As promised, I'm going back to review some of my favorite series. Near the top of that list is the Dresden Files series. In this review, I will do my best to avoid any spoilers while still providing a helpful summary of the setting.
Harry Dresden is a wizard, living in modern-day Chicago. He's in the phone book under "Wizards". Not surprisingly, his is the only entry. Most wizards prefer to avoid advertising their talents to the world at large, but Harry has to make a living somehow, and this is his chosen profession. He is generally hired as a private investigator by individuals who feel his talents (if they're real) may prove useful in their case. In addition, Harry is an official consultant to Chicago PD Special Investigations section. SI is often handed the unexplainable supernatural cases, and Karrin Murphy, the head of SI, has made the intelligent choice to retain the services of Chicago's only professional wizard to help her take care of the bad guys.
Most of the books are episodic in nature, with Harry being called on to investigate some strange occurrence or another. There is an underlying common thread in the plot, however, and that commonality is revealed more and more as the series progresses.
All of the Dresden books are told in the first person, from Harry's point of view. This allows the reader to become very well acquainted with Harry's opinions, as well as his uniquely dry sense of humor which is part of the series's charm.
Another characteristic of the series I quite admire is Jim Butcher's completeness and attention to detail. MANY facets of the supernatural are presented, including, but not limited to, faeries, vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, and zombies. Harry often finds himself, with his friends and allies, involved in supernatural power plays and schemes whose intricacy speak to the amount of forethought Butcher puts into each story he concocts.
Particularly interesting to me is Butcher's treatment of faith. It is clearly a power separate from magic, and it has great influence in the world. Harry himself isn't religious, but he knows from firsthand experience that the Almighty exists and has agents in the world. The devil exists, as well, and has his own minions with which Harry must contend on occasion.
There are currently 14 books in the Dresden Files series, along with a number of short stories. According to Jim Butcher's website, we can expect approximately ten more books before the series is finished. For those interested, the first book is called Storm Front, and links for purchasing may be found at the top of this post.
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