Storm Front
Ratings889
Average rating3.7
Not my type of book, generally fine for what it is. Hoping some of the crime fiction mix with fantasy and snark gets better developed. Will give the second one a shot soon!
I do like it.
I wasn't too fond of the somewhat forced piling of trouble on the hero, by misunderstanding etc. It would have been harder to write, but I wish Jim had taken the time to make it more believable.
I mean the relationship with the detective. 1) You know your friend knows something but isn't telling it. You are an intelligent, observant woman, a good detective. I don't find it believable that you didn't even consider the option that your friend cannot tell you for some reason, and that reason is good - or at least assume it's good before jumping into conclusion that it must be bad. 2) this same friend tells you, practically screams at you not to open a drawer of the desk. You do it anyway, because you assume he's hiding evidence. There's something dangerous, horrible, something that hurts you in the drawer. Would you assume your friend had set it there to trap you? Or would you have told him "I expect you to come here and show me what's in the drawer yourself." Especially when he told you he have to talk with you, and that he knows who the murderer is? Would he come to the office and be apparently worried about you, call the ambulance and try to save you if he really had tried to trap you with something horrible? And would you, really, arrest him after he called the ambulance, and put handcuffs on him? I don't think so, which makes me not to trust in Jim Butcher as the storyteller, which makes me not like this book as much as I could have.
This reminds me of Iron Druid.
Pornește cam la 1 /5: clișeu, clișeu, clișeu, nu doar că 100% șablonarde (de la scene, personaje, decor la replici) dar până și fix în ordinea șablon a noir-urilor (ca scene). Groaznic.
Apoi apare elementul fantasy și se înalță spre 4/5, dar tot cade: personaj zân, foarte tare, nedezvoltat; personaj mafiot, foarte tare, nedezvoltat; poveste fantastică destul de bună, dar care se dovedește a fi mai degrabă poleială tot peste un simplu policier; personaj negativ eluziv, interesant ca mister, dar apoi dezamăgitor ca revelație; personaj polițist enervant și șablon, dezvoltat din belșug, personaj duh cu umor de calitate adolescentină, cam dezvoltat și el. Ș.a.m.d.
Și apoi se prăbușește iar, nu la 1/5, ci la -5/5 - o dă din clișee noir în ceva mult mai rău: clișee de Hollywood. Scena cu Dresden și Murphy în laboratorul lui vs. (să zicem ceva negru ca să nu spoilerim) a fost atât de enervant de penibilă, că nu am mai putut continua cartea și am capitulat pe la 80 și ceva %.
Evident, nu voi citi restul seriei. Păcat, căci scriitura lui Butcher e foarte bună, cu tempo excelent și cu atenție la detalii - mi s-a părut un scriitor bun care a scos o carte cel mult mediocră.
Harry Desden is a wizard in a world where people still don't want to accept that magic is real. He uses his talent to help people. He also helps the police from time to time, whenever things seem out of the ordinary. In he same day he got two calls: a woman who was looking for her husband but didn't want to call the police for help and the police, who called him to the scene of a double murder. The murder scene really scared Harry since he knew the kind of power that would have been needed to carry out the crime. He was too scared to even try to figure out how the spell was done. The White Council was already on his case since he used magic to take a man's life. He was only alive because it was done in self defense. In any case, Morgan, who was set to watch Harry in case he broke any more laws of magic, was sure he was evil and also believe he killed the two people. Harry had to figure out how to find the wizard who did this evil thing and stop them without getting himself killed in the process.
I hated this book, enough that I decided not to finish it. I made it about halfway. The main character, who is also the narrator, is a chauvinistic pig. The obnoxious descriptions of women's physical attributes—and as far the book is concerned, those are apparently their only attributes—became nauseating and unbearable. There was nothing redeeming in the plot. I'm very glad that Audible allows returning a book.
This was a fun and enjoyable read. I found the character of Harry Dresden interesting and will pick up the next book in this series. The mystery wasn't the most complex, but I am willing to give that a pass since this is the first book and so much groundwork needed to be laid.
Re-read:
Listened to this one on a roadtrip. It was enjoyable, but I couldn't stop myself from hearing how often he notices makeup and how he thinks about women. Like, it is a fun read, but this time around I'm noticing the things I noted later in the series... I still have only read 6 or so of the books.
Yet, like I said, it is a fun and interesting read in a decently original world. My fiance and I had a good time listening to this and I think I'll try re-reading the second one.
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LOVED THIS!
I've been meaning to start this series for years, but I've always put it off because 1) I really didn't need to start yet another series and 2) I usually don't read male protagonist books– nothing wrong with them, but if I have a choice I usually pick female.
So, I picked it up and I'm so happy I did!
While I still don't understand the magic system entirely, I think it is at a great start and was explained enough that I wasn't lost. The mystery was mysterious ;) and while I did figure some things would be connected, I don't think I could have guessed the ending.
I also really love Harry's character!! He seems so down to Earth and like a normal nerdy guy. I loved it. It is so refreshing actually. He isn't some macho guy, but just a regular dude who has a magical power boost. His humor/ smart-assery is right up my alley.
I FLEW through this book. After I finished I immediately went onto my library's e-book website and placed holds on the next 2 books. I am so excited to be continuing this series!
I just re-read Storm Front, after first reading it - well, I don't even know how many years ago! Shortly after it was first released, I think.
Now, it's important to know that I simply don't re-read books. I find that too boring, most of the time. There are a scant few exceptions. The Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are the most remarkable of them. The fact that I would even consider a re-read speaks very, very highly of Butcher's work.
I'd forgotten far more than I expected, but I suppose that happens, with at least 15 years and goodness knows how many books in between readings. I knew it was a good book, I knew one important part of the ending (I mean, come on - there are many more books in the series, so you KNOW that Dresden lives!), but all else was lost. I wasn't sure I would like reading about old Harry with recent Harry fresh in my mind (I just read the short story “Jury Duty”).
If anything, I enjoyed it even more spiced by the knowledge of who Dresden (and Murphy) will become in the future books. I enjoyed the setting, the craft that went into building the whole novel, and seeing how Butcher's skill grew from the first book to the more recent works.
I'm going to go on with re-reading the entire series - I hadn't committed to it before, but now I'm looking forward to it!
I wasn't as impressed with this book as I wanted to be. It was fine, the plot was somewhat interesting. The main character was a sexist asshole, and it seems pretty apparent that the writer is sexist too. It was just kind of irritating to read. The writing could've used some improvement. I probably wouldn't have even finished it except I wanted to know what was going on. If I do end up reading the next book in the series, it'll only be if it falls in my lap somehow.
meh...this was ok. Which I was expecting because everything I've heard about the Dresden Files is that the series doesn't get going until book 3/4/5 - I probably would have lemmed this otherwise. I'm planning to continue the series, but will be sticking to audiobook
WHAT
A detective story with supernatural elements. Harry Dresden is a charismatic wizard that works as a private investigator. The characters are easy to sympathize with, the plot is intriguing, complex and yet smooth to follow.
PLOT
When the lieutenant Karrin Murphy of the Chicago P.D. is confronted with a crime scene she cannot explain, she hires the services the only supernatural consultant in the yellow pages to help her find the murderer. During his investigations, Harry faces off a powerful and seductress vampire, a ruthless mob boss and an unstoppable toad-like demon. All of this while trying to avoid the scrutiny of an attractive reporter, the vigil of an over-zealous magical enforcer and the suspicions of the police. He also must protect his friend Murphy who is oblivious to the dangers she is facing, help a damsel in distress who might not be telling him the whole truth, take care to not kill himlself and others while performing his magic, keep his car from breaking down, get his love life going and pay the rent! But hey, at least he can count on the help of Bob, an immortal horny wizard trapped within a skull.
SUMMARY
The following is a list of characters and their motivations. Spoiler free, but avoid reading if you want to be surprised when they appear.
- Murphy: police lieutenant, obsessed with catching the responsible regardless of the risks involved- Carmichael: Murphy's partner, thinks Dresden is a fraud and an ass.- Susan: tabloid reporter, tries to seduce him into telling the details of the crimes he is investigating- Marcone: mob boss, wants him to drop the investigation. One of the victims was his bodyguard- Bianca: vampire, wants him to die for seeing her true form. One of the victims was a call girl that worked for her- Morgan: warden for the White Council, patiently awaits for the time when Harry misuses his magical powers in order to justifiably kill him- Bob: talking skull, the source of great arcane knowledge. Hangs on a shelf, reads erotica novels. Wants to leave his confinement to get into an orgy- Monica Sells: damsel in distress, her husband is missing and she is worried he might be involved with dark magic- Toad demon: demon, kills people, destroy stuff- Blue beetle: car, threatens to break down at every turn
ANALYSIS
The characters are so interesting that I found it enough to summarize the book through them. The plot was very engrossing as well, it meshed seamlessly with the characters, the flow of events was well planned and the sense of mystery and thriller typical of detective stories was well established and kept along the way.
The plot progresses at a frantic level. As Harry digs deeper into the murder, things gets more complicated and dangerous very fast. He tries to protect those around him but it gets to a point where he just have to give in and accept any kind of help he can get. In the end though, he must face the culprit all by himself, while resisting the temptation of using dark magic even if used for a good cause.
The ending wasn't that clever. Harry had no plan and was almost out of power when he faced the villains. He just thew himself at them and winged it. He was also under a self moral restrain of not killing anyone, even if that would risk his life. Still I don't expect much from a standard detective novel.
Harry is a fun, flawed and real character. He knows how dark and dangerous the world really is, and he does his best to keep the evil at bay, keeping up a sarcastic and humorous attitude, cracking jokes along the way.
He is a paladin at heart, but he is treated with suspicion by those who don't know him too well and also by those who know of the things he has done in his past. He doesn't think much of himself either, but that goes to show how caring and conscious he really is. He reminds me a little of Constantine.
He is the powerful underdog, he won't use magic for personal gains, sometimes even to defend himself. He is confronted with one problem after the other, with no time to rest in between, to recharge his magical powers. By the end of the story he is pretty much confronting the villain with a fraction of his energy and just some of his wits.
He is the not so perfect hero. He is chivalrous, honest and ethical, but though when he needs to be. He breaks the law when he has to, but is always trying to do the right thing even if it means making powerful enemies along the way, and having no money to sustain himself.
Being a wizard can be difficult, but add detective on top of it, you have a recipe for disaster and hilarity! Follow Harry Dresden on his journey to find the mysterious Victor Sells, try and keep a police LT happy with his consulting and not get torn apart by demons.
I loved this read! I had so much fun reading through this book again, and getting reacquainted with all the characters!! I cannot wait to reread the other books in the series now!
Recommend this book for adults only, as there are some rather risky scenes for younger readers.
this book came recommended by a friend. He said if I enjoyed paranormal romance and thrillers I would enjoy this one. He was right. Harry is funny witty and has this nerdy charm about Him. I havent decided yet if I will be reading the rest of the series I have a long list of stuff I want to get read before the end of 2015 so we will see how it goes.
The first of The Dresden Files series draws you into the world of Harry Dresden, a wizard in modern day Chicago who advertises his wizardly ways in the yellow pages and classified. What's involved with being a wizard now a days? Turns out it involves solving mysteries for the police that can't be explained by science as well as pursuing the occasional contract that walks through your door.
If this sounds a bit like Angel, the old WB show, well you'd be right. It's a whole lot like that. Funny enough, the audiobook is read by James Marsters, Spike from Buffy/Angel! Being a short one, it's worth reading a few. I'd still prefer Caves of Steel for the overall mystery side of things, but this was the first one in the series. The following ones were supposedly after Butcher got better at writing. Either way, a solid beginning.
3.5/5
It was enjoyable but not mind blowing. I've seen from fans that the Dresden books get better and I can't wait to start the others. If you want an amazing narrator pick this one up.
4.5 stars.
I would entitle the review “How Urban Fantasy should be written”.
After reading this, I realized that this genre has been ruined by many stereotypes and the border between UF and Romance and other st isn't so clear.I think that after I've read some UF series, I came up with the idea that they are all almost identical: the badass female protagonist (always first person POV) that alternates moments like “I'll kick your ass, you damn bastard” with others like “I go to the toilet, I put make up on my face thinking of that cool guy, I whine because I can't/...paranoic thoughts following”. The cool and über-smartass alpha-and-so-on guy who inspires forbidden fantasies. The bad guy who always wants to kill the protagonist, because figured out she is special, however. The writing is a continuous sequence of “damn”, “fuck”, “dude” and monosyllabic sentences. I found all this so irritating. But the main critic I point to this genre is the lack of explanations. Without them, plot doesn't make sense and characters lose credibility.After this previous “fed-up” moment, let's talk about this book. 1. I liked the writing. 2. I kind of loved Harry Dresden. He's a credible hero who isn't perfect but he's cool at the same time. He makes mistakes, he's stubborn as hell and wit. please Mr. Dresden, run your office also in Italy!!3. I loved Bob, even if he appeared only a few times. I hope we can see more Bob in the sequels.4. Even if she's stubborn as hell and bitchy, I liked also Murphy because she is well depicted.5. The plot: the reader is focused on following the detective story without any kind of st. Yes, there are vampires and fairies, but they are just pieces of the puzzle and their “personalities” are tricky and evil. ahem...they are not sex gods giving a nasty look at Jeaniene Frost, KM Moning, maybe Ilona Andrews
What I disliked:
- some absurd moments that left me a bit stunned, but I managed to pass over.
Eventually I really liked this first volume and I recommend it everyone.
The writing in terms of engaging the five senses is very good and enjoyable, but the character and plot aren't great. As a narrative device, the author keeps on having him don't go get all his magic stuff or abandon it somewhere just to have him on more jeopardy and that's plain stupid.
I raced through this book in 3 days. Super easy reading even though it doesn't really get interesting until half way through. Right when I started to get frustrated at the lack of much magic a whole heck of a lot of magic happened!
So, the magic part is awesome. I had this book described to me as a bit like adult Harry Potter living and using magic in the real (muggle) world. They have the same first name and they're both a little snarky, but that's about where my comparison ends. That's ok though, this is good for its own magic world.
I'm looking forward to continuing the series as long as the female characters are written a whole lot better here on out. Every single woman was attractive and almost everything they did revolved around their looks or sex. Except for detective Murphy. But it was hard to take her seriously because of comments made about her. You can describe someone physically pretty without reducing them to a useless simpering fool. Strong female characters are good. You can write them without reducing the strength of your main male character.
And really, I spent a good bit of the book thinking Dresden was more a-sexual than not. Turns out he isn't, just really freaking awkward. Felt like Dresden is quite a reflection of the author. Made me pretty uncomfortable most of the time. I probably wouldn't like Harry Dresden if I met him because I'd probably catch him leering at me. He's not “old fashioned”, he's just a chauvinist who thinks he's a nice guy.
“HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment”
I've got to say, Harry Dresden is a pretty hilarious guy, for someone who always seems to be about to get killed...
I advise everyone to give this book a go! It's action-packed, funny and sarcastic, with an interesting world. What else can you ask for?
“HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment”
I've got to say, Harry Dresden is a pretty hilarious guy, for someone who always seems to be about to get killed...
I advise everyone to give this book a go! It's action-packed, funny and sarcastic, with an interesting world. What else can you ask for?
