Storm Front hits the ground running with Harry being involved in work pretty much on page one. In this novel he starts off helping to investigate some strange murders for the Chicago PD and ends up in a fight for his own life against magic, demons, and giant scorpions – all while trying to avoid his own execution. Jim Butcher paints a world where magic not only exists, but it could be right in front of us and we wouldn’t even notice it.

In this introductory volume, Jim Butcher puts together all the elements for a compelling series.  The supporting characters are well-developed and believeable, the environment is familiar, and the main character is flawed enough to be relatable and likeable enough to root for when the odd are stacked against him.  Storm Front has all the smart elements of a modern-day murder mystery but with a subtle twist of magical mayhem.  If you are looking for a single read, the story is well encapsulated.  If you are looking for a new series to get into, there is plenty of potential generated by in this story that Butcher definitely makes good on with his subsequent volumes (those reviews coming soon).

What I WILL write about here, though, is this series in general.  I was introduced to it via a combination of having watched and enjoyed the TV series on the SciFi Channel and having gained access to the books through a friend of mine.  The general premise is this:  Harry Dresden is a wizard living in modern day Chicago.  He is a 30-ish, tall, thin guy who was born with innate magical abilities and uses these powers as a supernatural P.I.  Sometimes he works for a client and sometimes he works for the police as a consultant, but generally it seems that a lot of paranormal and magical badness seems to happen around Chicago and he often ends up in the middle of it.

While I did enjoy the TV show, it turns out that it wasn’t all that true to the novels (at least in the details).  It seems they took a lose interpretation and spun things a bit differently.  I was very upset to see the show canceled.  But I am now more of a fan of the books than the show.  What is great about these books is that it takes almost every type of fantasy creature and concept and blend them plausibly into the real world.  And what makes Harry a compelling and interesting character is not how well he handles these situations, but how badly – he is constantly getting in over his head and somehow manages to pull his ass out (or have his ass pulled out) of the fire – often literally.

So far in the 4 1/2 books that I’ve read, I’ve seen Harry face down demons, sorcerers, werewolves, vampires, fairies, ghosts, and all sorts of monsters.  On a VERY high level, Dresden is sort of Harry Potter meets John McClane.  And despite the fact that he often gets through things by the skin of his teeth, I have yet to see the author cross the line of credulity (given normal suspension of disbelief).

So in summary, Harry Dresden rocks and I look forward to reading more.  I will get into more detailed reviews of each book in the near future (and maybe the graphic novels as well when I find time to read them).  But if you enjoy sci-fi/fantasy, magic, vampires, and/or anything created by Joss Whedon, then I think you’d enjoy The Dresden Files.