Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Dec 06, 2015 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: mystery, hard-boiled, audio, paranormal, detective-mystery, authors-i-don-t-ever-want-to-read-a, fantasy-and-sci-fi, dick-lit

I had a little party when I finished this book, I was so glad to be done with it!!!

I quickly became tired of Harry Dresden's bumbling, cantankerous and sexist ways. Every time he described a woman's make-up, I winced. (ESPECIALLY when it was described as "tasteful.")

This is one of those books where women are not just people, they are "cheerleaders" or "mother wolves" or "sluts."

Plus, aside from being a sexist schmo, Dresden is an asshole - he's hired to consult for the police, but he regularly w I had a little party when I finished this book, I was so glad to be done with it!!!

I quickly became tired of Harry Dresden's bumbling, cantankerous and sexist ways. Every time he described a woman's make-up, I winced. (ESPECIALLY when it was described as "tasteful.")

This is one of those books where women are not just people, they are "cheerleaders" or "mother wolves" or "sluts."

Plus, aside from being a sexist schmo, Dresden is an asshole - he's hired to consult for the police, but he regularly withholds information from them. What is that bullshit?

And I'm sorry to say this, as much as I love anyone associated with Buffy, but James Marsters' narration makes it worse - he is miked so close, every breath and wet ticking sound of his tongue against his palate is amplified. I really wanted him to pause and take a drink.

Plus the way Butcher has set up the magic just strikes me as silly, with Dresden's reliance on fetishes and a staff, the stupid spirit within the skill, regular references to "the Never-Never" and focusing his "will" on his "blasting rod" and opening his "third eye" ... it's all so childish. And Dresden is so stupid sometimes, missing obvious clues, destroying evidence, withholding information from the police, making poor decisions. Plus, we are constantly told Dresden's thoughts, which just emphasizes how slow and dense he is. Such as (and I paraphrase here):

bad guy cuts off a lock of Dresden's hair.
He cut off my hair!
My hair!
He's got my hair!

Yeah, we got it the first time, we've been paying attention and are all up to speed on how bad juju can be performed when a wizard has a body part like hair or nail clippings or blood. No need to keep saying it like an idiot. No amount of telling us you have savvy and learning can overcome the slow and dense thought processes we are shown. There is constant recapping throughout the book! It was really annoying. I despise Dresden so much that I rooted for every person who attacked him.

The writing can be ridiculous. "The words pounded around her like sledgehammers, throwing up concrete." yeah, okay.

I just hated the characters Butcher created, and I really hated his inability to write women as people.

I can see the appeal here of an irreverent wizard who works as a detective, but it doesn't appeal to me, and I won't be continuing on with the Harry Dresden series.

I was all set to give this one star, but the ending was satisfying (and didn't involve describing any woman's make up). So, two stars, and I never want to read anything by this author ever again. ...more

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Jun 22, 2008 Jessica rated it liked it

Shelves: chicago, speculative-fiction, private-detectives

While the wizardry is solid and Harry's got a geek's heart, I can't get over just how much Chicago is not itself, at all. As a long-time Windy City denizen, Butcher's setting descriptions are so far off it's like we're talking about two different places. There is no "midtown" here, the southwest side is not swanky, and the U of C's idea of a "wild party" is two somewhat drunk guys debating Kant (which I say with love to my fellow Maroons). The whole thing just reads like he set it somewhere else ...more

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May 06, 2024 Lori rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-rated, 2024

I have to say, this book made me sad by how disappointed I was with it...

My father was a big fan of this series, we watched the TV show together, and I've been holding onto a copy of this book since 2010 when my dad passed away... When I got back into reading last year I was so excited to finally get to a series my father enjoyed. And I'm going to be honest, I was not impressed.

I felt like the concept has potential, but this book wasn't it for me. The world building was fairly good, and fairly c ...more

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Jun 12, 2020 Claire Fun rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle

My first real audiobook listen, one that wasn't a full cast performance, and I have the sneaking suspicion that I'm going to always think of Harry Dresden as sounding like James Marsters now. That's not a bad thing! I was pleasantly surprised at how good he was at it. And I do want to read (or listen to) more of them! The Dresden Files are a series of books I've had on my radar for SO long. I added it here in 2014, but I'm sure it's been longer than that. There's just so very many books to read! My first real audiobook listen, one that wasn't a full cast performance, and I have the sneaking suspicion that I'm going to always think of Harry Dresden as sounding like James Marsters now. That's not a bad thing! I was pleasantly surprised at how good he was at it. And I do want to read (or listen to) more of them! The Dresden Files are a series of books I've had on my radar for SO long. I added it here in 2014, but I'm sure it's been longer than that. There's just so very many books to read! and I own about 12,000 books (according to my calibre software). So...it was on the list. All my books are 'one day, one day' in a vague way. But when deciding to try out audible (I can't concentrate on books when they're read to me, usually) I looked for books I wanted to read, read by voices I liked, and here we are!
The story is quite fun, a bit of a Rivers of London vibe (which I realise came after this, but I've *met* Ben Aaronovitch and used to enjoy his Doctor Who books as a young'un, so he jumped up the tbr pile). Harry Dresden, wizard, works with the police to help them solve magical crimes. That's all I needed to know, really, and now, all I need to know I'd like to read more. I'm not sure I *hugely* like him - he's a bit of a letch, and does every woman have to have her physical attributes described quite so much? - but he's also a bit rubbish and gets in trouble at every turn. He thinks he's a bit of a charmer - or maybe that's just how ol' Spike-from-Buffy read him, there were similarities between those two characters for sure - but it was exciting and action packed and I think made sense in the end, although I do admit all the women mostly merged together in my mind a little and I couldn't really remember which one was which, aside from the police chief he works with, who I liked. I've been watching a fair amount of film noir recently, and Harry...well, he clearly has too. But why not? Private dick, with magic. Hopefully the annoying bits will clear up as the books progress, I look forward to finding out more. ...more

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Jun 07, 2017 Jocelyn rated it it was ok

You know how you get those lists .. If you like such and such then you might enjoy so and so ... Well in the case of Jasper Fforde these lists always seem to be incorrect.

After some years of dithering (and re-reading Thursday Next until I might just understand the rules of croquet) I have taken the leap and tried to read some of these recommended books with less than happy results. Harry is a dimwit compared to Thursday and why can't Jasper Fforde be cloned or at least put through a time machin ...more

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Nov 04, 2008 Whittney rated it really liked it

I love the dark humor of Harry Dresden. Even a powerful wizard can feel like a self-conscious goofball sometimes, and Harry is exactly the kind of hero I cheer for. Harry has had a lot of pain in his past, but he is determined not to let his desire for power overcome his humanity. In Storm Front, Harry has to face a dark wizard who is framing him for grotesque murders. The council is already looking for an excuse to get rid of Harry, and his list of enemies keeps getting longer.

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Sep 12, 2017 Rachel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasysci-fi

Well that was fun and easy to follow on audio.

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Feb 08, 2018 alana rated it liked it

Shelves: ebook, fantasy

definitely fun. I'll read more. wish the covers were more appealing though :p ...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Jen rated it liked it

Shelves: misfits, fiction, guilty-pleasures, murders-mysteries-thrills, other-realms, humor, z-2013-read

Imagine if detective Phillip Marlowe, complete with wisecracks, were a present-day wizard going up against demons, vampires, and black mages, and you have Harry Dresden. This was goofy and entertaining at the same time. You just know Dresden is the author's avatar, which adds to the book's charm. I look forward to reading the next in the series. ...more

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Aug 29, 2007 Doina rated it liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy

i picked up the 3rd book by mistake in an airport, and enjoyed reading it, so i had to go back and start the series from the beginning. there is a tv series based on this book series, but it is different than the books.

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Jan 25, 2010 Windy rated it it was amazing

Imagine Ron Weasley grows up and becomes a private detective in Chicago help the police to fight supernatural beings.
If you can't imagine all that then don't read this funny but satisfingly weird series. ...more

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