Novel series like the Dresden Files? Showing 401-450 of 1,083

[Mike (the Paladin), White Council]

I think that's a good insight. My PNR line is lot finer than some. When someone start's mooning about another character or the "fake dislike love games" start I tend to fade out. A romantic story in a book is okay it's often part of the story but as soon as it begins to overwhelm the actual plot I lose interest. Others can take a lot more of a romantic story than I can.

It's another real case of to each their own when it comes to taste.

[Alison]

For me a female protagonist who starts on about some male in the first couple of chapters is usually a bad sign LOL!

[Mike (the Paladin), White Council]

I "sort of" liked Rob Thurman's Leandros series. I saw the "blurb" for another series by her, the Trickster series. I read the synopsis for the first one. Trick of the Light. There's a couple of sentences in the synopsis, " Not that she has anything personal against demons. They can be sexy as hell,'. I read that and decided from there that the book would be one I wasn't interested in. I've read a couple of books where the protagonist seems obsessed with the "sexiness" of every male she comes in contact with (you don't often see that so blatantly in male protagonists as they'd come off as creepy stalkers). I always burn out whether she's caught up in the sex-appeal of vampires, werewolves, leprechauns, humans or whatever. I'm not the "target audience".

[Ben Fiore]

Alison wrote: "I was thinking about trying the Weather Warden series, so thanks for the heads up. I like books with some romance/relationship stuff, but as a sideline to the UF aspect. That's why I think The Ka..."

To be fair to Rachel Caine, I did read all nine books in the Weather Warden series despite my feelings of nuisance over the romantic aspects. So there was enough compelling action and an interesting enough main character to carry me through it. I gave up when I tried to read the spin-off series Outcast Season which actually had less romance, but also a less compelling/relatable lead character. The mythos in general was pretty cool, though and the lead character was badass enough of the time for me to muddle through the romantic bits.

But in general, I learned my lesson that if a book has a hot girl on the cover, and said hot girl happens to be the main character, there is likely to be some romantic narration from a point of view I'm less familiar with.

[Alison]

Sexiness shouldn't be in the mind of the protagonist until we're well into the story and we may well have read some of the same books when it comes to premature sexiness LOL!

[Alison]

"Ben wrote: "To be fair to Rachel Caine, I did read all nine books in the Weather Warden series despite my feelings of nuisance over the romantic aspects. So there was enough compelling action and an interesting enough main character to carry me through it."

That's a bit like how I feel about quite a few series and the idea of not bothering to read the next book in the series often pops into my head.

[Ian]

I must thank all those who mentioned the Iron Druid series. 80% through book 1 and finding it a solid 4 out of 5.
Took a while to get over all of the stereotypical Irishness. Being Irish myself, that type of thing really doesn't sit too well, so so stupid & silly.
On a Seperate note I do love the dog Oberon!

[Beth]

Oberon is the shit.

[Cjpines]

Beth wrote: "Oberon is the shit."

/oberons voice "Do I smell maple sausage?"

[Angie ~aka Reading Machine~, White Council]

Beth wrote: "Oberon is the shit."

Love him!

[Lndavidson]

I have always wanted an Irish Wolfhound ever since I saw one at a RenFest!!

[James]

Lndavidson wrote: "I have always wanted an Irish Wolfhound ever since I saw one at a RenFest!!"

Same here! I've been wanting to get one, but my wife won't let me until we settle into our new house.

[Lndavidson]

There is still hope!!!

[Bill (Just a)]

David Niall Wilson post on this forum over in the Audiobooks section. He noticed my wife and I like the Dresden books and suggested I give his "The DeChance Chronicles" a try. David notes that while Donovan isn't Dresden, there is enough similarity that Dresden fans would enjoy the read.

If anyone has an interest, now is a good time. The first book is "Heart of a Dragon" and the Kindle version is available for 99 cents. And then you can get the audible professionally read version for only 2.99. And the Kindle version and audio version can sync so that you can switch back and forth.

It was a good deal and so I added it to my to be read (listened) shelf. I thought I would pass it on to youse guys.

[Nick]

I'll third the Nightside and Felix Castor series, both series are enjoyable reads but fall just slightly short of the Dresden Files and if you think Harry can take a beating you really should check out Felix.

[Ian]

Since finishing all the Dresden books I've read a few series that were mentioned here, all are definitely worth a read. Great thread this!!

Any the books are:
The Iron Druid Chronicles - first one took a while to get into but finished overall with a solid 7/10. The rest were 9/10's for me. Can't wait till the next one is released later this month.
The Kate Daniels Series - again started slow but a very good series 8/10. Unfortunately kindle only have the first 3 books in the series so I'm waiting for books 4 & 5 to be delivered.
Monster Hunter International- just finished the first one and it was excellent. Going to start the 2nd one tonight.

Thanks again for people keeping this thread active & for posting great suggestions,,

[Mike (the Paladin), White Council]

Like MHI. The Monster Hunter International series is different from Dresden but you find the humor, the action and the supernatural threats. It's also one of my favorites. We'll see a lot of taste difference here. We all came here because we like Dresden, but the other books we may disagree on. I have no use at all for the Felix Castor books while others like them. It's interesting.

[[deleted user]]

Someone on here suggested the Peter Grant series and I am about to finish book 2. I cannot even begin to say how much I enjoy reading this series. Absolutely awesome.

[Mark]

J4n3 wrote: "Someone on here suggested the Peter Grant series and I am about to finish book 2. I cannot even begin to say how much I enjoy reading this series. Absolutely awesome."

The next book is due to be published next month.

[Brandt]

Peter Grant is great, my fav right after Dresden..

I've seen both Iron Druid and Alex Verus mentioned a lot in connection with the Dresden Files, but i think both of those are of decidedly lower quality..

The Iron druid's plots gives the impression that Hearne doesnt plot out before he starts writing, and the magic-system in Alex Verus was self-contradictory from start to finish..

I think the Dresden Files gives the impression that A LOT of thought have been put into them (perhaps except for the first 2-3 books), and you can sense Butcher knows exactly where he is going with what he is writing, you just dont get that feeling from much other UF..


Some books i've enjoyed, that is in a dresdenish vein..

Night watch - Lukyanenko

Child of Fire - Harry Connolly

Hard Spell - Gustainis

Hard day's knight - Hartness

Hold The dark - Tuttle

Sweet Silver Blues - Cook

Sixt-one nails - Shevdon

[Jana]

Yay for someone mentioning Sweet Silver Blues. I love the Garret novels.

The Connor Grey series by Mark Del Franco are pretty good.
Anton Strout's Simon books are decent, but a bit on the uf humor side.

[Ankush]

The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyaneko Is an awesome Pentalogy of book delving into what defines actions of good/evil. If you like the character development in the Dresden Files which makes the series such an awesome and spectacular series of books to read, I think you might love these books. Highly recommended.

[Adria]

I would say try The Nightside series by Simon R. Green and the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey. They are enough for your Dresden craving but are great series by themselves. They are more dark and gritty than Dresden though.

[Darkcain11, Merlin]

read first Sandman slim novel. Guy was a dick who couldn't die. Didn't interest me enough to continue. He took a angel blade to the chest. Really nothing except a big scar.

I like nightside series though. Its entertaining read.

[Damian]

The Nightside series is great, but more expensive considering the size of the books.

[Bob]

I too took a read of the Sandman Slim novels. Read three of them, and was very disappointed in them. The concept is just over the top. If you want to read about an Angel on Earth, I suggest the Remy Chandler series by Thomas Sniegoski. Similiar to Sandman Slim but much more believable with a main character who is more likeable. Another series to take a look at is The Lawson Series by Jon Merz. Lawson is a vampire with a whole new spin, kind of a James Bond type, who works as an enforcer for the Vampire High Council. His job is to protect humans from rogue vampires.

[Mike (the Paladin), White Council]

We've talked about this before. We all like Dresden...but then we find we disagree on other UF. I don't like the Sandman Slim books myself. The series I like best (after Dresden) is the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka. (The first is Fated by the way.)

[Lndavidson]

I just finished The Protector series and enjoyed it. I love the Sandman Slim series and I have started the Alex Versus series but keep getting pulled away but a new recommendation. I liked how he references Harry in the first book. I have to quit looking for new books so I can finish the ones I started.

[Bob]

I agree with Mike (the Paladin), #1 is Dresden, #2 is Alex Verus although Alex Verus #4 Chosen is right up there with Dresden.

[Mike (the Paladin), White Council]

I'm about half way through that one (I've been having to read it in "spurts") I agree so far exceptional.

[Bob]

Brandt: Can you elaborate on how you think the Alex Verus magic system is contradictory? This is worth discussing. I love the fact that the Vampires were wiped out by the Mages, pleasure to have a Vampire free zone in an Urban Fantasy novel!

[Leah]

Another series to consider is Smoke Trilogy by Tanya Huff. Its actually a spin off of the Blood series mentioned by someone else earlier. Reading the first series isn't necessary to follow along and there is a good amount of fun humor in the book.

[Yutg]

Hellequin Chronicles series by Steve McHugh There are 2 books right now:
1. Crimes against magic
2. Born of Hatred

[Damian]

Yutg wrote: "Hellequin Chronicles series by Steve McHugh There are 2 books right now:
1. Crimes against magic
2. Born of Hatred"

third's cover has been released. Looks good.

[Beth]

yup for Hellequin, I just finished the 2nd book and am looking forward to the next.

[Mike Bryant]

reading through this thread you guys have all given me some books to track down and read...most of what I read is sword and sorcery fantasy similar to tolkien...JB's Dresden books are the first urban fantasy series books I've read but I also like Kim Harrison's Hollows series

[Torry]

So, this is my first time posting...anywhere. But since I spent the last two hours reading this entire thread,instead of any of the books mentioned, I felt compelled to chime in. Tons of great recommendations, many of which I have already added to the tbr shelf, one more I thought was worth mentioning is The Blue Blazes by Chuck Wendig, kind of made me think of what it may be like if we got a Marcone spinoff.

[Torry]

Although I must say, for sake of possible argument, Mookie Pearl is nothing like the gentleman Johnny Marcone.

[Magicmike]

I have to say that I got pretty bored with the night shade series. The storyline seemed shallow and the world not e/involved

[Magicmike]

err night side

[Chris]

The King Henry Tapes is a really enjoyable series. These books have a lot of swearing in them so the are not for kids or folks who are sensitive to foul language. The first book The Foul Mouth and Fanged Lady is free on kindle.

[Zach G]

Why wasn't "The Laundry Files"-Series by Charles Stross already mentioned? Or did I miss that? Anyway, a wonderful read, hard not to speculate how a Laundry/Dresden-crossover would play out, if it would be possible.

[Mike (the Paladin), White Council]

I don't remember if they've been mentioned before or not. I read the first 2. the first one was good. The tongue in cheek stuff worked. The second wasn't as good and I didn't follow the series. I just reserved the third at the library, see if the series picked back up.

[Jake]

I apologize if this has been mentioned but Larry Correia’s Grimnoir series. It has an incredible magic system and is tied as my favorite with the Dresden files and the iron druid chronicles. I admit it’s slightly different but it’s definitely worth it.

[Mike (the Paladin), White Council]

It was a while back but that and Correia's Monster Hunter International books have both been mentioned. But they're good so it doesn't hurt to mention them again. LOL

[Brad]

I apologize if this has been mentioned already, but the Michael Biorn series by Marc Daniel is worth checking out. There's a single book out at the moment, but book 2 is scheduled for a Q4 release I believe. Book 1 is called Shadow Pack.

[Kelly]

I would recommend the October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire.

It is the only series I've found that is all the way around comparable to the dresden series. You just have to get past the first book. It was not my favorite but like Butcher, the author grows as a writer and the rest are excellent. It is written from a female character's perspective, but my brothers both loved the series so I don't think I'm biased.

I would agree that Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles is good serues but a little to impersonal for me. It's got great one-liners!

Rob Thurman has a darker tone, but original with respectable characters.

If we are branching out to Patricia Briggs and Rachel Caine then I would also recommend Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. She's tough, got a sassy mouth, fights with magic and a sword and has a complicated past that spices up her relationships with allies and foes.

[Alison]

Recently finished Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series (thanks for the recommendation from here) and although it took a while to get into, the unusual theme of the series made it worthwhile for me to persevere - particularly because the series is now finished and I want to see how it ended (BTW the romance stuff doesn't get in the way too much).

Just trying again with Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series. I've struggled with Seanan McGuire before too, but I'll probably give that another try too. More often than not, it is the narrator's voice that can spoil a book for me.

It's the wrong time of year now for new book, but there are SO many new books due out this year by authors I like, so hopefully I'll soon be spoilt for choice!

[Bob]

Rj wrote: "I just tried Alex Verus but I couldn't get into it."

Wow, we all love Dresden and most of us who have tried Jacka's Verus love his stories as well. What do you think was the problem?

[Bob]

Alison wrote: "Thanks for even more recommendations!

@ Damian - I love The Druid Chronicles because Luke Daniels as the narrator of the audiobooks does an amazing job. Same with James Marsters narrating The Dre..."

Fated by Jacka is now available on audiobooks. Check out Amazon for the audiobook! #2-4 to be available early this year!