Justin’s Comments (group member since Feb 13, 2009)

Justin’s comments from the All Things Jim Butcher group.

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "In the midst of my reread, a little over half way through Dead Beat... It ranks as one of my favorites."

Dead Beat is definitely one of my all time favorites and one of only a few books I've ever read twice.

Just finished, and haven;t read read through all the comments yet to reply. I just wanted to say the Molly Star Trek Bridge scene was a thing of genius.

Erato wrote: "
@ Justin: I have to ask, "What is your favorite book cover?"

Oh, good question. My favorite covers...hmmm let's see...

1. - The simplistic nature of this cover does well to convey whats between them. ( Link to the artwork )

2. Chris McGrath is the artist, and you see his stuff everywhere. All his work is amazing, there something about this cover I like in particular. ( Link to the artwork )

3. Always found this cover to be compelling.( Link to the artwork )

4. Famous Hungarian artist Istvan Orosz did this cover. Absolutely amazingly fitting for this book. ( Link to the artwork )

5. Jon Sullivan is doing some amazing work for Pyr Books. This cover is stunning.( Link to the artwork )

I feel your pain with the TBR pile. My biggest complaint with the Mercy Thompson series is the covers...eesh. At a glance they appear to be some kind of cheap romance novel, it's rather annoying. I really am curious if there will be anything in particular you don't like. A friend of mine didn't make it past book one either. He couldn't get past the notion of "nice werewolves".

Mike, I'd be curious to know what about them you didn't care for. I end up recommending a lot of books to a lot of different people. When dealing with a Butcher fan I will almost always send them towards Briggs. It'd be great to know if there was something specific about them that turned you off.

In a way I hope he doesn't go with the whole "coming back to life" thing. It's kind of like time travel, it's a can of worms that once you open it...you can never go back. I have faith that Jim can pull off anything and make it cool.

I find it very interesting that some of you do not consider Dresden Files to be in anyway shape or form a mystery novel. I've always considered them to be mysteries in a fantasy setting. The whole hardboiled P.I. shtick is common mystery trope. The story lately has pretty much left that feel behind though, but a lot of the Dresden books are very much a "Case File" type of story. Jim even refers to the non-major story arc books as "Case books". It's a testament to how good these books are that it attracts so many different kinds of readers.

There are literally hundreds of books that are "like" Dresden Files, but very few that are as good as Dresden Files. A crime solving magic slinger is not exactly an original concept, but Jim puts a unique spin on it that makes it his own.

Of the list I made only the Mercy Thompson series matches Dresden Files in almost every aspect I care about. Briggs has a similar writing style to Butcher, although her stories will obviously have a slightly more feminine feel to them. I have not seen many Dresden fans not like Mercy Thompson, and vice versa. Of course this all just a matter of opinion. This thread has already added quite a number to my TBR pile.

Oh and I have tried the October Daye books, well the first one anyway. I wasn't that impressed, but now that you say the series gets better I might give #2 a shot. I thought it had potential.

I actually have that book, but have yet to read it. I probably should. My TBR pile is quite out of control.

Wow this is tough.

1: Joe Abercrombie- first law Trilogy
2: Patrick Rothfuss- The King killer Chronicles
3: Brandon Sanderson- Mistborn Trilogy
4: Jesse Bullington- The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart
5:Joe Abercrombie- Best Served Cold
6:N.K. Jemisin- The Inheritance Trilogy
7:Mark Chadbourn- The Silver Skull
8:Patricia Briggs- Mercy Thompson series
9:Nathaniel Philbrick- In the Heart of the Sea
10:James Rollins- Sigma Force Series

This is my "modern" top 10. I did not list classics. I'm sure I missed some anyway.

Thanks for that Dana. I remember vaguely hearing about some of things you mentioned. Of the ideas you mentioned I find the "steampunky" story and going back to Alera the most intriguing. I also agree that whatever he moves to next will be something he hasn't recently openly discussed.

Yeah the e-book pricing is irritating, but Penguin is top of the food chain as far as publishers go. It would take something extremely serious before Butcher and his publisher would part ways.

Since we're in a bit of a Butcher lull at the moment, I thought it might be fun to speculate on what he might be writing next. I believe I remember hearing that he plans on focusing on Dresden for awhile and not starting another series like he did with Codex Alera. Can anyone confirm this? I'd love to see another series from Jim in just about any genre. A Jim Butcher SciFi series? Maybe some horror? What do you think? Baseless rumors, hearsay, and hunches are totally welcome.

Mark Chadbourn just released the second book in the Swords of Albion series. The first book is entitled The Silver Skull. An Elizabethan era fantasy. It reads like an UF. It's so fast and smart. An amazing read. You can check out my review for a better idea.

I also listed a few series near the top of this thread that I felt had similarities to The Dresden Files.

It's kind of a shame that urban fantasy often carries negative connotations. I've read a ton of good urban fantasy and I've never read twilight.

The problem is often with labels. Technically both Twighlight and American Gods are not only both fantasy, but share the same sub genre of Urban Fantasy. I don;t think you could find two more different books...or set of fans. So you're right to hesitate to recommend all Urban Fantasy to someone based off the fact they like Dresden. The books I suggested are mostly urban fantasy, but not all. the E.E. Knight books are not urban fantasy. They are post apocalyptic with a dash of vampirism. I would say they resemble Science Fiction more than they do Fantasy. The books I chose I picked because they give me the same feelings that a Dresden novel invokes for me. Whether it be action and humor (nightside and sandman slim) or mystery and suspense (mercy thompson, simon canderous). They all exhibit some quality I relate to the Dresden Files. Though rarely all of those qualities at once, there is of course only one Dresden files. My hope for this thread was to find those books the die hard Dresden fans use to get them through till the next Dresden book, urban Fantasy or not.

Well Dresden is quintessential Urban Fantasy. It'd be tough to like Dresden and not like other Urban Fantasy. Not saying you should like all Urban Fantasy, cause there is a ton of garbage out on the shelves that calls itself Urban Fantasy. Anytime you have fantasy elements set in an urban/modern environment it's technically Urban Fantasy. However I do know that Dresden has often been the "gateway drug" for a lot of fantasy fans into the Urban Fantasy genre. It's an interesting division of fantasy and there are a lot of really good writers/books that claim the label of Urban Fantasy. It would be a sad day for someone to miss out on talents such as Neil Gaiman or Guy Gavriel Kay because of the genre they most often write in.

I often find myself looking for the "next Dresden Files". With a release schedule of one a year, it can be a little hard to wait for the next release. Over the years I have found a few series that satiate my Dresden fix.

- Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson series: Moon Called
- Simon R. Green's The Nightside Series: Something from the Nightside
- Nancy Holzner's Deadtown Series: Deadtown
- Anton Strout's Simon Canderous series: Dead To Me
- Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim series: Sandman Slim
- E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth series: Way of the Wolf

Al of these series/authors exhibit qualities that I feel are compatible with what I love about the Dresden Files. The are all well written with charming protagonists. Usually a intense story mixed with humor and action. What do you read that reminds you of the Dresden Files in some way?

Welcome! Ditto on the waiting part. There are a fwe authors out there I consider to have good "substitute Dresden Files" books. Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson series is one. I think I'll make a thread about all the suggested reading while waiting for the next Dresden Files.

I think everyone can agree that Changes will be considered a keystone book in the series even after the series has been completed. I wonder what other books in the series will we look back on as a pivotal piece in the Dresden story?

I would probably say Dead Beat is one of the most important books so far. A lot of plot points were introduced that will have an impact till the end of the series. Deadbeat was where Dresden first used Hellfire which eventually leads him to getting the soulfire he currently possesses. It also was the book he was recruited into the wardens, which opened a lot of plot points in the series. He gets offered the Winter Knight position which he eventually takes in Changes. There were some other stuff in there too that I can't recall...oh..wasn't this the book where he received the death curse that has never came to fruition?