Jim Butcher

[dwg.livejournal.com]

People on my f-list and in real life are probably fed up with me pimping Butcher, but GODDAMMIT, it's worth it. I'm working hard on getting people addicted to these books.

He's the author of The Dresden Files series.

Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or
Other Entertainment
Harry Dresden is Chicago's only wizard that's listed in the Yellow Pages. He does odd jobs and consults with SI - Special Investigations - police squad, kinda like Anita Blake and RPIT, only less crime scene squick and more actual consulting and metaphysical research.

It's all very gumshoe detective, film noir style, only you give your wise-cracking PI magical powers and your femme fatale might turn out to be a vampire, and this is the Dresden universe. All these things exist, but for the most part, people don't want to know it exists. SI is an attempt to try and deal with the supernatural problems without having to acknowledge that there's weirdness in the world and if anything does wind up broadcast on the news? It's quickly written off as a hoax. So, the hero can save the world only nobody will know and he goes largely thankless.

For the most part, Harry's struggle is just to pay the bills. Oh, and avoid multiple head injuries and people that want to kill him. The books have two threads - the case Harry is working on, and the arc of Harry's character. He's got a dark past - and refreshingly doesn't wangst or wail about it ad nauseum - and this is one of the few series that can make me sit back and go, "Wow!" because the ending isn't always what you think it will be. The characters are humourous, dark and scary, and it's nice to see Harry getting beat up and have to fight for every inch of victory he gets. It's nice to see a hero that doesn't always pull some miraculous magical whatsit out of his backside to win the day and it's awesome to see that all of Harry's actions have consequences.

The series has a pretty big Buffy following - I think mostly because James Marsters reads the audiobooks - and if you love the Buffy sense of humour, you'll love these. So far, it's seven books strong and just keeps getting better.

Oh yes, and enjoy the pun-tastic nature of the titles.

The Dresden Files
1. Storm Front
2. Fool Moon
3. Grave Peril
4. Summer Knight
5. Death Masks
6. Blood Rites
7. Dead Beat

Official Website: jim-butcher.com
LJ Syndication news: jimbutchernews

Comments

[tooimpurenangel.livejournal.com]

I love those books! I'm trying to get Summer Knight at my local bookstore=)

[bleedtoblue.livejournal.com]

Harry is a marvelous character! And I love Thomas. I think Jim Butcher is a wonderful author. I don't know if it's true or not but I did hear that he started out writing ABVH fanfic.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

I love Thomas too. Dammit, I wants me my own supermodel sex vampire.

[straussmonster.livejournal.com]

Thomas is such an adorable woobie. His character arc needs more page time, please.

[kellyfaboo.livejournal.com]

Butcher is a great pulp writer. He started out in ABVH fandom, I don't know if he wrote fanfic though.

I'd describe him as a cross between LKH and Piers Anthony ... and maybe Terry Brooks.

[heinous_bitca.livejournal.com]

I like his books, too. I'm up to Summer Knight, though my husband's read them all. One of our RL friends is his agent, and she'd been pimping his books to us long before he finally got popular.

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

I really need to get those books, don't I? LOL.

-Dira-

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Yes.

READ THEM! LOVE THEM!

[http://users.livejournal.com/belladonna_/]

So I'm going on a plane Friday, which means an excuse to buy books, and I got the first Dresden Files book. I hope you're not all talk, missy! :)

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Gee, no pressure. ;)

Let me know if I've lead you totally astray and want to beat me to death with the book because you hated it so much.

[alex-lebeau.livejournal.com]

His Dresden Files books rock, and I've only read the first three. But they're part of an interesting trend I've noticed recently: Midwestern magical fiction. Obviously, there's LKH and St. Louis, but another author I've found, Kim Harrison, places her Inderlanders in Cincinnati. Very cool. :)

[dwg.livejournal.com]

I'll admit to being geographically ignorant of the US (which is when an atlas comes in handy) - but it's been nice in the last few years to find books NOT set in LA, New York or New Orleans. Then again, it's also hard to find books set in those three that are actually good.

[alex-lebeau.livejournal.com]

Huh. I haven't really found any books I enjoy set in LA or New York. (It's a given that most are in New Orleans, so let's not cover that one.) I must just be good at picking good ones. ^_^

[straussmonster.livejournal.com]

The only major gripe I have with them is that it's gotten better over the series, but his Chicago-fu *sucks*.

-U of C, class of '02

[dragon-mouse.livejournal.com]

Bah! BAM doesn't carry #1. At. All. *grumbles and kicks things* How can I get addicted to it if I can't find the first one!?

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Do what I did - start on book 3.

I think I've only ever read...one or two? series in order. Everything else, I start on book 3 or 5. Those are usually the only books available at the time that I get them.

[dragon-mouse.livejournal.com]

Its looking like that is my only choice. And, hey, if others were able to do it, I can too! *plots*