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Apparently while other Gawker sites have been unraveling, especially in terms of community, io9.com is still hanging in there, being its same old nerdy self. I was looking for a good solid review of Ghost Story (cuz I’m too lazy to write my own) and came across a decent one there on io9. But it was when I read the comments that I found this bit of gold.

Nathan Ford’s Evil Twin

io9 populace, I have a confession. Despite hearing so many great things about it I have never read a Dresden Files book. I’m still a little vague on what it’s about to be honest, what the tone and style is, etc. So I want you guys to try to convince me to pick up the first one (or one that’s a good jumping on point).
Several people had good responses. But then this one blew them all out of the water…

@shadomouse pretty much nailed it on the “how to get in”, but I wanted to expand a bit on the “what the hell is it”.It’s every gritty noir detective archetype you’ve ever seen. The hard-boiled detective who always gets his (man/woman/demon). He’s perpetually broke, because let’s face it, he’s in the Yellow Pages under Wizard, and no one really takes him seriously. He mostly consults for the Chicago PD, who have a division that’s basically for X-Files, weird things no one else wants to investigate. That’s where a lot of the stories start, him getting the call, sitting in his office with the creaky fan and the smell of stale coffee. Typical detective story.

Except he’s probably got his feet up on the desk, in a Metallica t-shirt and jeans, flicking paper footballs between stacks of books. That’s what makes the series shine. Despite the hard knocks and serious subject matters, Harry prides himself on being irreverent. To everyone, everything. Cops, mafioso, angels, gods, things trying to eat him, everyone. He says and does things that make you burst into laughter and want to have “We Are the Champions” on continuous loop.

When things get heavy and people start dying, you can feel the despair and the anger. He’s not a Jedi, he’s not a Sith, he’s just a guy. He takes loss hard, just like everyone. And like the article said, he never quits.

Oh, and also, he does a ton of cool magic of course. From simply finding things, to wrecking buildings, to summoning all sorts of beings. The magic in the series is the most robust and well thought out I’ve seen. Plus, since he’s basically of intermediate experience to start out, you get to see him figure new things out, try out new spells, and what toll it can take on him.

I could literally do this for several more hours. Just start reading. If you find detective stories, fantasy, thrillers, horror, magic, mythology or monsters at all interesting, you’ll love it as much as the rest of us.

That’s pretty much exactly what I would want to say to those of you who haven’t given The Dresden Files a chance yet.

Dresden Files Bibliography
No. Title Published
1 Storm Front 2000 April 1
2 Fool Moon 2001 January 1
3 Grave Peril 2001 September 1
4 Summer Knight 2002 September 3
5 Death Masks 2003 August 5
6 Blood Rites 2004 August 2
7 Dead Beat 2005 May 3
8 Proven Guilty 2006 May 2
9 White Night 2007 April 3
10 Small Favor 2008 April 1
11 Turn Coat 2009 April 7
12 Changes 2010 April 6
13 Ghost Story 2011 July 26
14 Cold Days TBA

Butcher is currently planning for approximately twenty books in the “case files” of the series, to be capped by a further “big apocalyptic trilogy” (because who doesn’t like a big apocalyptic trilogy?).

There is also an anthology of short stories called Side Jobs, and Butcher has plans for at least one more of those.

A prequel and Storm Front are available as graphic novels, with the first part of Fool Moon coming out this fall.

List of Graphic novels
No. Title Release Date
1 Welcome to the Jungle (prequel to Storm Front) October 2008
2 Storm Front, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm June 2009
3 Storm Front, Volume 2: Maelstrom February 2011
4 Fool Moon, Volume 1 November 2011
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