Last last year, Jim Butcher (one of my favorite authors) released TWO books back-to-back at almost the same time. This added a 17th and 18th installment to the now famous Dresden Files series. At least, it's famous to those with a serious level of geek.
It's urban fantasy. The main character is a wizard for hire in Chicago, however just like in the real world, nobody actually believes magic exists. Most of the books escalate from monster-of-the-week mysteries to epic, Cthulhu-level supernatural catastrophes. But what really makes the books sing is the funny pop culture references and down-to-earth narrative.
To celebrate this momentous book-launching, I decided to re-read every single book in the series. It's taken me a few months, but I've finally done it. I soaked up every word with fanboy zeal. Some of the books I hadn't read for many years, so I was pleased to re-discover so many characters and sub-plots as if for the very first time.
As soon as I caught up with the final two books, I dived in without hesitation. Book 17 is called Peace Talks. It definitely had a different rhythm and pace than all previous books, mostly because it seemed to be setting the stage for Book 18. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense why the two were released together. It also dramatically raised the bar by miles for what qualified as "stakes", drama, and action.
I won't spoil anything other than to say that the last book is downright traumatizing. Book 18 is called Battleground for good reason. It's a bloody, unforgiving war that doesn't pull punches. I'm still emotionally recuperating from the consequences.
If you like things similar to Hellboy, you'll probably like this too.
And there's plenty to keep your engine running. Even though I mentioned there was 18 books, that's NOT counting all the short stories / anthologies in between. In addition, there's the graphic novels and comic books. A quick Google search will give you all sorts of ordered lists for those who want to get the FULL experience in the appropriately linear sequence of events.
On top of that, there's the tabletop RPG's! I haven't played it yet, but it seems cool. I even went so far as to download the handbook. Lots of cool artwork and background information.
I think it would be pretty awesome to play in the world of the Dresden Files.
Bottom line: I recommend these books. Huge thumbs up. They're fun, well-written, and I can't wait for more!
Disclaimer: None of the artwork in this post is mine. All rights belong to Jim Butcher and the producers of the licensed products.
