Great book! Dresden Files are Top Notch
342811
I Love Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. This book was good and a must read if your reading the entire series. If compared to the other 13 or so books in the series it would rank at the middle somewhere, Probably because all of the other books are SO good. This is no. 13 in the list of which know there are 14 books and all of them, I can honestly say I have read more than twice
Get them all including Chicago Wizard Mr Harry Dresden, who listed as the only name under the sub-topic of WIZARD. He can either find a lost object or kill a bridge troll and if the price is right, Slay a horde of Red Court Vampires, It's all in a day's pay.
2911834
I really like the Dresden Files series and this is one of the best books so far. Lots of loose threads all run headlong into each other, but very few of them get resolved.
4413499
I'm enjoying this series very much! I describe it as being like the Dresden Files, only darker and grittier. I like my fiction very dark, and this fills that desire while still injecting a lot of twisted humor and not leaving me depressed. Can't wait to see how many he'll write!
2456958
Finally a new Dresden book which is a life enriching event. If like me you also read Glen Cook's Garret the Detective books, that series has a new addition too.
1405081
Pure Dresden and Pure Jim Butcher. The author does it again with a quick paced and well written tale that spins Harry off to a heist in Hades. A great read for Dresden fans!!!
3361218
Ok. I can't give him 5 stars on this one because the first few books are no where near as good as the later books. But this book was still damn awesome. I am taking a star away simply for it being his first book and not as well developed as later ones.

I am trying not to rate him on the entire series, which gets 5 stars easy.

This begins the story of Harry Dresden. Wizard for hire in Chicago. I love this series so much that I go back and read the entire series sometimes. Harry is such a genuine character, you can't help but love him. Each book builds on his character and this first one provides a great intro. You get introduced 1 at a time to his roving cast of friends who are equally as genuine. I have grown to love every character in this series.
His use of directions in Chicago is sometimes off but it doesn't take away from the book I don't think. He captures the essence of Chicago and where he is. Sometimes he jumps streets that don't make sense. If you were not from Chicago it wouldn't matter to you. It's like the Matrix, when he said street corners that did not exist in the city of Chicago. Not really a problem. Didn't take away from the story.

My 1 complaint about Harry would be he is just so damn nice. Sometimes I wish he would be a little meaner.. but then that wouldnt be Harry Dresden. He lives by a strict code.

You are quickly drawn into the book. Jim Butcher creates a very compelling environment and story line that won't let you go. I've spent entire weekends reading a book unable to put it down only to get to the end and regret I let it end so fast. But you can't put his books down. Most importantly he makes you care about the characters.

Every book in the series does the same thing. Even though this first book isn't as strong as later books, I feel this book is just as successful at drawing you in and keeping you.
2374772
Vesik has quickly become one of my favorite series. It has made forget I was waiting for the next Dresden Files. The action starts on page one and keeps going until the last page. The characters and humor are great.  The magical war has reached the front door. I can't wait for the next in the series to continue the journey.
1758431
Oh if they could only make movies as well as books.  When you watch movie sequels or installments it often dissappoints. (Can anyone say Matrix?)  That's not the case in Jim Butcher's latest in the Dresden series.  Since Book 1 I've said this a very special writer.  You will not find many authors who consistently keep up the blistering pace after so many books.  Great job, again!  It's a can't put-it-down book.  Harry is one of those great character that appeals to many.  I just love, adore, obsess over a flawed hero.  Harry is that.  I like getting more emotional information over what it could have been like  for him when he was Molly's age.  Good job in introducing a new character(Molly) AND still given us more information about Harry's tortured past.

I thought Harry has evolved greatly as a wizard in this book.  He's powerful and vulnerable at the same time.  This book bought back most of my favorite characters: Summer Lady, Winter Lady, Michael, Murphy and Thomas.  Introducing Rawlings was a nice addition as well.

Now the waiting begins again....hurry Jim with the next one!
3888999
I love these books. To be honest, this one was a bit heavy on the nerd culture references but the reason for that is addressed somewhat. The story continues to grow, the enemies become more powerful as Dresden takes on more responsibility and I can't help but love every minute of it.
3718651
This was fantastic. I am a huge urban fantasy reader, with the gold standard being the Dresden Files. It is not often I find something that can go toe to toe.

The world he has created is fun and imaginative, utilizing some rarely tapped areas of folklore and myth. That was refreshing and well executed.

His main character is harsh but not too serious either, always willing to take a moment to just ramble on a bit.

I am really lookong forward to where the author takes this. Cannot wait for the next one.
2008752
The Harry Dresden Series are by far one of my favorite.  Cutting edge paranormal fantasy with a touch of noir thrown in. I was a late comer to this series and read them all in one chunk. I am still pinning for more. As in many great series, the series starts out slow and just keeps building steam as it goes on. By the 5th or 6th book, you just can't get enough.
3376475
Jim Butcher is at the top of his game at the moment, and he's the only author I still buy in hardback (having switched almost completely to ebooks otherwise). Of course, I buy in hardback not only because I have the earlier books in that format, but because the ebooks are overpriced and I can't lend them to my wife, but never mind.

This is a fine continuation of the Dresden Files series, with all the classic elements. Harry Dresden starts out in trouble and gets deeper and deeper as the book progresses. Before we even get to the heist (I love heists!), he's broken his arm and is in generally bad shape, he's been forced to work with one of his greatest enemies, and one of his allies has been so badly injured that Harry has to go to the bench. Fortunately, by this point he has a deeply impressive bench.

Things go boom and catch on fire, extremely powerful supernaturals find it amusing when Harry is tricksy, dark deeds are done and then avenged. It's classic Dresden all the way around, and I look forward to rereading it multiple times.

I went back and forth on whether it was a five-star book, and eventually decided it's high up in the fours. It's very good, but it's very good in the same way as a lot of the earlier books in the series. It doesn't bring anything particularly new to the table, and it's not so profound as to win five stars that way either.

There was also one thing I thought was out of character towards the end. I find it hard to credit that the "righteous" Michael would accept a cut of the proceeds of a heist under any circumstances. Otherwise, well done.
3105964
Harry Dresden: The only openly practicing wizard in Chicago

This is volume two of the graphic novel adaptation of the novel, Storm Front. To copy my synopsis of the book:

"Harry Dresden is the only practicing wizard in the Yellow Pages and often works with the police on their "paranormal" crimes. One day, Lieutenant Murphy calls him up and presents him with a crime scene: two dead bodies, killed in a most brutal and obviously unnatural method, which some are trying to blame on Harry. Meanwhile, Harry is also hired to find the missing husband of Monica Sells."

Harry Dresden has just saved himself from a demon who was attacking him and Susan.  He continues to balance his two jobs: working on the murder of Tommy Tomm and Jennifer and finding Monica Sells' husband.  Another person dies, and Monica abruptly withdraws her request.

As with the novel and volume, I really enjoyed our protagonist, Harry. I love his cool powers, but I also like how he isn't overpowered.  He can't just conjure anything or repair any situation with a wave of the wand.  He often uses the mediocre to get him out of tough scrapes, which is far more interesting.  Also, he has his share of weaknesses: he's terrible with women, he's grumpy, he overworks, he passes out when he's tired, he doesn't tell Murphy the whole truth and thus puts her in harm's way.  Definitely a character I like.

Again, I like the world Dresden has created.  In the graphic novel, I got a better grasp of how the magic worked, what was possible, what wasn't and what the magic looked like (the "Third Eye" scenes were creepy!)  I mentioned that in the book, it was somewhat unclear, but I can definitely say that is not so here.  I wasn't confused one bit.

The story is excellent.  I love the blending of urban fantasy with mystery and Butcher writes it well.  Although I am not a big fan where two seemingly disparate cases connect in the end, I thought it was well-done and interesting.  The action is superb!  Graphic novels are best when showing action scenes and this one is no different, and definitely uses the medium to the fullest.  But there was also quite a bit of emotion and heart, such as when Dresden talks with Sells' daughter.

Now, onto the art.  For the first part, the art style is basically the same from volume one: good, but somewhat sketchy around the ladies.  Harry Dresden didn't look 100% like what I expected, but I liked it.  The ladies, not so much.  They all seemed to be cut out of the same cloth, with the same pointy chins, same face shape, etc. (this is particularly weird when you consider that Karrin is a blond, with I thought curly hair, Bianca is a sexy vampire, and Susan is a Mexican).  However, in the second section, it's like a different artist took over and made the art style more like Anita Blake: softer, more varied ladies, but Dresden looks fairly feminine in some scenes, and there are tons of flecks on the page (getting rid of the clean quality of the previous artwork).  I wished they hadn't switched; I preferred the more "edgy" look (yes, even if the ladies all looked the same!).

As for the rendering of the written word into the comic, I found for the most part it was good.  I whipped through this book quickly, but I did take a short break to notice that Harry's inner dialogue was all over the page.  While I adored the graphic novel as is, I think some of the text could have been cut out to lead to a more impactful visual imagery.

As with volume one, I closed this graphic novel feeling satisfied.  The story was brilliant (as I knew it would be), but the new medium was REALLY put to good use.  The characters are great, the action superbly rendered, and even if the art isn't what I wanted, it wasn't grotesque.  If you like Dresden, you definitely need to check these out.

Brought to you by:
*C.S. Light*
2336229
I read the Dresden Files a few years back on my first Kindle, and they're all page turners. They're all well written and the characters are well rounded, even the incidental ones.
276189
Delightful book!  I've been a fan of Jim Butcher for some time, and it's been great to watch his writing mature.  This is his best work to date - a vivid storyline, deep character development, and a structure that keeps multiple plot lines working inexorably toward convergence.  I couldn't put the book down, shared it with my spouse, and his reaction was identical. I can't wait for the next book in the Cinder Spires series
853408
While I am usually quite stingy with my ratings, after careful consideration, Turncoat truly deserves full marks.
  Over the past year I have read all of the paperback Dresden Files available.  While many series begin to weaken when they reach higher numbers, I can honestly and happily say this is NOT happening here.  I enjoyed this book so much, and thrilled over specific parts, that not revealing spoilers and high points is quite a chore.
  Butcher did a great job in Turncoat of answering some long standing questions, while opening a few more doors for further speculation.  I greatly enjoyed the progress and development that many of the characters showed.  I applaud his foreshadowing of plots and events to come.
  Though the overall theme is serious, still JB finds plenty of time for humor.  At several points in the book I had to pause in my reading to catch my breath.  Laughing extremely hard will do that to you.  I lost track of the number of times I had to laugh out loud over various minor details.
  JB once again shows that while his stories fit quite well in the genre marked "hard-boiled detective crossed with wizard fantasy" (a small niche, I grant you), his characters, even supporting cast, are full and realistic people.  Though only small pieces of those other characters are shown, they frequently show insights that suggest greater depths and motivations than their few pages might require, another mark of a good and rich world.  Each and every character has their own life and drama that they go on living even when Harry isn't interacting with them directly.  Major supporting cast especially have arcs and have been developing as the series has progressed.
  The one minor downside I will offer is that much of my enjoyment of the book had to do with my familiarity with the series as a whole.  While I think the book would be acceptable as a standalone, it is only when considered with the rest of the series that it truly shines.  In fairness, the 11th book of any series worth its salt, as this one is, cannot truly be taken by itself, so I don't consider that much of a detracting point.
  To wrap things up... Turncoat was a great read, with much anticipated plot forwarding and world revelations.  I very highly recommend both the book itself and the series as a whole.
1143598
Have read all Butcher's Dresden books at least twice!!
Audio version is great to take on long car trips. Marsters
does a great job - glad he's back!