My sister has been pressuring me to read this book for a couple of years. I think I put it off on principle. It took me a couple years to convince her to read The Lord of the Rings (when we were much younger), but it was the release of the movies that finally did it. She also rejected my suggestions of A Game of Thrones (too political), Harry Potter (not interested), Brandon Sanderson (she keeps forgetting about it) and John Scalzi (ditto).
So I was being petty. It happens to the best of us.
But I’m glad I set that aside and picked this up.
Storm Front is a cross between a good episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Phillip Marlowe. With a little Supernatural thrown in. Harry Dresden is a wizard private investigator who helps people find lost things, the police solve crimes, and women lose their underwear.
Ha. Not really on that last part. Being a wizard, he hasn’t had much luck with women. He has a cat named Mr., however, and a be-spirited skull named Bob.
A woman comes to his office pleading help in finding her husband. Soon thereafter, a police detective (Lt. Karrin Murphy) calls him to a crime scene, where two lovers have had their hearts ripped from their chests. Shenanigans ensue.
As an homage to Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett, it’s fair but a little on the light side. There’s more humor here, and Dresden isn’t as hard as the characters who inhabited the world’s of Butcher’s predecessors. The writing isn’t as crisp, and the dialogue isn’t as era-specific. But when you throw in the supernatural elements, the vampires and fairies and demons, this book becomes something more. Something evocative and interesting.
There are 15 novels in the series, a role playing game, graphic novels, short stories, and a TV show, and with good reason. Even after one book, I can see that there is a rich world to be played with, here.
And I can’t wait to explore it.