Book Review: "Dresden Files" offers different slant on wizardry

Most fantasy books out there follow fairly well laid genre lines, with wizards and paladins being in a medieval setting with dragons, castles, and princesses. However, occasionally an author chooses to go a different route. Jim Butcher does this with his "Dresden Files" series, where we meet Harry Dresden, who is a private eye as well as the only professional wizard in Chicago.

The world of the Dresden Files is an amazingly well-done mix of traditional fantasy elements as well as modern day fiction, where everyday people live unaware of the supernatural that lurks amongst them-mostly due to their desire not to see or acknowledge that such things could exist.

However, Harry is a wizard, born with a natural talent and predisposition to magic and the ability to wield it at will. He knows his way around the supernatural underbelly of the world, and, much to his chagrin, most of the big cases he takes end up dragging him into events that threaten his life and the lives of many others, whether they involve dark wizards, werewolves, faeries or even fallen angels.

Fortunately, Harry is not alone against these threats, and often has the assistance of Karrin Murphy, a tough as nails policewoman, Bob, a magic talking skull, and various other friends and allies he makes throughout the books.

Jim Butcher's writing is excellent, having a quality that grabs you, making you want to read more just to find out what happens next.

As each book progresses, you find yourself trying to figure out the case right along with Harry, and it often has delightful twists and turns. It doesn't slouch on the action either, and one can generally expect to see Harry rather beaten and bruised by the time all is said and done.

The books are sequential, and reading them out of order will spoil the events of past books very easily. Also, Butcher handles characters quite well, making them memorable enough that, even if it's been a few books since they appeared, you find yourself going, "Hey, I remember that guy," but he doesn't do it so much that it bogs things down.

All in all, the series is an excellent example of modern fantasy, and I highly recommend them. You can find out more at www.jim-butcher.com.