (the names Tanya Huff, and Charles DeLint spring to mind), and I prefer it to be a little on the dark side. And if you throw in some good humor to the mix, you've got my eternal devotion. Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden has just entered the pantheon of my "best-of-the-best" and he's a welcome addition. I won't go into the first novel's storyline, as many other reviewers have already done so. Let me just say that this is one of the few novels I've read that actually made me laugh out-loud at times. The fantasy aspect is also handled extremely well, and the film noir detective spin is an ingenious device for this character. In my opinion, the mystery element was fairly obvious. But as long as that's not what you're reading for then you should come away pleased by this unbelievably well-written first novel. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of these.
Rating:
Summary: For those who need a Harry Potter/Anita Blake Fix
Review: while waiting for the next in those series--help is on the way from Harry Dresden. Harry is the only practicing wizard in the Chicago phone book, and business is to say the least, lousy. If not for the fact that the Chicago PD calls him in occasionally to consult on crimes with a paranormal twist he would not be paying the bills. So when the PD calls him in on two gruesome murders that could only have been committed by big mojo black magic, he is eager to get the fee. His only problem is that he is already in trouble with the Wizard White Council and is subject to execution if caught messing around with black magic in any form. He is also working on the case of a missing businessman/wizard. Can the two be linked-and can he solve the two cases and stay alive in the process? Take "noir" fiction mixed with magic-add a thoroughly likeable hero with a strong sense of humor and an even stronger moral code and sense of justice, and you have one really fun read!
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