A gamer friend of mine lent me the first book early last year, and once I was done I went out and bought every other book available at the time and read them all in a few weeks.
I saw him at the Dayton signing. He seems like a really kewl guy. I’m waiting for the RPG to come out, cuz that’s just gonna be 10 bags of awesome.
The later episodes were much better than the first couple, but they definitely don’t compare to the books. I do think the hockey stick for the staff and the drumstick for the wand were nice touches, though; in the TV series continuity, he doesn’t necessarily want to draw too much attention to his wizardness, so those are good ‘disguises’ for his implements. In the books, of course, he’s not making any pretenses, so those wouldn’t work.
And TV-Bob kicks Book-Bob’s ass, dammit. A highly skilled wizard cursed to live in his own skull for eternity is way better than some vague air spirit turned magical computer.
Seconded, they’re great.
Definitely read the first one. It sets up the minor characters that get their own very significant subplot in the second and third books.
I picked up Storm Front and Grave Peril for $5 each new in paperback. I had the rest of the series, but the store wasn’t set up for Visa, and I only had like $13 cash on me. I’m going back tomorrow to get the rest, and then I’ll read them all in order, even tho some will be my 2nd time thru.
Hell, right now I’m on my…third? Fourth? time through the series, and it’s just as good as when I read it the first time. Midway through Summer Knight right now.
I love the series. I got into it by watching the short-lived TV series and liked it…so I dug up the books. I now know the TV series was horrid and could have been so much better.
Just 2 completely random tidbits that I love:
Harry is reckless. Completely over-the-top-stupid-beyond-belief-whatthehell are you DOING! reckless. Somebody needs to slap him upside the head reckless (wait-that wouldn’t help 
). However, he DOES change as the series goes on…like the part where he is about to bash into a nasty situation like he normally does and he stops…thinks a bit…then calls for help :). Loved that!
Harry is sexually frustrated beyond belief (particularly earlier novels). His helpful spirit Bob is fixated on sex…seing naked women etc etc. You then find out when Bob is taken from Harry that he takes on a complementary personality to whoever owns him and becomes nasty. When Harry gets him back…he is back to sex addict again :). Don’t know why…but I liked that.
I disagree.
They just need to take their time. The first book doesn’t need to be done in 1 hour…it can take half a season.
It sure as hell doesn’t help when you deal with the supernatural on a constant basis and thus frequently run into women more gorgeous and sexy than any normal human woman could ever think about being. And the normal human women Dresden does know are all completely awesome too.
I’ve been reading these (the mention in Cecil’s column is what first got my interest) and I must say I’m hooked. I don’t usually go for cheesy fantasy / scifi stuff, and the Dresden books sure can be cheesy, but they’re also utterly enjoyable.
My only beef with 'em is that I’ve been working on a novel about vampires in Chicago, and I worry about the profile of Dresden making my book seem like a knockoff. I think the tone and style and content will be sufficiently different, but, you know, worries.
Read Storm Front and then re-read Fool Moon today.
Interesting how his vampires have changed slightly since the first book, and very interesting to see that his writing has gotten much better since that first book (when compared with, say, #9 and #11).
Grave Peril is on for tomorrow!
Grave Peril was great fun. I like how Butcher keeps introducing characters without actually telling the first-time-we-met part of the story.
I like how Harry and all the other characters have a history behind them, one that we aren’t always aware of. It makes them seem more real, more broadly defined, and hints that their world and themselves have motivations and traits and things aren’t just cookie-cutter-esque.
I think it’s also interesting that he seems to have refined quite a few of his ideas (specifically about vampires) since the first few books. Also, his writing today is definitely quite a bit better than it was 10 years ago, IMO.
Okay, having read this thread I had put Storm Front in my queue and finally got around to it … any one else have a hard time with his placing it in Chicago but obviously not knowing anything about the city or its surrounding area? It kind of took me out of the story to have things be so wrong about the city. Better to have been a made up city than a real city done wrong.
Does it get better?
As I understand it, yes. He’s mentioned that he’s been getting advice and information from people who know the area since the series became well known.
I just downloaded Storm Front onto my Kindle. Thanks for the tip.
As Der Trihs said, I think I read that he got a lot of flack about this early on, and so he’s been getting help from his Beta Foo readers to better the realism of Dresden’s Chicago.
So, I’ve read them all! Including the 2 graphic novels and the novelette Backup.
His writing gets better with every book, but really seems to make a huge leap forward and upward with Dead Beat. From that point on, it seems really obvious that he has a huge story arc that’s actually planned, instead of just making it up as he goes with each new book.
April 6, 2010 is the publication date for the 12th book, which will see a new theme for titles possibly, as it’s currently listed as Changes, thus breaking the 2 word theme he’s had going. And there will be other new stuff!
If that spoiler is true.
Pretty crappy of Susan to keep Dresden’s child a secret from him. Especially crappy because she’s aware of Harry being an orphan and of his need to have a family. I’m betting it’s not actually his child. I’m hoping it isn’t. I don’t need a pwecious kid to become a character in book twenty.
It probably is; back in May on his own boards Butcher posted about it.
[spoiler]
As for a “pwecious kid” becoming a character in Book 20, with Harry’s history of personal relationships the kid’ll probably end up being eaten, or picking up a coin and he’d probably end up forced into killing his Denarian-possessed child or locking her in a vault or something. Being close to Harry does tend to be the Kiss of Doom.[/spoiler]
I’m hoping we finally get to meet the Jade Court.