Genre Search: Urban Fantasy – Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher

I decided to read the first book in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher as the second urban fantasy author in my research of the genre.

I’ve heard much about the Dresden Files. I know there is an old TV show about it, too, although I never watched it. Since Dresden is mentioned often in the urban fantasy groups I belong to in Facebook, I knew the second book I would listen to in audiobook form would be this one.

I don’t like reading long series. I like series that are three or four books long, so I knew from the get-go that I wouldn’t be going through all the series in this title. Now that I listened to the first book, I think I am going to continue the series, although this time, I’m going to get the ebook or paperback. It may be some time next year.

Harry Dresden is the main character in this series and he is a wizard. The audiobook had the added bonus of being narrated by James Marsden, who I really like. The book is written in the first person, and to me, Harry is not James Marsden. I would picture his face when thinking about Harry Dresden, too.

The main character is fun and laid back, and he has a sense of humor I enjoyed. He’s sarcastic, but not that sarcastic, and he’s very practical. The introduction to the world was not too overwhelming. I learned mostly about vampires, fairies, and a bit about wizards and their organization (called the White Council in the book). Of course, I also learned there are white and dark wizards and that something happened in Dresden’s youth that marked him as a person of interest to the White Council.

The book is like a crime and detective story with some elements of magic and the supernatural, but not too many. The few supernaturals that are featured (a vampire, a fairy and another wizard), have their origins, personalities, and motivations well defined, and I liked that.

This was a good book. I’ve heard it’s one of his worst, and if that’s true, then I am really curious to read what comes next.

I think my books may feel a little more to what Jim Butcher writes than Ilona Andrews (you can read my review of Magic Bites) because there aren’t too many characters and the bad guys aren’t just running rampant without using their heads first. There are more human reasons for what everyone is doing.

I bow down to Jim Butcher. He’s my new hero.

cheers!