I’m almost through my next book … And that’s after finishing the first in another series at the weekend.
The latest book to finish is Storm Front by Jim Butcher, which opens the series of Harry Dresden crime novels. It’s not a genre I often go for (I prefer sci-fi) but I got caught by a rather wonderful series from a few years ago.
Yep – these are the books the Dresden Files series was based on.
The central character is a Wizard, struggling to make a living as a private investigator and part time police consultant. It’s set in Chicago and we have a colourful cast in there which includes Murphy the police Lieutenant, a mob boss, sexy reporters, tenacious vampires (maybe I got confused on those last two) and all manner of fantastic creatures. The writing style, character and setting have a lot in common with the Mike Hammer shows which I watched 20 years ago, with a little bit of extra magic sewn in.
The magic is what makes these special, it opens up all sorts of possibilities that set Dresden apart from being A N Other crime series. Looks good on telly too.
What’s the difference between this and the telly series ? Firstly, the first book (Storm Front) was shown in the middle of the run of 12 episodes instead of being at the start. I guess that’s down to the scope allowed in a TV series. At 300 pages, the book can lead you in to the characters and the world of Dresden’s Chicago. That’s a bit optimistic for a 42 minute TV show. There are differences in the characters too, with Bob being a spirit of air and not a long dead sorceror.
You can recognise certain scenes from the TV series, although the scope is a bit lower to make it affordable. In a book, it’s your imagination that translates the words on the page to make them come alive. On TV, your imagination takes a back seat to the skill of the director and their pocket book … Must watch the TV series again soon.
This is another book I got through fairly quickly, with the dry humour carrying the reader along. Various threads interlace and intertwine throughout with Harry often being the fall guy. Most importantly, the narrative stays consistent with the rules that become apparent as things move forward. Sticking to rules makes the difference between you going MEH or leads you to believe in the fantasy escape. When the rules get ignored or rewritten (like in series that are well past their sell by date), that’s when the reader gets lost.
After one book, I’m looking forward to getting some more 🙂 Only a fiver each from Amazon (although I’ll be checking out bookshops in Bristol centre “soon”) which will be well worth it.
Must watch that series again soon too.