§Synopsis
01Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago's first (and only) Wizard P.I. Turns out the 'everyday' world is full of strange and magical things - and most of them don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Harry is the best at what he does - and not just because he's the only one who does it. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal capabilities, they look to him for answers. There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get . . . interesting. Magic - it can get a guy killed.
§Our take
Storm Front is a detective story first and a fantasy second, and that's why it works. Harry is broke, fallible and nowhere near all-conquering, so magic complicates the case instead of cracking it. The wisecracking first-person voice carries you, the mystery resolves cleanly, and the plot builds steadily from light to dangerous.
It's also a debut that behaves like one. Later readers call it a solid but formulaic opener with a lot of setup, and plenty of fans say the series really gets going around book three or four. The bigger problem is Harry's chivalry. His urge to protect women, even capable ones, is the most-cited complaint about the early books. The narration notices it. Critics say noticing isn't enough.
§Themes
- Noir with a wand
- Harry works like a hard-boiled private eye, so the mystery structure does the heavy lifting and the magic gets in the way.
- A hero with limits
- He's clever, short of money and far from invincible, which makes him more interesting than a standard chosen wizard.
- Setup before payoff
- The opener introduces plenty of supernatural rules and factions, and some readers feel the weight of it.
- Gallantry under fire
- Harry's protective streak toward women reads as old-fashioned noir to fans and as dated and patronising to critics.
§How it was received
The magic-noir blend won early praise, and readers still point to this brisk opener as the easiest way into the Dresden Files. Later readers are cooler: solid, formulaic, weaker than what follows. The dated treatment of female characters is the recurring knock.
§Read it if
- You want a quick, self-contained mystery that doubles as a doorway into a long series
- You like wisecracking first-person narrators and noir with a supernatural twist
- You're tempted by the audiobook, since James Marsters's narration is a common reason to start there
§Skip it if
- Paternalistic attitudes toward women in the narration will irritate you more than the plot rewards you
- You want big stakes and epic scale right away, because those come a few books later
§Before you start
- Reading experience
- It moves fast, at roughly 320 pages, but expect an opening crowded with supernatural rules and factions.
- Reading order
- Book 1 of The Dresden Files, followed by Fool Moon and Grave Peril (both 2001). Start here, but give it until about book three or four before deciding whether Dresden is your kind of trouble.
- Content notes
- Gruesome murders in which victims' hearts burst from the chest; Supernatural horror, magical violence, vampires and dark magic; Dated, paternalistic attitudes toward women in the narration and dialogue.
§Common questions
- Is Storm Front the first Dresden Files book?
- Yes. It's Butcher's first published novel and the right starting point. It was released in 2000.
- Do I need to read the series in order?
- Yes, start here. The mystery resolves cleanly, but the book also plants the conflicts and relationships that keep the series moving. Some readers say books one to three are the weakest, so don't quit early.
- Is the audiobook worth it?
- Yes. James Marsters's narration is one of the audiobook's recurring pleasures, and he reads most of the Dresden audiobooks.
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