I have been hearing bits and pieces about the Dresden Files series, and from what I gather it is about modern occult/supernatural detective work with monsters from myths and legends.
What does the Dope think of the series in general?
It’s one of my all time favorite series. Love, love, love them with all of my heart. I recommend them to everyone I know.
I enjoyed the first few.
And, maybe I missed a few but I really didn’t like some of the later ones. I found them a little confusing in points and I cared a whole lot less.
I’d definitely recommend it.
The series isn’t always as predictable as you’d expect it to be, which is a big plus in my book. From the first book onwards, the plot of each individual book ties into a larger plot that spreads across the entire series.
Make sure you read the short stories that have been printed in other books as well, as they add to the overall story.
It’s like popcorn in that it’s fun to eat but it isn’t particularly filling. I’ve ready 11 of the books this summer so that means I enjoy them. I don’t find them to be particularly deep but they’re entertaining and Butcher’s writing has improved over the course of the series. Read Stormfront and if you like it then they only get better from there.
Sure thing, fun, fast and easy reads.
Dresden Files is basically Nightside-lite. Or a nicer version of Hellblazer comics. Set in a world not totally dissimilar mythologically from the one in “SERRAted Edge” series.
Highly recommended. The strength of the series is not in the premise or setting, though those are certainly interesting, but in the characters, particularly the main character. They all have strong, developed personalities that grow and change as the series progresses. Relationships form and fall apart over the course of the books, and Butcher isn’t afraid to break from the status quo, unlike more episodic series where each book is self-contained. It’s one long, giant, epic story.
Everyone I’ve heard of who’d been introduced to the books immediately began devouring them as fast as they possibly could. I think Tequila Mockingbird is the first one I can recall who’s expressed any sort of dissatisfaction with the series, and if he skipped some books in the middle then it’s not really a big surprise.
They’re definitely books written by a geek, and so tends to be focused on the things geeks like. I suppose there’s not as much depth as there could be, but it’s hardly light, simple reading. I’ve read each book at least three times (what can I say, every time I finish one book I want more), and every time I glean something new about the story by making connections in the text I hadn’t seen before. The writing may be direct and uncomplicated, but the story certainly isn’t.
Oh, wow. I would have said the exact opposite. Nightside lacks even the competency of writing Dresden does. It lacks the characterizations. It lacks the interesting setting; or rather, it has an interesting setting that the author renders boring. It lacks interesting characters. The protagonist is one of the biggest Mary Sues I’ve encountered in published fiction. I’m extremely tolerant of light, fluffy writing – I willingly read D&D novels – but I had to force myself to even get midway through Nightside. It and Dresden are just not at all comparable.
Totally agree. Although I have read all the Nightside, they are a pale substitute for the Dresden books.
To answer the OP: yes, they are a fun read, I recommend them regularly.
I have enjoyed the series quite a bit. I didn’t care as much for the last book, Changes, though.
I like them. They’re action-packed page turners. Butcher does a surprisingly good job of making each book a decent novel while steadily advancing his overall story arc.
The writing gets better as the series progresses. My only criticisms would be that there’s significant power creep, and that the last few books have a lot more fantastical magic going on than I prefer in my urban fantasy.
I think of them as Dashiell Hammett with the supernatural. VERY well written, good plots, interesting. One thing I loved about the series is the way that he combines different mythologies into his universe. So, for instance, about vampires: there are three different “courts” reflecting the various vampire mythos. The Black Court is the Nosferatu type, the Red Court is the Dracula type, and the White Court doesn’t suck blood but sucks life force. Similarly, for werewolves: there are different types of werewolves – shape-changes who can change at will and retain their human brain, monsters who are changed by the full moon and lose their human brain, etc. The later books have got involved in more complex plots and character development than the more straight-forward hardboiled detective novel style of the first five or six. I started reading them when I was hospitalized, they were great for immersion and I read the first six or seven, blam wham.
One question here: Are the novels stand-alone, or are they interlinked series like A Song of Ice and Fire or The Wheel of Time? I am sort of guessing they be like the Cthulhu Mythos, sharing some plot elements and characters here and there - how right am I in this regard?
I would recommend you read them in order, as there are plot points that continue throughout the series, but each book usually has its own plot that is wrapped up at the end.
No, the Cthulhu Mythos stories are only loosely connected and only by shared mythology. The Dresden Files novels all center on the same main character, mostly feature the same recurring characters, and are in a definite chronological sequence.
Yes, basically each book is pretty much stand-alone, but there are characters and character development from book to book, and a few over-arching plots/subplots. Best is to take them in order; otherwise, you’re going to have some confusions.
Pretty much.
I’m on book seven and I think my recommendation is weaker than most here. I think they have gotten better, but the first three in particular are pretty forgettable IMHO. They’re fun enough for what they are, but I’m not sure I’ll ever re-read them.
I don’t really make use of libraries anymore, but if I did I think I’d be inclined to check them out rather than buy them.
FWIW, I don’t reread the first three books that often myself. The story is good all the way through, but the primary plot development really gets cooking at book 4 for a few different reasons.
Well, just by way of a data point, quite some time ago (two or three years maybe?) I bought an omnibus volume of the first three books. Read #1, thought it was kind of meh. Read #2, thought it was a little better, but still fairly meh. Still haven’t gotten around to reading #3, and I’m not sure I ever will. Not that the books are bad, they’re just not my kind of thing for some reason, and there’s plenty of other fiction I enjoy a lot more. But I know the series has lots of fans here on the SDMB.
Semi-related thoughts on the Dresden books:
I’ve read a couple (five or sixish?) of them. They’re good airplane reading, fun while your reading them but once I’m done with one, I can’t really say I spend a lot of time thinking about it. The author basically dials everything up to eleven, the main character always has at least three different groups of people trying to kill him at once, one or two personal problems to juggle at the same time, and eventually things are solved by some climactic magical shoot-out. Kinda the novel equivalent of a big action movie. I don’t think I’d agree with the rest of the people in the thread that the writing or character development are particularly good or interesting.
Also, its a little weird that the novels (at least so far) are so confined in Chicago, despite often involving world-spanning wars and struggles. Basically every major event in the magical world ends up at Harry Dresden’s doorstep, which makes the Dresdenverse seem kinda small and claustrophobic.
There was a briefly lived TV series which I actually thought was better in some respects, but it only made it to ten or so episodes before being canceled.