Dresden Files, Completed

As mentioned in a previous post, I did not manage to complete the Dresden Files in 2009. But, I did manage to finished before the end of 1/1/10, so it was nearly a photo finish. Note that this did not include the short stories, and I do not even own all of those. I guess there is supposed to be a collection of them published this fall, so I might pick that up.

The Dresden Files series is alright. It features a wizard in Chicago that works as a private investigator. It follows a formula very similar to the early Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. Blake featured what is effectively a female private investor, and contains the same genre cliches. If it were not for my brother Jason being such a huge fan of the series I would not have read it.

The stories are extremely formulaic, and it shows. If I were Butcher I think I would have a love hate relationship with Dresden. Since, the books much be ridiculously easy to write so you can just keep cashing in, but you know you are capable of writing better. I was not at all surprised when I read that Storm Front (the first Dresden book) was written to demonstrate how awful a book would be if he listened to his writing instructor’s advice.

If you are planning on reading the series, I recommending getting it in audio format. James Marsters does a pretty good reading, and the story has kind of a cinematic feel.

Based on the published novels thus far, I am going to give the series a 0.5 (slight recommendation) on the undecim scale.