Book Report Friday: The Dresden Files

First of all, I feel the need to point out that the book series The Dresden Files is very different from the TV show, The Dresden Files. Yes, they both share a name (The Dresden Files, natch) and a main character (Harry Dresden) and even a few supporting characters. But, that’s pretty much where the similarities start and end. I liked the TV show. I was sad that it was cancelled. But they’re definitely not the same. They don’t even have any of the same plotlines.

Ok, with that out of the way, let’s get on to my review of the book series.

The Dresden Files have often been described as “Harry Potter for grownups.” I’m guessing that this comparison was probably dreamed up by some marketing executive who realized that, hey, you could compare a giant pile of dog doo to Harry Potter and people would probably buy it. Not that I am denigrating Harry Potter, because I love me some J. K. Rowling. But Harry Potter and Harry Dresden share a first name (Harry) and a profession (Wizard)… but not much else. 

J.K Rowling created a world that people wanted to escape to. It was a world populated with fantastic and beautiful creatures. A world with magic used in ways that are fun and whimsical. A world that might have sometimes been dark and scary, but that was filled with Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs. It was a world, in short, that was created for children.

Harry Dresden, on the other hand, lives in our world. Chicago, to be more exact. He doesn’t drink Butter Beer, he drinks plain ol’ regular beer. He also drinks a lot of Coke products. I suspect some sore of product placement on that front. And he usually has a hard time paying his rent. I guess you could say that The Dresden Files are more realistic, if any book about magic can really be realistic. It’s not a bad world, per se, it’s just a world where good doesn’t always win out over evil. Although, ironically, I think that J.K. Rowling ends up killing off far more of her characters. 

Enough about what the Dresden Files isn’t. What is it? It’s a book series about a wizard (one Mr. Harry Dresden) who lives in Chicago, is listed in the phone book under “wizard,” and who tends to get himself into all sorts of trouble. While it might not have the whimsical nature of most books about magic, the Dresden Files does have a way of pulling you in. I tend to pick up one of the books and then not be able to put it down until I’ve finished it. 

Jim Butcher creates characters that you learn to care for and situations that will leave you wondering what will happen next. In short, he tells a good tale. The books are almost like magical mysteries, with Harry often found investigating some sort of crime with ties to the paranormal. I tend to not be a huge fan of the Fantasy genre, but the Dresden Files have that hard boiled detective quality that I really like. It’s almost like Dashiel Hammett came back to life and decided to write books about wizards. 

The books have fairies, trolls, warlocks and vampires. They also have mobsters and machine guns. Sometimes the vampires shoot machine guns. They have pretty much everything.

I’ve read the first nine books and they just keep betting better. I would have read the 10th, but I get all OCD about buying books in the same format and it’s not out in paperback yet. If you like wizards, fantasy, mysteries or just a good yarn, I would definitely recommend checking out The Dresden Files.

(See! I occasionally review books that I actually liked!)