Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)

by Jim Butcher
Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)  
published April 1st 2000 by Roc
binding Mass Market Paperback
isbn 0451457811   (isbn13: 9780451457813)
pages 322
description Harry Dresden--Wizard

Lost items found. Paranormal investigations.

Consulting. Advice. Reasonable rates.

No Love Potions, Endless Purses, ...more
date added
02-01-07



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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 3244)



Siria
Siria rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
04/27/08

bookshelves: 21st-century, american-fiction, fantasy
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for: Not a single person.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Jesse
Jesse rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
10/26/07

recommends it for: lovers of bad writing and raping of the noir genre
You know, the premise of this book actually sounded good. A wizard P.I., sure why not. I like wizards and I like P.I.s, so what could be the problem. The problem whas I over estimated this author's abilities.

The main character is like some kind of emotionally retarded ubergeek's idealized life. He lives in a basement and subbasement. He ALWAYS wears a black duster and cowboy boots (even when he's wearing sweats and a t-shirt). He has an abnormally large alley cat that likes to drink co...more
Like this review?   yes   (6 people liked it)
  1 comments

Stacey
Stacey rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
03/18/08

bookshelves: bookclub, fantasy
Read in March, 2008
recommended to Stacey by: Chris and Amy (well, one of them, not sure which)
recommends it for: Anyone that loves humor, action, magic and a good story.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Louis
Louis rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
10/09/07

Read in January, 2007
Storm Front is the first installment of The Dresden Files, a series about a Chicago wizard, Harry Dresden. The scenario is there is a wizard world that exists in conjunction with our own. And there is a full wizard society, with its own rules and laws and authorities that Harry is a part of. This subculture of magic is known to some of us normal people, that choose to pay attention and not discount what they see, so Harry is on retainer to an office within the Chicago police department (not with...more
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Elizabeth
Elizabeth rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
06/12/08

bookshelves: 2008, fantasy, twenty-first-century
Read in June, 2008
When I was in college I had a boyfriend who wore a long black duster, was wire thin, had played too much dungeons and dragons in high school, wanted to be Cary Elwes from The Princess Bride, believed in magic and physics, and did not know anything about women (unfortunately). He would have loved this book. It's written for a nineteen year old boy who doesn't see a lot of sun and wishes he could be a chivalrous knight, acting alone, to save the day. And while being completely misunderstoo...more
Like this review?   yes   (2 people liked it)
  3 comments

Shinynickel
Shinynickel rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
03/31/08

Read in March, 2008
recommends it for: people who want a fast, mindless read
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Chris
Chris rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/09/08

bookshelves: fantasy, wizardry
Read in November, 2006
I was warned when I bought this book back in May that I would regret not buying all of the Dresden File books, and I was warned right.

It's actually very similar to another addictive series, the Nightside books by Simon R. Green, which I have profiled previously. They have a lot of common points - first person narratives by lone-wolf investigators who possess a vast amount of supernatural power which they're afraid to use. They have myste...more
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Aaron
Aaron rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
05/11/07

Read in March, 2007
recommends it for: Fans of Glen Cook
The television adaptation of the novels is certainly not faithful. I'm curious as to why they changed so many inconsequential details (Murphy's first name for example) as well as some rather large ones (the nature of Bob the Skull). That being said, Jim Butcher's books are the literary equivalent of beer and pizza. They're fast, easy to get a hold of, satisfying over the short term, but really, not something that you'd want to build your entire diet around. Also, both have the potential for a ce...more
Like this review?   yes   (2 people liked it)
  4 comments

Barbara
Barbara rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/14/08

bookshelves: 2008
Read in April, 2008
recommended to Barbara by: Nick Parker
I called my friend M today. I hated to do it, but I had to tell her that her husband was right: I DO like the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher. At the very least, I liked the first of them.

Harry Dresden is a wizard who advertises his services in the phone book. Not surprisingly, he is the only wizard in the phone book, so he gets a fair share of nut jobs calling him. This time, however, he gets two calls right after the other: one from a local detective looking for his help and another...more
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  2 comments

Ann
Ann rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
09/29/07

This is, possibly the weakest of the Dresden File books. Part of that is that he's having to set up his entire world in it, and part is that it was one of Jim's first books. But it was more than interesting enough to keep me coming back for all of the books AND to watch the TV series, which Scum/Fi in its infinite stupidity has cancelled. But you don't want me to go off onto a rant about what morons the programmers are at SciFi (the "official" name for the TV channel) and how they k...more
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Jessica
Jessica rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
07/10/07

Read in June, 2007
recommends it for: Lightweight sci-fi/fantasy readers
What's a damsel police officer to do when 2 citizen's are found with their hearts exploded out of their chests... call Harry Dresden!

Though this book is recomended for Laurell K Hamilton Laurell K Hamilton readers (on the back of the book) and it is superficially simular it targets a different audience. Storm Front is lightweight: there's nothing wrong with reading light weight stuff, but when Harry Dresden goes into a speach on th...more
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Wesley
Wesley rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
06/22/08

The first book of The Dresden Files introduces the series's protagonist, the modern day magic slinging, duster wearing Harry Dresden, and his antics as a wizard-for-hire in Chicago. In Storm Front, Harry faces a mysterious black magic wielding foe that's been murdering people in gruesome ways. Harry must use his magic and his wits to track down the black wizard before he becomes the next victim, all while dealing with the Chicago Police Department, a mobster, a bordello owning vampiress, and a...more
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Richard
Richard rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/03/08

The Harry Dresden series may be the closest thing to a pulp magazine on the newsstands today. It combines all of the heroic, fantasy, and criminal elements common in the heydays of characters like the Spider and the Phantom Detective, and updates them to a modern day setting.

I first heard about the character from watching the TV series, The Dresden Files. Another short-lived—rare, but genuine hit—that aired on the Sci Fi channel. Paul Blackthorne was brilliant playing the scruffy freelan...more
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Kelly Robinson
Kelly rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
05/09/07

Read in February, 2007
So last week Tim and I started watching The Dresden Files, which is based on the series by Jim Butcher about a Chicago wizard. Anything with fantasy placed in modern times gets an automatic in from me, so I was all about reading the series after seeing the show. Despite its hokiness and predictability, I can see why Storm Front paved the way for a cult-like following.

But I’ll discuss the hokiness and predictability, because that’s more fun. Our narrator, Harry Dresden, is never without t...more
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Brooke
Brooke rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
06/12/07

bookshelves: 2007, own
Read in June, 2007
recommends it for: Buffy fans
Earlier this year, I greatly enjoyed the first season of the Sci Fi Channel's The Dresden Files. It certainly wasn't Buffy or X-Files caliber, as far as paranormal television goes, but it was great escapism fun with some interesting characters. As I'm likely to do after discovering that something I watched and enjoyed was based on a book, I went out and got the first book in the series.

I read the 300-pages of Storm Front in less than 24 hours, and it was such a relief to read something light...more
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Mathdancer
Mathdancer rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
10/28/07

bookshelves: reviewed
Read in January, 2006
I actually have been hearing about this book series for quite some time but it never got close to the top of my reading pile because I'm not too keen on the idea of the main hero being a detective. Maybe I just read too much Sherlock Holmes stories ;)
But Jim Butcher actually managed to prove that it's not only the basic premise that counts - and his books have stolen me from the real world for a week I had to spend getting ready to my exams - but I don't regret not a second of it

So please wel...more
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phyllis
phyllis rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
04/21/07

bookshelves: bookcase
Read in April, 2006
recommends it for: Anyone who likes a tiny bit of fantasy in their fiction
Isn't it great when you find a series of books that you really enjoy, and then can't wait for a new one to come out? The Harry Dresden series burst onto my bookcase last year, when I picked up book 7 at the library, on a whim, just before a business trip. 2 days into the trip, I'd finished the book (Dead Beat) and had found the local book store and bought the first in the series: Storm Front.

Ironically, in the first few pages, the book didn't really resonate for me, it took a bit to get in...more
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Michele Lee
Michele rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/09/08

bookshelves: fantasy
Read in January, 2008
recommended to Michele by: I liked the tv show
recommends it for: mystery and fantasy fans
The first book in the Dresden Files series (ten books and counting so far) is a refreshing wind for the urban fantasy genre and this reader. One of the cannon examples of urban fantasy, a blending of mystery and paranormal in a modern setting often with a touch of romance, Storm Front is slanted more toward suspense than romance.

Harry isn't another supernaturally endowed, kick-ass female heroine, taking on the world of evil and the world of men at the same time. Harry is a somewhat-awkward, ...more
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Tripp
Tripp rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars