Book Review: Storm Front (Dresden Files 1)
Hey, all.
So, I've heard a lot about the Dresden Files for a long time. I'd read The Furies of Calderon series, also by Jim Butcher, and I enjoyed his writing style. So, going from that high fantasy world to an urban fantasy world was a good jump for me since urban fantasy is closer to my own wheelhouse.
The book begins with a fairly simple exploration of Harry Dresden, his practice and how he sees himself. Now, there are a LOT of different things I could point out as being good examples of writing a character by giving only a brief sketch and leaving the rest to the reader. One that comes most readily to mind is that he's having a hard time keeping up on his rent. For someone with their own business, this is always a real concern, and it tells us a lot about how he has to live his life—he's not a wizard that makes himself wealthy by transmuting gold or taking advantage of people. He's just a guy who's trying to make it paycheck-to-paycheck.
One bone I have to pick with the style is the descriptions of the characters—particularly the female ones. They're detailed. He focuses mainly on the face, with a passing explanation of the character's clothes, but each description is (overly) detailed. I don't need to know that her hair is in a ponytail but for a few locks in the front. I don't need to know how defined her eyelashes are. One or two individual details are enough. She has a little too much eyeshadow and dark hair dyed blue? Those are details I can hang my hat on.
Now for plot. I've been really into dark fantasy and noir stories lately, and Storm Front is a good fit between those two. The world is gritty enough to have that tough feel, but it's fantastical enough that you can lose yourself in those elements.
I have heard that Storm Front is a book Butcher feels isn't his best. It is billed as his breakout novel, and I can only assume the Dresden Files books improve. That's why I've gotten a hold of most of them to read. If everything I've been told is true, I'm really excited to read through this series, even if this one is ... average.
Pros
Beginning of a long series
Gritty fantasy feel
Interesting world
Cons
Formulaic character descriptions
Lots of characters for the length of the book
Plot/subplot get a little confused and bleed together
Overall, I give Storm Front 3.5/5. It's certainly not the best book I've read, but it's far from the worst. But the world has me turned on enough that I'm excited to keep reading.
Thanks for wreading!
Jeff
So, I've heard a lot about the Dresden Files for a long time. I'd read The Furies of Calderon series, also by Jim Butcher, and I enjoyed his writing style. So, going from that high fantasy world to an urban fantasy world was a good jump for me since urban fantasy is closer to my own wheelhouse.
The book begins with a fairly simple exploration of Harry Dresden, his practice and how he sees himself. Now, there are a LOT of different things I could point out as being good examples of writing a character by giving only a brief sketch and leaving the rest to the reader. One that comes most readily to mind is that he's having a hard time keeping up on his rent. For someone with their own business, this is always a real concern, and it tells us a lot about how he has to live his life—he's not a wizard that makes himself wealthy by transmuting gold or taking advantage of people. He's just a guy who's trying to make it paycheck-to-paycheck.
One bone I have to pick with the style is the descriptions of the characters—particularly the female ones. They're detailed. He focuses mainly on the face, with a passing explanation of the character's clothes, but each description is (overly) detailed. I don't need to know that her hair is in a ponytail but for a few locks in the front. I don't need to know how defined her eyelashes are. One or two individual details are enough. She has a little too much eyeshadow and dark hair dyed blue? Those are details I can hang my hat on.
Now for plot. I've been really into dark fantasy and noir stories lately, and Storm Front is a good fit between those two. The world is gritty enough to have that tough feel, but it's fantastical enough that you can lose yourself in those elements.
I have heard that Storm Front is a book Butcher feels isn't his best. It is billed as his breakout novel, and I can only assume the Dresden Files books improve. That's why I've gotten a hold of most of them to read. If everything I've been told is true, I'm really excited to read through this series, even if this one is ... average.
Pros
Beginning of a long series
Gritty fantasy feel
Interesting world
Cons
Formulaic character descriptions
Lots of characters for the length of the book
Plot/subplot get a little confused and bleed together
Overall, I give Storm Front 3.5/5. It's certainly not the best book I've read, but it's far from the worst. But the world has me turned on enough that I'm excited to keep reading.
Thanks for wreading!
Jeff
Comments
Post a Comment