Book Review: Storm Front

A few months ago, I purchased the e-book version of Jim Butcher’s Storm Front, the first book in the Dresden Files series. Originally, I came across the Dresden Files when Syfy aired a show based upon the books. Sadly, the show didn’t last long, and since I was hip to the idea, I decided to give the books a chance.

Besides, Entertainment Weekly states, “Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Phillip Marlowe.” And you all know how much I love Buffy.

Book Cover

The Basics:

In the book, we meet Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, a wizard with a shady past hooked into helping the Chicago Special Investigations (SI) unit solve two grisly murders. As Harry follows the trail, we learn more about the world in which Harry resides: the surface where regular humans live and the world just slightly beneath it filled with bordello-owning vampires, ghosts in skulls, and pizza-loving fairies. In the meantime, Harry deals with dating, maintaining a professional, yet close, relationship with the Lieutenant of the SI unit Karrin Murphy, staying out of a well-known mobster’s way, and more.

The Strengths:

Harry Dresden makes a great character, full of sarcasm, intrigue, and an understanding of himself. At first, he knows he’s only in this for the money, but when things start getting more interesting, he begins caring about those dying and his interests change. Harry has a somewhat dim view of the world, sometimes pessimistic and sometimes realistic. The man couldn’t be optimistic if his life depended on it. Still, at the end of the day, even when he’s simply trying to get by and take a damn shower without a summoned demon frog interrupting, he knows he holds great power. He knows what he’s capable of and he delivers, even in the eye of death.

Syfy Channel Promotional Poster -- PS. Harry's on the far left

I enjoy the fact we’re not being info-dumped everything about this secondary world treading right beneath ours. Dresden relays info to the audience when we need it. He doesn’t go deep into the rules about magic. As a book series, this works because we can learn about them in detail later. Even as an individual book, it works because the laws are set, they’re simple, and we don’t get too heavy into it. Plus, it’s refreshing to have a character already immersed in his world, unlike most YA novels (even though this is clearly not a YA novel).

The Weaknesses:

Of course, despite great strengths, there were some weaknesses. From the very beginning, we’re aware someone is using magic to kill these people. Very early on, I knew right away who the killer was and it wasn’t me jumping to conclusions. It was so incredibly obvious and I was upset by the fact that it took Dresden two-thirds of the book to realize it.

Now, let me explain a little further. We only have Dresden’s point of view to follow, so he’s telling us all the details and he can see the same evidence we see as the audience. Although I can understand someone being oblivious if you’re not a cop, Harry shows how he’s so aware of his environment in other parts of the book. He comes to conclusions pretty quick, so I found it unlike his character to take so long to figure out the killer’s identity. Plus, I found the story to be a little weak in this regard. I believe Jim should’ve worked a little harder to make us less aware of the killer’s identity, or he should’ve made the investigation to find the killer less important. Unfortunately, I felt the climatic realization fizzled.

Obvious Killer is being obvious...

Also, I could’ve done without the “my-life-is-so-hectic-and-strange-that-it’s-hard-to-date” schtick. I understand it’s a formula that works, but it’s an old formula. I would rather Jim Butcher be honest and just say, “Okay, I want Character A and Character B to get together.” Then do it! Don’t make excuses that life is too supernatural for Dresden to properly date. He’s a wizard; we’re well-aware of how he has a strange life. And the mix-up with potions was too obvious from the moment Dresden took ghost-trapped-in-a-skull Bob’s advice.

Finally, I would’ve enjoyed more time getting to know the interesting characters, such as Madame Bianca St. Claire, vampire headmistress of the Velvet Room (a bordello), or Linda Randall, a bisexual chauffeur flirting with Dresden. It seems Jim Butcher has this penchant for creating interesting characters and moving on before we get to learn about them. Meanwhile, some of the main characters, such as Warden Donald Morgan (a typical law man peon out for the protagonist’s innocent blood), falls flat (or at least overdone).

Overview:

All in all, I enjoyed Harry Dresden as a character. I loved the world, the interesting concepts, and the odd obsessions the supernatural characters had (such as Toot-Toot, a fairy who loves pizza). Jim has a great way of introducing the characters in a modern world where magic isn’t fully well-known to the public, despite the fact that Harry has a Yellow Pages ad. Even when someone like Karrin Murphy sees with her own eyes how dangerous magic can be, she doesn’t really bring it up or make reference to it. She just moves on and ignores it for her own psychological benefit.

"Magic isn't real"... as you run from the summoned demon frog...

The Verdict:

Still, those weaknesses leave me feeling weary about continuing with the series, even though I heard it gets better down the line. If I could buy the books for cheap, I would try one or two more books, but the e-book was $9.99 (the same price for the 2nd book). I feel like I received a $4.99 value and an additional $1.99 for keeping me intrigued for the few months I read through the book, but it wasn’t worth $9.99 in my honest opinion. I’m not particularly hooked at this juncture to continue purchasing these novels in hopes of it “getting better.”

Please let me know if you have any other thoughts or feelings on Jim Butcher’s Storm Front in the comments below. Happy reading!

"I must learn the enemy..." because knowledge is power!