Storm Front

I hated this book, enough that I decided not to finish it. I made it about halfway. The main character, who is also the narrator, is a chauvinistic pig. The obnoxious descriptions of women's physical attributes—and as far the book is concerned, those are apparently their only attributes—became nauseating and unbearable. There was nothing redeeming in the plot. I'm very glad that Audible allows returning a book.

Hooooooooboy.

Dit was dus niet de serie die ik in mijn hoofd had. Ik dacht aan The Laundry Files van Charles Stross, spionageverhaal meets Lovecraftiaanse horror meets bureaucratie, in Engeland.

Dit is een soort privédetective maar dan een tovenaar, in Chicago. Ik was ervan overtuigd dat het boek geschreven was ergens midden de jaren 1980, zó ahem “niet meer van deze tijd” dat het proza is. Ik bedoel, dit is de introductie van één van de personages:

Karrin Murphy was waiting for me outside the Madison. Karrin and I are a study in contrasts. Where I am tall and lean, she's short and stocky. Where I have dark hair and dark eyes, she's got Shirley Temple blond locks and baby blues. Where my features are all lean and angular, with a hawkish nose and a sharp chin, hers are round and smooth, with the kind of cute nose you'd expect on a cheerleader. It was cool and windy, like it usually is in March, and she wore a long coat that covered her pantsuit. Murphy never wore dresses, though I suspected she'd have muscular, well-shaped legs, like a gymnast.

She was a good-looking woman, in her mid-thirtysomethings. Ash blond hair that I thought must be natural, after a morbid and involuntary memory of the dead woman's dye job. Her makeup was tasteful and well applied, and her face was fair, friendly, with enough roundness of cheek to look fresh-faced and young, enough fullness of mouth to look very feminine. She was wearing a long, full skirt of palest yellow with brown riding boots, a crisp white blouse, and an expensive-looking green cardigan over it, to ward off the chill of early spring. She had to be in good shape to pull off a color combination like that, and she did it.

She was a woman of average height and striking, dark beauty, wearing a crisp business jacket and skirt, hose, pumps. Her dark, straight hair was trimmed in a neat cut that ended at the nape of her neck and was parted off of the dark skin of her forehead, emphasizing the lazy appeal of her dark eyes. [...] She put an elbow on the counter and propped her chin in her hand, studying me through narrowed eyes and thick, long lashes. One of the things that appealed to me about her was that even though she used her charm and femininity relentlessly in pursuit of her stories, she had no concept of just how attractive she really was.

Her hair was a burnished shade of auburn that was too dark to cast back any ruddy highlights, but did anyway. Her eyes were dark, clear, her complexion flawlessly smooth and elegantly graced with cosmetics. She was not a tall woman, but shapely, wearing a black dress with a plunging neckline and a slash in one side that showed off a generous portion of pale thigh. Black gloves covered her arms to above the elbows, and her three-hundred-dollar shoes were a study in high-heeled torture devices. She looked too good to be true.

Maybe my values are outdated, but I come from an old school of thought. I think that men ought to treat women like something other than just shorter, weaker men with breasts. Try and convict me if I'm a bad person for thinking so. I enjoy treating a woman like a lady, opening doors for her, paying for shared meals, giving flowers—all that sort of thing.

I unfolded a clean white cloth where I'd had a flickering shadow stored for just such an occasion, and tossed it into the brew, then opened up a glass jar where I kept my mouse scampers and tapped the sound out into the beaker where the potion was brewing.

This was a fun, easy read. It was recommended by a friend and it made a perfect audiobook for walking the dogs; it didn't require too much concentration and was engaging enough to make me want to extend the walks. So, the dogs were happy and I got more exercise!

I'll most definitely keep going with the series.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I had heard a lot of mixed reviews but I have to say, I really enjoyed my time with it. It was fun and very entertaining. Harry as a main character was enjoyable and didn't annoy me like other male mcs. Some of the writing and dialogue was cheesy but it amused me at least, instead of putting me of. I'm definitely curious enough to continue the series, plus I hear they get better. So looking forward to that.

Pornește cam la 1 /5: clișeu, clișeu, clișeu, nu doar că 100% șablonarde (de la scene, personaje, decor la replici) dar până și fix în ordinea șablon a noir-urilor (ca scene). Groaznic.
Apoi apare elementul fantasy și se înalță spre 4/5, dar tot cade: personaj zân, foarte tare, nedezvoltat; personaj mafiot, foarte tare, nedezvoltat; poveste fantastică destul de bună, dar care se dovedește a fi mai degrabă poleială tot peste un simplu policier; personaj negativ eluziv, interesant ca mister, dar apoi dezamăgitor ca revelație; personaj polițist enervant și șablon, dezvoltat din belșug, personaj duh cu umor de calitate adolescentină, cam dezvoltat și el. Ș.a.m.d.
Și apoi se prăbușește iar, nu la 1/5, ci la -5/5 - o dă din clișee noir în ceva mult mai rău: clișee de Hollywood. Scena cu Dresden și Murphy în laboratorul lui vs. (să zicem ceva negru ca să nu spoilerim) a fost atât de enervant de penibilă, că nu am mai putut continua cartea și am capitulat pe la 80 și ceva %.
Evident, nu voi citi restul seriei. Păcat, căci scriitura lui Butcher e foarte bună, cu tempo excelent și cu atenție la detalii - mi s-a părut un scriitor bun care a scos o carte cel mult mediocră.

this book came recommended by a friend. He said if I enjoyed paranormal romance and thrillers I would enjoy this one. He was right. Harry is funny witty and has this nerdy charm about Him. I havent decided yet if I will be reading the rest of the series I have a long list of stuff I want to get read before the end of 2015 so we will see how it goes.

Executive Summary: A decent, but not spectacular first novel that shows the promise of the excellent series of books that are to follow.Audio book: James Marsters does an alright job. I've been told he gets better. I'm not sure if this is the first audiobook he'd ever read, or was just having an off day. He doesn't ruin it by any means, but he doesn't seem to add any of acting ability into it either.Full ReviewAfter finishing up [b:Cold Days 12216302 Cold Days (The Dresden Files, #14) Jim Butcher http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345145377s/12216302.jpg 17189468] last fall, I went on a bit of a crusade to get more of my friends to read the series, much like I did back when I first discovered it several years ago.I found myself both itching for the next book, and having difficulty remembering some details of the world building of the 13 books that preceded it. I decided after enjoying an audio re-read of Harry Potter and the Dark Tower, that Dresden Files might be a good choice next.It's really amazing to see how far Jim Butcher has come as a writer, and how far Harry Dresden has evolved as both a character and a Wizard. This book is pretty rough in places. It's the only one I've given 3 stars, most of the rest are 4, and a few are 5s in my book.There were points in this book I was considering dropping my rating down to a 2. I'm a little surprised I kept on with the series. Then again, back when I found the Dresden Files I hadn't been reading a whole lot, and certainly wasn't as well read in fantasy as I am now.The idea of Urban Fantasy intrigued me, and I hadn't read anything like it before. Mr. Butcher begins the building blocks of what looks to be an interesting world, with a great set of characters, none better than Harry Himself. Harry is a wizard. The only one listed in the phone book. He's not very successful and therefore has a lot of money issues. His specialty is finding things. His best source of income is as a consultant for Chicago Police on the strange cases that can't be explained by normal circumstances. His contact is Lt. Karen Murphy, head of a division of the police tasked with solving the unsolvable and strange cases. Lt. Murphy is a great indicator of the strong female characters Mr. Butcher is able to write.As this is a noir-style novel, there are some stereotypical female characters, but Lt. Murphy doesn't fit that mold. Tough and determined, she doesn't take crap from anyone, least of all Harry. In your standard story this role would be played by some grizzled old male cop, not a short, young female.Most of the story is pretty boiler plate. There is a series of strange murders Harry is called in to investigate. Meanwhile he's finally caught a client who wants her to find her husband. Somehow the local mob are involved and everyone is suddenly gunning for Harry.The best thing going for these early stories is that Mr. Butcher seems to know how to keep things short. He's doesn't fluff the story out. The book finishes pretty strong and left me wanting more, which is usually the best sign of a good book for me.

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.