It’s very good – better than the last two, I think. The nice thing about Harris as a series writer is that she doesn’t let them drag on forever. She’ll actually let a series end before you get so tired of it you want to stab it to death with a fork (Ms. Hamilton, are you listening?). I believe that Sookie’s adventures are approaching a crescendo and the series will be wrapping up in the next 2 or 3 books.
I am currently reading book four. For some reason these books where completely under my radar until the TV show came out. I agree that they are getting better. Three and four are much better than one and two. Good reads, not great literature. Better than the TV show but I enjoy that too.
I read most of the Anita Blake series, mostly through enertia. I thought it was quite good in the beginning. As it went on I think she started playing to the part of her audience who thinks, “Wouldn’t it be great if I could have sex with a vampire! Jean-Claude is dreamy!” It turned into goth vampire porn so I bailed. And I like porn.
Jess, Eleanor: Oh, no! I’m convinced that I’m solely responsible for amazon’s stock rising anyhow, and now I’ve added even more stuff to my wishlist! It’s all your fault! 
…well, at least you’ve discouraged me off Anita Blake and Harrison, so that’s money well-saved.
Try not to look at the blurbs for the newest Dresden book, White Knight - they contain a big spoiler for the earlier books, in my opinion.
I didn’t mean to do that, exactly. The first three Kim Harrison books are good, and I am still hanging in there with the newer ones. I think they’re worth reading - just maybe wait to get the newest one in paperback. And I’ll admit to liking the Anita Blake books (a lot of people like the earlier ones.)
jsgoddess, I’ve never heard of the Darkside books. Has anyone read P.N. Elrod’s The Vampire Files books? A vampire detective in 1920’s Chicago. They’ve republishing the early ones in volumes containing three novels, and I really enjoyed them.
Another good paranormal author is Kelley Armstrong. The first book in her series is Bitten.
Partially because I screwed up the name. Nightside, not Darkside. Sorry. Am an idiot.
I just finished the first Dresden book, and I think it’s great. If they get better, I’m going to be very happy with this series. I just wish it would take me longer than one day to read one.
What is the order they were released?
Another book in a similar vein that I enjoyed immensely was John M. Ford’s The Last Hot Time . Gangsters, Elves, and Chicago.
I was sorry to hear John Ford passed away last year, the few things I’ve been able to find by him have been great.
I like them slightly better than Dresden.
I agree with **Eleanor of Aquitaine ** about the PN Elrod series- at least the first three which I purchased at a discount house as a single volumne. Good enough for me to track down the second 3 book set.
Since this has kind of turned into a suggestion thread, I thought I’d thow in my 2 cents worth.
I agree that I like that Sookie Stackhouse books. The first one was Dead Until Dark. I have found that in this latest one I’m skipping over the sex parts. I’m a guy, and just not that interested…I like the rest of the books though.
The first two or three Kim Harrison books are very good, those are Dead Witch Walking ,The Good, The Bad, and the Undead and Every Which way but Dead. In my opinion the series kind of started going downhill in the forth book A Fistfull of Charms. I did pick up the latest book For a Few Demons More but that was mostly for forms sake. I can barely remember it and I only read it a few weeks ago.
Moon Called and Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs are both good books. I hope she keeps up the series.
I also like the Kitty series by Carrie Vaughn. There are three in the series right now. Kitty and the Midnight Hour, Kitty Goes to Washington and Kitty Takes a Holiday. The last is the weakest of the three, but still a good read.
Let’s see…what else…Oh, the Weather Warden series by Rachel Cain. Ill Wind, Heat Stroke, Chill Factor and Firestorm.
I haven’t seen anyone mention The Walker Papers series by C.E. Murphy. Urban Shaman was pretty good. The second book Thunderbird Falls got a bit more spiritual/mystical than I usually like. But it was still a good read. I bought but haven’t read the third book Coyote Dreams yet, so I don’t know if the author gets a bit more down to earth.
Kelly Armstrong has a good series out. It’s a bit disjointed in that the books sometimes have some of the same characters, but don’t all revolve around the same main character. Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic have the same main characters. Bitten, Stolen and Broken have a different main character. Although as I said there is some overlap as it’s the same “universe”. Haunted is more of a stand alone book, but relies heavily on characters from *Dime Store Magic * and Industrial Magic.
A series with a similar feel, but a bit farther away from strict Urban Fantasy is Lilith Saintcrow’s Dante Valentine series. They are Working for the Devil, Dead Man Rising and coming at the end of the summer The Devils Right Hand. According to her website, she’s finished two more books in the series…which from what I can tell is all she’s planning on doing. So at least it’s a series that you know will have a completion.
More later if I can think of anything else in this genre.
Enjoy!
That’s okay, because I’d never heard of the Nightside books either. I may try them, since I’m enjoying this genre lately.
Amazon has the titles clearly numbered, for once. Just search for Dresden Files.
Atrael, I’ve read most of your list, but I’ll have to look for C.E. Murphy and Lilith Saintcrow.
I like the Weather Warden books, particularly the first two, but the author has a habit of ending her books on a cliffhanger. It didn’t bother me when I had a stack of them available to read, but it’s annoying when you reach the last one and have to wait a year or two for a conclusion. I just read the first of her young adult series, and it wasn’t bad, but it ended with the same type of cliffhanger. Literally a blade is slashing down towards someone, the crowd gasps, and the book ends.
There is also a list on Wikipedia. If you don’t want to be spoilered, the link to the list is in the content box under #5 “Books in the series”.
After the series appeared, I went out and bought book 1. #2 came shortly thereafter from the public library area-sharing-thingie. #3 was requested months ago and I am jonesing pretty bad. 
Don’t go that far. I definately recommend the Anita Blake books right up to “Obsidian Butterfly.” She isn’t, as I said before, a very good writer but she’s a hell of a storyteller and Anita’s world is a fascinating one.
The books after “…Butterfly” really dropped off, though – she went in a different direction with the series and it isn’t one I (or lots of others) enjoy. Her new direction emphasizes the stuff that I liked least about the books (lots of angst; lots of unbelievably tedious talk about relationships; lots of kinky porn about sex practises I’m not interested in). These things were always present in the series, but they were balanced by the stuff I enjoyed (details about a very interesting alternative world; lots of adventure and mystery; cool characters who were fairly well-developed and explored). Almost all of the ‘good stuff’ has been squeezed out in the later books by pages and pages (and pages!) of kinky porn and dialogue about relationships. The only new characters we ever see are more men for Anita to have sex with.
Plus – the new direction has made Hamilton’s weaknesses as a writer more obvious. When the plots and backstories and characters were interesting, I could overlook the bad writing. But the reams of poorly written porn and dialogue just highlight how shittily-written the books are. Too bad, too. The first nine books in the series were really, really fun.
I would agree with that except I started losing interest a little before that. I stayed with it through OB but I found myself skimming through large sections a few books before that. Mostly the porn. And I am the opposite of prudish.
Not for me: “vampire hunter sleeping with vampires= jumped the shark”. Something around book 4 or 5?
But yes, the first few were quite enjoyable.