Okay, I’m deviating from intended posts once again (and so soon after another post! Short change it much?) to talk about a guy named Harry Dresden and an author named Jim Butcher.

Now, I’d actually planned on holding off on this post until I’d read more than just Storm Front, and I am reading Fool Moon currently, but what the hey. Let’s talk about ’em anyway.

I first encountered Jim Butcher on The Dragon Page: Cover 2 Cover (feel free to follow the link on the right hand column). For those who don’t know, it’s a podcast that regularly interviews Sci-Fi and Fantasy authors, but the interviews are far more lively and entertaining than something you get on, say, Good Morning America. In many cases, it’s like you’re listening in on people just hanging out (well, okay, slight exaggeration, but everyone’s personality shines through). Anyway, ol’ Jim was interviewed on episode 260 back in April 2007, and the guy was nothing short of a riot. He immediately caught my interest with his Codex Alera series of books once I found out it was written in response to a challenge– that he make two bad, tired concepts interesting and that he do it with a lost Roman legion and Pokémon. How could that not interest somebody? So I picked up the first book, Furies of Calderon, later that summer. And have yet to read it. (Oh, I got about 60 pages in, but then started reading The Name of the Wind, and, well… separate blog post.) Still, I was always peripherally aware that Butcher had another, far more popular series out there dealing with the paranormal and they went by the unassuming moniker, The Dresden Files. The series comes up a lot in DragonPage discussions.

Anyway, Butcher remained solidly on my “to-read” list for Codex Alera. After finding out a friend read and liked them, soon Dresden found its way on there, too. And then by chance I picked up Storm Front at the store… started reading it… and then had it finished in short order. Moreso than the pages I read of Calderon, Butcher just clicks with Dresden and I have to attribute that to the first-person-narrative. I frequently write in third-person, but have dabbled on more than one occasion with first-person– and let me tell you it’s easier to write. I’m writing it right now and it basically turns an entire story into a big, long one of THESE. But, it can be used as a crutch, too, if the author is not careful– or, and this is one of my biggest pet peeves, you can alternate between first person and third person and that’s just terribly sloppy (first person requires a commitment to one point of view, and if you can’t make that commitment, then you shouldn’t be writing in it… honestly, people). Anyway, Butcher uses it here masterfully. He gets you inside the head of Harry Dresden, uses it as a way to introduce you to a world that you hit the ground running in, but still manage to get your bearings, all while showing you who and what this down-on-his-luck Harry Dresden character is.

The plot of Storm Front is almost secondary. Murder, black magic, secondary case… tried and true P.I. staples (well, except for the magic part). It all comes down to how Butcher uses them, and the answer, like before, is very well. Sure, I saw certain things coming, but I don’t think that’s a shortfall of the book. It’s just a world used to procedurals. What’s important is how it all ties together, how logically the story flows, and how well it teases you for what comes next. On all counts, it succeeds. By the time I was done with Storm Front, I had the next three Dresden books in my possession. If only time were more permitting.

As a quick aside, following ol’ Rambler’s advice, I pulled up the Dresden TV series on Hulu and gave their interpretation of Storm Front a watch. And while I give them credit for trying, a lot of the magic (and I don’t mean in the story sense, I mean the feel sense) was lost. A hockey stick for a staff? Posh living space? Demons that are human looking (damn budgets!)?  Paul Blackthorne was great (enjoyed him ever since his stint as Saunders in season three of 24), but I can’t say the series clicked with me. Admittedly because I was comparing it with the book and so much nuance was lost. I’m sure the standalone episodes are better. Still, I’m thinking it’ll be the books for me.

You can expect more Dresden/Butcher related posts from me in the future, as I dig into the man’s bibliography more. For now, though, do yourself a favor and give Storm Front a try. How can you go wrong with a Wizard for Hire?