The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

December 6, 2013

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I usually review novels one at a time but was rather busy quilting while I listened to the unabridged Audible versions of this series and decided to review the entire series as a single post.I listened the first two books in March, then resumed working through the rest of the series in September, October, and November to finish the latest (Cold Days) . They are addictive..think adult version of Harry Potter. Dark in nature, with gratuitous violence and sexual innuendo, they might be a little too much for children under 14.

I am nuts about James Marsters as the narrator. The novels are written in first person from the prospective of the hero, Harry Dresden. Marsters is awesome as Harry and I could not imagine any other narrator to fill his shoes. Unfortunately, Marsters was not available for Ghost Story and John Glover was used in his place…big mistake. John Glover is not a bad narrator but he just isn’t Harry Dresden and I had a hard time not being distracted by the differences in narration style. Thankfully Marsters returned to narrate Cold Days and I hope the publisher sticks with him.

You could read these books in any order but background history is added with each book and I think it’s much less confusing if read in order. Butcher does some filling in so readers are not totally lost but keeps it to a minimum for those who have read previous novels. Side Jobs is a collection of Dresden short stories. I almost didn’t read it but am glad I did. It filled in a lot of background on other characters in the series and references to those short stories are made in subsequent novels.

My star ratings after each novel are the overall impression I had after immediately finishing. Since I didn’t write a review when I recorded the rating, it’s difficult to say months later why I rated them that way…ah well. Each novel was fresh and took the characters in different unexpected directions. Harry is a flawed hero, which is why I keep reading. Perfection would be boring by the 14th novel. I’m definitely continuing this series until Jim Butcher quits it or I decide enough is enough.

1. Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) [xrr rating=4/5]

2. Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2)[xrr rating=5/5]

3. Grave Peril: Book three of The Dresden Files[xrr rating=3/5]

4. Summer Knight: Book four of The Dresden Files [xrr rating=4/5]

5. Death Masks: Book five of The Dresden Files: 5 [xrr rating=4/5]

6. Blood Rites: Book six of The Dresden Files [xrr rating=4/5]

7. Dead Beat: A Novel of The Dresden Files [xrr rating=5/5]

8. Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, Book 8)[xrr rating=3/5]

9. White Night (The Dresden Files, Book 9)[xrr rating=4/5]

10. Small Favor: A Novel of the Dresden Files[xrr rating=4/5]

11. Turn Coat: A Novel of the Dresden Files[xrr rating=5/5]

12. Changes: A Novel of the Dresden Files[xrr rating=5/5]