Title: Storm Front
Author: Jim Butcher
Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy
Reviewer: Kristen Rinaldo
Storm Front is the first book in the Dresden Files series that is now up to 14 books and counting. I read this book during college and have kept up with the series since then. I wanted to reread this book to see if it held up in comparison to the rest of the series and to see how the story held up the second time around.
Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire in Chicago. His ad in the yellow pages reads:
Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment
In the city of Chicago people are dying in a messy and frightening way. Black magic is afoot and the police do not know how to handle it so they call in their wizard on retainer, Harry Dresden. There are factions on all sides that do not want this mystery solved but the police are looking to Harry for answers and they need them before the killing happens again. His past transgressions, no matter that they were in self defense, has Harry on the White Council’s watch list. This makes it risky for him to figure out what kind of spell is killing people and to find the murderer, but it is important for him to figure it all out before he is framed as the murderer or taken out by the killer himself.
Harry is a great character and is my favorite part of the story. He is funny, intelligent and is a genuinely good guy. He is a sucker for a damsel in distress. He may not always know exactly what to do but he will work hard to get the answers. Though he is a good man he is still tempted by evil. He struggles with the temptation that comes with great power, especially when he encounters the magic that causes the murders.
Unfortunately for Harry Dresden, but fortunately for us, the author is not afraid to hurt his characters. Both physically and emotionally the story is a gauntlet for Harry. The story says NO to him just when things seem to be going right in the case and in life. This not only creates an entertaining story but also prevents things from going too easy for Harry. This leads to character development that will be present across the entire series of books.
I tried to come up with a negative criticism of the book but I could not. It has a well developed story line, well developed characters and the plot moves at a good pace. The ending is well thought out without giving any crutches to the main character.
Earlier I mentioned the re-readability factor since I had read this before. You may be able to tell from my review, but to make it clear it was just as good as I remember and rereading it was a great experience. If you have read this book in the past I would recommend doing so again. It contains all of the elements that have kept me loyal to the series over all of these years.
My rating:
5 out of 5 bookmarks. I would recommend this book to lovers of urban fantasy or mystery with paranormal elements. If you read and like the first chapter you will get sucked into the book and into the series. Try it, you’ll like it.
Shelf to Nightstand 