Storm Front

A bold introduction to both the Dresden Files series and Urban Fantasy as a whole. A private eye with access to magic, Dresden uses cunning, strength, and an ever present dry wit to combat the dark forces of Chicago, both mortal and supernatural. Though not the strongest entry in the series, it starts readers on a journey that will captivate them for years to come. Would've been 3.5 stars because some of the characters can come off a little one dimensional, but raised it to a 4 since they are new and quickly grow into fan favorites over the rest of the series.

My friend Taylor loves the Dresden series. Gushes about it even. So, after seeing the box display for Butcher's books at Barnes and Noble, I decided to take the plunge; and found it enjoyable. It's not the best writing in the world but it works. Butcher's Harry Dresden is a cross between a urban warlock and a old fashioned gumshoe and the writing shares the same feeling. It's got all the elements I like in a good plot. Humor, supernatural occurrences and a main character who's got flaws that make him more real. The story reads at a quick pace and while I'd have liked scenes to run a bit smoother, overall this was a fun read. Good thing I have book two on the shelf waiting.

WHAT
A detective story with supernatural elements. Harry Dresden is a charismatic wizard that works as a private investigator. The characters are easy to sympathize with, the plot is intriguing, complex and yet smooth to follow.

PLOT
When the lieutenant Karrin Murphy of the Chicago P.D. is confronted with a crime scene she cannot explain, she hires the services the only supernatural consultant in the yellow pages to help her find the murderer. During his investigations, Harry faces off a powerful and seductress vampire, a ruthless mob boss and an unstoppable toad-like demon. All of this while trying to avoid the scrutiny of an attractive reporter, the vigil of an over-zealous magical enforcer and the suspicions of the police. He also must protect his friend Murphy who is oblivious to the dangers she is facing, help a damsel in distress who might not be telling him the whole truth, take care to not kill himlself and others while performing his magic, keep his car from breaking down, get his love life going and pay the rent! But hey, at least he can count on the help of Bob, an immortal horny wizard trapped within a skull.

SUMMARY
The following is a list of characters and their motivations. Spoiler free, but avoid reading if you want to be surprised when they appear.

- Murphy: police lieutenant, obsessed with catching the responsible regardless of the risks involved- Carmichael: Murphy's partner, thinks Dresden is a fraud and an ass.- Susan: tabloid reporter, tries to seduce him into telling the details of the crimes he is investigating- Marcone: mob boss, wants him to drop the investigation. One of the victims was his bodyguard- Bianca: vampire, wants him to die for seeing her true form. One of the victims was a call girl that worked for her- Morgan: warden for the White Council, patiently awaits for the time when Harry misuses his magical powers in order to justifiably kill him- Bob: talking skull, the source of great arcane knowledge. Hangs on a shelf, reads erotica novels. Wants to leave his confinement to get into an orgy- Monica Sells: damsel in distress, her husband is missing and she is worried he might be involved with dark magic- Toad demon: demon, kills people, destroy stuff- Blue beetle: car, threatens to break down at every turn

ANALYSIS

The characters are so interesting that I found it enough to summarize the book through them. The plot was very engrossing as well, it meshed seamlessly with the characters, the flow of events was well planned and the sense of mystery and thriller typical of detective stories was well established and kept along the way.

The plot progresses at a frantic level. As Harry digs deeper into the murder, things gets more complicated and dangerous very fast. He tries to protect those around him but it gets to a point where he just have to give in and accept any kind of help he can get. In the end though, he must face the culprit all by himself, while resisting the temptation of using dark magic even if used for a good cause.

The ending wasn't that clever. Harry had no plan and was almost out of power when he faced the villains. He just thew himself at them and winged it. He was also under a self moral restrain of not killing anyone, even if that would risk his life. Still I don't expect much from a standard detective novel.

Harry is a fun, flawed and real character. He knows how dark and dangerous the world really is, and he does his best to keep the evil at bay, keeping up a sarcastic and humorous attitude, cracking jokes along the way.

He is a paladin at heart, but he is treated with suspicion by those who don't know him too well and also by those who know of the things he has done in his past. He doesn't think much of himself either, but that goes to show how caring and conscious he really is. He reminds me a little of Constantine.

He is the powerful underdog, he won't use magic for personal gains, sometimes even to defend himself. He is confronted with one problem after the other, with no time to rest in between, to recharge his magical powers. By the end of the story he is pretty much confronting the villain with a fraction of his energy and just some of his wits.

He is the not so perfect hero. He is chivalrous, honest and ethical, but though when he needs to be. He breaks the law when he has to, but is always trying to do the right thing even if it means making powerful enemies along the way, and having no money to sustain himself.

Being a wizard can be difficult, but add detective on top of it, you have a recipe for disaster and hilarity! Follow Harry Dresden on his journey to find the mysterious Victor Sells, try and keep a police LT happy with his consulting and not get torn apart by demons.


I loved this read! I had so much fun reading through this book again, and getting reacquainted with all the characters!! I cannot wait to reread the other books in the series now!

Recommend this book for adults only, as there are some rather risky scenes for younger readers.

This book was just what I needed. I had been reading epic fantasy for a very long time as I had finished my reread of Wheel of Time, and Brandon Sanderson's “Way of Kings”, and needed a break from the world of epic fantasy. This book did a great job of keeping you guessing and trying to solve the mystery while having a nice light fanciful background. What I really liked was how I didn't have to work as hard to keep track of everything going on as I had in other books that I have read recently, and the just nice sense of humor and joking that I found within.

I just re-read Storm Front, after first reading it - well, I don't even know how many years ago! Shortly after it was first released, I think.

Now, it's important to know that I simply don't re-read books. I find that too boring, most of the time. There are a scant few exceptions. The Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are the most remarkable of them. The fact that I would even consider a re-read speaks very, very highly of Butcher's work.

I'd forgotten far more than I expected, but I suppose that happens, with at least 15 years and goodness knows how many books in between readings. I knew it was a good book, I knew one important part of the ending (I mean, come on - there are many more books in the series, so you KNOW that Dresden lives!), but all else was lost. I wasn't sure I would like reading about old Harry with recent Harry fresh in my mind (I just read the short story “Jury Duty”).

If anything, I enjoyed it even more spiced by the knowledge of who Dresden (and Murphy) will become in the future books. I enjoyed the setting, the craft that went into building the whole novel, and seeing how Butcher's skill grew from the first book to the more recent works.

I'm going to go on with re-reading the entire series - I hadn't committed to it before, but now I'm looking forward to it!

The women in this book are basically present to cry, flirt, and be moms. Even when they're given moments of strength, they're still weak compared to the men. Only reason this gets two stars is because aside from the blatant misogyny the story is quite good. I just can't give the sexism in this one a pass.

The first of The Dresden Files series draws you into the world of Harry Dresden, a wizard in modern day Chicago who advertises his wizardly ways in the yellow pages and classified. What's involved with being a wizard now a days? Turns out it involves solving mysteries for the police that can't be explained by science as well as pursuing the occasional contract that walks through your door.

If this sounds a bit like Angel, the old WB show, well you'd be right. It's a whole lot like that. Funny enough, the audiobook is read by James Marsters, Spike from Buffy/Angel! Being a short one, it's worth reading a few. I'd still prefer Caves of Steel for the overall mystery side of things, but this was the first one in the series. The following ones were supposedly after Butcher got better at writing. Either way, a solid beginning.

It was fine. I didn't know anything about it (or the fanbase) going in so I didn't have any notion of what was coming. There were definitely some cool bits, but the things that put me off will keep me from reading more. I finished it, which is something more than nothing.

I ended up not like Harry Dresden very much and that will be a roadblock from moving through the rest of these.

I have a new series to enjoy!

I absolutely loved this first book in the series. I don't tend to like Urban modern-day fantasy, but there was something about this that made it feel fantastical enough that it didn't feel like “yeah, someone would notice that”.

I like Harry as a character and I am a big fan of other supporting characters also. I do wish there was more of a group helping out as it leaves little in the way of relationships to grow, bond or break. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

This is a page-turner with a fast moving, action-oriented plot and an exciting ending. I was curious to read this for the premise, a noir-ish private eye in a supernatural urban setting.

It didn't really live up to the book that was in my head. Butcher gives wizard/P.I. Dresden a naive, adolescent “voice” as the narrator. It doesn't fit with a character that is supposed to be an experienced, trained, and clever detective with a reputation. Seen through his eyes there is not much depth to the supporting characters either. Dresden tells us way too many of his thoughts. He doesn't leave the reader much room to form their own ideas and impressions. Some of the plot points seemed forced and predictable.

Having said all that, I could read more from this series. I heard they get better as they go along, and Storm Front was an easy, fun diversion.

4.5 stars.

I would entitle the review “How Urban Fantasy should be written”.
After reading this, I realized that this genre has been ruined by many stereotypes and the border between UF and Romance and other st isn't so clear.I think that after I've read some UF series, I came up with the idea that they are all almost identical: the badass female protagonist (always first person POV) that alternates moments like “I'll kick your ass, you damn bastard” with others like “I go to the toilet, I put make up on my face thinking of that cool guy, I whine because I can't/...paranoic thoughts following”. The cool and über-smartass alpha-and-so-on guy who inspires forbidden fantasies. The bad guy who always wants to kill the protagonist, because figured out she is special, however. The writing is a continuous sequence of “damn”, “fuck”, “dude” and monosyllabic sentences. I found all this so irritating. But the main critic I point to this genre is the lack of explanations. Without them, plot doesn't make sense and characters lose credibility.After this previous “fed-up” moment, let's talk about this book. 1. I liked the writing. 2. I kind of loved Harry Dresden. He's a credible hero who isn't perfect but he's cool at the same time. He makes mistakes, he's stubborn as hell and wit. please Mr. Dresden, run your office also in Italy!!3. I loved Bob, even if he appeared only a few times. I hope we can see more Bob in the sequels.4. Even if she's stubborn as hell and bitchy, I liked also Murphy because she is well depicted.5. The plot: the reader is focused on following the detective story without any kind of st. Yes, there are vampires and fairies, but they are just pieces of the puzzle and their “personalities” are tricky and evil. ahem...they are not sex gods giving a nasty look at Jeaniene Frost, KM Moning, maybe Ilona Andrews

What I disliked:
- some absurd moments that left me a bit stunned, but I managed to pass over.

Eventually I really liked this first volume and I recommend it everyone.

The first in the Dresden Files series which has become a fan favourite for many people. What can one say about such iconic characters and the combination of magic with detective style work just is the complete package.
Some of the characters are great.  Carmichael is a detective and he is the skeptic.   He doesn't believe the main character can do Magic and that it is wasting money bringing in the psychic part to an investigation.
Murphy is the lead detective and she is a badass when it comes to anything physical.  She is not against the main character but she does ride him pretty hard about his old fashioned attitudes.  She is definitely not into the male opening doors for them or paying for dinner.  She doesn't need a man to do anything at all and she won't put up with them trying.
Harry the main character is so fun.  He is sarcastic and has no problem with fighting for what he needs or wants and he definitely doesn't fear people.  He is honest and has such a capacity for helping others 
My favourite character that was introduced is Bob the skull that houses a very powerful entity.  He is a great mentor for Harry but he also seems to have the dark side and could easily lead Harry down a wrong path.  He definitely has the lusty nature to him but he is supposed to be a spirit of intellect.  The opposites combined together just makes me laugh and makes him the best character.
I dislike one character and that is Morgan who is always after Harry trying to get him executed.  He is the biggest jerk in this book and he shows that he doesn't have a human understanding.
Early on the magic that is shown is a soulgaze.  I liked this as I thought that it was unique.  I love the thought of looking into someone's eyes and telling what is in their soul whether it be dark or light.
What also is good is that they have a magic system that is delineated by the power one must have and noone has an indefinite amount of energy both to power their magic and to direct it.
For me the magic systems that I like the best has limitations and will never be the fixall that many systems use.  I like the fact that knowledge is power and so are names.  Basically using the power words which to me makes things even more interesting.
The story itself is a lot of fun and who wouldn't want to be the hero of the tale and help to catch someone using sorcery to kill.