Review: Storm Front

Storm Front by Jim Butcher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Storm Front, the first book in Dresden Files series, is a title I've been meaning to pick up for some time. It's been suggested to me numerous times, and "wizard detective" is a natural fit for my interests, just a little behind "robot detective."

One of the best things about Butcher's creation is the careful world building he's done here. There seems to be a lot of thought and planning into how magic works in this world, and I like that Butcher sets up the rules in a way that the reader understands them. This isn't Harry Potter magic where you mutter some words and stuff just happens.

One of the worst things about this book is that Harry Dresden is kind of a prat. This seems to be a deliberate choice on Butcher's part, and while I can appreciate what he's doing (I think. Harry is at least partially this way because he's spent his life buried in books and studying magic, so he hasn't really had the best socialization), it's a little grating after a while.

I suspect that at least part of my reaction to Harry is colored by social forces that weren't as prevalent in 2000 as they are in 2015 (Harry's constant comments about chivalry and his hat-tipping "m'lady" attitude absolutely reek of the stereotype "gamer geek sexism" that has been argued about non-stop for the last year or two).

The plot is relatively straight-forward, and most readers will figure out the answers to the plot questions quite a bit before Harry does, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

This is a solid enough first entry that I'll probably try some of the later books, but I'm not sure that this is the right series for me. The action and detective parts are solid and engaging, and I appreciate the world building, but I'm having trouble liking Harry Dresden as a character.


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