Here lies Harry Dresden…

I learned of Harry Dresden in what’s probably the most inconvenient way possible. Libby had suggested the audiobook format of Dangerous Women, a compilation of short stories. I’ve yet to finish that compilation two and a half years later. The reason? A story written by Jim Butcher involving a character named Molly Carpenter.

It was clear to me from the outset of the short story, titled Bombshell, I was starting in the middle of a well-established storyline. I should have stopped the audiobook then and begun the series at, you know, the beginning like normal people. I didn’t. And in so doing, I spoiled a thing or two for myself.

Oops.

After Bombshells, I set down Dangerous Women and went about getting hold of the Dresden Files. Hardly a difficult or arduous task. Although, I was signing myself up to catch up on a book series that was already fifteen books and multiple short stories deep. So, when choosing the format for the Dresden Files, I went audiobook.

This was a choice made in a time of commutes and things. But I would recommend, even now, to make the same choice if you’ve never read this series. Why? Spike- I mean James Marsters is the narrator. Sorry, huge Buffy fan. And Spike grew into one of my favorite characters in the show.

The first two books are a bit bumpy for Marsters, but he hits his stride in the third book and doesn’t look back. He does an incredible job bringing Harry and all of Jim Butcher’s characters to life. Honestly couldn’t imagine someone else reading Harry Dresden.

Who is Harry Dresden, you ask? He’s the world’s first, and likely only, wizard private detective.

Huh? You heard me. Just because you’re a wizard doesn’t mean you can’t have a side hustle. Wizards need to eat too. Not everyone can be Harry Potter with a vault picked high with gold coins.

His job description isn’t the most unusual thing about him, either. He’s a rather tall man. Wizard basketball player might have been in the cards if he had been so inclined. But that wasn’t his jam. He rides around Chicago in his Blue Beetle. His car’s moniker derived from the color the Bug used to be more than it’s current color. This endeared the character to me as I, too, don’t let cars go until the bitter end.

The Dresden Files series is difficult to pin down in description. They are first-person accounts of various cases Dresden takes on in the simplest of terms. But there’s more to it than just a PI with some really cool abilities puttering around Chicago. There is some serious shit happening in the supernatural world, and Harry has a role to play in it. But, at sixteen going on seventeen books, you might call this journey a very slow burn. Butcher has said this is a twenty book series. Yeah, very slow.

But that doesn’t mean there’s no resolution to be had. Harry Dresden has a lot of fish to fry. A lot. Within each individual book, readers get an answer to the case at hand. At least, for every book except Peace Talks. My take on Peace Talks is almost certainly a result of the hangover I am currently battling since it just came out in July. Given a few more months and possibly a re-read, maybe I will change my mind. Of course, by then, Battleground will have come out. There should definitely be some residual resolution found within the bindings of the latest book.

Well, I hope so anyway. But there are at least three more books so, Harry might have entered Cliffhanger City.

The supernatural world Butcher creates in the Dresden Files is a patchwork quilt of folklore, fantasy, superstition, and myth. He pulls from everywhere. Valkeries, goblins, fairies, gods, Santa. Hell, Dresden even has a fairy godmother. You did read that right. She’s big into wardrobe but definitely not the Bibbity-Boppity-Boo loving figure we’re used to. I don’t even think she’d find that funny.

When you open or press play, on a Dresden Files novel, you are stepping into the modern world you are familiar with. But it’s blended with a rich, occasionally, frightening counter-culture. I hesitate to say underworld as it’s not always hellish. Just when Harry spouts off to the wrong person. Which may or may not happen a lot. Filters are a tough thing to get a handle on. I think we can all get behind that.

If you are looking for a new read or looking to escape our COVID entrenched world, The Dresden Files are definitely worth taking a look at. Who doesn’t need a sarcastic, clumsy, and awkward hero to take them away for several hundred pages?

Come on September 29th…I shouldn’t wish summer away, but I need to know what happens next.